Talk:Indian Hills Theater

Commentary

The theater was a sensation. The final Cinerama film to be shown at the Indian Hills was "How the West Was Won (film)" which played for 42 weeks until it closed in March 1964. Thereafter the theater played regular first-run films through a single projector in the 70mm or 35mm format. In 1968 "2001: A Space Odyssey" was presented in the 70mm format and billed as Cinerama. With its big screen and extensive sound system the Indian Hills was the preferred venue to see any film. The theater was the finest in Omaha from the day it opened until the day it closed.

This paragraph is full of violations of Wikipedia's neutrality policy. (As an aside, Indian Hills may have been wonderful when it opened, but it was a dump by the time it closed. Only the fools who wanted to keep it open thought it was some sort of jewel.) No, the ones that voiced the loudest protest were ones that had never gone to it or had not been to it in ten years. It was starting to show its age by the early 80s. Carpeting mended with duct tape for example.

I have removed the statements that "The theater was a sensation" and "With its big screen and extensive sound system the Indian Hills was the preferred venue to see any film. The theater was the finest in Omaha from the day it opened until the day it closed." Although the statements that its was the "preferred venue" and "finest in Omaha" appear boastful and therefore biased, there really was nothing like it in the city. However, the statements do not fit in the subheading anyway. --IridiumFlare 19:10, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

ridiculously biased

This article is hardly neutral. Most glaring is the statement that OWH supported the demolition based on parking needs. The theatre, unfortunately, had asbestos and would have required over two million dollars to clean that out. Those of us who truly mourn that theatre (and I'm one of them) should be realistic. Ticket sales had been declining for years since more theatres in West O opened up. Great theatre but without the funds to bring it up to standards, nothing could be done.

It appears that the foregoing bias claims center on the 2001 preservation fight over the theater. The position of Methodist Health Systems in support of demolition should be stated in greater detail and I will attempt to set forth their position and provide a more balanced picture of events.

With respect to the writer's claim that the "Most glaring (example of bias) is the statement that OWH (Omaha World-Herald newspaper) supported the demolition based on parking needs," if the writer is alleging that the newspaper did not support the demolition based on parking needs, the writer is incorrect. The failure of the newspaper to editorially back the preservation effort is a matter of fact which arguably impacted the decision to proceed with demolition of the theater. Over the course of 4 editorials on the preservation fight, the newspaper started with a neutral position and ended up backing Methodist Health Systems' justification for immediate demolition of the theater. In its first editorial on the matter dated July 1, 2001, and titled "The Show and the Money", the Omaha World-Herald stated, in part: "The site has been designated as badly needed parking space for nursing students." Three days after the main theater was demolished, in an editorial dated August 23, 2001, and titled "Is Cinerama Really Gone?", the Omaha World-Herald stated, in part: "We will not condemn Methodist Health Systems for purchasing the property near its headquarters and nursing buildings and tearing down the theater. The health care company saw an opportunity to get much-needed space for expansion at a reasonable price in the Swanson Medical Building, which was included in the Indian Hills deal. It saw a chance to increase parking for its nursing school." The editorial further stated that "Perhaps the most insurmountable negative, however, was parking. Methodist spokesmen said the Indian Hills Theater had operated with untenable parking restrictions". The editorial concluded with a clear anti-preservation message: "But the history and importance did not truly live in the building itself, which was a simple structure on a concrete slab, plain and cheaply constructed. The real significance was in its use and its potential. Methodist has offered the architectural plans for the original building to anyone who wants to reconstruct it. Perhaps the members of the Indian Hills Preservation Society, rather than throw up their hands in despair might begin work toward a new Indian Hills, one that would not have the drawbacks of the old." The World-Herald's "use and potential" approach suggests that any historical building in the way of progress should simply be rebuilt brand-new somewhere else.

I could have easily corrected the entry rather than use the edit function to whine like a bitch about it, but I do especially enjoy whining like a bitch... just as I LOVE ignoring the fact that it was torn down while in the process of acquiring the historical landmark status.

The above writer states that "The theatre, unfortunately, had asbestos and would have required over two million dollars to clean that out." This is the first time I have seen two million dollars as the cost of abating the asbestos in the theater. Asbestos is common in older buildings and is not a problem unless it is "friable" meaning exposed to the air. The ironic reality was that Methodist Health Systems had to remove all of the asbestos anyway before it could demolish the theater. --IridiumFlare 19:10, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

Denver Cooper Supercinerama Demolished

The following statement is incorrect: "The other, located in Denver, still stands but has been heavily modified in two stages. First, the Cooper Theater in Denver was split in two to form the Cooper Twin and later, c.1995, was gutted and converted to a big box electronics outlet." The Denver Cooper had an additional theater built adjoining the circular theater - it was not split in two. In addition, the Denver Cooper was not converted to a big box electronics outlet. The Denver Cooper, located on Colorado Boulevard, was fully demolished and replaced with a Barnes and Noble book store. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.252.26.151 (talk) 01:38, 4 January 2007 (UTC).

Refimprove

I have made a minor addition, but this article urgently needs further citations. If significant sections of text have been removed, it is because the matter has not been addressed in a long time.--Soulparadox (talk) 13:24, 2 August 2014 (UTC)