Old AMC Theater by Westdale sold for $750k

https://corridorbusiness.com/former-westdale-movie-theater-sold-for-750000-at-auction/
When it opened in 1999 as a Carmike, this was the premier high-tech theater of the future in the area. I saw Star Wars Episode 1 there 3 times. I saw the whole Lord of the Rings series & probably something like 150 other movies there over the years. My roommate worked there for quite a while.

Except for switching to digital projection around 2005, it never really got updated, though. Carmike went under. Most of their other theaters were closed, but this one sold to AMC in 2016. They never did anything with it, either. They just kept showing movies as it slowly decayed. It was an AMC Classic where evening tickets for new releases were only $8 & the only theater on the south side of town, but business slowly dropped off. My girlfriend and I saw Endgame there at 8pm on opening night & there were only about 8 other people.

The last movie I saw there was The Way Back, a drama with Ben Affleck as an alcoholic basketball coach. This was March 15, 2020. Two days later, it closed for COVID & never reopened. At the point it closed, it still had the original carpet, which was badly stained & full of holes & the original seats, many of which were broken & could not safely support a person. Weird projection problems were common. Half the toilets didn't work.

I haven't been inside, but word is the building was badly damaged a few months after closure by the derecho. According to the assessor, the land itself is worth twice what was paid, so somebody will probably make bank. The buyer is unknown, but I wonder if the contents will go up for auction at some point.