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Theaters
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February 1, 2010
Marcus to build new cinema in downtown Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE, WI — The Marcus Corporation has announced its intent to build a new theater in central Milwaukee, near East Knapp and North Water streets.
The theater will have multiple screens, food and beverage operation, and an office building with parking.
“I would be very, very excited to have a downtown movie theater to have more development east of the river or west of the river for that matter. The Marcus Corporation is a great corporation, they obviously know how to run movie theaters they know how to run other businesses. It would be a great addition a welcome addition to our downtown nightlife,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said.
The announcement is here.
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January 29, 2010
Even as non-profit, Plaza in Atlanta fighting to survive
ATLANTA GA — For over seventy years, the Plaza Theatre’s projectors have churned away. But the going’s getting very tough for the venerable movie house, now owned and operated by Gayle and Johnny Rej who bought it from George Lefont in 2006. They have had some success with special movie events, but the future of the theater is cloudy at best.
Even under new ownership, it has been a long time since the small two screen theater has turned a profit, and because of that Gayle and Johnny Rej had to convert it into a non-profit organization.
“Basically the theatre won’t survive as a for profit business because the overhead is just so expensive and there’s really not enough revenue coming in.”
There is more at WPBA.
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January 28, 2010
Firefighters save historic Hemet Theater
HEMET, CA — The eighty-nine-year-old Hemet Theater, a single-screen survivor, dodged the bullet again as fire destroyed several immediately adjacent businesses on January 20.
The theater has suffered financially for years and was recently put up for sale, Bernal said. Though the fire caused no significant damage, the theater will be closed temporarily.
At 8 p.m., however, with fire crews still at the scene, there was a sign of hope: The theater marquee remained lit up, displaying its current movie — “The Princess and the Frog.”
Read more in the Press Enterprise.
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January 27, 2010
Renovation consultants to examine Miller Theater in Augusta
AUGUSTA, GA — The Augusta Symphony Orchestra, the current owner of Augusta’s Miller Theater, has hired consultants to advise on the renovations needed to convert the former movie house into a performing arts center. The theater has been closed since 1983. Among the issues that will need to be addressed are acoustics, stage depth, ADA requirements and other issues of concern to prime potential arts group users of the facility.
On the experts list of issues is seating, which they believe will decrease from the auditoriums original 1800 to approximately 1200 for reasons of comfort and acoustics, meeting Americans with Disabilities Act regulations, sound and the stage. Long said the stage, which is approximately 20 feet deep, would have to be addressed.
Because the Miller was built as a movie theater, it was designed acoustically contrary to the needs of a symphony Holden said. The remnants of acoustic baffling that still cling to the theater walls testify to that.
Read more in the Chronicle.
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Orpheum returning to a single screen layout
MADISON, WI — A wall that was erected in the 1960s to create a separate theater out of the stage area of the Orpheum is going to be removed so the theater can be used for larger stage productions. Movies are still shown in this 1927 Rapp & Rapp house which is also used for live entertainment.
he wall hampers live performances in both spaces because of loss of capacity, sightline problems and increased production costs.
“Broadway-style productions, dance recitals, ballets or operas even – those type of things we’d like to focus more on in the future,” Doane said. “This business is event-driven, and we need to do as many things as we can to keep it afloat. The more variety of things we can do the better the bottom line is going to be in the long run.”
There is more in this story on Madison.com.
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January 25, 2010
Preservationists hoping to win landmark status for Pasadena’s Washington Theater
PASADENA, CA — They did not succeed in saving the more elegant Raymond Theater but Pasadena preservationists are now seeking landmark designation for the 1924 Washington Theater that ended its movie exhibition days as the Cinema 21. The building has been vacant for several years, having suffered earthquake damage in 1994. The city council may consider the landmarking petition next month.
Now, Pasadena Heritage and the Pasadena Neighborhood Coalition are banking that their nomination of the property for listing as a city historic landmark will help promote its long-term survival.
It has been declared eligible by city staff, and the City Council is expected to consider its listing next month, said Vicrim Chima of Pasadena’s planning department.
The property is tied in with the city’s earliest commercial history, Mossman said, and its place in a prominent corner of an emerging shopping and retail center in the 1920s is enough to support its historic designation.
There is more in the Pasadena Star News.
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January 22, 2010
Longest continuously operating entertainment venue in Kansas getting facelift
PHILLSBURG, KS — The Majestic Community Theatre in is listed as the longest continuous operating entertainment venue in Kansas. This theatre was opened in 1905 as the Phillipsburg Opera House. Then in 1925, owner Ralph Winship hired the Boller Brother architects to renovate the main floor which at the time housed a furniture store. Since then, this theater has been in operation.
In 2000, when the previous owners were planning on closing the doors. Phillipsburg community members rallied together. They purchased the equipment and bought this magnificent historic building for $1.00. It has been operated by community volunteers every since.
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January 19, 2010
Kenwood Place movie theater in works
CINCINNATTI, OH — The Theatre Management group, operator of the Esquire and the Mariemont theatres, are planning a new theater at Kenwood Place.
The theater would occupy 28,000 square feet in Kenwood Place, said Gary Goldman, president of Theatre Management Group in Cincinnati. The company manages the Esquire and Mariemont theaters for the investor groups that own them.
The space is being vacated by Henredon Furniture, said John Silverman, managing principal for Midland Atlantic Development Co., which owns the center. The project received approval from Sycamore Township’s planning commission on Monday, he said.
Read more in the Business Courier.
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January 18, 2010
Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ added to National Register of Historic Places
RED BANK, NJ — The Count Basie Theatre is pleased to announce that on December 24, 2009 the Director of the National Park Service announced the addition of the Count Basie Theatre to the National Register of Historic Places.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources. A treasure trove for professional historians, scholars, and anyone curious about American history, the National Register of Historic Places lists more than 80,000 properties.
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Future for the Loew’s Canal?
NEW YORK, NY — The long dormant Loew’s Canal Theatre could have a new life as a local performing arts center.
Hidden deep behind a shuttered electronics shop on Canal Street is what an Asian-American arts group hopes will become the Lincoln Center of Chinatown — a massive 2,300-seat theater that’s been sealed off for three decades.
The former Loews Canal theater at the corner of Ludlow Street is a sleeping giant of a performance space that has been the target of a six-year-long effort to create a new cultural center in a neighborhood that has struggled to recover from 9/11.
But for the first time the project may have the backing of the building’s owners, local banker Thomas Sung and his family, who late last month agreed to launch feasibility studies for the arts project.
Read the full story in the New York Post.