The Villa Theatre, a historic 1,000-seat movie theater in Salt Lake City, will close this month, the Deseret News has learned.
Trevan Biddulph, a manager at the Villa, said the theater will close after the final showings on Feb. 18. It is not clear who the new owners are, but Biddulph said they won't be running a theater.
The Villa opened on Dec. 23, 1949, showing "Prince of Foxes." It was one of the first theaters in Utah to show widescreen films and featured stadium seating from its inception.
The theater was remodeled for the final time in 1996 by its new owners, Carmike Cinemas, with new seats, a new screen and sound system.
Representatives from Carmike's local and national offices did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests for interviews.
Rumors abound regarding potential buyers and their plans for the property.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Amy Hill confirmed the store had looked at the property but determined it wasn't interested.
Kevin Jensen, a Realtor with Prudential Utah Real Estate, represents owners of property for sale next to the theater and confirmed he knows the Villa buyer's identity. Though he declined to name the buyer, he did say that "it's a substantial Utah business that has been around for a long time and will, I'm sure, do great things with the property."
Which is cold comfort for Biddulph, who is saddened the curtains may be drawn on a Utah landmark.
"Watching movies at other theaters isn't really exciting," he said. "I just feel like the quality of presentation of the movies is going downhill."
E-MAIL: jnii@desnews.com