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Laemmle to close its One Colorado cinema; Playhouse 7 ‘not going anywhere’
By Joe Piasecki , Kevin Ausmus 08/28/2008
Laemmle Theaters will close its One Colorado movie theater at the end of October but continue to operate its Playhouse 7 location on East Colorado Boulevard, the Pasadena Weekly has learned.
Best known for its dedication to screening independent movies, the chain currently operates 10 theaters in Los Angeles County, including the two in Pasadena, where it has run movie houses for more than 40 years, beginning with two now-defunct single screen theaters in East Pasadena.
Operating the One Colorado location at 42 Miller Alley inside the bustling One Colorado Courtyard — currently hosting Yoko Ono’s popular Wish Tree art installation — “no longer made economic sense for us,” said Jay Reisbaum, a senior vice president for the chain.
The theater will close when the company’s five-year lease runs out at the end of October, at which point the building will be remodeled to accommodate an entertainment-oriented business to be announced later, said One Colorado spokesman Robin Faulk, who added that the new high-concept tenant will make its West Coast debut there.
Unlike the indie-focused Playhouse 7, Laemmle’s One Colorado screened both independent films and Hollywood fare.
“It’s a location we thought would be promising, but in the end the five-year lease came up and we decided to move on. It didn’t make sense to continue to operate at the level of business we had,” said Reisbaum. “But we are extremely pleased with the Playhouse and will continue to show the best art, foreign and independent cinema there. We’ve been in Pasadena since the early ’60s, and we’re not going anywhere.”
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