World's coolest movie theaters

The word "theater" was derived from the Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron, “a place for viewing”) and θεάομαι (theáomai, “to see", "to watch", "to observe”). The dictionary meaning of "theater" is a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented. 

With the development of Home Entertainment System, one might think there is no more need of going to theaters to see plays, performances and movies. However, there is still a longing for the thrills associated with the heyday of glamorous movie palaces.

"University lecturer Ross Melnick welcomes this renaissance after years of bland shoebox-type theaters and megaplexes: "It's all about trying to bring back the style of the past and marry it with the technology of the future." He cofounded the fan site Cinema Treasures, which devotedly chronicles the world's coolest movie theaters."

The followings are the photos & descriptions of the world's coolest theaters.

Colosseum Kino, Oslo, Norway

This movie theater is located in Norway. It's the largest theater in Northern Europe and was built in 1921. 

The Raj Mandir, Jaipur, India

This theater is known for naming its seating sections after gem stones. It was built in the 1970s and tickets only cost around $3 a person. If all movie theaters were that cheap, people would be going to the movies more. 

Alamo Drafthouse, Austin, TX

This quirky indie movie chainlet has been known to kick out patrons for texting during a show. That’s a tip-off to the seriousness of the place, which also has an offbeat charm. The Drafthouse once showed the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy at an event called Hobbit Feast, where viewers ate only when the on-screen characters did; periodic screenings call for everyone to dress as a particular character—say, Will Ferrell in Semi-Pro.  

Sun Pictures Cinema, Broome, Austrailia

Haphazardly built from corrugated iron and jarrah wood in 1916 to entertain locals in this isolated outback town’s once-thriving pearl-diving industry, the endearingly rickety cinema is the world’s oldest operating outdoor picture garden (first silent film shown: racy racing drama Kissing Cup). Saved by a wealthy local businessman in the early 1980s, it’s been preserved almost unchanged. 

Kennedy School, Portland OR

McMenamins is a local empire of brewpubs and entertainment venues, with more than 50 different spaces in the city, many artfully repurposing old buildings (church, farm, ballroom). The coolest is undoubtedly the Kennedy School, a onetime elementary school that’s now a 35-room hotel and restaurant plus an eccentric movie theater housed in the old auditorium. The 300-seat cinema shows second-run and repertory movies nightly, plus kid-friendly Mommy Matinees, with comfy armchairs and a full menu of McMenamins craft brews available at your seat.  

ReRun Cinema, Brooklyn, NY

The cobblestoned streets of Brooklyn’s waterfront DUMBO district welcomed this gastropub theater (an extension of the dive ReBar) in Summer 2010. It spotlights undistributed or unfairly overlooked indie circuit films, projected from a DVD player on a 12-foot screen while cinemagoers recline on repurposed car seats (yep, there are seat belts too). 

by Lei Wah Mon

Source: www.huffingpost.com