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Theaters
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July 29, 2008
Artcraft packs ‘em in with the classics
FRANKLIN, IN — The 86 year-old local institution, the Artcraft Theatre, manages to be successful with a slate of classic films and some old-fashioned service.
“If you talk to anybody who’s lived here for any period of time, they have memories from the Artcraft Theatre,” said Tricia Bechman, executive director of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce, who often can be glimpsed in the box office, selling old-fashioned roll tickets.
“It’s a throwback. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you feel like a kid again.”
In an age of corporate chains of multiplexes splashing the newest movies on screen every week, the Artcraft thrives by playing old movies — and brings out audiences in astonishing numbers. Several hundred people typically buy tickets on alternate weekends, paying $5 a head to see films that they could easily rent on DVD.
Read the full story at the Indianapolis Star.
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July 25, 2008
Uptown Theater to be auctioned
CHICAGO, IL — It has come to the attention of the Balaban and Katz Historical Foundation that the Uptown Theater building at 4816 North Broadway in Chicago will be auctioned publicly on July 29th at 10:30 am at the offices of the Judicial Sales Corporation. The address is 1 South Wacker Drive (24th floor) in Chicago.
The Judicial Sales Corporation has a website. The law firm involved in the case is Noonan and Lieberman LTD. located at 105 West Adams Street Chicago. The Balaban and Katz Historical Foundation’s website is here. Our email is The most recent interior pictures of the theater may be viewed at http://www.balabanandkatzmagazine.com.
(Thanks to chrisjuno for providing the photo.)
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July 24, 2008
Another new theater in the works in the Bronx
BRONX, NY — Here we go again…Monday’s NY Daily News reported that a 14 screen theater is planned for a mixed use development in “The HUB” shopping area on a vacant lot located at East 149th Street at Brook and Bergen Avenues.
The theater chain was not revealed, but I am hoping for somebody other then National Amusements or Regal. Nothing against either of those two chains. It would just be refreshing for another chain not in this area to open up. The developer is Related Properties who have also announced a theater for their Kingsbridge Armory development site on Jerome Avenue, just above Fordham Road.
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July 23, 2008
Dark Knight promotion at Orpheum
HILLSBORO, IL —Showmanship is alive and well at the Orpheum Theatre. This is the newspaper coverage of the Dark Knight promo which took place this past weekend.
The bat call could be seen lighting up the sky in downtown Hillsboro as the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, opened at midnight on Friday morning, July 18, at the Orpheum Theatre.
Theatre owner Jeff Eisentraut said the show was sold out for the midnight showing, as well as the regular show on Friday evening.
Movie patrons were delighted when both Batman and the Joker made an appearance prior to each of those two shows.
Read more in the Journal News.
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July 21, 2008
Port Theater’s rebirth in Corona del Mar
CORONA DEL MAR CA — The Port Theater was built in 1950 in a distinct 50’s style. It remained opened as a single screen theater until 1998 when a combination of newly built multiplexes nearby and a lack of public parking on a busy thoroughfare finally proved fatal.
The theater has remained closed for a decade and suffered both the threat of city approved demolition permits and a later proposed remodel for use as offices and shops. The present owner has surprisingly reversed his original plans for the remodel and has announced he will revive the theater.
An article about the Port Theater’s rebirth can be found at the OC Register.
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July 16, 2008
Overland Park success
BOISE, ID — This article raves about how the Overland Park Cinema is the best in Boise.
For a mere $4 you can get a bag of popcorn and a soda and sit down to enjoy a second-run, but first-class flick. Families can enjoy a real movie night-out for minor coin. Skip the popcorn, and a kid gets in for just $2. The theater also boasts $1 Tuesday movies and daily matinees.
The movie house, with its three cinemas, is practically hidden in the middle of the Overland Park Shopping Center. But plenty of nearby parking makes up for the lack of a huge marquee. Theater owners upgraded seating and sound in recent years.
Owner Mike Lehosit credits the theater’s success to low profit margins and a family orientation.
Read more in the Idaho Statesman.
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July 15, 2008
Circle Cinema turns 80
TULSA, OK — It has had its ups and downs but 80 years later, the Circle Cinema is still going strong.
Sitting on 12th and Lewis, Circle Cinema celebrates its 80th birthday today and the staff looks forward to renovating the theater for the future while also appreciating its history.
“We are the only remaining historic movie theater left in Tulsa – everything has become a parking lot,” said Stephanie LaFevers, executive director of Circle Cinema Foundation.
Circle Cinema opened its doors on July 15, 1928, and is in Tulsa’s first suburban shopping center, according to information compiled by Leigh Ann Zielger, executive director for the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture. The theater went through an evolution of showing serial films in the 1950s to even venturing into adult films in the late 1970s. But from the 1990s to early 2000s the theater sat nearly empty and vacant.Read the full story in the Journal Record.
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July 14, 2008
Downtown theater adjusts course
CONCORD, NH — The recently opened Red River Theatres is experiencing some growing pains as it figures out how to be successful in today’s marketplace.
Concord filmgoers want to see films that are edgy, local and touch on contemporary social issues. They are supportive of independent films but susceptible to market forces that keep independent films out of the spotlight in favor of commercial hits.
These are some of the lessons that the staff of Red River Theatres have learned since the nonprofit independent movie theater opened in October.
On Monday, the Concord City Council may consider a request by the theater for an $18,000 grant to cover the cost of its property taxes. But property taxes are one small portion of the expenses that the theater faces. In the eight months it has been open to the public, Interim Executive Director Connie Rosemont said, staff have been monitoring revenue and attendance, figuring out what expenses loom on the horizon, and working to adjust their business plan accordingly. The theater’s total annual operating budget is approximately $735,000.
Read the full story in the Concord Monitor.
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July 11, 2008
Metro Theatre status
NEW YORK, NY — In the New York Times, they discuss a possible sale of the Metro Theatre and where its ownership situation stands currently.
The Metro Theater, a landmark 1930s Art Deco movie theater on the Upper West Side, has been vacant for the last three years, a terra cotta question mark on Broadway between 99th and 100th Streets.
Three giant signs advertise that the building is for sale by Eastern Consolidated, but exactly what the future holds for the Metro is unclear. Like many other handsome structures in New York that have outlived their original purposes, the building awaits a new use.
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July 10, 2008
Rebuilt LI theaters carry hopes for economic revival
ISLIP, NY — Communities on Long Island are using reopened theaters to bring life back into their downtowns.
The lobby of the old Islip cinema is buzzing again.
Patrons buy tickets at the marble-fronted box office, tread up the carpeted stairs and take their seats – but this time it’s not for a movie.
After years of dormancy, the ‘40s-era Islip Theater has been reinvented as the Islip Pavilion, a performing arts center with concerts, comedy shows and community events. And local business owners are pinning their hopes on its success.
Read the full story in Newsday.