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The latest movie theater news and updates
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December 7, 2009
Former Takoma Park theater lost to fire
TAKOMA PARK, MD — The former Allen Theater was lost in an early morning fire on December 5. The building had become a furniture store.
The fire on New Hampshire Avenue near East-West Highway was reported just before 2:30 this morning, and went to three alarms before crews got it under control three hours later.
About 120 firefighters from Montgomery and Prince George’s counties responded to the scene.
The cause of the fire is still being determined.
The full story is at WTOP.
1 comment -
Theater rental in Brooklyn, NY
Does anybody know of a theater in or near Brooklyn that can rent a small space for a private screening? I’ve reached out to Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill Cinemas, but neither can quite do what I’m asking (or haven’t responded).
Email me if anybody has any suggestions. The closer to Brooklyn Heights the better.
holtzab1 at hotmail dot com.
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Steamboat Springs' Chief Plaza Theater for sale
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO — The four-screen Chief Plaza is for sale. Opened since at least 1970, it was originally a single screen theater called the Village and converted to a quad in 1989. The property also includes two storefronts. The agent handling the sale hopes that the new owner will convert the property to a mixed-use venue.
he building includes the movie theater and two retail stores: Summit Shades and Blossom, which sells women’s clothing and gift items. The two stores total 1,480 square feet, and the movie theater is 5,520 square feet, Sanders said. He added that Barry has owned Chief Plaza Theater since 1970 and converted it to a four-theater format in 1989.
Sanders, formerly of Ski Town Lifestyle Properties and Green Courte Partners, said last week that he has just begun his own firm and will place Chief Plaza on the Multiple Listing Service soon, once all the final requirements for Ski Town Commercial Real Estate are completed.
Read more in the Steamboat Pilot.
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December 4, 2009
Historic Movie Houses / Movies made on Staten Island - mini-course at Snug Harbor, S.I.
STATEN ISLAND, NY — History of Staten Island Mini-Course with History Curator Patricia Salmon.
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 —– Historic Movie Houses/Movies Made on Staten Island (Registration required)
Program begins on 02/02/2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the History Archives & Library of the Staten Island Museum, Building H, Snug Harbor Cultural Center Campus, 1000 Richmond Terrace.
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Grand holiday show & traditional free evening!
EAST GREENVILLE, PA — The Grand’s 5th Annual Christmas Tradition Show starts Friday, December 11th. This year our feature is the 1934 classic “Babes in Toyland” starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy presented in its original Black and White!
Our 1923 Marr and Colton Theater organ will be played by our house organist, Mr. Carl Black with Christmas music for thirty minutes prior to each showtime. The 2 manual, 6 rank organ will feature the organ’s latest addition: a rank of extremely rare tuned sleigh bells!
We are also continuing a long-lost tradition of local single-screen movie houses – a free admission night to thank all of our customers for their patronage during the past year. Our Free Night is Wednesday, December 16th at 7PM. Seats are on a first come basis. A canned food item benefiting The Open Line is encouraged.
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Former Maryland chief movie censor and theater owner passes
BALTIMORE, MD — During her life spanning over ninety years, Rosalyn Shecter co-owned with her husband a number of Baltimore area theaters, including the still-operating Charles, the former Roxy, and the demolished Roslyn, named in her honor. In the 1960s, she had the power to order cuts made to films before they could be exhibited in the Old Line State; she later softened her stance and supported the film rating system.
Born Rosalyn Margareten in New York City, she was granddaughter of the woman who founded the Horowitz-Margareten matzo and kosher foods business. She attended Hunter College and later studied sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
She met her future husband, Baltimore advertising executive Lois E. Shecter, in Miami Beach. They married in 1939.
Her husband bought several Baltimore theaters during this period, including the Charles, then called The Times because it showed newsreels on a continuous basis. She joined him in the operation of his other theaters – the Rex in Govans, the Roxy in East Baltimore and one he named for her, the Rosalyn, on Howard Street. It was torn down for an expansion of Maryland General Hospital many years ago.
Read more in the Baltimore Sun.
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Few community theaters left operating in Maine, New Hampshire
PORTSMOUTH, NH — The closing of the Strand in Dover, NH is sadly only the latest in a long series of community theater closing that have left the seacoast towns of Maine and New Hampshire with almost none of their original theaters still showing films. A recent article by Gina Carbone details the losses over the years, the struggle of the survivors to keep going, and the value of community cinemas.
“What is their future? I doubt they have one,” Detzler said. “Most every independent operator I know of is either closed, planning to close, or planning to redevelop. I cannot name names but the list of closed theaters in New Hampshire will continue to grow. … The fast pace of technological change, the business environment and customer expectations are too much for small operators to keep up with.”
Even so, as some local theaters fall, others are holding on or even being born — operating as nonprofits, diversifying programming beyond just films, or turning to the technology that’s killing others and trying to make it work for them.
Read more in Seacoast Online.
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December 3, 2009
Village Theater in Coronado will renovated, reopen as triplex
CORONADO, CA — Closed since 2000, it looks like the renovation of the Village will finally begin around April of 2010. Original announcements indicated that the work would be completed in 2009, but now grant financing has been secured, an architect engaged, and an operator has signed on to run the theater once the upgrades are completed.
An agreement between the city and Los Angeles-based Five Star Theatres guarantees the 9,000-square-foot movie house will be reopened in one year. In return for a Community Development Agency grant of nearly $2.7 million, Five Star Theatres has agreed to renovate and run the theater until 2026.
The Village Theater’s quaint facade, including the original ticket booth, the tall blade “Village” sign and terrazzo, will remain largely intact, but the main auditorium will be revamped by noted theater designer Joseph Musil into a three-screen cinema.
“Regrettably, we have to carve it up,” Five Star owner Lance Alspaugh said. “I’m not happy about it, but it was the only way anyone could have done it. The good news is we’ve retained a designer that is very impressive.”
Read more in Signon San Diego.
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Screenvision announces new Long-Term agreement with Bow Tie Cinemas
Bowtie Cinemas up until recently proudly proclaimed “No Commercials” in all their advertising. This had been the best thing about Bowtie Cinemas, but now it appears they have struck a deal with Screenvision to bring pre-show entertainment and advertisements to there cinemas. Hopefully they will use this new revenue stream to update their complexes.
As part of the agreement, Screenvision holds exclusive screen advertising sales representation rights for Bow Tie’s early and late preshows. The deal also provides Screenvision with the rights to sell in-lobby screens and promotions. Bow Tie Cinemas has a large stake in screens across top markets nationwide, with 67 percent in the top 20 DMAs, including New York, Denver and Baltimore.
“The top notch quality and compelling content within Screenvision’s digital preshow, along with their reputation as leaders in technology and service within the cinema advertising community, have made Screenvision a natural partner for Bow Tie,” said Joseph Masher, CEO of Bow Tie Cinemas. “We anticipate that this new deal and the digitizing of our screens will lead to a more rewarding, entertaining, and high quality experience for all our moviegoers.”
Now a question, has anyone’s movie going experience been made rewarding or more entertaining due to ads shown on screens?
Read the full story at Box Office.
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Cinema seats for sale (or donation)
TACOMA, WA — The non-profit Grand Cinema in Tacoma, WA is upgrading their seats, which means there are almost 300 older seats that need to find a new home. This is your opportunity to adopt seats! The non-profit Grand is accepting donations for seats, whether you want a single seat or all 300. The seats are in good working condition and need a home. Consider them for home or business use, or just as a piece of Grand history. Seats are available on a first come, first serve basis.
Seats may be picked up early January 2010 but we are taking requests for the seats now. Call 253-572-6062 for more information.
http://www.grandcinema.com/page.php?id=117 (includes seat photos)