MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — The 1934 art deco Plaza Cinema on High Street in Melbournes’ northern suburbs — Northcote has been sold to a developer for $4 mil and is set for demolition with permits for commercial and residential development. It will be a sad day to see this theatre’s iconic tower and landmark pink exterior disappear from Northcote’s street-scape.

BOISE, ID — The 21-year-old Boise Towne Square Reel Theater has been demolished. With six screens, it was once the largest multiplex in the area.

The six screen complex sat vacant in recent years - after struggling under two separate owners. At one time, the theater hosted the most screens in Boise. It opened under the ownership of Cineplex Odeon in 1988 and featured nearly 1200 seats in all. The theater remained popular until the opening of Edwards Cinemas on Overland Rd. at the Boise Spectrum in 1998.

Read more at KTVB.

CAPE MAY, NJ — Opened in 1950 as the Beach Theatre, the Beach 4 is nearing a date with the wreckers. Although the demolition permit has yet to be issued and efforts have been underway to preserve the cinema, the owners have stated their intent to demolish it within the next four months.

The owners of the Beach Theatre in Cape May plan to demolish the structure within the next four months.

Bruce Frank, president of Frank Investments that owns the beach-block movie theater, said Friday that the demolition would take place before the end of the year.

The full story can be read at pressofAtlanticCity.com.

NEW ORLEANS, LA — Closed for nearly two decades, the Robert E. Lee Theatre will soon have an appointment with a demolition crew.

But 18 years after General Cinema shut down the theater in 1991, the building’s owners, M&O Realty Inc., have decided to demolish it to make way for a new retail-office development, said Dan Schaneville, who represents M&O.

Although the theater flooded after Hurricane Katrina, the structure was not badly damaged and the decision to finally tear it down was unrelated to the storm. The real problem is that its design is too rooted in the 1960s to be functional in 2009.

Read the full story in the Times-Picayune.

RACINE, WI — Demolition began on Monday, July 6th, 2009 of the Regency Value Cinemas.

The movie screen had been torn down, the seats were empty and the ruins were real — the handiwork of a yellow Caterpillar 235C there on Monday to begin demolishing the theater at 5230 Durand Ave., which closed in mid-April. Azarian Wrecking is in charge of the demolition, and is expected to be there until the end of next week.

Randy Jansen, 44, looked on with a camera around his neck.

“If I’d have known the seats were in there I’d have said “I’ll buy a row,"’ said Jansen, there to take pictures for his wife Melissa, who worked at the theater for 15 years.

Read the full story in the Journal Times.

SAN ANTONIO, TX — The shuttered Mission Drive-In was partially destroyed early last week as part of a new project.

The four-screen theater opened March 27, 1948, and once featured a marquee of neon lights. Santikos Theatres closed the Mission Drive-In in 2007 after rampant vandalism, and the city later bought the 26-acre site to make way for a public library and other developments.

“We are deficient when it comes to libraries in this area,” City Councilwoman Jennifer Ramos said.

Read the full story in My San Antonio.

SALISBURY, MD — The Boulevard Theatre in downtown Salisbury suffered an ignoble ending over the weekend as a wrecking crew demolished the theatre building in its entirety. Like many of the theatres of its time it eventually attempted to remain viable by dividing the original auditorium into several smaller ones.

There seems to be little history available on the theatre other than it opened in 1948. Its interior was described as art deco and seated approximately 700. The seating and some art deco glass blocks were saved prior to the demolition.

The last incarnation of the Boulevard was as the Movies 6. It was managed by Regal Cinemas chain until the 1990s when they donated the building to the Salisbury Wicomico Arts Council. The group planned to turn the theatre into a performing arts center but failed to raise funding for the project and eventually sold the building for $201,000. 

Read more…

NORTH HUNTINGDON, PA — The four-screen Norwin Hills Cinema is being transformed into Galaxy Fitness with an anticipated January opening.

Cinema 1 will become a studio with 60 pieces of cardio equipment while the walls between the other theaters will be torn down to accommodate a fitness center for kids. 

The sloped flooring is being leveled with Styrofoam and then topped with concrete.  Levelling the floor is the most difficult aspect of the renovation.

Read more…

CLAYTON, MO — The 75-year-old single screen "Shady Oak" theater is currently being torn down to make way for a parking lot.

The town is saving its 4-by-6 foot sign that stood on a post outside the theater to possibly incorporate into a future project.

Closed since 2000, the Shady Oak fell victim to newer multiplexes nearby as well as a lack of downtown parking.

Read more…

KENOSHA, WI —
The Roosevelt Theatre: December 25, 1927 - October 6, 2008.
Its career as a showplace ended in mid-March, 1985.
Demolition began Monday morning. RIP