Oak Street Cinema

What a terrific theater! Though long and narrow, it has a graceful rake, and seats are spaced for comfort, leg-room, and staggered viewing. The deep-red tapestried walls lead to a proscenium framed by an Egyprtian entablature. The nicely proportioned screen with perfect masking supports crisp wide-screen projection and a resonant sound system, though I imagine that, because of the narrow opening, the screen's height would be drastically shortened for CinemaScope films. The most stylish decorative feature is the art-deco sculptural design of its side lights, each sustaining three curved bays lit alternately in red-green-red reflected light. The lobby sports a grand old 35mm projector. As a visitor to town last weekend, I saw the new Iranian comedy, "The Lizard," played to a moderately full and enthusiastic house. Its sophisticated weekly programming, announced months in advance, concentrates on world cinema, old and new, with some Hollywood classic revivals. Good job!

Here is a linl to a photo of the Oak Street Cinema.
http://www.mnfilm.org/fun/mn_oak.asp

Looks like some truly great programming here judging by the link to their current schedule.

This is a marquee photo of the Oak Street Cinema.

Here is a photo of the Oak Street Cinema.

For all intents and purposes, this theater is basically closed.

The cinema has closed for the summer. This is due to lack of business they say. We shall see if the house reopens in the fall.

That may be true. Still, it's hard not to be a little bitter when one considers their programs of summers past, like the fantastic Robert Altman retro in 2002.

The Oak has re-opened. They recently had Bergman Tribute which included a new 35 MM print of "The Seventh Seal".

This is another photo of the Oak Street Cinema.

Any mention of the Oak Street Cinema without mentioning it's founder, Bob Cowgill, would be incomplete. Bob's steadfast vision for film exhibition in Minneapolis is responsible for the Oak Street Cinema's very existence. He reclaimed the theater from disrepair and brought a vision to Twin City movie lovers with a passion and intensity only rivaled by Al Milgrom of the U Film Society. Bob's hard-nosed business sense is what kept the theater alive in difficult times. It was Bob who understood that in order to do the kind of programming he envisioned, the theater needed to become a non-profit and to obtain corporate sponsorship. It was Bob who struggled mightily to forge the merger with the difficult, temperamental, and recalcitrant Milgrom so that both the Oak Street and the U Film Society could survive. Both Bob and I managed the Campus Theater early in our 'movie careers'. In 1975, I recruited him from the Campus Theater to manage the Cedar Theatre across the river. I am pleased to have had him as a friend all these years and to have the opportunity to acknowledge him here for making the Oak Street Cinema a treasure among the nation's movie theaters.

Here is another photo of the Oak Street Cinema.

This cinema will closing soon. Plans are to raze it.

1982 photo of the Campus Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c23%2c3%2c-1&catpageindex=4&catpagesize=25&ProductID=28761
Another 1982 photo of the Campus Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c23%2c3%2c-1&catpageindex=4&catpagesize=25&ProductID=28762
1982 Night photo of the Campus Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c23%2c3%2c-1&catpageindex=4&catpagesize=25&ProductID=28763