Ten Amazing Theaters for Movie Lovers

Tired of multiplexes? For a true film lover looking for a unique cinematic experience, the following theaters will prove well worth the travel.

1. Kennedy School – Portland, Oregon. Unlike home, Kennedy School Movie Theater offers the big screen, couches, armchairs…and a microbrewery and bar.
2. Shooting Star Drive-In – The Shooting Star Drive-In is possibly the best to survive the drive-in theater’s Ice Age. It also rents Airstream trailers for your viewing nostalgia. And should things get, let’s say, a little steamy, you can stay at the on-site hotel.
3. Film Forum – New York City, New York. Here, you can leave the digital behind and watch films in full 25 millimeter film splendor. As a nonprofit art house theater, Film Forum shows the classics as they were meant to be seen.
4. Arclight Theater’s Cinerama Dome – Hollywood, California. One of only four such theaters in the world, the Arclight Cinerama Dome is one of only four of its kind in the world, offering surround sound…and surround vision. Film aficionados will want to check out the dome’s amazing technical specs.
5. ShowPlace ICON at Roosevelt Collection – While it’s a showplex, ShowPlace is unlike any other you’ve ever visited. Enjoy the full bar and, for an extra seven dollars, take a VIP seat in the balcony.
6. Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater/Restaurant – Orlando, Florida. Where else can you enjoy better-than-classic diner food in a booth that looks like a 50’s car complete with illuminated taillights as monsters and aliens make every attempt to jump off the screen and join you for dinner? Nowhere.
7. Fox Theater – Detroit, Michigan. Go even further back in Hollywood time to this glorious theater, which first opened in 1930. Stare at the screen or the cathedral-like domed interior. Either way, you won’t be disappointed.
8. The Senator – Baltimore, Maryland. If you hear any crying, it’s about rather – not louder – than the movie itself, as no children under five years of age are allowed into this theater, showcased by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
9. Cable Car Cinema – Providence, Rhode Island. One of the best art house theaters in the country, this theater was converted from a railway garage. It’s the pick for the truly-devoted fan of independent and foreign films.
10. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – Omaha, Nebraska. It’s the cinema’s attitude that gives the Alamo a place on this list: “We have zero tolerance for talking or cell phone use of any kind during movies, and we aren’t afraid to kick anyone rude enough to start texting their friends during a show right out of the theater. We also hate it when other movie theaters make you watch advertisements after you’ve already paid to see the movie, so we’re vigilant about never letting ads hit our screens – we’ve even turned down PSAs [public service ads] for great causes because we don’t want ANYTHING to disrupt your experience of the show.”