Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Park City, Utah + Sundance + Cinemas

This is topic Park City, Utah + Sundance + Cinemas in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Paul Gordon (Member # 3320) on 01-20-2016, 07:13 AM:

Hey all,

Gonna be in Park City next week. Mostly to ski but since the Sundance film festival is on I may catch a flick or two. Any cool historic cinemas in Park City?

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-20-2016, 07:51 AM:

If you can make it to Ogden, check out the Egyptian Theatre, which is pretty amazing.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-21-2016, 12:31 PM:

It's actually THE ONLY amazing theater left here in Utah but the out of State management the County contracts to run it are totally clueless. Has a huge very deep stage and excellent access. Has a really nice pipe organ. Ogden Egyptian is equipped with a small Sony D-Cinema system because it was the cheapest quote they got. It used to have an Ernemann 16/35 projector. IDK if that's still there or not.

The Egyptian in Park Silly is a dump, not even sure how it got to be called that. It could have been named the Bijou and no one would know the difference. There is amost ZERO Egyptian motif to the place.

The Capitol Theater in downtown SLC only does live stuff, primarily ballet. There is a small pipe organ in there.

The Ecles Center Theater in Logan also only does Ballet for the most part.

The Egyptian in Boise, Idaho is considerably nicer than the Ogden Egyptian and it's also quite a bit larger with a full balcony. The stage is pretty well equipped but not very deep. It had a pair of crappy hand built 35/70 Simplex X-L's on old Highlight consoles (Woof). Not sure they are still there though. I worked on the restoration of this place in 1999.

Pretty much everything else here in this area is shopping mall stuff and not even worth the bother to go to. The nicest sites by a long shot around here are the new Cinemarks.

The closest truely amazing theater to Salt Lake City would be either the Boise Egyptian or the Washoe Theater in Anaconda, Montana.

" The Washoe Theater in Anaconda, Montana was the last theater constructed in the United States in the Nuevo Deco (a form of Art Deco) style. The theater was designed in 1930 by Seattle architect B. Marcus Priteca. It was almost entirely finished by 1931, but its opening was delayed until Thursday, September 24,[2] 1936 because of the Great Depression. In 1936 dollars, its construction cost was a grand $200,000. The Smithsonian rates the Washoe as a national treasure due to the lavish interior. In 1982, the Washoe was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places for architectural significance.

The interior design and furnishings[3][4][5] were done by Hollywood theater designer Nat Smythe. The exterior doors are etched glass. Each joint and trim work is carved in complicated relief patterns with much use of ornamental ironwork. Use of copper is especially prevalent, as Anaconda was a company town for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. Silver and gold leaf supplement the accent work. Carved rams heads line the walls. Every flat surface, including the domed ceiling, is a painted mural done by Colville Smythe.

The silk curtain is a piece of art in itself, though seldom seen. Its age presents a problem for curators who are afraid that taking it down, even to try and restore it, would cause it to fall apart. It has a painting of deer stags.

The theater was also designed to have near perfect acoustics. The delay in opening allowed the sound system to be re-designed as a showcase for Western Electric's newest innovation "Mirrorphonic Sound". Recorded sound with films was itself a relatively new innovation, so the creation of a high-fidelity audio system was quite remarkable for 1936."

Mark

Posted by Jeffry L. Johnson (Member # 453) on 01-21-2016, 12:35 PM:

The historic cinema in Park City is the Egyptian Theatre.

Egyptian Theatre
Historic Park City
328 Main Street,
Park City UT 84060

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-21-2016, 02:25 PM:

LOL! I like how they call it "Historic". Just about every building in that area of Park Silly could be termed "Historic" just because of the age even though the building style is similar to those "Historic" buildings in Flint, MI that are even older.

Mark

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 01-21-2016, 04:19 PM:

Hey! Mark,

Stop with the Flint Michigan rap. They are in the national news enough without getting into the architecture.

KEN [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-22-2016, 01:19 PM:

But Ken,

They have some great architecture there!

Mark [thumbsup]

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 01-22-2016, 06:31 PM:

Course, if modern is wanted to be seen, go check out LHM's Jordon Commons 17 .. the city within a building.

Take the 102th S Exit off the I-15 Corridor heading South, head towards the mountains. Turn left on State St, down the street some and there you are on the right hand side.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-23-2016, 09:56 AM:

Monte,

Why would you send someone to one of the worst places in the State to see a movie? But I SUPPOSE if you enjoy being treated like another head of cattle then by all means go there. Otherwise it's an absolutely awful place to see a movie.

A better place to check out would be the old Villa Theater, which is now a rug store. The interior has been completely restored to how it was back when it opened as a theater.

Mark

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-23-2016, 10:50 AM:

The Jordan Commons has amazing lobby decor but the auditoriums are oh-so-ordinary and yeah, it's super-busy.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-23-2016, 03:33 PM:

Its actually one of Disney's two or three highest grossing locations in the world. You won't catch me in that place! The local new Cinemark buiilds are way nicer both lobby wise and the auditoriums. Plus all the screens have 4K projectors. Sometimes the Cinemark's are just as crowded.

Mark

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 01-24-2016, 07:16 PM:

Mark,

A recent article in the Flint Journal refers to a group forming to spend 20 Million on the restoration of the Capitol theatre in downtown Flint, Michigan. The exterior of the building is in the Italian renaissance style.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-24-2016, 11:52 PM:

Let's hope they are able,to pull that off. It would be very good for the town!

Posted by Paul Gordon (Member # 3320) on 01-26-2016, 06:05 AM:

Thanks for all the info/insights.... I'll probably just stick to the ski slopes!

–paul