User:Kgrandb2/HistoryofTheArtTheater
| Size | 8,800 sq.ft. |
|---|---|
| Includes | 248 seats, marquee letters, concession counter, lobby |
| Awards | Champaign-Urbana's Best Movie Theater, Roger Ebert's Best Movie Theater, 1913 Local Landmark |
The Art Theater (formerly named Park Theater, The New Art, and Boardman's Art Theatre) is an independent movie theater located in downtown Champaign, Illinois. Built in 1913 by B.H. Cooper, the Art Theater is the oldest theater in the Champaign county. For its opening night a total of 2,400 patrons arrived for the grand opening of the Park, but many were turned away due to insufficient seating. The first film to be shown was The Last Days of Pompeii, a silent film by director Mario Caserini and Eleuterio Rodolfi. The Alger Brothers took ownership of the Park in 1931. Extensive renovations took place including a new lobby and sound system. The Park closed in 1958, but was quickly reopened by The Art Theatre Guild. The Park was renamed to The Art Theater. For a short period of time the art switched to an adult theater. Then owner Louis Sher switched the format of the theater due to the immense amount of competition from blockbuster theater chains. John Manley purchased the Art in 1986 once again renovating the theater. The theater typically showed foreign and independent films; a theme that has been prominent since its opening.
Today, the Art is owned by David Kraft and leased to Sanford Hess. It holds 248 seats with a wide screen and new sound system. Beginning in 2011, the Art runs in conjunction with Roger Ebert's film festival, Ebertfest, held one block away at the Virginia Theater. Films shown during the film festival have an encore presentation at the Art.
History
[edit]Opening day
[edit]On November 12, 1913 the Park Theatre opened its doors to a crowd of 2,400 patrons.[1] It joined the Crescent Theatre, the Crystal Theatre, the Lyric Theatre, the Varsity Theatre and the Walker Opera House as a premiere theater in the Champaign County. There were four showings that evening, but many patrons were turned away for lack of room in the single screen theater. The theater featured a world premiere film as well as other feature films which had only been viewed five times worldwide. The projectionist for the evening was J.E. Myers. A local organist named Miss Hale provided piano accompaniment for the picture alongside the Frison orchestra. It wasn't until Thursday February 19, 1914 that the Park experienced its Grand Opening. The theater showcased its two manual pipe organ specifically made by the Hinners Organ Company of Perkin.[1] The first film to accompany the organ was The Last Days of Pompeii, a silent film by director Mario Caserini and Eleuterio Rodolfi.[2] It was the first of many silent films shown at the Park until the theater was converted to sound in 1929.[2]
New Owner
[edit]Beginning in 1931, the Park was under the ownership of the Alger Brothers. Roughly $15,000 worth of remodeling was accomplished by July 16 and August 29, 1936.[1] The lobby was increased to by twice its size during renovations as well as the box office relocating from within the theater to the front. The new lobby included lounges on both sides of the entrance as well at the manager's office moving from the left side of the entrance to the right. Inside the auditorium a new acoustical material was added to the walls and a new sound system was installed. In the spring of 1937, air conditioning was installed.This system was updated from a water cooling system to mechanical refrigeration in July, 1947.
New Name
[edit]
On Monday July 21, 1958 the Park permanently closed. Two months later on September 25, 1958 The Art Theatre Guild bought the Park. They changed the Park Theatre to the Art Theater and reopened on Friday, October 3, 1958. The premiere film was The Red and the Black, based on author Stendal's classic novel Rouge et Noir.[1] Remodeling efforts took place with the name change including revamping the lobby and restrooms, adding new flooring, plumbing and wiring, and installing new seats. The Art Theatre Guild added new features to the theater such as free coffee and art exhibits in the lobby.[1]
Adult Theater
[edit]By 1971, major theater chains began popping up in the Champaign-Urbana community. In addition to showing blockbuster films, theaters began to show art films--a major selling point for the Art. This made it difficult for then owner Louis Sher to compete against. In order to reinvigorate the Art attendance Sher switched from exclusively showing art films to "adult" movies.[1] The theater continued to show "adult" films until September 1986 when Sher moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. The proliferation of adult movies on videotape sparked a decline in moviegoer attendance.[2] As a result, the Art was closed and the building put up for sale. This was the last "adult" theater in Champaign-Urbana.
1986-Present Day
[edit]On January 15 1987, the Art theater was purchased by John Manley, Ron Epple, and Tom Angelica for $90,000. They bought the building because they liked it.[1] Renovations for the theater involved repainting the auditorium, painted and papered the lobby, washed the seats, relaid the carpet, rewired the theater and projection room and installed a new screen.[1] The theater officially reopened on February 12, 1987 under the name the New Art theater. The owners felt it was necessary to change the name in order to disassociate the new theater with adult's only Art Theater. Under this new guise, the owner's reopened its doors to foreign and art features. The first film shown was Turtle Diary directed by John Irving, starring Ben Kingsley and Glenda Jackson. Typically, films were shown on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. Eventually the theater operated seven days a week. [1]
In 1991, Manley passed leaving the primary operations to his partner, Tom Angelica. Due in part to donations, The Art underwent more renovations including new seats in 1998.[2]The property lease was purchased by David Kraft in January 2001, however Angelica remained tenants/operators of the property until 2003.The Art temporarily closed down in February 2003, but was quickly reopened under owner Greg Boardman. A new state of the art projection and sound system were installed and the theater was renamed as Boardman's Art Theatre from 2003 to 2009.[1] Boardman also operated the Lorraine Theater in Hoopeston, Illinois during this time.[3] Sanford Hess, tenant and operator of the Art, has maintained the tradition of showing limited foreign and independent films as well adding new features such as alcohol, healthier concession snacks, and late night films. Starting late in 2010, the Art has implemented multiple green programs. This includes recycling cups, serving popcorn in bags made from recycled paper, using 100% biodegradable cups made from corn, placing recycling bins by all exits, and purchasing pastries from a local baker.[4] Additionally, the popcorn is locally grown from Central Illinois and cooked in low fat canola oil.Other green steps taken at the Art include recycling film trailers, as opposed to throwing them away, and by doing so keeping toxic chemicals our of landfills.
Architecture
[edit]The original Park Theater owner, B.H. Cooper, derived many of the architectural styles from Chicago theaters and local venues. Chicago architect Lewis E. Russel created floor plans based off of Cooper's designs. It took four months to construct the building and was financed by Isaac Kuhns, an owner of the theater for many years.[1]The building designed resemble the early 20th century architectural styles common during this time. It was a maroon brick building with three vertical column windows extending from the second to the third floor.
The initial design of the theater had a rectangular one hundred foot long and forty-four foot wide auditorium which seated six hundred. Unlike other theaters during this time the Park Theater was designed specifically to show movies. Without the need for dressing rooms and a fly loft the stage was designed significantly smaller than normal.[1] The original screen was two to three feet from the back wall. Like the conventional theater, a curtain track was placed in front of the screen and pulled open and closed during the beginning and end of a film. The auditorium had carpet runners in each aisle with the remainder sections of the floor with plain concrete. This was a major selling point because it reassured patrons that the theater was fireproof.[5]
Currently the screen is three feet closer to the audience in order to accommodate for wider format movies. As such, many of the carved plaster proscenium architecture has been removed. There are two red carpeted aisles separating the auditorium.