Curtain Falls For Last Time At Westside Movie House
Filed Under Kitchen Curtain | Posted on December 9, 2008
The end credits have rolled for a final time at the Westway Cinema in West Rutland.
Love stories, horror flicks and everything in between filled the four big screens for the past 25 years, and now, according to co-owner Kipp Mullin, the Cinema North Corp. theater at the Westway Plaza is shutting down.
Having seen a decrease in attendance during recent months and a building in need of major repairs, Mullin said he and co-owner Gerald Couture III have decided to concentrate their efforts and money on Cinema North’s Plaza Movieplex in downtown Rutland.
Mullin also said it was difficult to keep up interest in the Westside theater, with many of its feature films coming from the larger Rutland cinema a couple of weeks after showing on one of the nine screens there.
Posted signs thanking past moviegoers are taped to the glass doors at the deserted theater. Inside, beige wallpaper can be seen peeling off the walls where posters for the newest movie releases hung just a week ago. Outside, all of the movie listings have also been taken down, and the only signs of the former theater are an empty ticket window and typed signs asking customers to catch the latest flicks at the downtown theater.
Mullin said Cinema North has been putting money lately into renovating the Plaza Movieplex, including interior decorations and renovations to the concession area. In the next few months the cinema will undergo major seat upgrades as well, Mullin said.
Goulette said she and the Select Board would have a conversation about what the town can do to help fill the space as soon as possible, but having just found out about the vacancy, no plans have been made, she said.
Tags: co owner, concession area, curtain, feature films, gerald couture, glass doors, horror flicks, interior decorations, kipp, love stories, movie listings, moviegoers, movieplex, renovations, select board, ticket window, vacancy, west rutlandRelated posts
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