The Villa Theater should be preserved as a movie theater. It is the only remnant of the wonderful theaters of the past.

It's the only true theater we have in Salt LAke . I teach Film studies at the University of Utah, and always used to be able to tell students they could get a sense of what it used to be to go to the movies by going to the Villa. Alas, no longer--this is a priceless treasure that should remain a movie house.

Thanks,

Chris Lippard

Keep the tradition alive. Bring back the last great and grand Salt Lake City movie theater. Some how going to a mega plex style theater complex just isn't the same as sitting in one of America's Grand theaters.

Ahh! the memories. Please let it be a theater again! I promise I'll go there more often! Besides, it didn't get to finish the Lord of the Rings!

Hopefully Harmons will have enough sense to sell the Villa to a group that can use it for what it was intended....the Cinerama Heritage that is quickly disappearing around the country desperately needs to be preserved. I would certainly never set foot in a Harmons store again if the theatre went for any use other than a movie theatre.

To see the Villa become anything other than a movie theatre is a genuine loss to the City of Salt Lake. Having visited the theatre, I know first hand that it is a one-of-a-kind facility which, once lost, will not be seen again in Utah, which would be very sad.

I urge the current owner: If you have any foresight or concern for the artisitic well-being of the region, please do not less this unique structure be lost to the morass of "sameness" that is over-running so many cities today. Give those interested in refurbishing the building as a theatre a window of opportunity to save the facility for future generations of filmgoers and art lovers.

Sincerely,
Matt Lutthans
Former President, Cinerama Society of Seattle

A Waste of a Treasure...I grew up going to Saturday morning shows at the Villa in the 1950's. A few years later I saw all the Cinerama movies at the Villa. The last movie I saw in a theatre was Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers...at the Villa. I was really hoping to see the third Lord of the Rings at the Villa too. I absolutely will not go to any theatre in Salt Lake but the Villa. Please Harmons, let the Villa be a theatre again. If the Villa is anything but a theatre I will not likely patronize businesses in the Highland Drive and Brickyard areas. Seeing the Villa as anything else would be too painful an experience for me to see and I will just avoid the area altogether.

It's about time America woke up and realized we are destroying
our culture to build crap that in 50(if) years will have no redeaming value and will be bulldozed. Take a look at how many classic structures are destroyed every year in this country, it's a disgrace. It's about time we started placing value in our history again before we are one long drawn out strip mall from coast to coast.

Working as a projectionist here in milwaukee I have seen many an area theatre go down,namely the Uptown Theatre.I worked and serviced its projection,sound,heating,air conditioning,water pumps and other items in the building.To see a theatre go dark is like a stab in my heart since I got into the theatre when I was 16 years old (now 47).I have had many a screening room full of theatre buffs that don't want the show to end!I now run an open air theatre in the summer months showing "soundies" films,the musical films from the fourties.Thank You.

I have been taking my family to movies at the Villa for thirty years...my kids used to go to movies all day there when they were growing up. They would walk from our home which is not too far away from the Villa. Since the Villa's closing we have been forced to go to other theaters to see movies....it is not the same....no other movie theater screen compares to what was the Villa. We hope to see the Villa reopened.

I love the Villa it is the best place to see movies. I have been going to other theaters since the closing of the Villa and it is just not the same. None of the other theaters have screens that compare to the Villa's. I hope that we can get enough support to have the Villa reopened.

This is terrible. I ALWAYS made an effort to go to the Villa. I even saw most of the Disney movies there before it was renovated. I still remember going there in the late 80's/early 90's and puttng up with the seats that were shot, and the terrible sound system. Carmike did a decent job of restoring the theatre on a Multiplex budget.

I moved away last year to Lansing, MI... but I always thought I would get to see more movies in the Villa..... Save This Theatre!!!

Eric Lamb

Like so many others, I too will miss the availability of such a wonderful space in which to watch movies. Also like so many others, I've spent the majority of my movie nights in theaters other than the Villa. We did this, brought about the demise of this fine old structure. We didn't go when we could and should have. The multiplex was closer, they presented a wider variety, they advertised more, etc. etc. ad nauseum. Now we're stuck with the postage stamp flat screens. I'll be there before it closes, like so many others. Would that we had been there regularly in the weeks and months before.

If this is a Cinerama theatre, you should try to contact Paul Allen. He undertook the preservation of the Seattle Cinerama. See http://www.seattlecinerama.com/theatre1_save_the_cinerama.html

The Villa was my first job. I started there when Terms of Enderment was playing and remember the chaos of The Temple of Doom, I still know all the words and sounds of that movie!!! I was "the candygirl" I met my husband "the doorman" while working there, although the marriage didn't last... I have 3 wonderful children that wouldn't exist if it weren't for the Villa. I have so many memories working there, especially playing hide and seek in the theatre after closing. (I can't believe that nobody got hurt) I am so sad to see the Villa leaving, but I will always have very fond memories!!!

This theatre is the finest theatre ever built in my opinion, I have seen countless movies inside of the Villa. I am the Grandson of D.K. Edwards, one of the original owners and the Villa has always been an important icon in my life and I have been telling my children the stories behind the theatre. I wish I had the resources to purchase the Villa and stop its demise. Please, let's support the Villa and let the new owners see how much it really mean to Utah and its residents!!!!!!!!!!!

Please dont close the theater down. I love it.
Thats not cool my fourteen yearold says.

They can't do away with the Villa! I have such wonderful memories of this theatre from the time I was little all the way untill now. It is such a different atmosphere than any other theatre and I just love seeing movies there. I wish there was something that could be done. It would be a total shame to see this wonderful structure torn down. I hope it won't be the case.

A grand old reminder of time simpler and less stressful. Movies were once a grand escape and eagerly awaited, now there is so much tripe on the screen, It's hard to get excited about anything. One nice thing is that The Lord of the Rings, (a true masterpiece) will be the final?? movie presented in another "masterpiece".

What a bummer. I love old theaters like that and I'm sad to see them go. I tried to go as often as I could but the Villa doesn't often have a movie I want to see (a lot of stuff for young kids, it seems) and/or they keep them too long (I see Lord of the Rings in one of the pictures showing on 18 December 2002 - and it's STILL THERE as of yesterday, 12 February 2003). I hope somehow it can be saved but if it cannot I hope it isn't replaced by another ugly office building that will sit empty for years like all the others.
By the way, this is a great site. Thanks for making it.