One glitch with the historical report; the Hahns operated until 1979, not 1997. The Palace was at that time the Reynolds' first moviehouse purchase, and he would go on buy other smaller-market houses, and to feature day-of-release showings.
The Palace was both repaired/reopened following the 2010 tornado and recently converted to digital projection with a great deal of community support. However, the Reynolds have been withdrawing from the industry, and have been challenged in continuing to operate at a profit while servicing remaining debt from the repairs and digital updating. They have accordingly listed the Palace for sale (as well as the Garden in Canton).
It is a tremendous challenge to operate a small-town single-screen moviehouse in 2015, particularly as the major studios ratchet up terms of pricing and audience size. I recall predictions from a few years ago that the conversion to digital would ease movie availabilities and costs, with the need for producing, transporting and handling film prints eliminated, but sadly this seems not the case. The studios seem to be more out for the almighty dollar than ever.
We recently had a presentation by a manager at the Chillicothe 2-screener, which a civic group purchased from Reynolds a few years ago and operates on a not-for-profit basis to benefit youth organizations, as we in Elmwood assess the future for the Palace. He detailed the aforementioned challenges.
Obviously the Garden did not make the conversion to digital prior to closing this year, as implied by this report. It is for sale, and one could likely get a really good deal on it. I saw a film there last year, and the audio was awful. I don’t quite understand how Fulton County and its largest town cannot support a quality moviehouse.
One glitch with the historical report; the Hahns operated until 1979, not 1997. The Palace was at that time the Reynolds' first moviehouse purchase, and he would go on buy other smaller-market houses, and to feature day-of-release showings.
The Palace was both repaired/reopened following the 2010 tornado and recently converted to digital projection with a great deal of community support. However, the Reynolds have been withdrawing from the industry, and have been challenged in continuing to operate at a profit while servicing remaining debt from the repairs and digital updating. They have accordingly listed the Palace for sale (as well as the Garden in Canton).
It is a tremendous challenge to operate a small-town single-screen moviehouse in 2015, particularly as the major studios ratchet up terms of pricing and audience size. I recall predictions from a few years ago that the conversion to digital would ease movie availabilities and costs, with the need for producing, transporting and handling film prints eliminated, but sadly this seems not the case. The studios seem to be more out for the almighty dollar than ever.
We recently had a presentation by a manager at the Chillicothe 2-screener, which a civic group purchased from Reynolds a few years ago and operates on a not-for-profit basis to benefit youth organizations, as we in Elmwood assess the future for the Palace. He detailed the aforementioned challenges.
Obviously the Garden did not make the conversion to digital prior to closing this year, as implied by this report. It is for sale, and one could likely get a really good deal on it. I saw a film there last year, and the audio was awful. I don’t quite understand how Fulton County and its largest town cannot support a quality moviehouse.