ANGELIKA THEATER UPDATE: WHO’S ON DECK? From a statement issued this morning by Gary Rhodes, Bayou Place Limited Partnership’s general manager: “The Angelika Film Center had a terrific run at Bayou Place over the past 13 years. We had hoped that they would stay longer but unfortunately, after saying they would commit, Angelika changed its mind. It is amazing to think how far downtown Houston has evolved since Bayou Place first opened and helped spark the rebirth of downtown. . . . We will be upgrading Angelika with an operator of the highest quality and we will be making the announcement shortly.” [MyFox Houston; previously on Swamplot]
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Well that was quick. Wonder if this will finally be the long overdue inner loop Alamo Drafthouse?
I hope so. Angelika was neat, however it had poor brand awareness, limited appeal, and was accruing lots of deferred maintenance. An Alamo Drafthouse would be a much stronger tenant and a better downtown draw.
I really hope this will be Alamo Drafthouse’s inner loop location, though I was secretly wishing it would go in the Alabama Bookstop location.
That place needs new screens, new projectors, new sound, and a good scrubbing. With that said, I’ll miss it. Hope alamo takes over and does all of those things, not just one ir two like the west oaks location.
I’ve never been to the Alamo Drafthouse. I was always concerned that the interior would be too bright, resulting in poor picture quality.
My biggest compliant about the Angelika was that the picture quality always seemed bad. Colors didn’t seem to be very good and the pictures always seemed to have a washed out quality due to bad projection equipment.
My bet is Alamo won’t go in there.
Downtown has had it’s day, as far as development goes, it’s just a money pit.
Did the Angelika only recently take a turn for the worse? We always enjoyed catching movies there due to the nice screens (there were none of the scratches that you see on every Edwards Theater screen, for example), comfortable seats, free and ample underground parking, and yes, the lack of any crowds except when they had free preview screenings.
While that last bit would be an indicator they couldn’t stay in business long, we always assumed they were taking advantage of substantial revitalization incentives.
I think it will probably be Studio Movie Grill. One the success of CitiCenter, they seem to have the money/ability to takeover the space. I don’t think Movie Tavern or Alamo have the capital right now for this big of a project.
I was totally shocked when I heard the news about Angelika and decided to do something about it. If you’re on Facebook, please take the time to check out this page concerning the issue. It is ridiculous that the 4th largest city in the nation doesn’t even have a movie theater downtown.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Film-Theater-to-Downtown-Houston/131082840271750
A Facebook group isn’t going to support the arts. If you want culture in your city you need to actually buy tickets and go, often. Less tweeting, more doing.
Alamo Draft House is a very poor movie going experience.
Where will I see the next Chan-wook Park film??????
A Facebook group does nothing by itself. It’s the people who get involved that matter. We are using Facebook to demonstrate that there is a demand for an new and independent film theater in the downtown area. Any support you can provide is much appreciated.
well, park chan-wook is dead in the water based on his last few films so don’t worry about that.
i know it’s the internets fault, but it’s still baffling to think that as Houston continues to grow we are continuing to lose a lot of our culture at the same time. KTRU and Angelika will not be replaced and i can only imagine that it won’t be long before KPFT and Landmark River Oaks bite the dust.
Not really surpised, to be honest. Last time I went was a few weeks ago, and it almost seemed run down. The AC was broken in some theatres, the chairs, screens were in bad shape, and the hallways weren’t plush at all, almost dingy. Hopefully a quality theatre replaces it soon.
Just moved here a month ago and I’m sad that I never got to experience the Angelika, but hopeful that Alamo Drafthouse or something similarly unique will replace it.
Houston has enough theaters that show advertisements before a movie & vend popcorn & soda at steak dinner prices – people aren’t going to drive downtown for something that isn’t special.