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Theaters
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November 1, 2002
Riviera Theatre Up For Sale
CHICAGO, IL — According to an email sent by the Friends of the Uptown, the historic Riviera Theatre went up for sale on Wednesday for $4.5 million — a figure which includes the attached commericial space. G.B. Property Management is handling the sale of the 1918 former Balaban & Katz movie house.
According to the Friends, the 2,500-seat Riviera was the second B&K “presentation house”, after the Central Park, and was built by Rapp & Rapp, who would continue a long and fruitful relationship with Balaban and Katz.
After closing in the early 1980s, it first became a nightclub, and by the end of the decade, transformed into one of Chicago’s most popular concert venues. It continued to host concerts into 2002.
(Thanks to the Friends of the Uptown for the news.)
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Wagner Installs New Michigan Theater Marquee
ANN ARBOR, MI — The Wagner Electric Sign Company has just installed a new vertical sign on the Michigan Theater.
According to Gary Flinn, the Michigan removed the original and much larger vertical sign in 1956. Flinn also reports that the lighting of the new sign is scheduled for tonight.
For more information or to see another terrific job from Wagner, visit their Michigan Theater project page.
(Thanks to Paul Drury for the update!)
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October 30, 2002
Salinas' Crystal Theater To Be Razed Today
SALINAS, CA — The old Crystal Theater will be demolished today, along with three other surrounding buildings, to make way for a new 14-screen, 2,916-seat Maya Cinemas megaplex. According to the Californian, a ceremony will be held today at 4 p.m. at Monterey and Market streets.
Tom Delay dates the Crystal to 1916 when it was originally known as Brown’s Opera House. It was briefly renamed the T & D Theatre when it became part of the T & D circuit, before that moniker was given as the original name of the current Fox California Theatre.
The 86-year-old movie house has been known as the Crystal ever since 1921. It closed in 1972 with Gary Parks noting its last uses as a Spanish-language movie house and boxing venue.
Parks, commenting on Cinema Treasures on June 15, 2002 about the redevelopment project, noted that despite the demolition:
The Crystal’s facade, vertical sign and marquee are shown in the rendering [of the new megaplex] as being preserved.
The rest of the complex will be in a sort of Mediterranean motif. Aside from preservation considerations, the Crystal’s facade and signage are being kept because they are grandfathered-in under the sign ordinance of Downtown Salinas, which no longer allows any new overhanging signage. This way, the new theatre will have both a monumental sign and eye-catching marquee.
No official word yet on whether this is confirmed.
(Thanks to Charles Parker for the update.)
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Odeon Newcastle Closure Date Now Official
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, ENGLAND — November 26, 2002 will be the final day of the 71-year-old Odeon, according to The Journal.
The now four-screen theater, which has a historic link with the James Bond series, will host a gala charity event and screening of the new Bond film, “Die Another Day” on November 19th — just one week before its final end. (Tickets are still available for 7.50.)
According to the Journal, “The charity premiere of the latest Bond film which stars Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry, is in aid of the Cinema & Television Benevolent Fund.” Peter Talbot, who has served as the general manager of the Odeon Newcastle since 1976, is on the board of the Fund.
The closing of the old theater on November 26th will take place one day before the grand opening of a new 12-screen Odeon cinema in Newcastle named The Gate.
According to Ian Grundy, the Odeon Newcastle originally opened on September 7, 1931 as the Paramount and was built by the US-based theater circuit. It bears a strong aesthetic similarity to the Paramount in Aurora, IL.
In 1939, Paramount sold the Newcastle palace, along with the rest of its UK theaters, to Odeon Cinemas. In the 1970s, the theater was converted to a triplex and then in 1980, a fourth screen was converted out of the former stage area.
Grundy writes, “In 1999, the Odeon was grade 2 listed with English Hertitage stating ‘[It is] the best surviving Paramount cinema in Britain, with well composed facade and rich interior with Lalique glass fittings.’
The future of the theater is now uncertain.
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October 29, 2002
Keith’s Theatre In Flushing Sold After 16 Years Of Waiting
FLUSHING, NY — Here’s a name from the past: the Keith’s Theatre, in Flushing, whose sad tale is legendary by now. After closing in 1986 as a tarnished, but still beautiful triplex, the Keith’s was purchased by Thomas Huang who subsequently demolished landmarked sections of the building.
The city of Flushing evoked his permits after discovering the violation, but the damage had been done.
According to the Daily News, Huang plead guilty in 1999 to two felony counts of “endangering the public health, safety and environment and presenting a false instrument for filing in connection with the old theater.”
The Daily News is now reporting that a new, unnamed developer has purchased the gutted and dilapidated theater from Huang. The sale is expected to close by November 12th and the new “community-minded developer” is expected to develop the site for commercial and residential use.
The Northern Blvd. landmark opened in 1927 as a 3,000-seat movie palace. It was one of the grandest theaters built in all of the New York city area and its loss is still fresh among outraged preservationists.
We’ll keep you posted…
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October 28, 2002
Three Theaters Come Back To Life
HAYS, KS — The historic Fox Theatre has been temporarily reopened by Dickinson Theatres to take advantage of the busy holiday season at the box office. According to the Hays Daily News, the twinned movie house is still up for sale and listed for $325,000.
The Fox Theatre is one of the few movie houses left in the country with its original “crying room,” an 8-seater with reinforced glass to block out noise. The Fox originally opened in 1950 as a 1000-seat single screen theater.
GREENWOOD, OH — Clark Kimbrell, the owner of the Cinema Four Theater in Cleveland, will reopen Greenwood’s only movie house, the Cinema Three, by mid-November, according to the Greenwood Commonwealth.
Located in the Highland Park Shopping Center, Kimbrell plans to rename the triplex the “Joy Theater” after his grandfather’s first movie house.
The Greenwood theater originally opened in 1977 as a twin. A third screen was added a few years later. It closed last month when the Regal Entertainment Group decided not to renew its lease.
TACOMA, WA — One of three Tacoma theaters closed by Loews Cineplex during the past year is reopening (again) thanks to Galaxy Theatres. According to The News Tribune, the former 6-screen Tacoma Central was taken over in February by Entertainment Film Works, but ceased operations again in August.
The LA-based Galaxy Theatres, which plans to rename the multiplex venue, the “Galaxy 6 Tacoma Central”, will reopen the theater in early November. Galaxy hopes to get better bookings given its “excellent” relationships with distributors at the major studios.
In addition to the Tacoma Central, Loews Cineplex also closed the Tacoma Mall Twin Theatre and Tacoma South Cinemas in July 2002.
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October 25, 2002
New Theaters: Brooklyn, San Juan, Hamilton, Etc
We’ve just added over 30 new theaters including a large group of Brooklyn, NY movie houses thanks to Philip Goldberg, as well as a number of new listings from San Juan, Puerto Rico, courtesy of Jose Mendez.
Chad Irish has also added a number of new Hamilton, Ontario cinemas with Bryan Krefft rounding out the list with theaters from Hollywood, Florida and Dearborn, Michigan.
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October 24, 2002
Olympia Theater Reopens After Renovation
MIAMI, FL — The Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts reopened on Tuesday night following an extensive $2.1 million renovation, according to the Miami Herald. Images of the restoration of the theater’s gorgeous atmospheric interior are available at the Herald website.
The Olympia was originally constructed by the godfather of atmospheric theaters, John Eberson, and opened in 1926 for the Paramount theater circuit.
Visit the Gusman Center website
(Thanks to Dennis Huber for the update.)
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October 21, 2002
DuPage Theater Agreement Reached
LOMBARD, IL — Lombard officials and concerned residents have reached an accord which should help save the DuPage Theater while not taxing local residents. According to the Daily Herald, $3 million of state and local funds will be used to help resurrect the former movie palace, while the remaining $6.3 million will need to be raised by a new not-for-profit group.
This plan was approved last week by a 4-2 margin and should allay local concerns that the DuPage Theater project would increase property taxes. The city was able to raise the additional money by selling a parcel of land it owns which sits adjacent to the theater.
(Thanks to Bryan Krefft for the update.)
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Odeon Cinema In Nottingham Goes “Clubbing”
NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND — Springwood Leisure, which operates the Zanzibar nightclub chain around England, has finally been given approval to convert the Odeon Cinema into a 2,000-capacity venue. According to the Nottingham Evening Post, the ruling comes after a 19-month battle to gain a license to operate inside the old movie palace.
Renovations will begin shortly with the latest Zanzibar scheduled to open next year.