Thursday, January 10, 2013
Film Coming soon to the Reader movie listings . . .
Posted by Ben Sachs on 01.10.13 at 06:43 AM
Yesterday morning the California-based theater chain ArcLight Cinemas announced plans to construct a 14-screen movie theater near the North and Clybourn Red Line station, with an opening scheduled for late summer of 2014. The multiplex will be part of New City, a development project that will include a shopping center and a skyscraper with 190 apartment units. According to an official press release, the theater will include all the features of ArcLight's southern California locations, such as reserved seating, a full bar, and a strict no-talking policy during movies. The chain makes a point of showing classics as well as contemporary releases (the website mentions upcoming screenings of A Streetcar Named Desire and Blue Velvet at its Hollywood venue). Between the Music Box, Doc Films, the Gene Siskel Film Center, and the late-night programming at the Landmark Century and the Logan, Chicago isn't bereft of revival screenings. But it will be nice to have them near Old Town, which has been cinema-deprived since the closing of the Village and Pipers Alley theaters.
This news comes just before the reopening of Hyde Park's historic Harper Theater as a first-run cinema. The management—which also runs the New 400 Theater in Rogers Park—recently announced on its Twitter feed that they plan to hold their first screening on Friday, January 18. Designed to be a community center as well as a movie theater, the restored Harper will feature a sizable cafe in its lobby and the management has expressed interest in "assist[ing] our nonprofit neighbors with their fundraising efforts."
