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Closings
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August 22, 2007
National Amusements to close two theaters in the Flint, MI area
FLINT, MI — The National Amusements theater chain has announced they will close two of their multiplexes in the Flint market. The Showcase Cinemas Flint East in Burton will close on September 3 after the last show. The Cinema 10 in Flint Township will also close, but the closing date has not yet been announced.
This will leave National Amusements with three locations in the area: the Showcase Cinemas Flint West, the Courtland Cinemas and the Miracle Twin Drive-in Theatre. The Miracle Twin will close for the season on September 3 and plan to reopen the drive-in (one of two National Amusements still operate) for the 2008 season.
National Amusements stated the Showcase East will close because “operation is no longer financially viable.” The theater chain also faced additional competition with the opening of the NCG Trillum Cinemas in Grand Blanc.
For additional info, see the news story in The Flint Journal.
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August 10, 2007
Rialto Theatre to close August 20th
SOUTH PASADENA, CA — Rumors are swirling that Landmark Theatres will close the venerable Rialto Theatre in the near future, no date given.
As reported at Metro Blogging L.A.
UPDATE 8/10: It looks like it’s official. The Rialto will close on August 20th. The future of the building is still up in the air but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be torn down.
Read more in the Pasadena Star News and the Los Angeles Times.
(Thanks to jilldoughtie for providing the photo.)
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June 16, 2007
Varsity Theater to close
HONOLULU, HI — It was announced on June 15, 2007 that the Varsity Theater in Honolulu would close in two days.
The Varsity opened in 1939. In recent years it was known for showing art house and foreign films.
The building had original Art Moderne/Art Deco designs.
Here’s a link to an article on the closing in the Honolulu Advertiser.
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May 14, 2007
Captiol Theater to close
WHEELING, WV —. The great Capitol Theatre is scheduled to close and can be yours for $850,000.
Nearly 80 years after opening its brass-trimmed doors, the Capitol Music Hall — West Virginia’s largest, most famous and arguably most beautiful theater — is for sale and on the verge of closing.
A brief reprieve brokered by Gov. Joe Manchin III and Wheeling Mayor Nicholas Sparachane is expected to keep the historic hall open long enough for the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra to hold the final concert of its Masterworks series May 18.
Here’s the rest of the story on the closure from the Post Gazette.
Here’s more more history on the theater.
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April 2, 2007
Village Art Theatre closes
CHICAGO, IL — “Thats all folks, Theater Closed”
That’s what the marquee read on the Village Art Theatre. And so closes one of Chicagoland’s oldest surviving cinemas. It began operation in 1916 as the Germania, later changing its name to the Parkside. It was also known as the Gold Coast, the Globe and most recently alternated between being called Village and Village Art. Up until the 1990s, it remained a single screen and was well known for showing off-beat fare, second run fare, and midnight movies. In the 1990s, it was carved up into 4 screens, perhaps to better compete with the nearby Piper’s Alley, and losing much of its character in the process.
In the late 1990s, Village Entertainment incorporated and started taking over other cinemas, beginning with the Village North, then many theatres which were a part of the ill-fated Meridian chain, and most recently the Lincoln Village and the North Riverside. Village’s finances and business practices were questionable, however, and no sooner would Village Entertainment take over a place, it would close several others. Since 2006, Village Entertainment closed the Golf Glen, the Pemberton, the Lakehurst, the Belvedere and a few others.
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March 22, 2007
Mission 4 Drive-In closed
SAN ANTONIO, TX — A sad day has arrived in San Antonio. Santinkos Theatres announced today that the Mission Drive-In will not open for the ‘07 season and that things are up in the air in regards to the future of the theatre due to some events this past winter.
Back in January while the theatre was closed for the winter, some vandals broke into the concession stand and destroyed all of the equipment including all four projectors and its fm sound system with damages over $500,000.
Santikos has pulled the Mission from its website and they did say that they would re-evaluate its value this winter or in the spring of ‘08. But from what I can see, the only thing that will be on at the Mission next spring are bulldozers cause Santikos Theatres did say that the property was not really making money.
It truly is a sad day as the Mission was the last remaining drive-in in the San Antonio area.
For more info on this story, go to the WOAI Webpage.
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March 20, 2007
Capitol Theatre bankrupt and closed
WINDSOR, ONTARIO, CANADA — The Capitol Theatre has filed for bankruptcy and officially closed on March 14. A bankruptcy trustee is expected to change the theater’s locks and liquidate the theater’s assets. Creditors are expected to meet with three weeks.
Because the theater is a heritage site and a 1993 agreement with the city of Windsor provided $1.3 million to save the theater from the wrecking ball, the city of Windsor is expected to take over the building.
For more info, go to The Windsor Star.
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March 13, 2007
StarCite 18-Ste Foy closed
STE-FOY, QUE — StarCite 18 in Ste-Foy, an suburb of Quebec City has been closed by Cinemas Fortune, Inc. It had 4,184 seats. It is next door to an 14-plex called Ste-Foy 14.
In January, Cinemas Fortune closed 6 screens out of 12 of the Galeries de la Capitole.
As a result, Quebec City lost about a third of its movie screens. -
January 17, 2007
AMC closes its Tyrone Square 6 movie theater
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — After a long run since its opening at an early mall, the AMC Tyrone Square is closing.
AMC has closed its Tyrone Square 6 movie theater after a 33-year run, officials said Tuesday.
AMC is expected to build a new theater on Tyrone Square Mall property, but specifics were not available early this week.
An Old Navy store will go into the vacated space, said Jeni Wilson, a mall spokeswoman. She said it could be open by early summer.
To read the full story, go to St. Petersburg Times.
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December 27, 2006
Pemberton 4 to close
VICKSBURG, MS — Just want to pass one about the Pemberton Cinema 4 which is the only cinema in Vicksburg, MS. The Pemberton Cinema Square 4 which had been owned by Regal Group and now Village Entertainment. Just a few days ago it has been closed permanentaly at Pemberton Square Mall because of high rent issues with CBL Associaites of Chattanooga, TN.
Over the years the Pemberton Square Four has never been upgraded. Projectors broke down, leaky roofs, etc. Now for the first time in 100 years, Vicksburg is once again without a cinema.
One truth I can tell of the Pemberton 4 is it never got any of the important films like “United 93” or Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center”. Those are just examples. Poor marketing on behalf of the cinema owners can be blamed as well. But not upgrading equipment and expanding its size contributed to its demise. Before this surprise closing happened, Village Entertainment had plans to refurbish it. But high rent made this 21 year old cinema the victim.