Screenland Armour

RobbKCity on October 27, 2007 at 8:24 am

The Kansas City Star reported on Oct. 27 that the historic Armour Theatre in N. Kansas City, Missouri will receive a tax abatement of $600,000 for renovation of the building—almost half the cost of the restoration.

The Star article reported:

“The North Kansas City Council this week approved a redevelopment plan for the Armour Theatre building.

The redevelopment agreement calls for building owner Butch Rigby to receive property tax abatements over a 10-year period to help pay for the restoration. To allow the issuance of those tax abatements, the council officially declared the building a blighted property."

Butch Rigby is a local theater operator of Screenland, and known for restoring the historic Granada Theater in Kansas City, Kansas, which is an atmospheric theater designed by the Boller Brothers, then a local firm.

The Star article also reported:

“'I believe very strongly in how beautiful this building is and how it will be an important part of this community,” Rigby told the council. “I want to make it something that you can be proud of again.'

Rigby operates the Screenland Crossroads Theatre at 17th and Washington streets, which used to be a frozen-food storage facility. He also runs the Screenland Granada in Kansas City, Kan.

Rigby purchased the Armour Theatre Building from the city for $600,000 in August. He plans a $1.4 million renovation that will restore the single-screen cinema, which stopped showing movies more than 20 years ago."

While the Granada Theater restoration was lauded by the local community, the theater struggles to find an audience.

The Armour Theatre was also known as various times as the Centre and Paradise Theater. It seated between 650 and 700 people. It was most recently used as a live performance theater for a country and western music show called the Northland Opry.

Kansas City Star article (link may go dead at some point)

http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/335241.html

Butchrigby on April 5, 2008 at 9:03 am

The new Marquee is up! The Theatre will reopen May 22, 2008 (Think: Indiana Jones!)

RobbKCity on April 30, 2008 at 6:41 am

The new marquee looks great. Can’t wait to see it lit up.

atmos on March 5, 2009 at 1:56 am

Theatre opened on 6 Sep 1928 with the film,“Warming Up”,starring Richard Dix and Jean Arthur.It reopened as the Centre Theatre on 25 Dec 1963 and was renamed the Paradise in 1984.

rivest266 on May 12, 2018 at 1:34 pm

This reopened as Centre on December 25th, 1963 and reopened as Paradise on March 16th, 1984. Ads in the photo section.