Dundee Theater facts for kids
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| Address | 4952 Dodge Street Omaha, Nebraska United States |
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| Owner | Film Streams |
| Type | Independent art house |
| Capacity | 300 |
| Current use | Movie Theater |
| Opened | 1925 |
| Years active | 1925-present |
| Website | |
| http://www.filmstreams.org/ | |
The Dundee Theater is a really old and special movie theater in Omaha, Nebraska. You can find it at 4952 Dodge Street. Today, a group called Film Streams runs this historic place. The Dundee is the longest-running neighborhood movie theater in Omaha. It's a cool spot to watch all kinds of films.
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A Look Back: The Dundee Theater's History
The Dundee Theater first opened its doors on December 19, 1925. The local newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald, called it "Omaha's newest photoplay house." On opening day, people watched a silent comedy called The Trouble with Wives. They also saw a short film titled The Fighting Dude.
From Silent Films to Sound
Just four years later, in 1929, the theater got new sound equipment. This meant movies could now have talking and music! It was a big change for the cinema. In 1938, the Dundee Theater got a major makeover. They installed new projectors and sound systems. They also put in comfy new seats and a brand new sign outside.
New Owners and Art House Movies
In 1958, the owners of the Indian Hills Theater bought the Dundee. In 1963, the Dundee Theater changed its style. It became an "art house" cinema. This means it started showing special, independent, and foreign films. It reopened with a famous movie called 8 1/2 by Federico Fellini.
In 1965, the theater had another big renovation. After that, it showed the popular movie The Sound of Music for a very long time. It played for 118 weeks! At that time, only one other theater in London had shown the film for longer.
Family Films and Midnight Fun
After showing a few more popular movies, the theater went back to showing art and foreign films. In 1974, new owners tried to make it a "top-notch house" for family movies. The theater closed for a short time.
In 1980, Denny Moran bought and updated the theater. He ran it for over 30 years. He usually showed art films and some bigger movies too. The Dundee also became famous for its "Midnights at Dundee" series. This was a fun way to watch classic and cult films late at night. Some popular movies shown at midnight included:
- The Big Lebowski
- Donnie Darko
- Pulp Fiction
- Princess Bride
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show
- Rushmore
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit
- Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Modern Updates and Expansion
In 2013, the Dundee Theater closed for planned updates. A few years later, it was sold to the Sherwood Foundation. The plan was for Film Streams to run the theater. In 2016, Film Streams started raising money for the renovation. They wanted to make the Dundee Theater their second location.
Renovations began in February 2017. Many improvements were made:
- A new entrance on the north side.
- Updated places to buy tickets and snacks.
- A new bookstore called "Katie's Video." It sells movie magazines, Blu-rays, and DVDs.
- A bigger lobby shared with a restaurant.
- A new small screening room with 25 seats, called the Linder Microcinema.
- The main theater got new seats, a new screen, and updated sound and projection equipment.
The main theater seats 300 people. It was named after Peggy Payne, who is the mother of Oscar-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne. He grew up in Omaha and used to be on the Film Streams Board.
The Dundee Theater Today
Film Streams finished updating the Dundee Theater in November 2017. It officially reopened on December 1, 2017. Today, it continues to be a beloved place for movie lovers in Omaha.
