Angelika Film Center closed

[sevfiv]

There was talk about this a couple years ago (http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/16102-angelika-to-close/) but it happened today:

"A sign on the front door tells patrons the theater's landlord, Bayou Place Limited Partnership, terminated its lease."

http://blogs.chron.com/newswatch/2010/08/its_the_final_curtain_for_the.html

[mkultra25]

Wow, that truly sucks, but I can't say I'm completely surprised. It was a very nice theater when it fist opened amid great fanfare, but they couldn't make the restaurant/bar in the lobby work out, and the facilities didn't really seem to be maintained too well over time, as it got progressively more run-down.

It seems like there ought to be a market for a movie theater downtown, but considering that a big chunk of moviegoers these days are teenagers - not exactly downtown's key demographic - maybe not. I'll miss the Angelika, it was mighty convenient to leave my house and be settling into a seat there 15 minutes later, and it was a nice alternative to the standard big-box megaplex.

[GovernorAggie]

I agree with the convenience, and I only went to the Angelika for the first time a few months ago. It was eerie to me to see basically half of the lobby abandoned, and the bathrooms with the rusted urinal walls looked like it was better suited for Silent Hill. I don't know the condition of the Angelika Theaters in Dallas, but based on the website and the types of movies shown (read: popular and therefore broad traffic generators) I'm inclined to believe that they're in better shape than their only Houston location.

I am curious as to why the lease was torn up, though. It looks like the owner told them to get out, but for what reason? Maybe they weren't making their lease payments on time or in full.

[editor]

I went when the theater first opened and had a great experience. It's sad to hear that it went downhill from there. Even sadder to hear that it's closed.

I've noticed a lot of large theaters with bars in them these days. I've never seen any where the bar seemed to do any reasonable business, even when it was freely accessible to non-moviegoers, too.

[jdbaker]

This is terrible news, though not surprising as they had been without heat and air-conditioning in parts of the theater since winter.

I think I have officially given up on downtown. Nothing seems to work. Pavilions is a ghost town. Main Street is dead. Aside from Discovery Green/OPP it's a complete disaster.

[GovernorAggie]

I must admit that there are times when I've been inclined to believe that downtown is pretty much all that it's going to be--and I love being a downtown resident. I think the West End Walmart discussion presents some bigger questions for downtown...in my opinion downtown is going to need as many "soulless," "corporate," "cookie cutter" chain establishments as it can get. I think it gives people a comfort level that can eventually lead to them branching out and trying local places like Hearsay or Byrd's or Table 7. In other words, I think downtown needs the cookie-cutter establishments to serve as magnets or gateways to the specialty ones. I'd happily welcome an AMC or Regal or Alamo Drafthouse in Bayou Place to replace Angelika--even if it means that it'll attract tons more annoying teens and skateboarders. In other words, the quicker downtown can gain mass appeal, the better.

[jdbaker]

I must admit that there are times when I've been inclined to believe that downtown is pretty much all that it's going to be--and I love being a downtown resident. I think the West End Walmart discussion presents some bigger questions for downtown...in my opinion downtown is going to need as many "soulless," "corporate," "cookie cutter" chain establishments as it can get. I think it gives people a comfort level that can eventually lead to them branching out and trying local places like Hearsay or Byrd's or Table 7. In other words, I think downtown needs the cookie-cutter establishments to serve as magnets or gateways to the specialty ones. I'd happily welcome an AMC or Regal or Alamo Drafthouse in Bayou Place to replace Angelika--even if it means that it'll attract tons more annoying teens and skateboarders. In other words, the quicker downtown can gain mass appeal, the better.

I too am a downtown resident, and I want nothing more than to see downtown succeed. I agree that downtown should welcome any retail establishments or restaurants that can support themselves. Attracting more people during evenings and weekends is essential to downtown's ability to support the types of establishments that make for a desirable place to live and play. However, I'm not sure that chain establishments are the answer. Compared to most other parts of Houston, getting to downtown is a hassle. Parking is always going to come at a cost. As a result, if there is a comparable establishment closer to one's home, why go downtown? I think the answer is unique establishments, which only exist downtown and will draw people to downtown. The House of Blues and Lucky Strike are good examples of what I have in mind. The question then becomes, why locate these establishments downtown if you are an owner/developer? Land prices are high, and past history indicates that your chance of success is slim. Unless there is a subsidy involved (e.g. Houston Pavilions and OPP) is just doesn't make sense.

[Subdude]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear this. I probably went to the Angelika more than any other theater in Houston. Maybe a smaller venue showing the same kinds of movies would work downtown.

It is sad that with both the Greenway Plaza theater and Angelika gone that Houston only has one remaining theater showing "independents".

[TheNiche]

I too am a downtown resident, and I want nothing more than to see downtown succeed. I agree that downtown should welcome any retail establishments or restaurants that can support themselves. Attracting more people during evenings and weekends is essential to downtown's ability to support the types of establishments that make for a desirable place to live and play. However, I'm not sure that chain establishments are the answer. Compared to most other parts of Houston, getting to downtown is a hassle. Parking is always going to come at a cost. As a result, if there is a comparable establishment closer to one's home, why go downtown? I think the answer is unique establishments, which only exist downtown and will draw people to downtown. The House of Blues and Lucky Strike are good examples of what I have in mind. The question then becomes, why locate these establishments downtown if you are an owner/developer? Land prices are high, and past history indicates that your chance of success is slim. Unless there is a subsidy involved (e.g. Houston Pavilions and OPP) is just doesn't make sense.

Consider that downtown Houston has about 140,000 people that go to work there every day. And during business hours on a weekday, downtown transforms into a very livable place. Really, it does. Most of the retail is underground, invisible to visitors, but there most definitely is plenty to do. I can't help but think that downtown would be the neatest place to both work and live if you had to work the graveyard shift.

The trick may not be so much to lure more people there, but to get them to stick around after work. So...let's profile the typical downtown worker and see what might entice them to do their shopping downtown. Who is that person, and what do they buy?

Unfortunately, I can only answer one of those questions.

According to this year's retail analysis of downtown Houston, the average downtown employee spends $6,400 per year (or about $25.60 per day, assuming 250 working days per year). The caveat: nearly half of that (45.4%) is spent on full-service or limited-service dining. Another 15.3% is spent on general merchandise, 13.7% is spent on groceries, and 10.2% is spent on apparel. The remainder is 15.4%, to be spent on other goods and services. The study identifies department stores and discount department stores represent--by a huge margin--the greatest potential new entrants for the downtown market. So Governor Aggie probably is onto something or another.

As for who the downtown worker is, Central Houston, Inc. doesn't seem to know. (Or perhaps they do, but don't want retailers to know that the median-earning downtown worker is an administrative assistant.) I don't care to speculate about their motive, however I would posit that most people are unimaginative, desire consistency over prospective quality, and probably like the idea of independent locally-owned venues more than they like the idea of patronizing them. Also bear in mind that any group of co-workers trying to organize a happy hour will have to satiate the preferences of vegetarians, vegans, dieters, AA members, the extraordinarily risk-averse diner, or the picky eater. Even in instances where there are numerous options and the majority of people are reasonable, the agreed-upon outcome is often Chili's.

[KinkaidAlum]

What a big blow and not just to downtown. The Houston region is now down to just the River Oaks for indie movies.

Something in this story is odd though; the Angelika mentions their lease not being renewed but why in the world would the operators of Bayou Place want to do that? I am hoping there is something in the works (maybe it's taken over by AMC or Landmark). Not much will work in that space unless the landlords spend a ton of money to remove the theaters and then build out again.

[kylejack]

The rumor is that the Bayou Place people wanted to raise the rent, but Angelika was unwilling to pay it, considering the landlord was dragging their feet to repair the recent A/C problem.

Anyway, it is depressing, especially considering that Weingarten keeps threatening to raze Landmark River Oaks.

[GovernorAggie]

So Governor Aggie probably is onto something or another.

...I would posit that most people are unimaginative, desire consistency over prospective quality, and probably like the idea of independent locally-owned venues more than they like the idea of patronizing them. Also bear in mind that any group of co-workers trying to organize a happy hour will have to satiate the preferences of vegetarians, vegans, dieters, AA members, the extraordinarily risk-averse diner, or the picky eater. Even in instances where there are numerous options and the majority of people are reasonable, the agreed-upon outcome is often Chili's.

Thanks, Niche! However, I must admit in these economic topics, if I'm even remotely close to being on to something--it's purely accidental, lol.

That being said, the points about most people being unimaginative and about people liking the idea of independent establishments vs. actually patronizing them (and settling on Chili's) are exactly what I was talking about. My guess is that the percentage of Houstonians who knew/cared about the Angelika closing when it was on the news tonight is +/- 10 percent. On the flip side, I'd be surprised if at least half of Houstonians watching the news weren't surprised/impressed of a news report saying that AMC was opening a 24 screen, IMAX-equipped theater with the company's first glasses-free 3-D screens in the heart of downtown. I think that the chances of an AMC generating more customers for Bonzai or Hunan or some other independent venue are greater than the Angelika ever could. Similarly, when the Lakehouse and Grove restaurants opened in Discovery Green, the buzz about them wasn't because they were the Lakehouse and Grove as much as it was because they were linked to the brains behind the known-Cafe Express chain. For Market Square, it was "A" Niko Nikos is opening. For HP, it was "A" McCormicks, "A" III Forks, "A" House of Blues, and "A" Lucky Strike that got people interested--much more interested than the yet-to-open Hank's Ice Cream (which will likely get more traffic if Marble Slab opens than if it were there alone). On the other hand, how many people were bummed out that HP got Books-A-Million instead of "A" Virgin Megastore or "A" Borders or even "A" Barnes and Noble?

Chains aren't a bad thing. Preferably downtown gets Houston's first locations of other national chains--H&M comes to mind--which will excite people and create spinoff benefits to the lesser known but high-quality independent places. And hopefully other chains come in. I've long believed that a Five Guys and/or a Chick-Fil-A and/or a Jack-in-the-Box and/or a TGI Fridays and/or a Chili's and/or and Applebee's on street level would only be good for Macondo, Cielo, and Byrd's (to name a few). I also think that a Kohl's and/or Academy and/or CompUSA and/or and Apple Store (although I'm not an iPerson) would lift the boats of that Fishing/Hunting gear store near 2 Shell and Tipping Point.

Mass appeal is what downtown needs in order to appeal to the tastes of the masses. In the long-term, I'd like to think that siphoning some of the increase in "the masses" will eventually pay greater dividends than focusing only on specialty markets.

This has just been a layperson's mind at work. Brain dump over, lol.

[Howard Huge]

Just heard this on am740. Anyone hear what happened?

[Howard Huge]

From daily cougar:

A note from the Angelika Film Center:

“We regret to inform you that the Angelika Film Center closed today.

After 13 years of continued service to the Houston community, the Angelika’s lease has been terminated by the Angelika’s landlord, Bayou Place Limited Partnership, an affiliate of the Cordish Company.

Since it opened in 1997, the Angelika has been committed to exhibiting the best in specialty, foreign and independent film to Houston film lovers. Houston has been an important market for Angelika and its family of theatres for years.

The management staff of the Angelika Film Center have enjoyed being an important part of Houston’s Theater District and we leave Bayou Place with the greatest appreciation to all those who have supported the Angelika for so many years.

AngelikaFilmCenter.com”

In the meantime, Houstonians can still find specialized film at the River Oaks movie theater.

[Howard Huge]

Lol, I love the user comments on chron:

sugarlandparent wrote:

Lots of unhappy people. But over the course of the last 8-10 years, downtown changed for the worse. Back then, downtown was a happening place and undergoing a renaissance. Main Street was similar to Austin's 6th Street, but with a more mature crowd. Then around 2005/2006 and after, many of the clubs downtown started catering to the hip-hop and rap crowd; after that crowd was perceived to dominate, it ran off everyone else who normally went downtown (including the folks who would typically go to Angelika). Downtown was never the same; slow/dead compared to before, and much of what was left was hip-hop and juvenile. So the Angelika closing really isn't that surprising. Sad but true...

Sounds like a poster on haif.

[sevfiv]

Like topics combined..

[ToryGattis]

On the flip side, I'd be surprised if at least half of Houstonians watching the news weren't surprised/impressed of a news report saying that AMC was opening a 24 screen, IMAX-equipped theater with the company's first glasses-free 3-D screens in the heart of downtown.

Hadn't heard that. Is that a hypothetical, or do you have a link?

I think this closing actually reflects the success of downtown. That space is worth a whole lot more now filled with restaurants/bars - it's too valuable for movie screens. Combine that with the rise of Netflix, Blu-ray, and HD TVs at home - which are just fine for indie movies - and this was inevitable.

What would be a nice outcome, if possible, would be to shrink the Angelika down to a handful of screens (3 or 4? maybe in the less valuable space deep inside the building?) and convert the rest of the space to the more valuable restaurants/clubs. Then we'd still have the theater along with the new stuff.

[jdbaker]

I think this closing actually reflects the success of downtown. That space is worth a whole lot more now filled with restaurants/bars - it's too valuable for movie screens. Combine that with the rise of Netflix, Blu-ray, and HD TVs at home - which are just fine for indie movies - and this was inevitable.

Hopefully the above is correct, however, given the revolving door of restaurants that have come and gone at Bayou Place, and the vacancy rate at pavilions and other of similar properties downtown, I suspect this space is going to be empty for a long time.

[brunsonpark08]

The clock is now ticking on the River Oaks Theatre. Mark my words, Weingarden will find some loophole and the River Oaks will be shut down in the dead of night. This just blows big time. I would probably see a film at the Angelika maybe ever other weekend. I appreciated their committment to independent/foreign offerings as well as the occasional Hollywood blockbuster. It was so awesome to go see a film and not be surrounded by teenagers and texters. Why do you have to turn on your cell phone during a movie? I knew the Angelika was in trouble (a/c problems, worn out facilities, restaurant) but I did not expect this to happen so soon. I hope the AMC 30, Edwards Greenway, and Marquee will pick up some of the films that are now in limbo. The MFAH's programing has become a joke. It just angers me how it is better to tear down a place that to keep it going. Astroworld is now a vacant lot and the Greenway 3 is covered by plywood. I cannot see a foreign film in this town but there is a wine bar/hipster restaurant popping up on every corner.

[Subdude]

Hadn't heard that. Is that a hypothetical, or do you have a link?

I think this closing actually reflects the success of downtown. That space is worth a whole lot more now filled with restaurants/bars - it's too valuable for movie screens. Combine that with the rise of Netflix, Blu-ray, and HD TVs at home - which are just fine for indie movies - and this was inevitable.

What would be a nice outcome, if possible, would be to shrink the Angelika down to a handful of screens (3 or 4? maybe in the less valuable space deep inside the building?) and convert the rest of the space to the more valuable restaurants/clubs. Then we'd still have the theater along with the new stuff.

Agreed it might make sense to shrink the theater, and I appreciate trying to put a positive spin on things, but really, closure hardly reflects the success of downtown. Quite the opposite. After all, DVDs, and before that videotapes, have been around for decades. Some people would prefer to see movies at a theater rather than wait for them to show up on DVD.

[C2H]

Agreed it might make sense to shrink the theater, and I appreciate trying to put a positive spin on things, but really, closure hardly reflects the success of downtown. Quite the opposite. After all, DVDs, and before that videotapes, have been around for decades. Some people would prefer to see movies at a theater rather than wait for them to show up on DVD.

Although i was never really impressed with the Angelika because it didn't play BOX ofice movies much, I'm sad to hear of the closing. Maybe this may make way for a AMC or Alamo Drafthouse to open up downtown.

[sevfiv]

"...Bayou Place will replace Angelika with an “operator of the highest quality” and plans to make that announcement shortly."

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/08/30/daily5.html

[Htowngirl]

And the plot thickens with conflicting statements from Angelika and Bayou Place...

Also, there's a facebook group to bring a theater back to downtown:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Film-Theater-to-Downtown-Houston/131082840271750?v=wall

[C2H]

"...Bayou Place will replace Angelika with an “operator of the highest quality” and plans to make that announcement shortly."

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/08/30/daily5.html

Great! A reassurance basically telling us NOTHING. For all we knw, it could be another random bar or some other bland development. Hopefully we hear some good news and soon. I'm not sure how long is "Shortly" when it comes to landlord's terms.

[VicMan]

Agreed it might make sense to shrink the theater, and I appreciate trying to put a positive spin on things, but really, closure hardly reflects the success of downtown. Quite the opposite. After all, DVDs, and before that videotapes, have been around for decades. Some people would prefer to see movies at a theater rather than wait for them to show up on DVD.

But DVDs didn't eat into the film market until the 2000s. In the 1990s there was a theater boom. Now theaters in many parts of the country are downsizing or closing.

[AK123]

I think I have officially given up on downtown. Nothing seems to work. Pavilions is a ghost town. Main Street is dead. Aside from Discovery Green/OPP it's a complete disaster.

But it wasn't always that way... I wouldn't have described downtown that way 6-7 years ago. And the whole period from 1998-2004 or so seemed like things were very lively in downtown, especially around Main Street.

So the question is, what happened? And once that's determined, can (and should) anything be done to reverse it?

Did those patrons just move west to Washington Ave? If so, why?

Etc...

[20thStDad]

But it wasn't always that way... I wouldn't have described downtown that way 6-7 years ago. And the whole period from 1998-2004 or so seemed like things were very lively in downtown, especially around Main Street.

So the question is, what happened? And once that's determined, can (and should) anything be done to reverse it?

Did those patrons just move west to Washington Ave? If so, why?

Etc...

Some of us just got older, moved out of midtown, and stopped going out. It happens. And the hip thing with kids these days is to act and look like a douchebag, which fits better on Washington than downtown.

[rgr]

"...Bayou Place will replace Angelika with an “operator of the highest quality” and plans to make that announcement shortly."

http://www.bizjourna.../30/daily5.html

nancy sarnoff suggests that the operator might be alamo drafthouse. nice idea.

http://blogs.chron.com/primeproperty/2010/08/from_angelika_to_alamo.html

[kylejack]

I have also made that suggestion in several places. I hope it is so.

[Subdude]

nancy sarnoff suggests that the operator might be alamo drafthouse. nice idea.

http://blogs.chron.com/primeproperty/2010/08/from_angelika_to_alamo.html

I could see that working but still a city the size of Houston needs another "independent" movie venue, especially because River Oaks theater is always rumored to be doomed.