Varsity Twin Cinema Closing

[pzarquon]

Varsity movie theater to close Sunday (http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Jun/15/br/br5289476103.html)
Sunday will be the last day of operation for the Varsity Twin Cinema, an aging movie theater — long known for art-house and foreign film offerings — near the University of Hawai'i's Manoa campus. Consolidated Theatres owns the 1.7-acre property at 1106 University Ave., near Beretania Street. The theater was built in 1939.Sigh. We knew this day would come, but I was dreading it all along. With all the old theaters closing over the years -- Kuhio Twins, Cinerama, Kapiolani, Waikiki -- it was actually surprising how long the Varsity operated.

My parents would tell stories about how UH classes used to be held there to bring relief to an overcrowded campus... and how it used to have one large screen instead of the current two.

Because of the less mainstream movie selections, the Varsity was always a favorite of mine. I wonder what's playing now? I feel as if I should catch one last flick. It's a sad tradition (http://www.hawaiithreads.com/showpost.php?p=124819&postcount=9) of sorts.

[DannyWilliams]

SO I asume that the property is goin to UH right?
Thats what I heard.....

While I was still on the islands I was fortunate to have seen a couple of flicks there........


ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT
AFTER HOURS
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
THE OPPOSITE OF SEX
STRICTLY BALLROOM



I do credit the VARSITY managed to hold fort since Movie Megaplexes is thee thing nowdays its ashame that they are goin to be NO MORE :(

Lotsa memories for me and sad to see them go


BTW, is Bubbies still stay next to the to be defunct theater?
I always dug the suggestive ICE CREAM treats they had there. Whenever I was there I always made a stop at BUBBIES.

[pzarquon]

UH? Really? I know there's a "college town" master plan for the area, but I don't see Consolidated selling that prime land to the state for a price the state would pay.

Bubbies is still there.

Okay, so, "Away From Her" and "The Valet" are playing now (http://movies.yahoo.com/showtimes/theater?id=1342&date=20070615). Sunday is Father's Day, so I think my gift to myself will be a bittersweet last visit to the old girl. I'm really bummed.

[DannyWilliams]

UH? Really? I know there's a "college town" master plan for the area, but I don't see Consolidated selling that prime land to the state for a price the state would pay.

Bubbies is still there.

Okay, so, "Away From Her" and "The Valet" are playing now (http://movies.yahoo.com/showtimes/theater?id=1342&date=20070615). Sunday is Father's Day, so I think my gift to myself will be a bittersweet last visit to the old girl. I'm really bummed.


Yes really :D
I did read somewhere and not from thin air.....
The property is goin to UH and be converted unless its goin to be torn down and rebuilded into dorms errrr something for the students attending UH.

[Lei Liko]

...I'm really bummed.

As am I. When I saw the Breaking News online, I literally felt sick to my stomach.

My older sisters both had their HIST 151 classes when they attended UH in the early 80s. This was before we had the Campus Shuttle.

Some of the greatest movies I've ever seen were shown there.

I am very, very devastated. I think I may just see you there on Sunday, Ryan!

[Honoruru]

There was talk several years ago about putting up a dorm at that spot, but I don't know what became of it.

I do remember taking classes at Varsity -- History 101 lectures by Gavin Daws. Very entertaining and memorable classes.

[cynsaligia]

I do remember taking classes at Varsity -- History 101 lectures by Gavin Daws. Very entertaining and memorable classes.

I never got to take any classes at Varsity, and being lectured by gavin daws sounds like it really was a memorable experience. i'm jealous.

what i do remember about varsity is that in my late, over-hormoned, teen years i went on quasi-dates with multiple friends there. some of my best high school and early college experiences include the varsity. i remember more about the movie outings than the movies we watched themselves. the only movie i clearly remember watching there was "paris is burning."

does anyone remember any ghost stories re varsity? i vaguely remember that there were several.

[Hellbent]

wow, i go away to vegas and miss out. i'll miss the varsity, as i did kapiolani, waikiki 'twins' and all those other ones. i cant say my wife will be displeased as the last time we went to go see 'steamboy' someone tried to break into her truck, not getting in but ruining the driver side door lock.

[Tiabla]

That's sad news. I haven't lived here long enough to experience the history of that building - that's cool that they used to use it for overflow classes!

Now there are no first-run indie theaters in Honolulu. That is depressing.

[Hellbent]

I just realized that its this Sunday, not last Sunday - sorry, jet lag.

It was nice when Restaurant Row tried to go arthouse but they simply make more money as a 2nd or 3rd run $1 movie theater. Kind of a sad reflection on cutlure in Hawaii. HIFF does fine as a biannual event, but not so much as a every day kind of thing.
I suppose that leaves Doris Duke and sorta Movie Museum?

[GeckoGeek]

I'm surprised it hasn't happened already. I never had a class there. I know I've seen a film or two, but right now all I can remember is "More American Graffiti".

[helen]

When I arrived in Oahu in 1979 the Varsity was a single screen theater and UH Manoa no longer used the Varsity as a classroom, I did run into a couple of people who said they had classes there a few years before 79.

As far as movies I watched there, that list would include:
Blade Runner
Robocop
To Be or Not to Be
In the Line of Fire
The Groove Tube
Henry Fool
The Big Kahuna
Deterrence
A Prairie Home Companion

The only thing that was special at the Varsity in it's later years was that you could butter your own popcorn by squeezing it from a bottle.

[shaveice]

There was talk several years ago about putting up a dorm at that spot, but I don't know what became of it.

I do remember taking classes at Varsity -- History 101 lectures by Gavin Daws. Very entertaining and memorable classes.

i definitely remember taking my history class at the Varsity and i presume gavin was the guy who was lecturing. even now, i can remember how he would run his fingers through his thick white hair, clear his throat, and sound like a horse! he had a good presence and would take off his glasses and glare at his audience when making a point...

[Vanguard]

I never saw a movie there, but I passed it every day on my way to UH; for some reason I feel sad about it now :(

[Adri]

Oh that is sad. Varsity and the Art Academy are the two places that show films that wouldn't be widely shown here.

[mel]

While I lament the fact that the last old theater in Honolulu is closing, I have to also admit it is one of those theaters that I never been to. I'm not the artsy fartsy film type of person.

[GeckoGeek]

While I lament the fact that the last old theater in Honolulu is closing, I have to also admit it is one of those theaters that I never been to. I'm not the artsy fartsy film type of person.

I hear you. I haven't been to it enough to say I'd miss it. It's more that I'll miss the disappearance of yet another familiar landmark.

[Menehune Man]

Another one bites the dust...

I've seen many a great movie there.

[Vanguard]

Oh that is sad. Varsity and the Art Academy are the two places that show films that wouldn't be widely shown here.

Just to clarify; The Art Academy isn't going anywhere anytime soon, right?

I saw a few foreign films there. I really like that place.

[Mike_Lowery]

Ah, the ever-changing face of Honolulu business...:(

this bothers me, because megaplexes will never be as romantic or nostalgic as these old twin-type cinemas. And this has got me rethinking opening up my own 2-screener on Kauai.

[Adri]

Just to clarify; The Art Academy isn't going anywhere anytime soon, right?

I saw a few foreign films there. I really like that place.

Oops, sorry, I didn't mean the Art Academy was closing, just that it was the only other place I could think of that showed those non-mainstream films.

[Hellbent]

I'd like to open up a drive-in, Oahu needs one.

[Honoruru]

And this has got me rethinking opening up my own 2-screener on Kauai.

I'd like to open up a drive-in, Oahu needs one.

If you’re going back to Drive-Ins, how about going back even further. How about reviving open air theaters?

I used to live in the old Halawa Housing (where Aloha Stadium is now). There was an open air theater at what used to be the corner of Salt Lake Boulevard and (I believe) Saratoga Drive. It was a wooden enclosure, with a white gravel entranceway to a theater with a simple screen and wooden benches set in front of it, half of them out in the open air, the other half sheltered under a simple wooden roof crawling with geckos and cane spiders the size of your fist. (Remember, at that time, this was in the middle of sugar cane fields.) There was another open air theater in the military housing area near Hickam. There may have been more of these theaters scattered around the island, but I was not aware of them at the time. They’ve long since quietly disappeared.

I guess these type of theaters have been “sort of” revived recently with the Sunset at the Beach movies, but back then, these were tiny, unadvertised affairs in our neighborhood. They were fun, but you had to watch out for the cane spiders, geckos, centipedes, and scorpions.

[craigwatanabe]

So where will the HIFF be venued now?:confused:

[mel]

If you’re going back to Drive-Ins, how about going back even further. How about reviving open air theaters?

...back then, these were tiny, unadvertised affairs in our neighborhood. They were fun, but you had to watch out for the cane spiders, geckos, centipedes, and scorpions.

Sounds like a great idea. Only problem besides the spiders, geckos, centipedes and scorpions, is that the people showing the movie would have to look out for the lawyers, copyright police and the MPAA. :eek:

[craigwatanabe]

Sounds like a great idea. Only problem besides the spiders, geckos, centipedes and scorpions, is that the people showing the movie would have to look out for the lawyers, copyright police and the MPAA. :eek:

Can't be as bad as the rats that nibbled at our toes at the old Queen and Kaimuki Theater's in Kaimuki back a few decades ago. Yeah footwear was a necessity at either theater then.:D

[Vanguard]

I'd like to open up a drive-in, Oahu needs one.

I distinctively remember seeing a drive-in back in 1985, in the Pearl Harbor area. Whatever happened to that?

[Mike_Lowery]

I distinctively remember seeing a drive-in back in 1985, in the Pearl Harbor area. Whatever happened to that?

I think that was the Kam Drive-In. Long gone, now. It's additional parking for Aloha Stadium today.

[1stwahine]

Great story on the "Varsity" by Beth posted on March 28, 2003 on our Sister Site at HawaiiStories.com!!
http://www.hawaiistories.com/archives/004912.shtml

"Having moved to Honolulu from Atlanta, when somebody told Baz and I that we should check out The Varsity because it was in our neighborhood, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. See, The Varsity is an Atlanta fast food historical landmark. A true car hop, you can sit in your yuppie mobile and be served the greasiest fries and orange creamsicle shakes by friendly car hops in oldey timey red paper hats that say Varsity in wonderful collegiate sports type across both sides.

When I found out that Honolulu's Varsity was a movie theatre, I was left hungry and disappointed. Until I actually drove by and saw the place...."

Auntie Lynn:D

Btw: They still have Kam Swap Meets!

[pzarquon]

Thanks for the blast from the past, Aunty Lynn! Believe it or not, I work for Beth now. And she is going to be crushed to hear the Varsity is closing.

My wife and I are about to head out to catch one of the last shows in that remarkable theater. Sniff.

[zff]

My parents would tell stories about how UH classes used to be held there to bring relief to an overcrowded campus... and how it used to have one large screen instead of the current two.Geez, I must be getting old. I was about to say something like "Wasn't it just converted to a twin recently?" How long ago was it?

[1stwahine]

Thanks for the blast from the past, Aunty Lynn! Believe it or not, I work for Beth now. And she is going to be crushed to hear the Varsity is closing.

My wife and I are about to head out to catch one of the last shows in that remarkable theater. Sniff.

Wow!!! That post was a long time ago and now she's your boss?heheheh

Great!!! Let us know her reaction. So how was it tonight as you and Kilinahe saw the movie knowing it will be last time in Varsity?

I wouldn't have been able to watch the movie. Too busy reminiscing about the past.:(

Auntie Lynn

[helen]

I was about to say something like "Wasn't it just converted to a twin recently?" How long ago was it?
Sometime in the 1980's. Even the folks at Consolidated don't remember when that was.

[pzarquon]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1266/567184117_48b7a4b785_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawaii/567184117/) http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1231/567243327_e01071c368_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawaii/567243327/) http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1170/567256299_28a1fb6f5d_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawaii/567256299/)

My wife and I headed into town last night to catch the last picture show at the Varsity. It was the 8:15 p.m. showing of the French romantic caper "The Valet." We got there early enough to catch the lights come on at dusk, and to talk with the handful of employees present.

It was clear it was a special evening... the doors were open, no one was taking tickets or checking bags, and old friends and strangers moved freely in and out and about to reminisce and sigh. People with cameras roamed, movie fans young and old posing with the fossilized cameras and below the glowing marquee.

We crossed the street to Bubbies for an early dessert, and returned to the Varsity after the sun had set. I was happy to see every inch of neon glowing bright, the dark masking some of the old girl's wrinkles and cracks. The crowd was heartwarmingly large, but not a full house by any stretch of the imagination. More cameras and flashes, lei for the employees. In the lobby, people scrutinized every inch, trying to commit it to memory. The old signs, the movie posters...

We watched our movie. It was cute and funny. The seats were stiff and the sound was tinny and harsh... exactly as I'd remembered it. Afterward, the lobby was slow to empty. Varsity manager Crystal Kawai got lots of hugs and heard many memories. I told her how my wife and I went to movies there as sappy college kids, and how we tried to pay our respects to all the classic movie houses as they closed. She didn't know me from Adam, but she got a hug from me, too.

She's going to the theaters at Kahala. About half of the dozen or so employees are similarly moving elsewhere. But the rest are leaving the company. Kawai said she didn't know where all the classic paintings and artifacts would go, but she was sure they'd be taken care of by Consolidated. I guess Consolidated is taking care of the staff, too... but we're really, really going to miss that theater.

I've posted over 40 photos of the Varsity's final hours here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawaii/sets/72157600395664561/).

[1stwahine]

Chicken Skin....brings back so much memories.

Mahalo

Auntie Lynn

[DannyWilliams]

awwww maaaaan that was a nice set of pics u took at VARSITY on its FINAL DAY. :(


btw, how long has that projector that is near the box office been there?
I do not recall that ever being there the last time I was there.
Unless I soooooooo blind I nevah seem em standing right there.

Any story behind why the manager of VARSITY is crying on the shoulder of the woman she is with?

[Honoruru]

Ryan, loved all the photographs. Lot of nice shots, sentimental shots, nostalgic shots, very memorable shots. The one I liked best is the night shot of the marquee, with the green neon borders, this one (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawaii/566852530/in/set-72157600395664561/) -- from a purely artistic perspective, I think conveys a lot. You should frame that.

[DannyWilliams]

sratch what I said.....
I was viewing the SLIDE version and did not see the captions per pic.....
But still I like this one ya took of the manager and a long time patron of the theater. The theme captured here is neighborhood theaters soon becoming extinct.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawaii/567256335/in/set-72157600395664561/

[Glen Miyashiro]

Kamehameha Schools has purchased the Varsity Theatre property.

Honolulu Advertiser (http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Jun/27/br/br2618935047.html)

[koloagirl]

Aloha from Kaua'i!

I was so sad to hear about the Varsity closing! Whenever my hubby and I come over to O'ahu - it is one of our "must go" spots -- since we no longer have any theatres here on Kaua'i that show the foreign or independent films that we so enjoy -- the Varsity was always a treat for us and one that we looked forward to!

So what is left now? The Doris Duke?
Is it the only one showing non-mainstream films on O'ahu? :confused:

So very sad! :(

[lavagal]

Aloha from Kaua'i!

I was so sad to hear about the Varsity closing! Whenever my hubby and I come over to O'ahu - it is one of our "must go" spots -- since we no longer have any theatres here on Kaua'i that show the foreign or independent films that we so enjoy -- the Varsity was always a treat for us and one that we looked forward to!

So what is left now? The Doris Duke?
Is it the only one showing non-mainstream films on O'ahu? :confused:

So very sad! :(

I guess word doesn't get out that artsy flicks still get to Hawaii, with Ward featuring them, and the Restaurant Row, too. I'm not into obscure films and the last film I watched was animated and I was accompanied by a five year old. I saw "Like Water for Chocolate" probably six times when it was at Varsity years ago, so I understand it as a desire, but I don't understand it as a need.

Kamehameha Schools has purchased the Varsity Theatre property.

Honolulu Advertiser (http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Jun/27/br/br2618935047.html)


I think they're on to something. However, hasn't it been rumored that Pucks Alley is up for renovations for something like 15 years now? That place is rickety crickety! It would be great if that whole area was upgraded.

[Kaukura]

the french hit "La Vie en Rose (La Môme)" is at the Ward. I was quite surprised as I had not expected it to play here. The Dole sometimes shows foreign films (Volver, Pans Labrynth and a few other french films recently) so we do get some. But hopefully one of these theatres will start showing more obscure films as there are people who do want to see them.

[helen]

btw, how long has that projector that is near the box office been there?
At least the last 5 years if not eariler.

[DannyWilliams]

At least the last 5 years if not eariler.



ahhhhhhh thnx for the reply

[oceanpacific]

Memorable (and not so memorable) flicks I saw at Varsity:

DAY OF THE JACKAL;
THE PARTY;
SIDDHARTHA;
APRIL FOOLS;
OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN;
OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT

[DKP]

:(

Goodbye Varsity! I've been on so many field trips and dates there (well, much less dates)

MAY YOUR SOUL REST PEACEFULLY NEXT TO...CINERAMA'S...<sobs uncontrollably for long time><composes>

Anyway, Magoo's shut down too...just temporarily but will reopen under diff. owner/name(?)

[kamapuaa]

I don't really go out to the movies anymore, but I find this intensly depressing. I spent so much time at the Varsity in high school and college, I should have been paying rent. :(

[Glen Miyashiro]

Honolulu's Varsity Theatre, which closed last year before being sold to Kamehameha Schools, will soon be just a memory. Workers on Monday began demolition of the 69-year-old freestanding theater. (PBN (http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2008/03/24/daily9.html))Sob, sob, sob. :(

[craigwatanabe]

So let me guess, another 7-Eleven?

[tutusue]

So let me guess, another 7-Eleven?
Nope...a parking lot...for a few years.

I wonder why they didn't keep leasing the building 'til they were ready to rebuild. :confused: Who knows, maybe the building needed too many repairs.

[sansei]

:( hi this is sansei and that's where i first saw my ET Movie and it'll be so sad to see this final theater from the past close.

well thank's for your time:(

[lavagal]

I saw "Like Water for Chocolate" there three times. I wanted to roll in rose petals and ride away with a bandit naked on his horse after that. Those seats were squeaky!

Well, thank you for your time! ;)

[pzarquon]

It was heartbreaking to see the teardown on the news today. I'm glad I was able to catch the last picture show (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawaii/sets/72157600395664561/) last June. I was intrigued to learn that the owner of the nearby "Varsity" bar had gotten the landowner to let him keep the top of the marquee, the neon "VARSITY" piece. I doubt he'll be able to get the needed exemptions to display it publicly (I doubt it'd keep its grandfathered status under the billboard law), but... at least a piece was saved.

[dancingpencil]

I've been passing by the old Varsity Theatre site on the way to work in the mornings, and I'm sad to see it torn down. I'm old enough to remember when going out to the movie theatres was a big deal, and when a big 'blockbuster' holiday movie meant lines of people out lining the sidewalk and circling round the block....

[craigwatanabe]

Nope...a parking lot...for a few years.

I wonder why they didn't keep leasing the building 'til they were ready to rebuild. :confused: Who knows, maybe the building needed too many repairs.

an old building has too many liability issues and insurance costs.

A parking lot is a cash cow. Hmmm from an economic standpoint tearing it down was a no-brainer.

[shaveice]

yeah, a lot of good memories there. i think of all the movies seen there, the most memorable was prisilla, queen of the desert! and i remember the usher telling everyone to stay till the very last scene after the credits....