Small downtown art house theater readies for end of the reel

Avid movie-goers on campus will be disappointed to learn that one of the three downtown movie theaters will soon be closing its doors.

The Ann Arbor Theaters 1&2, located on South Fifth Avenue between East Liberty and Washington Streets, will be shutting down in mid-summer. According to head manager Susan Hackenberry, the theater hopes to reopen in its new location on Jackson Road just past Wagner by the July 4 weekend.

Though the new theater will be bigger and better - sporting sixteen screens, as opposed to the two it has now - the closing of the 1&2 (also affectionately known around town as simply the Ann Arbor Theater) will have an impact on the variety of choices students have when selecting a flick to watch.

Downtown's Ann Arbor Theaters 1&2 will be closing its doors for good this summer. A new location will open on Jackson Road, but will be a movie multiplex instead of an intimate art house.

Since the new theater is about ten minutes away from downtown by car, students without vehicular transportation will most likely not opt to walk the extra distance.

The tiny theater of today, which was built in the '60s, will most likely be expanded "upward" and transformed into condos, said Hackenberry.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to the theater's transplantation and transformation.

"A small theater is more personal," said employee and Rakham student Shannon Lane, who has worked at the cinema for four months. "We only have six employees, plus managers. People come in and we recognize them, and they recognize us. I've met a lot of interesting people that way."

Lane plans on remaining with the theater even after its move, but said that several current employees plan on leaving, due to the greater distance from campus.

"Right now most of the employees are Michigan students, but there will probably be more high school-age employees once the new location opens," she said.

But Lane said the good in becoming a larger theater seems to outweigh the bad. "More movie companies will give you films if the theater is bigger," she said. "One of our theaters here only holds 150 people. It's hard to get distributors to give us movies. For example, we'll never have 'Star Wars!'"

Hackenberry, who has been the head manager of the Ann Arbor Theater for 15 years, believes that the loss of the theater will have an impact on the variety of options available to Ann Arbor residents and University students - at least slightly. "I think downtown is struggling to maintain some diversity at this time," she said, "so I think a little bit of that will disappear (with the closing of the theater)."

With its move, the theater stands to lose regulars, who come for the art films, according to Lane. "A lot of regulars used to come when we had a lot more art films, but many have been coming back since we started showing 'Life is Beautiful,'" she said.

The theater has always been a favorite of students due to its proximity to campus and the relatively low prices.

Former Ypsilanti resident Matt Wood was disappointed to hear the news of the move. "It's less expensive than the big theaters, and there are never any lines like there often are at the other places," he said.

"It was a pleasant experience to go downtown to the Ann Arbor Theater to take advantage of the arts that the city has to offer," said Engineering junior Josh Charm. "I'm sorry to see it go."

DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily

04-15-99