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Hi-Pointe looking for new management
posted by
Michael Zoldessy
on
April 28, 2008 at 7:55 am
ST. LOUIS, MO — Landmark Theatres is not renewing their lease on the Hi-Pointe Theatre, thus leaving the single-screen owners in search of a new company to run the theatre.
“Gone fishin'. See you soon,” says the marquee of the otherwise-empty Hi-Pointe Theatre.
But just how long the one-screen theater at 1005 McCausland Ave. stays dark is anybody’s guess.
Landmark Chief Executive Officer Ted Mundorff said the company decided not to renew its lease with building owners George W. and Georgia L. James because of a national trend against one-screen theaters.
Read more in the West County Journal.
(Thanks to Arbitrary.Marks for providing the photo.)
Comments (5)
Disappointing news. The Hi-Pointe has been one of the unsung heroes of the indie/arthouse scene in St. Louis since the 1970’s. Hopefully it’ll get snagged up soon.
Most likely this will not be the last theatre Landmark Theatres will drop from their chain. They dropped the twin screened NuWilshire Theatre in Santa Monica and the single screen Rialto Theatre in South Pasadena in California last year. But they still operate the single screen NuArt Theatre in West Los Angeles.
In fairness to Landmark, they did not drop the NuWilshire – they were evicted by the landlord who wanted the space for retail development.
Don’t forget the Cove Theatre also, though that was a few years ago, January 2003 to be specific.
I think the problem here is that Landmark gave up on the bookings at the Hi-Pointe. The past two years of films there have been awful. Films were held too long and were often moved over from the Tivoli, less than two miles away. What sense does that make?
I hear the new management is quickly working to establish booking. The owner of the theatre is very supportive of the theatre, so I look for the next years to be much better than those of Landmark.