The Magic Lantern is a movie theater in Bridgton, Maine, United States. It was demolished due to a sinkhole located on-site. [1] The theater reopened at its new location on February 8, 2008. [2]
The original theater, which had a Victorian-style lobby, opened in 1929 as the "New Meserve Theater" followed by "The Mayfair", "The Brookside" and finally in 1977 "The Magic Lantern" by entrepreneur Tom Goodman. Goodman secured the worldwide premier of author Stephen King's The Shining at the Magic Lantern. [1] King pulled the strings to get the print for this benefit screening for the local hospital fundraiser. The Magic Lantern was also the first theater in Maine to install Dolby Stereo Surround sound.
The theater closed in the late 1980s and was run for a year by the town of Bridgton's recreation department. The following year the local Howell family purchased the building. The family business, Down East, Inc., had occupied the ground floor for many years while the theater occupied the 2nd floor. The family decided to reopen the single screen theater and to bring movies back to Bridgton.
In 1990, the theater was twinned to increase the number of movie choices. However, the condition of "The Brookside Building" as it was known by locals, had deteriorated due to poor soil conditions that existed on the site. Sloping floors, cracked foundations, freezing pipes and the physical sinking of the building sealed its fate.
On February 7, 2006, the theater was torn down. Down East, Inc. presented to the Town of Bridgton a plan to redevelop the entire site which included a new building for its operations on the site behind the old theater and a New Magic Lantern theater.
The new Magic Lantern officially began construction on March 1, 2007, and reopened on February 8, 2008. It features four screens (three with old fashioned balconies. The other screen is featured as a pub/café, and can be used to show live, televised events. [3] The largest theater features a stage, and has been used for performances, including Brews and Belly Laughs comedy series. Three of the screens are named after former Bridgton Theaters: The Meserve, The Mayfair, and The Brookside. The Brookside has nautical theming, the Meserve has 1920's theming, and the Mayfair has general Victorian theming. The pub, called the Tannery, is named after the Gibb's Tannery that used to be located on the site. [4] It has a Medieval European theme, with dishes being named after the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
A movie theater, cinema, or cinema hall, also known as a movie house, picture house, picture theater or simply theater, is a business that contains auditoria for viewing films for public entertainment. Most are commercial operations catering to the general public, who attend by purchasing tickets.
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The Somerville Theatre is an independent movie theater and concert venue in the Davis Square neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. Over one hundred years old, the Somerville Theatre started off as a vaudeville house and movie theater. The theater has since transitioned and now operates as a live music venue and first-run movie theater. As a music venue, the theater has played host to many historic concerts, including the first of the two Last Dispatch concerts, two shows by Bruce Springsteen in 2003, and a performance by U2 in 2009. Recent live performances have included Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, Cursive, Norah Jones, The Jonas Brothers, Joan Baez, and the John Butler Trio.
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Brookside Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Englewood, New Jersey.
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