What's the latest theatre to close or open you have heard about?

[Martin McCaffery]

Question from you organ fans about the above. The 1914 Ad says Mr Hurlbert will "Play the Famous Bartola."
According to Wikipedia, "

Bartola focused almost exclusively on the Midwest market. Barton later recalled, "We decided to work only a limited territory so we could give prompt service to all our installations. [This territory included] Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana and Ohio. No installation was more than an overnight sleeper ride from Chicago."^[1]...

and that the Bartola company was not founded until 1918, the year the first Bartola's were manufactured.

Could Wikipedia be wrong, or are they just missing some early history?

[Buck Wilson]

Regal Moline Stadium 14 in Moline Illinois and Regal O'Fallon Stadium 14 in O'Fallon MO are both closing this coming Friday as the bankruptcy proceedings continue. Both were previous Great Escapes theaters.

Other recent area Regal closures include our sister theater; Hollywood 14 in Topeka, Hollywood in Springfield MO, the previous Great Escape 16 in Omaha... B&B has been taking over several closed Regals in the area

[William Kucharski]

Marcus to close theaters in Milwaukee, Franklin and Saukville, WI:

[Leo Enticknap]

and that the Bartola company was not founded until 1918, the year the first Bartola's were manufactured.

Could Wikipedia be wrong, or are they just missing some early history?

From the article:

Barton's first successful experiment in producing equipment to accompany silent films was a set of electrically operated bells that formed a musical scale. Mounted around the interior of the theater, these were operated by the pit drummer who was performing foley and various other sound effects for the picture. After seeing the highly enthusiastic reception of his invention, Barton began toying with the idea of a more elaborate mechanism employing additional percussion instruments and organ pipes.

In 1918, the Bartola Musical Instrument Company was formed...

So it appears that Barton made sound effects machines for theaters before expanding into the manufacture of full-scale organs. Maybe this was what was installed at the theater in Selma in 1914? Another contradictory thing is that, as you note, Selma, AL, is significantly further than an overnight sleeper ride from Chicago.

From the Wikipedia article, I find it interesting and bizarre that Marcel Dupré was chosen to play the inaugural concert of the monster Barton theater organ at the Chicago Stadium! He was a major figure in French early c20 classical organ music, and while he did tour America several times, he is most likely remembered for his slow and ponderous performances of mainly lesser known Bach pieces and those of French c19 composers (e.g. Widor and Guilmant), and for his own compositional output, which is so obscure and technically difficult to play that it is now hardly ever performed. The idea of him belting out a Sousa march on a theater organ is a hard one to imagine!

[William Kucharski]

Milwaukee Landmark screen Downer closes suddenly after nearly 108 years.

[Rick Cohen]

Tonight was the final showing for the Skowhegan Drive-in Theatre, Skowhegan, Maine.

[Don Furr]

Krikorian Theatres started a huge project in Menifee, Ca. back in 2015 and never finished the building. The city has put a lien on the property and is getting ready to tear it down. It was reported to have the largest screen in the
state. Oh well, we have over 100,000 people and NO theatre.



theater walls 9-22-23.jpg

[Harold Hallikainen]

Tonight was the final showing for the Skowhegan Drive-in Theatre, Skowhegan, Maine.

From the cited article "The pending closure follows the sale of the Saco Drive-In in 2022, which was the state’s oldest drive-in (1939) and one of the oldest in the country. "

A drive-in in 1939 is pretty impressive.

[Leo Enticknap]

Krikorian Theatres started a huge project in Menifee, Ca. back in 2015 and never finished the building. [...] Oh well, we have over 100,000 people and NO theatre.

It's close enough to the Starlight at Dos Lagos and options in Corona and Riverside, that I guess the appetite for taking the risk wasn't there. And if you're willing to take your life in your hands and drive the Ortega Highway, there is the new Metrolux in San Clemente. Though admittedly, a round trip on what is claimed to be the USA's most dangerous stretch of road just to see a movie is a bit of an ask.

Did construction on the Menifee site cease during the pandemic? Krikorian sold their theater in Redlands to Studio Movie Grill around that time: I'm guessing that the pandemic must have hit them hard (AFAIK, that place was doing pretty well, and I doubt they'd have wanted to lose it voluntarily), and that they might have run out of money.

[Don Furr]

Yes Leo, work stopped when the pandemic started but also he's in several lawsuits for not paying the construction crews. I think he's broke. I believe the city is going to tear the structure down sometime this month or no later than November.

[Leo Enticknap]

Agreed (that he's likely broke). Their website now lists the Buena Park site as the only remaining theater branded as Krikorian. CGV is snapping at his heels there, too (if you don't mind your movies with Korean subtitles!).

[Frank Cox]

https://leaderpost.com/news/local-ne...w-cinema-space

Second-run movie theater opening in old Rainbow Cinema space

When Shawn Davis started working in movie theatres he always thought about opening his own.

That’s what led Davis and his business partner to start Moonlight Movies a decade ago.

“We’re former managers of one of the big chains,” said Davis, co-owner of Moonlight Movies which operates drive-in movie theatres. He said that was always a fun “side summer job” for him but there was always a dream of doing it full-time.

“It’s a pretty expensive endeavour to buy land and all that,” said Davis. “So when Rainbow closed our first instinct was, well, I wonder what kind of equipment we could buy for the drive-in.”

Months went by before Davis acted on that instinct to check out what was left behind at the longstanding Golden Mile second movie theatre — Rainbow Cinemas.

“We found out there was a big opportunity sitting there for us, so we just kind of went for it.”

So he and his business partner Jason Longworth decided to dive feet first into the project, resurrecting Regina’s second-run movie theatre as Moonlight Movies Cinemas.

While the space is under new management and a new name there are some things that remain. Like the old seats screens and carpet. The neon displays over the concession stands, rainbow lights that illuminate a glass feature along the south side of the foyer and the old popcorn machine.

Davis said he knew the announcement would be big, but the response from Regina has been massive. Since announcing the new cinema on Sept. 27 the company says it has received more approximately 1,000 messages on Facebook ranging from people expressing their happiness to people looking for work, asking questions about hours or what kind of movies will be shown.

There are lots of details to iron out but the excitement is palpable. Davis said he wonders if the response would have been the same if his company had taken over operations immediately after the Rainbow closed.

“Sometimes you don’t know what you have until you lose it.” said Davis. “With the cost of everything going up, not just movies but the cost of living, I think people right now are realizing how important something like the Rainbow is.”

On their Facebook page, the company said their soft launch will be Oct. 13 with four screens offering films. As they get off the ground the company is asking for people to be patient as screens, times and concessions will be limited.

“Please still come support us now. While we call it a “soft opening” we still have “hard” bills to pay,” said the company online.

Tickets are $4.99 per person with with Tuesday offering a half-price night for all customers.

Davis said the operation is a small “mom-and-pop.” They aren’t looking to renovate and change the cinema.

“We’re cleaning and reopening,” he said.

Old standbys like Studio 7 will, hopefully, come back eventually. Davis said the projector in that theatre was sold and with the drive-in theatres, they already have established contacts with major film studios, not indie ones.

“If it’s not there in the beginning, that doesn’t mean it won’t be there.”

Rainbow Cinemas closed that theatre on September 25, 2022 so it's been closed for just over a year.

[Ed Gordon]

Seattle's Grand Illusion Cinema, indie film buff favorite, faces uncertain future following $2.3 million sale




Mikiech Nichols at the Grand Illusion Cinema at University Way NE and NE 50th Street.


The tiny Grand Illusion Cinema — or at least, the building it occupies in the University District — has sold to a developer for just over $2 million dollars.
The theater’s manager said it will probably be torn down in a few years.
We went to a recent screening to see why the place has become so important to film fans and filmmakers.

The Grand Illusion Theater has just 68 seats in a retrofitted dental office above a computer repair shop. It’s been a go-to destination for weird and wonderful films since 1970.
Mikiech Nichols is a volunteer projectionist there. He also wrote, directed, and starred in his own indie comedy film called "Mountainside" about a filmmaker with writer’s block.

In one scene, the main character tells a woman at a party about his efforts to write a schlocky science fiction horror movie.
“Unfortunately, it’s really hard to write, because I don’t know the first thing about 1. science, 2. the future, or 3. werewolf women from outer space,” he says.
“That’s your title right there,” she responds.
The film is somewhat autobiographical, and Nichols’ character in the film is also a film projectionist. Naturally, the real Nichols filmed a scene in the Grand Illusion Cinema where he works.
When sitting in the audience at Grand Illusion, I was watching a fictional audience sitting in the same theater —it was a very meta moment. And like me, they were watching a film about making a film.
After the film, Nichols — the real one — came down the aisle to talk with the audience.
“Man, this is a dream come true," he said, facing the seats full of friends, actors who were in his film, and strangers. "I mean, you saw the movie. We filmed in here. The entire time we were making it, I was just hoping that I’d be able to play it here. I mean, I’m a volunteer, but I don’t book the movies. So the fact that I was able to make that happen and get three nights, and...I didn’t rent the space, they just booked the movie — that is so cool.”



Mikiech Nichols plays a film projectionist in the locally-filmed movie Mountainside

He said he’s sad the theater will have to move. But he said the feelings people have for this place will ensure that it finds a new home, somewhere else.
“I’m in love with this theater. And I think, most of the projectionists here, at the very least — and there are a lot of them have been here for a very long time — I think feel very similarly.”
The future of the University District cinema has been up in the air lately. In the 1990s, there were five movie theaters in this neighborhood, many of them showing indie films. When the Grand Illusion leaves, only two theaters will remain.
The original Metro theater is now an 21-and-over venue owned by AMC that serves dinner and drinks during films.
The other one is the Varsity, just steps from the U District light rail station. When University Way finally gets an upzone, the land beneath that the Varsity will become like gold, and will probably be developed just like the Grand Illusion.

Kate Barr at Scarecrow Video on Roosevelt Way in Seattle's University District

Kate Barr is the executive director of Scarecrow Video, a nonprofit library of videos just down the street. It's another place loved by local film buffs. Barr also volunteers at the Grand Illusion, and sits on its board.

“The filmmaker that you spoke with, where would he be able to exhibit his movie, if it weren’t for small cinemas, and especially ones like the Grand Illusion?” she asked. Because it’s volunteer-run, the Grand Illusion can show indie films that don’t generate a lot of money.

Barr said nonprofit institutions that lose their space need help surviving while they search for a new location.
Scarecrow could face the same future, too, she added. Its current lease only goes through 2024.
“My dream, would be if we could find a large enough space in which Scarecrow could exist, and also right next to it would be the Grand Illusion," she said. "And we would have a mega-*********** there. But I don’t know…it’s a pretty big pipe dream.”

Back at the Grand Illusion, Mikiech Nichols reminded us that the Grand Illusion is still here for now.
“Tell your friends!" he told the audience as everyone left. "And come back to the Grand Illusion.”

Source: https://kuow.org/stories/what-this-t...ndie-directors

[Scotty Wright]

Source: https://kuow.org/stories/what-this-t...ndie-directors

Love the Grand Illusion. Hope they can find a new venue in time. A joint venture with Scarecrow would be an incredible opportunity.

[Ed Gordon]

Love the Grand Illusion. Hope they can find a new venue in time. A joint venture with Scarecrow would be an incredible opportunity.

The Grand IIlusion is a local treasure that should be saved. I hope they don't wait "a couple of years" to see what happens. A partnership with Scarecrow would be beneficial to both. My main concern is that both venues probably won't be able to afford the rising cost real estate in Seattle.

Grand IIlusion: https://grandillusioncinema.org/

Scarecrow Video: https://scarecrowvideo.org/