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The latest movie theater news and updates
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February 9, 2006
Golf Glen Theatre Closes
NILES, IL — Village Theatres has closed the Golf Glen Theatre in Niles, IL. The final day was February 2, 2006. The Golf Glen was a typically bland early-to-mid 1980s creation. Theatres of this type, once widespread form the late 1970s to the early 1990s, fell quickly out of favor with audiences who wanted a return to some ambiance and wider screens.
Village may have feared, and rightly so, the new cinemas which Kerasotes is constructing at the nearby Golf Mill shopping center. Also, attendance was quite low at this theatre, probably because Village doesn’t advertise most of its theatres in the paper (except for the Lincoln Village Theatre). Village has, however re-activated its website, www.villagetheatres.com.
Such a non-descript theatre might not warrant an entry here except for two reasons:
1) It was probably the last theatre built for Essaness Theatres prior to that chain’s takeover by Plitt (which incidentally, to my knowledge, leaves only two former Essaness Theatres still showing movies in the Chicagoland Area — the Lake and the Davis).
2) It probably had more owner/operators in its 23 year span than any other. Essaness, Plitt, Cineplex-Odeon, Loews-Cineplex, and Village all operated it at one time or another.
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February 8, 2006
Please Help Save Pasadena’s Historic Raymond Theatre
PASADENA, CA — The following was sent in by Gina Zamparelli:
“Friends of the Raymond Theatre is a non-profit organization who has worked for 17 years to preserve Pasadena’s historic Raymond Theatre. After 5 years of hearings, The City of Pasadena recently granted permits to allow redevelopment of the Raymond Theatre to a mixed/use housing project.
There are currently three lawsuits pending on the current plans to redevelop the Raymond Theatre. Friends of the Raymond Theatre are working to raise funds, to ask the courts for a stay to stop demolition. We kindly ask your help. Our current need it to raise $10,000 before the end of February. People from all over the US have kindly donated.
If you would like to help us preserve The Raymond Theatre, a donation of any amount would be greatly appreciated. All donations are tax deductible. Donations can be made by mail or PayPal: www.PayPal.com (e-mail account ).
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Volunteers Needed at Loew’s Paradise
BRONX, NY — Orlando Lopes, New York Metro Director of the Theatre Historical Society of America (THSA), is coordinating a volunteer effort for the newly reopened Loew’s Paradise. There will be a series of events and shows where help is needed, starting this Saturday, February 11, 2006.
This is a wonderful opportunity to become part of the excitement of this beautifully revived Cinema Treasure. Orlando and the Paradise management have some great plans in store for all movie theatre and film fans.
Please contact Orlando at (631) 225-7071 after 9PM or email him at There will be a name list, so you cannot show up unannounced.
Thank you all.
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Big Films for a Big Screen
NEW YORK, NY – An article in the New York Post by Lou Lumenick announces an Oscar-themed film retrospective at Manhattan’s plush single screen Ziegfeld Theater. This series has been discussed at great length on the Ziegfeld’s page on Cinema Treasures and finally seems to be getting some coverage in the press, though I still haven’t seen a single print ad in any of the local dailies.
The program kicks off with a “Best Actor” series featuring “The Godfather”, “The Godfather, Part II” and “Chinatown” (separate $7.50 admission for each film) that will run through next Thursday. Other films to be screened during the series (which comes to an end on March 9th) include “My Fair Lady”, “West Side Story”, “Chicago”, “Ben-Hur”(1959), “Gladiator”, “Braveheart”, the complete “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and all three Indiana Jones films.
Alas, it does not appear that any of these films will be screened in 70mm. I still would urge all members of Cinema Treasures who reside within the NY Metro area to turn out as often as possible to support the festival. The full schedule is posted on Clearview Cinema’s website.
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February 7, 2006
Borough of Yeadon Votes to Demolish Yeadon Theatre
YEADON, PA — The Borough Council of Yeadon has voted 6-1 in favor of razing the 1937 Yeadon Theatre, an Art Moderne movie house which is one of the last John Eberson-designed theaters in the Philadelphia area, according to a story in the Daily Times. A fire on January 8th caused extensive damage to the theater, which was already in poor shape in 2003 when demolition of the Yeadon was halted at the last moment (after a wrecking ball already knocked down the rear wall of the theater).
It was hoped that the facade and lobby of the theater would be salvaged, but according to Borough President Vivian Ford, only a few elements will be saved, including the theater’s name from the marquee, exit signs, and bricks. “Environmentally, it’s not safe,” says Ford, “There’s mold and rodents. It’s an accident waiting to happen. If there’s nothing salvageable, I don’t think we should keep it. For the good of our community, I’d rather see it go.”
Architect Margaret Westfield, a preservation specialist, reported to the Borough that “all significant interior fixtures and finishes” that made the landmark worth saving were ruined in the arson fire in January. Westfield says, “The tangible fabric that illustrated architect John Eberson’s Art Moderne vision for the theater’s interior was completely lost”.
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Loews State Theatre in Virgin Megastore in Times Square
NEW YORK, NY — Given that the Loews State Theatre is now closed (see this NY Post article), does anyone know where I can see Bollywood/Indian films in NYC?
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February 6, 2006
Urgent! Help Needed to Renovate Historic Times Square Movie Theater
I am passionately and energetically pursuing my dream to renovate an historic Times Square movie theater – once called the DeMille – and convert it into an Off-Broadway/Independent Film four-theater complex.
I am looking for additional investors (I have a strong business plan, over 3 million raised already and lots of experience building theaters) and/or theater or independent film companies who would like 10 years of free rent for office space, storage space and theater use in exchange for capital upfront for the buildout fund.
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Grand Theater to be Sold and Reopened
DU QUOIN, IL — The Grand Theater, which has been closed since August 24th when owner Bill Ivy had a stroke, will be sold and reopened according to this story in The Southern Illinoisan. This is one of the few independent theaters in the region as well as one of the last old-time movie theaters. The new owner, who is yet unnamed, plans to continue the theaters low-cost family friendly movies and to make improvements to the 1940s era theater.
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Possible New Downtown Theaters Coming
YONKERS, NY — New movie theaters were mentioned yesterday in the Phase 1 portion of a major announced downtown renewal plan encompassing the Chicken Island city owned parking lot. Developer Louis Capelli had brought Regal into his nearby New Rochelle, NY New Roc Center project several years ago. That theater is the most successful in the Regal chain.
It will be interesting to see which chains become interested. The official press release appears in yonkerstribune.com but today’s edition of thejournalnews.com makes no mention of the theaters.
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February 3, 2006
Leeds Cannon Demolition Begins
The following was sent in by Ian Grundy:
“Demolition of the former Leeds Cannon triple is now underway, as the picture taken yesterday (Wednesday 1st February) shows.
The cinema opened as the Ritz in November 1934, designed by the ABC house architect W. R. Glen with 1,950 seats. It was renamed ABC in 1959 and closed in 1969 for an expensive twinning with the circle extended forward. ABC2, in the former stalls, closed in 1974 to be split in two giving a three screen cinema with Screen 1 670 seats, screen 2 474 seats and screen 3 236 seats.
All three closed in 2000 and have been unused since. The cinema was aslso called MGM towards the end."