Common Ground: Stories from America's Vintage Movie Theaters
In 2016, I started driving two-lane roads through small towns all over the United States, looking for vintage movie theaters: movie theaters with just one or two screens, usually built somewhere between 1920 and 1960, and usually in dusty downtowns or rundown suburbs.
Eight years later, I’ve documen...
Recent Episodes
2
Dec. 27, 2023
The Foster in Youngstown, Ohio
In this episode I journey to Youngstown, Ohio, to tour the Foster Theater on Youngstown\'s South Side. We're joined by Lana Shagrin Oyer, whose father, Joseph Shagrin, built the Foster and managed it for twenty-five years. Along the way we learn about the Foster's history, the forces that have shaped the neighborhood over the last eighty years, and what the future holds for this theater.
1
Oct. 29, 2023
The Colonial in Belfast, Maine
In this first episode of Common Ground: Stories from America's Vintage Movie Theaters, I visit the Colonial, in Belfast, Maine. Belfast has seen some hard times, but this funky, colorful downtown institution has survived, even thrived, under the ownership of Mike Hurley and Therese Bagnardi. I hear about how they put an elephant on the roof, how they built a tunnel to Dreamland, and about when cleanup calls for the leafblower. Music by Blue Dot Sessions.
Oct. 22, 2023
Common Ground: Stories from America's Vintage Movie Theaters (TRAILER)
This is the trailer for Common Ground: Stories from America's Vintage Movie Theaters.