I don’t agree with the characterization of the Skyway as some sort of grindhouse. It was not. It was a First Run theater that showed all the standard Hollywood product, including the Blockbuster hits. They had lines around the block during the Nineties for hit films. They also showed art house fare and cult items. It was not a sleaze-house and did not book second run films or double features at all. It was popular with all kinds of people. It definitely had character (and characters!), but it was not “poorly run, filthy and dangerous” by any means. And the Boyz N'the Hood anecdote is a local racist Urban Legend. No such incident took place at the Skyway.
The original Skyway 1 auditorium (sadly, minus its balcony) was one of the best screening rooms in the city.
In response to tjo, there are surely MORE than 60 family-owned business in that neighborhood and it remains one of the busiest intersections in the state.
I think you’ve overstated the role of Porn King Ferris Alexander in the life of the city. He occupied depressed, low-rent areas. He did NOT cause the economic depression at Lake-Nicollet or Lake-BLoomington and at Fourth Street. He may have been an opportunist, but he was only a business man. He did not drag these neighborhoods down. They were already “down”.
I don’t agree with the characterization of the Skyway as some sort of grindhouse. It was not. It was a First Run theater that showed all the standard Hollywood product, including the Blockbuster hits. They had lines around the block during the Nineties for hit films. They also showed art house fare and cult items. It was not a sleaze-house and did not book second run films or double features at all. It was popular with all kinds of people. It definitely had character (and characters!), but it was not “poorly run, filthy and dangerous” by any means. And the Boyz N'the Hood anecdote is a local racist Urban Legend. No such incident took place at the Skyway.
The original Skyway 1 auditorium (sadly, minus its balcony) was one of the best screening rooms in the city.
In response to tjo, there are surely MORE than 60 family-owned business in that neighborhood and it remains one of the busiest intersections in the state.
I think you’ve overstated the role of Porn King Ferris Alexander in the life of the city. He occupied depressed, low-rent areas. He did NOT cause the economic depression at Lake-Nicollet or Lake-BLoomington and at Fourth Street. He may have been an opportunist, but he was only a business man. He did not drag these neighborhoods down. They were already “down”.