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The latest movie theater news and updates
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June 10, 2008
Question for the experts
Can you help?
Theatre Historical Society frequently get these kinds of questions, and we know the answers at this point are largely anecdotal. So, here goes….
We’d like to build a database of theaters across the country that are privately owned by the same family who built them and are currently operational!
Please with:
The name of oldest theater you know of (theater’s official name)
The year it opened
The family who owns/operates it
A website if they have one1 comment -
Eastland Lyric photo
We are trying to refurbish the Lyric Theatre in Eastland, TX and while the State of TX will help, they require a photograph of the original outside of the building.
If anyone knows how I might find such a photograph – by snail mail or email – please let me know.
It is very important to our town to get this done to preserve an important part of our history.Thanks,
Martha Elliott
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First films in over 40 years in Flatonia
FLATONIA, TX — The Flatonia Chamber of Commerce & the Lyric Theater are proud to present “Movie On Main” an outdoor summer movie series beginning on Saturday, June 14th, and then every Friday thereafter. So bring your blankets and lawn chairs and meet us in the empty lot next door to the Lyric, come early for a good spot! Concessions will be sold under the marquee, admission is FREE. This will be the first time in almost 40 years there has been movies shown here in Flatonia. Rumor has it the last show at the Lyric was “Gone With The Wind” back in 1964.
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Organ looking for home
My family is trying to donate this organ. Any idea of who might be able to use it?
Thanks,
Chris -
June 9, 2008
King Kong, Planet of the Apes, Mighty Joe Young at the Loew’s Jersey Theater
JERSEY CITY, NJ — Go Ape.
June 13 & 14 at the landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre
54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ 07306 Tel. (201) 798-6055 Web: www.loewsjersey.orgA Not-For-Profit Arts Center In A Landmark Movie Palace
Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the original King Kong. And remembering Charlton Heston on the 40th Anniversary of the original Planet of the Apes.
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Novato future in doubt
NOVATO, CA — The Novato Theatre has a party interested in reviving it but could it possibly be successful. This article discusses the current situation of this and other Northern California theaters.
Will Tallen and Keshen hand over the theater’s operations to a nonprofit organization, such as the one that runs the Rafael Theater in San Rafael?
Would Tallen and Keshen install tables and sell beer, wine and food so that moviegoers could have drinks and dinner?
How can Tallen and Keshen make a profit after buying the theater from the city and completing needed renovations, such as making the old building comply with Americans with Disabilities Act?
Read the full article in the Novato Advance.
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Pantages restoration
VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA — Check out the official website of the Pantages Theatre to see what’s going on with the exciting restoration.
This extraordinary structure, built as a vaudeville house in 1907 and opened on 6 January 1908, enjoys the finest acoustics of any theatre in British Columbia. Closed since 1990, it is now the subject of a major restoration project headed by developer Marc Williams and the non-profit Pantages Theatre Arts Society.
This restoration will recreate the look and ambience of a century-old treasure. It will offer the most modern technologies available in light and sound, in broadcasting and webcasting, in lobbies and galleries, and in multi-use purposes—all within a unique and meticulously restored house, in Canada’s poorest, but culturally richest neighbourhood.
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June 6, 2008
Drive-in theaters celebrate 75th anniversary
First drive-in theatre opens in Camden NJ on June 6, 1933.
The concept was developed by Richard Hollingshead Jr., who experimented with various projection and sound techniques in the driveway of his house. Using a 1928 Kodak projector mounted on the hood of his car and aimed at a screen pinned to some trees, Hollingshead worked out the spacing logistics to make sure that all cars had an unobstructed view of the screen.
He received a patent for his idea in May 1933 and opened his first drive-in theater only three weeks later. They quickly fanned out across the country.
More at Wired.
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Garden Theatre announces summer film schedule
WINTER GARDEN, FL — The newly renovated and reopened Garden Theatre, 160 W. Plant Street, is presenting a summer movie series, from June 6 through September 7.
Each week will feature a different genre of films. The showings are at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $5.00 for all ages. For the complete schedule and more information, see the theatre website. And while you’re there, check out the 2008-09 live performance schedule.
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A Summer Senator
BALTIMORE, MD — This week at Blogcritics, praise is given to the historic Senator Theatre.
This 69-year old movie theater is one of the last bastions of motion picture elegance, especially in this neck of the woods. This is no generic multiplex, but a true movie house. Its single screen is sized just short of a football field, and shows the pictures larger than life, which is how movies are meant to be seen, if you ask me.
The lobby is small and round, holding onto its faded elegance with due dignity. Past the concession stand lies the screening room: tall, wide, and comfortable. It’s as though you’ve come to sit in the great hall of a king’s palace. You would never expect it from the street, but when you take your choice of the 900 seats, it feels special.
What makes the Senator great, though, is not just the building. Buildings fade and crumble, after all. No, what makes the Senator great, what makes it an experience, is its character.