Fortunately, the style has been preserved and is a beautiful example of the days of neon and stucco. Main Street, Heber Springs | Although Art Deco architecture originated a couple of decades before 1942 when The Gem opened, it was still a popular style to use for theaters. Today The Lyric serves as a monument to the passion of a community that values its history and its artists. Following a closing and years of vacancy, the Ozarks Arts Council came calling. Hidden for decades by fabric wall coverings, the murals were uncovered during a remodel in the 1980s.
One of the unique features of the theater are the murals contracted by Agnes Bass and painted by J.W. The maiden show after reopening was Broadway, the first film to gross $1 million. Bass leased The Lyric back to the Fittons for them to manage. Bass who turned it into a state-of-the-art theater showing “talkies,” movies with a sound as distinguished from silent films. THE LYRIC THEATER | 113 W Rush Ave., Harrison | As so many of the old theaters did, The Lyric screened silent films when it first opened in 1929. The investment will include quarters for an artist-in-residence and a 10,000-square-foot art gallery and exhibit space. Plans are underway to give The Rialto a $32 million renovation as part of an effort in El Dorado to preserve historic buildings downtown in the Murphy Arts District. Currently, it welcomes traveling Broadway productions, film festivals, and performances of the South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Having gone through a revolving history, it became part of the El Dorado Commercial Historic District in 2003. The local firm, Kolben, Hunter & Boyd designed the theater with its Egyptian Revival details at the main entry. It is one of the best surviving local examples of the Classical Revival architecture style and one of the largest performing spaces in south Arkansas. THE RIALTO in El Dorado | 117 East Cedar Street, El Dorado | Like other towns that became prosperous around that time, The Rialto is a remnant of days when vaudeville was king of the stage. In its new configuration as the Ritz Civic Center, it is also home to the local Arts Council with various displays on view in the lobby area. Today, The Ritz operates as a venue for live entertainment and movies. Opened in the early 1900s to function as an opera house, it was eventually converted to show moving pictures.Īfter several renovations, The Ritz was restored to its 1951 appearance, evoking memories and maintaining history in cinema.
THE RITZ THEATER | 306 West Main, Blytheville | The Ritz bears a similar story for many of the theaters on this list. It was a no-brainer for the company to change its name to The Royal Players. Van Dyke was a key player in the management of this theater, but he eventually gave it to the Central Arkansas Community Players as their permanent home. His son, Randy Kauffman, managed The Royal until 1996 when it was sold to actor Jerry Van Dyke.įor the next four years, Mr. In 1986, Warren Lee followed family tradition by doing the same. In 1974, their son, Warren Lee and his wife, Mildred, took over management. When Wallace and Lena Kauffman purchased this theater from Alice Wooten, it was called the “IMP,” for Independent Motion Pictures. The Kauffmans remodeled the building and changed the name to The Royal in 1949. THE ROYAL | 111 South Market Street, Benton | The history of The Royal reads a little bit like passages in the Old Testament. It has also hosted the Ozark Foothills Film Festival, and the latest renovation in 2016 included fundraising for a digital projector. Originally an opera house, the building went through renovations and a 1940 reopening as one of the state’s first cinemascope theaters, and once again in 2000 as a venue for concerts and weekend movies. THE MELBA | 115 West Main Street, Batesville | The Melba opened in 1875, a few decades before it would see motion pictures.
SILVER SCREEN THEATER MENA ARKANSAS MOVIE
These productions join a rich history of movie theaters scattered across the state, many that hold a spot on the National Register of Historic Places and that are still in operation today. The Old Mill in North Little Rock appears in the opening scene from “Gone With the Wind,” the larger-than-life 1930 classic. Matthew McConaughey and Billy Bob Thornton have starred in and made movies on location in the Delta region and southern parts of the state.
SILVER SCREEN THEATER MENA ARKANSAS SERIES
Recent television series and films aren’t the first to shoot in and around the Ozarks on location. Currently, the state is buzzing with filmmakers scoping out venues for large and small projects. Actors, crewmembers and directors of the HBO series, “True Detective” spent their show’s third season shooting at locations around Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley in 2018.
There is no secret the film industry is ramping up presence in the state. It’s showtime in Arkansas, and Hollywood has come calling.
0 kommentar(er)
