Indian Hills Theatre

Retrogarde,
It’s a damn shame that the only old theater in Omaha still showing films is the Dundee…at least the Orpheum and the Astro were saved…and people are chomping at the bit to close the Dundee so they can have the space for retail because it is on Dodge St… the rest have been erased forever by the greed of the city, just like the Indian Hills…

Man- don’t get me started on the big O. I left with my tail between my legs for the Northwest in 1990. You would not believe what Omaha has torn down. The World theatre- gone. The Astro (Childrens) theatre would be gone if Rose Blumkin had not stepped in. The crowning loss- I’m still angry about it- was the jobbers canyon buildings that stupid ConAgra beat the council into tearing down in the 80’s. Several blocks of incredible turn of the century (or older) historic brick factory buildings that hardly existed anywhere else. The CEO said “who cares about ugly old red brick buildings”. Of course, their ugly new office park buildings all have red brick facades and no way will last 100 years. And then Indian Hills, torn down at a time when every Cinerama left was clearly worth a fortune. I will only say this- the new buildings and the World Herald building downtown have a good modern deco style. And most important, Omaha managed to save the Joslyn and the train station- two of the best deco modernist buildings in the USA. At least at the Indian Hills I did see some amazing films (including Star Wars in 1977). And I think The Cook, The Thief, his Wife and her Lover was on that huge screen too! The only problem with Cinerama was that the picture was definitely dimmer. Comparing Omaha to Seattle and Portland, some really great things have been tragically torn down in all these cities, but by the 1980’s Seattle and especially Portland realized what they were losing and started aggressively saving even mediocre buildings. Cinerama in Seattle was saved by Paul Allen and restored to all it’s 1950’s wing-wang glory (I saw 2001 there in 2001- fantastic! too bad Kubrick did not live to see that, but maybe his reality then became more like the film then our reality). Seattle has local billionaires that occasionally do great things for the community. Omaha, on the other hand, only has the richest man in the world, who blithely let Indian Hills turn into an empty lot, despite his house, I think, is very close by. Thanks Warren for helping to maintain that fine Omaha tradition- self annihilation.

Apparently, the parking lot which the Indian Hills was demolished to make way for is barely used. So much for the sense of ‘urgency’ on Methodist Health Systems' behalf…

Many thanks to Ron Hunter for getting me a copy of the Saving the Indian Hills documentary. Anyone who loved the Indian Hills must see it.

If ANYONE has pictures of the inside of the Indian Hills (or the outside, for that matter) that do not look like the ones above, PLEASE let me know at I am DAMN interested in anything Indian Hills related.

A view of the Indian Hills Theater demolition can be seen at http://www.historicomaha.com/weekly69.jpg

My documentary about the rise and fall of The Indian Hills, “Saving The Indian Hills,” is now completed. Currently, it is being entered in film festivals around the country and an Omaha premiere will take place in the spring of 2003. Meanwhile, check out the official website for the movie:
SavingTheIndianHillsMovie.com
(the url has changed from before)
Thanks!
Jim

I just found out from reading this about the Indian Hills. I am sad but not surprised. I grew up in the suburbs of Omaha and know how these people think. They have no sense of their own history or architecture. It went the way of the Omaha Theatre, Peony Park, Jobber’s Canyon, and anything else that isn’t painted bright red with a big “N” on it.

And they wonder why people leave town?

I am sad to report that despite pleas from Hollywood legends such as Charlton Heston, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Janet Leigh and Robert Wise, on August 20, 2001, the owner, Nebraska Methodist Health System, Inc., demolished the Indian Hills for a parking lot. What was especially distressing was that on August 8, 2001, the Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission had voted unanimously to recommend that the Indian Hills be designated a “Landmark of the City of Omaha.” The owner moved to demolish the theater before the Omaha City Council could take action to stop it. This Cinerama theater was the last of its kind in the world. Preservation of the theater had been publicly supported by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the American Society of Cinematographers. The State of Nebraska Historic Preservation office had indicated that the Indian Hills was of such national importance that, although less than 50 years old, it would qualify for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places

The Indian Hills was built while I was still an Assistant Manager at the Orpheum in Omaha (while it still ran movies). It was right at the end of the three panel Cinerama period. I saw “Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” there, but memory fails whether it was the original Cinerama for the 70mm Version. When the Cinerama company went out of business they offered the Cinerama theatres the option of buying the special lens that allowed a theatre to project pictures on the full size of the Cinerama screen. The operator of the theatre at the time (Commonwealth) chose to decline, meaning that about 20 feet on either end of the screen was not used. Even so, seeing a movie at the Indian Hill (“2001: A Space Odyssey”, for example.) was a spectacular experience. While working at Commonwealth’s Orchard Four in Omaha, I had the opportunity of relieving the Indian Hills manager for his vacation. The feature at the time: “RETURN OF THE JEDI”

Mike Geater

(this is a copy of a letter I’ve also sent to the OWH page)
You can build all the new theatres you want, with all the flash and glitz available, but if you take away history, what in the present becomes worth holding on to?

The first movie I ever remember seeing was Disney’s Fantasia when it was first re-released back in the early 80’s, and I saw it at the Indian Hills. It has always my favorite theatre building, and later when my friends and I were in our late teen’s, despite the growing multi-plexes we would often choose the Hills for movies for its centralized location, and the quality and atmosphere of the theatre. I had as fond of memories of the old Peony Park when it was still around. When I come back to visit Omaha it seems like more and more of the familiar landmarks are gone and the places I can show my little niece and nephew are becoming less. I hope that the company that is trying to buy the Hills does so successfully and soon. Or I fear, like Peony Park, we are going to have another scar on our landscape and another empty place in our Hearts that aches to see the new hole we have created in our lives. As we recently learned here in Indiana with the destruction of the RCA dome, it takes only a few hours to destroy, and a few months to clean up. But it will take people more then a generation to forget.

Please, for everyone, hold the wrecking balls and give people time to act. They saved The Rose, and given time they can also save Indian Hills.

Catherine Coate,
former resident of Omaha

Greetings.
In re: Indian Hills Cinerama Theatre.
This is a beautiful photo and an Important issue.

In the text, it is stated that “efforts are also being made to restore the theatre back to its Cinerama roots with installation of a 70mm projector.

It is not accurate to say the Cinerama theatre would return to its roots with a 70mm projector. Cinerama used three-strips of film in three synchronized projectors, and a fourth strip of audio stereo tracks. The later 70mm releases by “Cinerama Corp.” such as “2001” and “The Bible” were released after the original firm was bankrupt and new operators tried to put the Cinerama brand on single strip film releases. Only seven releases were actually made using the Cinerama 3-camera, 3-strip film process.

At the same time, 70mm was not new; it was in use in some theatres; but it was not Cinerama. Some of us grew up thinking we had seen Cinerama because we saw releases of the Cinerama Corp. in 70mm. This was not Cinerama, however.

Nevertheless, it would be more correct to say that restoring the 70mm equipment would be a “STEP” toward the original Cinerama roots. At least it is a wide screen (not as wide as Cinerama) and can work well on a curved Cinerama screen.
Right?

Mike Kinerk

This theater is a treasure to the Omaha Community and Film History. Many memories are kept at that theater. I’d hoped that one day, I too could wait in line with my children for the New Star Wars movie. That could have happened with Lucas revisiting his trilogy. But now, a Money Driven Monstrosity of a Hospital wants to tear down the theater where so many memories and future hopes lay.