Brookdale Theatre

Yes, the KOHLS is a brand new building, the original building was torn down. It was one of the most visible theaters in the Twin Cities metro, very distinguishable from Highway 100.

I don’t think it had any resemblance to the Cooper theatre at all. Although it was a classy house, it wasn’t on the same level as the Cooper.

The Kohl’s is new. They flattened the theater before building the Kohl’s.I saw a picture in the paper. Can anyone tell me why this theater bears a resemblance to the Cooper theater?

tlsloews: I did find some additional information about this; you can email me at golgafrinchan48 at att dot net. This discussion is, as you noted, not really on topic.

Just a little from some books I have read; my understanding is that after Marcus Loew died, William Fox wanted to buy Loew’s and the deal was actually announced. But Louis B. Mayer opposed it (remember that at that time Loew’s controlled MGM), and used his influence to press for an anti-trust investigation. Then Fox was injured in an automobile accident, the stock market crashed in 1929, Fox lost control of his holdings, and the deal came to nothing.

Actually, that’s a rather simplified version of the story! The whole version would fill books (and has). UPC originally was a maze of sub-companies because the Paramount-owned theaters were operated through a bunch of subsidiaries including former independent circuits such as Balaban & Katz, United Detroit Theaters, etc. In addition, the UPC-ABC merger had a rough time in the courts before it was approved.

d.qualley: Yes, for awhile, the ABC Broadcasting Companies did operate theaters. The story is rooted in the aftermath of the 1949 Paramount Consent Decree and the early struggles of ABC to gain a secure foothold in television in the early 1950s. A company called United Paramount Theaters (UPC) was formed to manage the former Paramount-owned theaters. UPC then acquired ABC, which was having difficulty in firmly establishing its TV network. UPC saw possibilities in the company, renaming UPC as American Broadcasting Company-Paramount Theaters, Inc. This was later shortened to the American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. In the 1970s, the Midwestern group of theaters was sold to a new company headed by Henry Plitt, who had been an executive within the ABC theaters division. About a decade later, Plitt sold the Midwestern group of theaters (which, at least at one time would have included the Brookdale) to Cineplex-Odeon (which in turn was acquired by Sony/Loew’s, which in turn became part of AMC; in the process a number of theaters were closed or sold to other operators). All of this occurred well before the Disney acquisition of ABC or the more recent Paramount TV network.

<<< * ABC Plit >>>
<<< Also known as ABC* >>>

All of the photos, newspaper ads and other web resources I’ve seen for this place list its name as the “Brookdale.”

Ownership was ABC in its initial years and Plitt in its latter years. I doubt the place was ever called (officially, anyway) “ABC” or “ABC Plit” (sic). If anything, it would’ve been called the owner name followed by the actual name (i.e. “ABC Brookdale” and, later, “Plitt Brookdale”).

Okay, Robin came on.She got me on one of our Plitt theatres here in Augusta. SHE"SSSSSSSSS BBBBBBBBBack,never played that movie. Think I was out of business.

Do I have to get Robin to make you do it for a homework assignment.

Dont have one!

Yes, a goog theatre ASSistant Manager should always know how to shoot a line of B.S. especially,if you can blame it on the guy in the booth.