RIP- Har Mar Theater

This week saw the closing of yet another old movie house due to the construction of a huge multi-screen complex down the block. Being the walking contradiction I am, the arrival of a modern facility with large screens, digital projectors, superior sound, and comfortable seating brings me great joy but at the same time to see a theater I’ve frequented since high school close down brings me great sorrow. The Har Mar Theater in Roseville , MN is not what you’d call a classic movie theater. Located in a strip mall the exterior has no charm or visual appeal whatsoever. In fact, the theater is actually located in two separate areas of the mall.

In the front you have the Har Mar 1-3. This was the original theater complex that opened in 1970. While the outside isn’t very appealing the inside is a classic example of suburban theater design from the late 60’s/early 70’s. The lobby to this day still has a vibrant red carpet that would be fit for George Clooney to walk down on Oscar night. There are twin chandeliers in the lobby that look like they belong in a hotel ball room more then a strip mall movie theater. Theaters of this era were attempting to lure away audiences who spent their cash in the beautiful theaters downtown and to do so they still had to maintain a certain level of grandeur. The theater originally had two screens but one of them was split to make a 3rd. Even when newer theaters were around me there was nothing finer then seeing a big action movie on the first screen at the Har Mar. In addition to large screens the theater always tried to upgrade both the picture and sound quality. The size of the screens was epic compared to many of the small theaters the 80’s turned out including the Har Mar’s own addition.

In 1980, about 100 yards away from the original, an additional 8 screens were added to the Har Mar. The 8 screen addition is a testament to the complete lack of effort theater chains made in the late 70’s/early 80’s to bring in new viewers. Literally the size of one of Shaquille O’Neal’s shoeboxes, the theaters were cramped, uncomfortable and lacked anything appealing. As such these theaters were often fairly empty once you got past opening weekend and that’s why I spent another good portion of my days at the Har Mar. There’s nothing like going to a sparsely filled theater when you’re young, stupid and full of sugar especially when it involves bad movies. While the bargain theaters were my crews’ mainstay, occasionally there was a first run bomb that demanded to be seen immediately (Rising Sun anyone). Somehow the crappy surroundings only added to the experience.

So now the Har Mar closes while the AMC Rosedale 18 opens. The new theater will probably be my #1 choice for viewing now since its close and state of the art. The Har Mar meanwhile will fade away. Like the strip mall itself, the Har Mar was already on its way to obscurity in the last few years. I don’t think I’d visited its sun drenched lobby since I saw Toy Story 2 and even then it was in the shoebox theater. The last time I was in the big theater might have been for Blade or Halloween H20, not exactly the films I’d like to remember it for. Honestly in the 4 months since I’ve been back in the cities, I’ve hardly even considered the Har Mar on my list of options even though it’s one of the closer theaters. Today though, I’ll poor out a little liquor for memories of a type of theater that is joining its downtown predecessors and in honor of all the good times, good times.