Charleston’s Park Place Cinema to reopen after 2-year shutdown – WV MetroNews

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Lights, camera, action. Movies are returning to downtown Charleston.

Park Place Cinema, the 11-screen theater that closed its doors in May 2024, will reopen this spring.

“Starting in April, we’re going to open the doors, the arcade, the movie theaters are going to be open, the popcorn is going to be popping,” an all-smiles Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said Monday in Park Place’s lobby.

Goodwin said it was tough news to swallow in May 2024 when the former owners closed it down.

“It’s just a theater, it’s not just movie screens and seats, it’s a place for us to connect and I think that’s what people have missed the most about it,” Goodwin said.

Charleston City Council is set to approve a one-year lease Monday night with The Greater Charleston Theater Company and Entertainment Group. The city owns the building where the theatre and adjoining parking garage are located on Washington Street East.

Theater Company and Entertainment Group Manager Rob Faulkner, who started working at Park Place in 1993, said he and former Park Place General Manager Mike Tawney saw an opportunity.

“A lot of outcry came out when it closed and a lot of people speaking further on how their childhood was here and what they miss about it. We just want to give them an opportunity to come back,” Faulkner said.

The Huntington-based Hyman family previously owned the theater from when it opened in 1981 to 2024.

“We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you who has been part of our journey. Your support, laughter, and shared moments have made the Park Place Cinemas an enduring part of the Charleston community,” Park Place said.

Owner Derek Hyman told MetroNews it’s a tough business.

“We are not unique. This is something that is happening in the theatre business. There are other theatres closing down. We have theatre we closed in Cincinnati just last week,” Hyman told MetroNews at the time.

Covid hurt Park Place but also competition, Hyman said.

Faulkner said he believes the community will welcome it back.

“We definitely need the support to keep the doors open. Make no mistake about it. The crowd wasn’t the same (after covid),” Faulkner said.

Charleston City Councilman Emmett Pepper got his first job at Park Place when he was high school. He was back Monday and ready to watch a movie.

“I think this is a place where people build memories,” Pepper said. “I took my son here to see his first film. I think we need to build more memories here. People are passionate about it.”

Pepper said a successful West Virginia Film Festival at the venue last fall was an encouraging sign that the theater could reopen.

Goodwin said the city’s one-year lease with the ownership group is based on ticket sales.

“A price for every ticket they sale. They are taking over all of the utilities,” Goodwin said.

The lease that council will approve said 50 cents of each ticket sold from the prior month will go to the city.

Goodwin said there’s an opportunity to renew the one-year lease twice.

Goodwin said she’s optimistic about the future.

“When you walked through the doors today and you smelled the popcorn it all came back,” she said.

The Theater Group plans to have movies in 9 of the 11 theaters and use the other two theaters for a variety of events.