Pondering An Emory Village Movie Theater
May 14, 2009 | 11:39 amI wrote on this topic a couple days ago in my oft-celebrated “Emory Smorgasbord” post, but Macarolina inquired into giving it a little more exposure.
We’ve talked a lot about movie theaters over the past few months, lamenting lost buildings downtown and wondering whether the city could support a new one. However, now it turns out we may not need to put in the effort…just reap the sweet rewards.
The Alliance to Improve Emory Village is working with Goizueta to gauge interest in a movie theater as part of the complete redesign of Emory Village.
What do people think of the idea and what kind of theater would you hope it would be?
Personally, I think something like Midtown Arts would be great.
I’m with you. I think something like the Landmark Midtown would be ideal: 75% art and foreign, 25% mainstream Hollywood releases. My first preference would be within walking distance downtown, but that’s probably a pipe dream. You have a built in audience for that mix in Emory and Decatur. I do worry if it would hurt the Landmark and possibly the Tara, but seems like it could only help to develop that audience and provide a greater selection of intelligent films in this city.
That said, I do remember a time when Lefont was the only game in town and his were about the only screens bringing in non-mainstream stuff, with a few film societies doing one-off screenings. Compared to those days, we’re already pretty spoiled.
The Emory University Department of Film Studies already presents free artsy, non-mainstream films during the fall and spring semesters. Check their website for information and schedule — big screen, nice theatre, usually a crowd, sometimes a free reception afterward. There are some film lectures on their schedule too.
I would die for a neighborhood movie theater that played something other than Rocky Horror Picture Show. I’d be fine with a Midtown Arts style theater or one that included some family films or a combo.
For what it’s worth, I just thought I’d mention that there actually used to be a movie theater in the heart of the Emory Village, a 492 seater! It was known as The Emory Theatre and it was located at 1439 Oxford Road on the site where Domino’s Pizza is now located. I think it was in business from the (late?) 1930s to the late 1970s, until a fire burned down the building.
For way more information, check out Cinema Treasures’ entry on the theater.
http://cinematreasures.org/theater/11658/
Make sure to scroll down to read the comments, as that’s where most of the information is located. A former employee (a projectionist, I think) named Mike had some really great details to offer.
I cringe at the thought of Midtown Arts Cinema (or something like it). I’m a big, big movie guy. Watch lots of them.
But Midtown Arts Cinema has got to go. For every cool movie they show, they show nine others I could see at any multiplex in the Atlanta region. Seriously, check their lineup right now. A whole bunch of mainstream stuff — which is fine; I’m not pretentious — and then a few, small independent films. The theater is owned by Landmark Theatres, which is a very smart company. First and foremost, Landmark is a business, but they do an extraordinary job convincing people in all major, American cities that if you want to be into movies, you need to go to their theaters (even if you’re unware said theater is owned by Landmark). They create these really nice theaters, and they put them in progressive neighborhoods and they fill the lobby with massive, foreign art house and classics posters and they whisper to you, “If you want to learn about cinema this is the place. And it will only cost you… $10 per ticket.”
Even the Atlanta Film Festival sniffs their throne, and I don’t understand it.
Which is why I go to Plaza Theatre on Ponce de Leon Avenue. That place is honest, guys. It’s a dingy old grindhouse (essentially) that used to be a porn theater, and they show most of the indy stuff you’re gonna wanna check out at Midtown, and then they show stuff Midtown would never have the stones to show like classic, ’80s slasher movies and classic comedies like “Raising Arizona.”
And it’s cheap. It’s so cheap.
That’s the kind of theater I want more of. Not this Midtown stuff.
OK, crib, you’ve got Landmark all figured out and so do a lot of people. That’s what they do, fine, but why does that mean that Midtown Arts Cinema “has got to go?” They seem to be doing pretty well and popular with lots of folks. And seem to be a better option than an AMC or something – I mean they’ll serve me a beer, so god bless them.
Thanks for giving this topic its own forum DM! Thanks also Carolyn for the Emory info on already available arts films.
While I was glad to hear that Emory Village has even a remote possibility of having a movie theater included in its mix, I was hoping that idea may also instigate more creative thinking about how we could get a movie venue in walking distance of downtown Decatur and its restaurants. Part of Midtown Arts’ benefits isn’t just that it has arts films available, but that you can also have a meal nearby and then stroll to the film afterwards. Oh how I would love to do that in Decatur.
I missed out on prior threads discussing a potential Decatur theater, so maybe all the creative thinking has been done. I certainly know that movie theaters are on slim margins and it is extremely difficult to get a new one up and started, especially in a high rent area. Did any of the prior discussion discuss potential public/private partnerships to get a theater in place? I watch the new auditorium at the high school go up and wonder if we didn’t miss an opportunity there… or an opportunity that is still viable? How great would a community based movie theater be where, with supervision, the high school students help run it? The kids would get employment, business and management experience if it is set up as some type of Jr. Achievement program, and the community would receive a double benefit of movies nearby and dual use of taxpayer bond funded facilities that are vacant during many hours of the evening and weekends. Area businesses would also get a boon as I suspect there would be extra traffic for a dinner and a movie linkage.
If we’ve missed the boat or it is too difficult to share resources w/ Decatur schools, is there any hope of enticing a developer to include a one or two screen theater as part of public space concessions? (I know, as long as there is parking nearby!)
Both of these ideas are probably pie in the sky, but I’m curious if anyone else thinks there is even a remote possibility of making something work in Decatur.
What about that huge carpet warehouse place on West Ponce next to Decatur CD? Sharian? That would be the perfect spot for an in-town cinema … I could stumble past the Grange on my way home…
I like your attitude, Lisa. Consider me on board.
One small clarification, though. Decatur actually does have both. Downtown, even by obscene suburban standards, is over-parked. The difference is that, because it’s in various midblock decks, it requires a modicum of consideration and flexibility on the part of the driver. It’s not spoon-fed to the masses. You can’t drive here on autopilot and automatically expect a space five feet from the door.
Oh, boo hoo.
Seriously, I’m with you. I find the “insufficient parking” criticism exasperating for two reasons. First, it’s contrary to the kind of downtown we’re trying to create and, second, it’s not even true!
Oh, the irony.
Forget the parking–I want someone to come to my house, pick me up, and plop me in one of those pedicabs. Then I want the pedicab driver/rider to pick me up and plop on a bar stool in the Brickstore.
Ha ha…that is, “…and plop me on a bar stool…”
Grrrrr, I put one meant-to-be-sarcastic comment in my post (parking), and the whole point of the post gets derailed for the rest of the thread. Seriously, I was not serious about the parking. I was hoping to get some real feedback on ideas for walkable (not parkable) theater locations, as well as potential partnerships to make this really happen. Anyone?
If I had my druthers, I’d go with something along the lines of Midtown’s Landmark– they do show the big blockbusters, but they also show lots of indie stuff, too. I think they’re smart to hedge their bets, because theatres can seldom live by indies alone (plus, selling frosty adult beverages never hurt anyone’s bottom line). I wonder if a Movie Tavern-type establishment would go over here? What with all the PWKs who live here, I think it could do pretty well…
It could happen…look what they did in Marietta….
http://www.earlsmithstrand.org/index.php
If only we had a ’30s art deco theater to inspire us Dawg.
The last time we talked about this I was also in favor of using the new auditorium for things like movie showings and other large community gatherings. Its central location begs to be used for things other than DHS assemblies.
Yep, sad Decatur lost this. Would the old Masonic building work?
My post had more to do with what can happen when folks come together to do something like we are referring to. What about that building with the two story entrance/glass front on Chuch street near the Commerce Intersection…facing west?
There’s no lack of support for these kinda ideas in Decatur. What we need are people that will organize these efforts.
Same goes for my old food co-op idea.
One of the great wonders of the Midtown Arts operation is they sell beer and wine in the lobby. It makes some of the romantic comedies almost tolerable. Why no one else can do this, I have no idea, but it’s the killer app of theatres – people have just had dinner, and presumably drinks – sell them more.
Speaking of dinner and a movie, that’s why the parking thing shouldn’t be such a huge deal in Decatur, as long as the theatre is smack dab amongst the bazillion restaurants we’ve got downtown. People would park as if they are going to dinner, which is a different mindset than when you are going to a movie at the mall or wherever and have acres of parking.
When I lived in Cincinnati, the Esquire Theater was in my neighborhood of Clifton. It’s still there and I think it is exactly what most people are talking about in this thread. Check it out here: http://www.esquiretheatre.com/Home%20Page.htm
It had two screens when I was there but it has since expanded to four, I think. I bet Decatur and the surrounding areas could support it.
I know the perfect place for a Decatur Theatre…The same place it used to be on N. McDonough St.
I like the Plaza and visit it frequently, but it’s sometimes a little too close to its porn theater roots for my tastes. I swear the guy two rows in front of us at a screening of “Little Children” was jerking off (ironic, considering the onscreen action).
It sounds to me like your disdain for the Midtown has more to do with your philosophical bias than anything they’re doing particularly wrong. Yes, they do show some mainstream films, but the majority of what they show is not. On an average week, it’s 2 or 3 mainstream releases with 5 or 6 arthouse choices. That is an acceptable ratio in my book (compare them to Madstone up in Sandy Springs a few years ago, which started as an arthouse but quickly shifted to carrying 80% mainstream with a couple of token arthouse options). If the selection right now trends toward the mainstream, it’s because it’s summer and that’s what’s out there, except for the odd documentary or foreign flick that makes it through. The Plaza is a different animal with a different business model. I would argue that their dependence on horror fare and the cult flick du jour is just as limiting.
Incidentally, I don’t think I’ve ever paid $10 for a screening at Midtown. They sell a book of 5 passes for $30, and they can be redeemed at any time except Friday or Saturday night. And they show stuff the Plaza never would think of touching. I’m sorry if you somehow find them pretentious, but frankly, you’re coming off that way yourself.
Macarolina,
There are over 8,000 parking spaces in downtown Decatur. If we either can’t get out of our cars and walk to our neighborhood theater or, if we must drive downtown, walk 5 minutes from a parking garage to where we are going, then we don’t deserve to have our own little independant art theater. Go to the megaplex – there is plenty of parking there.
We can’t have a dense little walkable downtown area if enough parking is provided for every restaurant, theatre, or shop. Otherwise, we’d have a sea of parking lots, not actual places we want to go.
Sorry for the tangent, I’m just so damned tired of hearing lack of parking as an excuse for either why we can’t do something or why a business is failing. You can either have parking and strip malls or not a lot of parking and a nice walkable downtown. You can’t have both.
I assume you’re joking, as I’m sure the owners of that long-running Decatur establishment (since 1931) would be uncomfortable with the idea of their place being taken out of their hands for a movie theater.
I’ve had the exact same thought, Russ. That seems an odd location for a Persian rug dealer. I’m amazed its been there since 1931! Incidentally, I once ventured inside with the idea of buying a small rug and quickly realized I could only afford one the size of a welcome mat, if they had actually had one that small.
I am joking, a bit… I’ve walked by it many times and thought it would be perfect for a cinema. It’s massive (the part around the back, if you know what I mean). Huge…
I’m with you lump…Landmark beats the hell out of most of what we have in ATL..Plaza is fun, but it targets a pretty limited niche; we don’t need another one. I would like to see a theater that mixes mainstream, art house, and the occasional revival, and goes out of its way to provide a quality film experience in terms of proper projection and calibrated audio. That would earn my loyalty, especially if the theater attracted audiences who are there to see the movie, not noisily eat and drink or catch up with their friends.
I agree 100%.
I remember the scratchy answering machine that used to announce that week’s movies before the fire that destroyed half the Village in Jan ’79
“All Seats, All Times, Ninety-Nine Cents”
I remember watching the Village fire. Mnay of my Yankeefriends wouldn’t be surprised at this, but the weather was so cold that the water from the firehoses froze and made beautiful patterns on the burned-out skeleton of the buildings. The shopping center wrapped around the corner and down Oxford, fillng in from the center of Everybody’s down to where the Arlyn Worth school is/was housed.
All that empty space where the Dominoes has been built was was brick(?) storefronts, with a sandwich shop (Dogwoods) a nice large-ish bookstore, and other businesses.
Here’s the only photo I can find of the fire damage
http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/meta/html/dlg/vang/meta_dlg_vang_dek350-85.html?Welcome
or
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xpkranger/2805128472/
There are photos of it (or at least there used to be!) up on the wall at Everybody’s!
Seriously. I live in Oakhurst and run all my errands in downtown Decatur by loading by baby into his stroller and WALKING! We walk to mommy-son breakfast most Sundays at Crescent Moon/Thumbs Up. It takes about 20-30 minutes each way. We could walk to the movies for sure!
What about the Wordsmiths space? How big is that? Could it hold two screens and some seats? Somebody gimme some free money and let’s do it! (hey, not a bad thought- what about a community co-op theater?).
I like the community co-op idea! I still think we’d need some city or other private funding to make the location happen. Omaha has a a non-profit art film house with a membership base that helps support its operations and a foundation that got it built. Granted, there is a lot of Buffet money in Omaha, but they later found out as a non-profit, they could have used bond proceeds to fund the capital costs. I wouldn’t want to entirely bond fund a project like this here, but maybe there is a sliver of the high school property that the schools could donate to the film center project (in exchange for use of the facilities during the day time), and some of future general obligation bond funds could go towards construction? add in the membership and foundation drive, maybe it could work?
Here is a link to the Omaha film non profit: http://www.filmstreams.org/
Indeed Next Stop!
Anyone want to buy the parking lot next to Eddie’s? Those condos are never being built.
Hmmm, maybe the school district can buy that lot, and some form of public/private/nonprofit partnership can build extra lecture rooms for the high school (their enrollment must be set to increase too, right?) for daytime use, and evening and weekend movie theater use. Movie co-op/foundation runs the theater and any profits go towards the maintenance of the building. Maybe some city rec funding, so that the facility can also be used for sr. programs or after school programs?
I thought the developers of the Decatur House were just sitting on their entitlements until the market improves. Their website’s still live:
http://www.decaturhousega.com/
What have you heard, DM?
Sorry, should haven’t written “It seems like those condos will never be built.”
I have heard and know nothing.
It can be very difficult for a theater to get a liquor license, especially when that theater is in close proximity to a high school, as a downtown Decatur theater would be. It is my understanding that the Landmark’s proximity to Grady made getting their license quite a challenge, and that Trader Joe’s location languished for months waiting for same.
That said, Decatur and the responsible consumption of fine adult beverages go together like peaches and cream. Maybe a movie theater/brew pub should be the next project tackled by the Brickstore boys?