![]() ![]() Recent films included “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” “The Angry Birds 2″ “The Art of Racing in the Rain” “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” and “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.” The theater now has two screens and shows first-run movies. Over the past century, the theater has seen it all, at least as it pertains to movies: from Bogey and Bacall to Redford and Streisand from Hanks and Ryan to Winslet and DiCaprio and all the famed actors and actresses before and since. ![]() Main in downtown Ottawa, has been showing films since when black-and-white silent movies mesmerized audiences. OTTAWA - If you ever wondered where the oldest continuously operating movie theater in the world is located, look no further than this Franklin County town about 50 miles southeast of Topeka. ![]() You can't get that experience anywhere else, with the sound systems we have." "You just can't get that at home or on your phone. "The viewing public really enjoys the experience of coming to the theater," Zaremba said. He also wants to add wooden seats like those that were in place when the theater opened. He wants to add a balcony and turn an old projector room into a lounge. He wants to convert an upstairs section to rental units for day visitors. Zaremba is working on making improvements to the historic movie house, which previously operated as the Crystal Plaza and the Bijou theater.The Plaza applied for inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2017, and last year, it achieved the distinction of being the "World's Oldest Operating Purpose-Built Cinema" after it was determined it was two days older than another movie house in Denmark. Santikos owns and operates 10 theaters in the San Antonio area."One of the reasons we're the oldest continuously operating theater in the world is we didn't burn down," said Zaremba, 53, who became co-owner of the Plaza in 2014 and took over as sole proprietor in July 2018. “These are exciting times for Santikos, we opened two new theaters this year, Santikos New Braunfels and Santikos Westlakes, we just finished a remodel of our IMAX auditorium at Palladium, we have plans to announce future developments and remodels later this year, and we remain the most financially sound theater operator in the country,” Brooks said. Starting this summer, “Bijou Series” art films will be shown across all Santikos theaters. Santikos will continue to support independent filmmakers and art films. “We’re also pleased to continue serving the Balcones Heights community with our Santikos Northwest Theater, located just across the highway, less than 1 mile away from the Bijou,” Brooks said. Santikos has operated the Bijou since December 1987.īrooks said while the company is sad to announce its closing, they’re excited about the future of Santikos. “It’s this changing dynamic of art films, and our lease coming up for renewal that led to the decision to close The Bijou,” Brooks said. “There was a record bidding war between Amazon, Netflix and Apple, and Apple won with a $25 million purchase.”Īs art films are exploring new ways to be profitable and gain exposure, it’s not always going to mean that they get shown in traditional theater settings. “‘CODA’ which won Best Movie (at the Oscars) was allowed to play in our theaters for only one week prior to opening on Apple,” Brooks said. The theater was located at Wonderland of the Americas in Balcones Heights.Īndrew Brooks, the executive director of sales and marketing for Santikos, confirmed the closure on Tuesday, saying the closure was due, in part, to the changing art-film dynamic during the COVID-19 pandemic. BALCONES HEIGHTS, Texas – The Bijou theater, San Antonio’s arthouse theater, is closing its doors after 35 years. ![]()
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