posted 01-11-2018 02:38 PM                       

quote: Sam Graham

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Regal has shut down the old UA Showcase Mall 8-plex, the only operating cinema on the core of the Las Vegas Strip. The announcement of its impending doom was made last year, but its closure finally came about sometime in the last week or so.

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posted 01-24-2018 10:57 AM                       

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On Sunday, the five projectors at the Sunshine Cinema beamed for the last time, the finale of a cultural mainstay on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The movie theater, which had screened independent and foreign films since 2001, was sold last year to New York City developers with plans to demolish it.

For over a century, the building was a neighborhood cornerstone, first as a church, then as an athletic club, and later as a nickelodeon that drew hundreds of attendees a day to its Yiddish vaudeville performances.

The demise of the theater on Houston Street is the latest in a string of closings in the city, as cinemas struggle to stay relevant in the streaming age of Netflix and Hulu. Last month, the announced closing of the Lincoln Plaza Cinema, which opened in 1981, rattled the theater community’s devotees.

Sunshine Cinema, operated by Landmark Theaters, became popular among neighbors and enthusiasts for its distinct selection of films, emblematic honey-colored brick facade and stadium seating. Its midnight screenings of classics like “Dog Day Afternoon” and “The Room” also attracted a cult following. In fact, the director of “The Room,” Tom Wiseau, attended three screenings at the Sunshine this month.

On Sunday afternoon, Jackie Colgan, 55, traveled from Brooklyn to the Sunshine to watch “Darkest Hour.” A hodgepodge of graffiti covered the theater’s side doors behind her.

Customers bought tickets to the last movies showing at Sunshine Cinema, a cornerstone of Manhattan’s Lower East Side that shut down on Sunday. Credit Anthony Geathers for The New York Times
“I just love the architecture and the inside,” Ms. Colgan, a teacher, said. “I always feel so special when I’m in there.”

The building was originally a Dutch Reformed Church that was leased to the German Evangelical Mission Church in 1844, according to Judith Thissen, a cinema historian at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

In the early 1900s, it was converted into the Houston Athletic Club, a prize fight club. The religious scenes on the walls were painted over in blue, white and gold, The New York Times reported at the time.

In 1909, the church was bought for $96,000 (or about $2 million in today’s money) and transformed into a theater run by Charles Steiner and Abraham Minsky, one of the Minsky burlesque brothers, Ms. Thissen said. They named the entertainment hall the Houston Hippodrome and it quickly flourished, drawing flocks of Jewish immigrants settling north of Houston Street.

“What was new when it opened is that for a cheap price, five to 10 cents, it would not only offer moving pictures but also Yiddish vaudeville shows,” Ms. Thissen said.

The theater could fit up to 450 people on the old wooden pews, she said.

In 1917, the theater was renovated and renamed the Sunshine Theater, Ms. Thissen said.

The Sunshine Theater eventually closed and a family in the hardware business used it as a warehouse for over 50 years.

“It had 35-foot ceilings and it was being used as a warehouse to store doorknobs,” said Tim Nye, an entrepreneur who obtained the lease to the building in 1994. He had planned to convert it into a live music venue. But the community board rejected a liquor license.

“They thought it was going to turn into a horrible nightclub, which it wasn’t,” Mr. Nye said.

So, Mr. Nye, the founder of the Nyehaus gallery in Chelsea, partnered with Landmark Theaters, a chain based in Los Angeles dedicated to screening independent films that was looking for a flagship in New York. After a three-year, $12 million renovation, Sunshine Cinema reopened as the third art-house theater on Houston Street on Dec. 21, 2001.

The Sunshine — which had 980 seats, five screens and two Japanese gardens — rapidly became a neighborhood staple. It first screened “Monster’s Ball,” starring Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry.

“It’s very, very rare that movie theaters would spring back to life,” said Brett Leitner, a longtime resident of the Lower East Side and a self-described cinema history buff.

For over a century, the building on Houston Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, pictured here in 1998, was a neighborhood cornerstone, first as a church, then as an athletic club and later as a Yiddish vaudeville and theater. It reopened in 2001 as Sunshine Cinema. Credit Judith Thissen
“It was a triumphant story to take this old movie theater and take it back to life as the newest neighborhood theater in decades.”

Mr. Leitner, a former member of the local community board, was part of a group that petitioned the city to give the theater landmark status in 2016. The petition was rejected because the interior of the cinema had been significantly altered, he said.

The building went on the market three years ago.

Mr. Nye said the theater “was doing incredible” financially. But they were paying $8,000 in monthly rent, which they expected would skyrocket at the end of their 25-year lease on Jan. 31.

“It’s the economics. We cannot pay market rent,” Mr. Nye said. “But we knew this day was coming from Day 1. It was a good run.”

The owner of the 30,000-square-foot building sold it for $31.5 million to East End Capital and K Property Group last year.

The Sunshine will be demolished and turned into a nine-story “boutique” office building for small to midsize companies, said Jonathon Yormak, the founder and managing principal of East End Capital.

A nine-story, 65,000-square-foot building designed by Roger Ferris, will replace the Sunshine Cinema. Credit Real Estate Arts
“We’re big fans of the Lower East Side,” Mr. Yormak said. “It really needs more 9-to-5 activity and it tends to be very active, obviously, on a night life basis. We believe there is a real demand for office space and for people to work there during the day.”

The new 65,000-square-foot building will be designed by Roger Ferris and feature retail space on the ground floor. Demolition will begin by March and the new building, which is being branded as 141 E. Houston Street, will be completed in late 2019, Mr. Yormak said.

But for many, the cinema’s demolition is yet another example of old New York being steadily superseded.

“To see the revitalization that the Sunshine brought to the Lower East Side turned into another example of hyper-gentrification in the Lower East Side, it’s very disappointing,” Mr. Leitner said.

On Sunday, Beth and Paul Lieberman arrived early to watch “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

Ms. Lieberman, 63, said she enjoyed the Sunshine for “its different types of movies,” like “Princess Mononoke,” a Japanese animated movie she took her son to years ago.

“You would only be able to see them here. Here, or the Angelika or the IFC Center,” said Ms. Lieberman, referring to two other cinemas in the area.

The theater was to officially close for good after a 10:15 p.m. Sunday showing of “Darkest Hour.”

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posted 01-26-2018 12:52 AM                    

quote: Sam Graham

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Regal has shut down the old UA Showcase Mall 8-plex, the only operating cinema on the core of the Las Vegas Strip. The announcement of its impending doom was made last year, but its closure finally came about sometime in the last week or so.

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posted 01-31-2018 03:15 PM                       

quote:

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Petitions are starting and local businesses are offering to make repairs to help restart the projectors at the only movie house in a small southern Saskatchewan city.

The marquee on Weyburn's Soo Theatre, owned by Landmark Cinemas, has read "temporarily closed" since the end of November.

But Landmark's website says the doors are permanently shuttered and thanks movie lovers for their patronage over the last 45 years.

The building needs major repairs, and the theatre chain says it will be sold or possibly demolished.

It says repair costs aren't worth it and Weyburn — with a population of about 11,000 — isn't big enough to justify a new cinema.
Local interest in purchase

Landmark CEO Bill Walker says the company plans to hire a broker to sell the site, although some Weyburn residents have shown some interest in buying it.

He says the company would be willing to help an entrepreneur reopen the movie house. He notes that Landmark once helped someone in an Alberta community who wanted to take over one of the chain's theatres.

"Generally, we are looking at larger urban markets where there's still opportunities for new cinemas," Walker said in an interview. "But that's not to say that a more entrepreneurial venture from a different operator couldn't make a go of it in [Weyburn]."

Walker is sympathetic and said Landmark is reluctant to take away a cinema from any community, but it comes down to a business decision.

"Ultimately, as you can all appreciate, it's not a charitable venture either."

Walker said inquiries to purchase the building can be made directly to Landmark Cinemas.
Indie theatre a possibility

City Coun. Jeff Richards suggested an independently owned theatre or a co-operative might work.

"Like everybody else, we are disappointed ... to lose anything, and particularly something that can draw folks from all over," he said.

"Ultimately we'd love to find a situation where the private sector can come up with a solution for us." Richards added.

"We don't want to be a city without a movie theatre."

Richards explained the city cannot get involved. It distributes business licences but does not take part in day-to-day operations.

Weyburn is about 110 kilometres southeast of Regina.

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posted 01-31-2018 06:12 PM                       

quote: Article

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Weyburn — with a population of about 11,000 — isn't big enough to justify a new cinema.

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There's a town a couple hours from here (Cody, WY) that has 9500 people. A friend of ours built a new cinema there about 15 years ago and he just recently expanded from 4 screens to 6.

He made it work by installing a lot of used equipment and not going overboard on the inside decor. It's nice, but not fancy. The building was originally a fairly plain-looking metal building but when he expanded to 6 screens, he also installed a really nice looking rock facade and an electronic marquee.

They are helped by the fact that Cody is a major tourist town, so their population is probably closer to 12,000 on any given summer day. But most people in tourist towns in this area spend evenings outside (if they're smart), so the population increase might not help as much as one would think.

posted 01-31-2018 07:32 PM                    

quote: Sam Graham

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Regal has shut down the old UA Showcase Mall 8-plex, the only operating cinema on the core of the Las Vegas Strip. The announcement of its impending doom was made last year, but its closure finally came about sometime in the last week or so.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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There's a town a couple hours from here (Cody, WY) that has 9500 people. A friend of ours built a new cinema there about 15 years ago and he just recently expanded from 4 screens to 6.

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posted 01-31-2018 08:02 PM                       

quote: Mike Blakesley

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There's a town a couple hours from here (Cody, WY) that has 9500 people. A friend of ours built a new cinema there about 15 years ago and he just recently expanded from 4 screens to 6.

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posted 03-13-2018 03:27 PM                       

quote: Mark Campbell

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The 8-Plex that was in Lloyd Mall was originally a Cineplex Odeon. Lots of purple.

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