Theaters

  • December 3, 2002

    $10 Million Restoration Plan for Balboa Theatre Approved!

    SAN DIEGO, CA — According to this article in the San Diego Union Tribune, the San Diego City Council has approved a $10 million restoration plan for the city’s long-vacant Balboa Theatre.

    The winning plan from Centre City Development Corp., which was approved by unanimous vote, beat out a competing plan from the Theater Now company, which had proposed to buy the Balboa from the San Diego for $1 and renovate the theater using private funds.

    As a result of this approval, the Centre City Development Corp. (which serves as San Diego’s downtown redevelopment arm) plans to present a detailed business plan to the City Council, with hopes of beginning construction in 2004.

    Read the full article

    (Thanks to our friend Gregg Anderson at the American Diner Museum for both of today’s stories.)

  • December 2, 2002

    Return of the Cine Capri

    PHOENIX, AZ — According to a recent article in the Arizona Republic, the Harkins Theatres chain has announced plans to rebuild Phoenix AZ’s famous Cine Capri movie theater as part of a $17 million, 14-screen complex.

    “It’s bigger, better and brighter than the old Cine Capri,” chain owner Dan Harkins said, adding that it will be the largest stadium-seating movie auditorium in the Valley. “We decided to use all of our resources to make this the absolute premier venue for the Southwest, which is (the same) in fashion and form as the old Cine Capri.”

    The original Cine Capri, which first opened in 1966 and featured a wrap-around 60-foot wide screen with more than 800 seats, was destroyed in 1998 despite enormous public support. In fact, a petition created by concerned local citizens at the time garnered over 250,000 signatures, but to no avail.

    Read the full article

    (Thanks to Bryan Krefft for sending in this story.)

  • Deer Lake Drive-In To Reopen?

    SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PA — Kevin Moxley and Joseph McDade, two businessmen in Schuylkill County PA, are attempting to revive the area’s last drive-in movie theater, according to a report in the Morning Call.

    The two plan to restore the Deer Lake Drive-In, which has been closed since the mid-1990s, by restoring the theater’s screen, outlying buildings, and road sign.

    Currently, Moxley and McDade, in partnership with the county Visitors Bureau and Orwigsburg Historical Society, are circulating a petion to measure public support for reopening the theater.

    Read the full article

    (Thanks to Denny J. Huber for letting us know about this development.)

  • November 27, 2002

    Add-A-Photo! Changes

    Beginning today, we are temporarily not accepting any additional photo submissions, which means you will not be able to use our Add-a-Photo! feature.

    Esssentially, we’ve become victims of our own success! Since launching our site, we’ve received over 1800 photo submissions, with literally thousands and thousands of images. Given our current photo system, it has become virtually impossible for us to accept any additional photos.

    Thus, we are now working on developing a new photo system; one that will not only allow us to handle more images, but one that will also offer additional features (multiple images per theater, improved browsing tools, etc.).

    While we are not accepting photos submissions at this time, our Add-A-Theater section will continue to operate without interruption, so feel free to add your favorite theaters, and we’ll post them as they come in.

    As well, thanks to everyone who has submitted a photo to Cinema Treasures during the past two years! This site would not be what it is today without your help.

  • Upcoming Cinema Treasures Hiatus

    We also want to let everyone know that Cinema Treasures will be on hiatus during the upcoming holiday season.

    Beginning December 16th, we will not be publishing our daily theater preservation news. Of course, if any major preservation alerts occur, we will post them, but otherwise, there will be no news during this time.

    Additionally, we’ll continue to add any new theater submissions, though updates may be less frequent than usual.

    This will be Cinema Treasures' first official vacation since we began work on our site over 3 years ago, so you can probably imagine we’re relishing a little time off. :)

    Worry not, though, Cinema Treasures fans! The site will return in its fully glory during the first full week of the new year, on Monday, January 6th.

    Meanwhile, have a terrific holiday and we’ll see you back here on Monday!

  • November 26, 2002

    Bidders Vying For Control Of The Chicago Theatre

    The Chicago Tribune recently took an in-depth look at the Chicago Theatre and the companies who have applied with the Chicago Department of Planning and Development to take over the theater and manage it on an ongoing basis.

    Because each of the bidders (Chicago Theatre Alliance, TheatreDreams Chicago LLC, and The Entertaiment Group Fund Inc.) have radically different concepts for the future direction of the Chicago, there is great debate about which proposal will bring the most cultural and economic impact to the city of Chicago.

    Definitely worth a read, if you have a spare moment. (Note: registration is required to view this article.)

    Read the Chicago Tribune piece

    (Thanks to Cinema Treasures regular Bryan Krefft for this story!)

  • Glenwood Arts Theatre Reopens

    The Glenwood Arts Theatre in Overland Park, Kansas opened to packed houses last weekend. The Fine Arts Group restored the former Metcalf Theatre with items salvaged from the original Glenwood Theatre, including seats and the 40 foot tall marquee sign. The theater will eventually house two more screens and a soda shop.

    (Special thanks to Keith LeBrun for keeping us in the loop on this one.)

  • November 22, 2002

    More New Theaters!

    We’ve just added over a dozen new theaters thanks to Philip Goldberg, Bryan Krefft, Steve Smith, Salvatore Salonia, Bruce Talanian, and Ron Pierce. We currently have over 2,500 U.S. theaters, over 200 each from Canada and the U.K., and hundreds more from another 28 countries.

    Browse new entries
    Browse by location

  • November 15, 2002

    Restoration Of Boston’s Old Keith’s Theater To Begin

    BOSTON, MA — A $31 million restoration and renovation project at the former Keith’s Memorial is set to begin now that the city has handed a permit to Clear Channel Entertainment. According to the Boston Globe, Clear Channel hopes to begin hosting Broadway productions in the former Keith’s/RKO movie palace by 2004.

    Read the Boston Globe article
    Read the Boston Business Journal article

  • Ramon Theater Vote Upcoming

    FROSTPROOF, FL — The Frostproof Chamber of Commerce will vote on whether or not to purchase the old Ramon Theater when the board meets on November 19th. According to The Ledger, the plan to purchase the theater and an adjacent building from owner David Higginbottom is nearly a done deal.

    Future plans for the shuttered Ramon include screenings of classic films and live performances. The Ramon and the adjacent Thompson building both need new roofs which will cost roughly $50,000.

    The Ramon opened in 1925 for motion pictures and stage shows.