SirTonk

Rice University tore down the Village theater about 15 years ago. (Rice owns virtually all the land in the Village). I salvaged the ticket boxes from the theater as they were demolishing it. It was never a very fancy theater but still a good place to see a flick.

As far as I know, Weingarten owns alot of the property in the Village (the Village Arcade specifically) and it was their choice to tear down the theatre. West U also supported tearing it down and the preservation groups weren't able to come up with enough cash to save it.

It's especially ironic since the people of West U would probably like to have the place back and have it all fancied-up.

I think it had to do more with profits, with the same staff it takes to run one screen, a movie operator could run two or more screens. More screens usually means more concession sales, which is where the real profits for the operator is.

I can tell you that the River Oaks was converted to at 3 screen, in '86, because it wasn't worth it to keep the balcony. The theatre rarely sold all 900 seats, if ever, and they could make a whole lot more with another two screens. As far as the big chains, once the magic of the old one screens died it was easier to just throw a few more in there and keep them simple.

And yeah, with first-run films, 90% of income is generated from concessions. About 95% of ticket sales go back to the distributor of the film.

Aha - I've wondered what this building was for several years now but couldn't find anything about it:

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The State Theater - I thought isuredid's ad said 5013 but I guess that's a 9 - 5913 Washington, just east of the Circle.

And the Stude, 11th @ Stude according to the ad. I've noticed that for years whenever I went to Someburger.

The State turned into the Abyss in the 90's and shut down for fire code violations in like '98 I think.

And the Stude is a church now, according to the tax assessor's site. Like every other theatre inside the loop that is still standing...

i drove by that building next to empire cafe today and it looks like it might be done before the end of the year. Does anyone know if any tennants have signed on yet? it would be cool if more established designers like a.p.c or a rag and bone moved in. It could be like a melrose here in houston.

There are enough clothing stores past Buffalo Speedway and up near River Oaks, I'd rather keep some unique stuff in Montrose. But with rent where it is, I don't see that happening. I knew it was the end of the weird when Dave's World shut down.

I have to disagree. This would just be another factor in the purchase price. It would obviously demand a higher price and would most likely have build restrictions to "fit" with the developer's overall plan, but there is a number that Weingarten would definately take for the property. It just happens that due to it being part of a larger parcel, the price would be extremely high versus a similar theater in a stand-alone situation. That is the way the market works.

Of course there is a number than they'll sell for, but that number is so high that it's unreasonable. The people wanting to preserve these theatres aren't as interested in buying the entire shopping center and that's the only way Weingarten will sell for an amount of money that someone is willing to pay.

Also, concerning the Book Stop, a friend of mine was managing there for a while and surprised me with the numbers on how well they do there. He said that they're one of the lowest grossing stores in the city and they take in around $5000 a day, while the other Book Stop / B & N stores make well over $15k on a typical day. So B & N has no problem shutting the place down since the new mulit-story location will apparently rake in the cash in their mind. And we get another Starbucks.

Let's bring the lightrail to Westheimer and Montrose. See

www.RailOnWestheimer.org

What a mess that would be. I'm all about mass transit and trains, but Westheimer would be ridiculous.

Just look where it came from:

Tower Community Center

This is extremely depressing. Who thought it would be a good idea to cover this up? They need to restore the building and turn the Tower back into a theatre, that'd revitalize this intersection more than another wave of chain stores.

I agree with everyone. I was repulsed by the curb appeal. Appears as one of my completed LEGO buildings as a child. I wanted to emphasize how beautiful it is inside though. The views from the balconies (on all sides of the building) are fantastic! The place is somewhat of a Fort Knox as security is quite serious. I imagine because of the loot that's stored within. Ok better stop I've revealed too much!

Yeah, the blue lines in the brick remind me of Duplo blocks. And damn if it doesn't really stand out every time I drive down Allen parkway. I thought that residential complex next to the old Sears was obnoxious, but this place (with the huge eagle) is really in-your-face.

I'm glad we got a Fed building and all, but I still think it's odd that they chose to put it on Allen Parkway and not in downtown where everything else is. Or hell, put it in the Galleria.

edit

Someone should find a way to sneak some red LEDs into the eagle's eyes. Now that would be awesome.

Long reply coming your way. I went through all eleven pages and picked a few topics where I can possibly shed a bit of light. I was in Iraq when this all went down, so wasn't spending much time on the HAIF forums. Glad y'all have helped so much in the preservation effort.

I've been working at the River Oaks for a few years and am the lead projectionist and senior Houston manager. If y'all have any questions, or would like a tour of the place, let me know. I'm putting together a weekly tour that will include a slideshow of old theatres and a little history of Houston cinema presentation. Should be a fun time and will help raise awareness.

I'd be right there too. It's a great old theatre. My only complaint is with the two upstairs screens in what used to be the main theatre's balcony. My long legs only fit in about three or four seats in the upstairs theatres. But other than that, it's a great place, and it always seems busy.

Landmark did that in the late 80's since the theatre wasn't doing well and it would give them more revenue. They didn't get the Greenway and Saks until the early 90's, so they weren't around to help. And the seats suck compared to downstairs because we couldn't move them since there is a level between each row. They were shifted downstairs to help out, so it's much better there.

Here's my take on it. Weingarten is not totally happy with the tenant mix at River Oaks Shopping Center. They would like it to be more "upscale," on par perhaps with Highland Village. They made no bones about it a few years ago when they chased out One's-A-Meal, another local institution, to make space for a Talbots or something. Given that track record, you can see where they're not thrilled with a grimy 70-year old movie theater that no doubt doesn't exactly rake in big bucks.

The River Oaks is paying around $20k a month in rent, compared to ~$7k a month for the Greenway. So Weingarten isn't exactly doing bad for such a small space. And the theatre is doing well for the most part. We made over $25k the opening weekend of Fahrenheit 9/11 and similar numbers for Brokeback.

You know, if I were a Weingarten rep, I'd start considering an incremental raise in the Landmark's rents in such a way that they'd be forced to raise their ticket prices about a dollar at a time. This would be the best test of all as to whether they were creating as much public benefit as is ascribed to the theatre. Once its return as a business investment has been reduced to about the prime rate, they should only at that point make a feasibility analysis on the tower.

This is what happened with the Saks Theatre, so we're no stranger to that. It's just too bad that noone ever took the Saks after Landmark and it's getting torn down soon.

I remember reading that Cuban goal was to convert all Landmark Cinemas to a Digital Format. I don't know anything about cinema technology, but the RO Theater may not be very open to this type of change. The battle to save this great theater may need to include petitions and such to Landmark expressing our concerns.

He's having trouble with this. It'll be a while before everyone goes digital due to format issues and image quality. The River Oaks will keep the 35mm setup just to be able to play the old midnight runs, the Greenway might go digital though.

river oaks theater showed napoleon dynamite?

Yep, we had it exclusive for a couple of weeks before it caught on and got real big.

To be honest, last time *I* was there was about 10 years ago, and that was to see Rocky Horror with a girlfriend (went to 10 shows) and it was packed everytime!

We sold almost 400 tickets to yesterday's Rocky, so it's still doing quite well. (the main house holds 500)

Again, if the protestors are so against it, then why not buy the property themselves and save it ? Why do they always have to put the burden on someone else ?

From what I've heard, that has been tried with both theatres and Weingarten won't sell. So this argument, which is still being repeated, holds no water. And the idea of a collective group with a non-profit would be a disaster. Can you imagine trying to figure out who decides what the theatre is allowed to do? What a mess that would be.

Do you know (and maybe I just missed it in all the coverage) if the River Oaks theater has seen an increase in the number of moviegoers since this news broke?

Yep, and at least 70% of the people will ask about when/if the theatre is being torn down. Landmark won't really allow the employees to comment, since Weingarten could jack up the rent in response to an unruly tennant, so I just say that local laws allow the property owner to do whatever they want and we don't know anything specific.

Several years ago River Oaks Theater celebrated the 50 yr anniversary. They played 3 of the films they played in 1939 in this order. The Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights and finally Gone With The Wind.

The crowd was massive I recall it went around the block. Popcorn was like 5 cents drinks 10 cents like in 1939 or close to. It was neat becasue there was an intermission (like in the old days). Everyone stood and clapped at the end of each film. (tears/choked up)

We're planning a similar event for the 75th in 2014, assuming the theatre is still there.

A high-rise where Bookstop is? I can't even imagine something on that large of a scale given the congestion already in the area... Someone else mentioned this before, but I really love the idea of the Alamo Draft House coming in. It would save the theatre, put films back on the screen, and the dark lighting would dampen some of painful colors in there

This would only be good if the owners of the original Drafthouse did it, which they can't. All new Drafthouses are franchises owned by another company and all they play is first-run crap like Pirates, Underdog, and whatever else is going on at the Edwards. Not exactly what Montrose needs and that theatre isn't the right design for the hollywood filler of today. It would function better as a repertoire theatre.

Would it make any sense to re-convert the Bookstop into a movie theater?

Yes and it would be the easiest theatre in town to do this with.

The guy who did the "Astrowhirl" film (I think that's what it's called) is also documenting the distruction of this with his camcorder.

That's David Purdie. He works over at Mandola's and is at the theatre drinking on a typical night. He's putting together another short film on the destruction of the shopping center right now. And if you want to see Astrowhirled, we typically play it before each Rocky and he's almost always there.

And finally, we've got the original prints for most of those old photos of the theatre. If you ever want to see them, they're in storage until re re-paint the entryway. I'm waiting on clearance from some people before we can transfer them to digital format. I've also got some good digital shots that I can add to a separate post if y'all want them.

So is there a list of what businesses they are definitely bringing? More specifically, will the have a movie theater? I keep hearing that Edwards wants a downtown location and this might have been what I was hearing about.

Their site isn't exactly loaded with information.

later at night it's a different story I'm sure but during the day, and especially on the weekend, it's a hive of retail activity. Evidently this has caught the attention of higher end retailers who are beginning to expand their footprint along those blocks. I'm anxious to see who will occupy the two vacant blocks on the north side on either side of Woodhead (one's already under development).

I've been wondering about the vacant lot adjacent to Buffalo Exchange, anyone know what's going on with it? There have been stakes in the ground for years and a fence around it, but nothing has changed. That place is worth a ton and someone is paying taxes each year. If they aren't going to build something they could at least put a park on it. And there is another small lot by Wendy's next to Tremont. I guess they own it, but it could still be something besides a fenced in lot.

I was over there today and visited with the owner. He said they were finishing up the steelwork today (there were several welders there) and that he anticipated having the exterior done in 3 months. The guy was excited that he was able to get the variance for building to the street and said he wanted the building to fit in with a walkable neighborhood. He told me that the style of the building would be Italian and said that the appearance and landscaping would look great (I'm not big on what developers have termed Mediterranean, but we'll see how it goes). The way I see it, the area is a mix of styles so as long as they do it well I think it will be fine. At least we are not getting a generic strip mall. Count your blessings.

I've got to agree that this property is as good as it's going to get on Westheimer. We're certainly never going to see the glory days of the 70's-90's again. The property is worth too much now and the yuppies don't want the weird stuff.

It's especially funny how much the general population outside the loop is still freaked out by the mere mention of Montrose, or House of Pies. The gay area has been largely condensed down to the zone around Pacific Street and the rest of the shops on Westheimer aren't all that offensive anymore.