Douglas Theatre Company was an American

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

chain in based in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, operating in both

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

and

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...

. It was the 38th largest cinema chain in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

Early years

The company was formed in 1952, by Russell Brehm and then-Senator

Roman Hruska Roman Lee Hruska () (August 16, 1904April 25, 1999) was an American attorney and politician who served as a Republican U.S. senator from the state of Nebraska. Hruska was known as one of the most vocal conservatives in the Senate during the 19 ...

. Brehm and Senator Hruska wanted to build an entertainment company for Nebraska, by Nebraskans. The founders settled on naming the company "Douglas" because Omaha, in Douglas County, would be the location of their first venue: a drive-in theater, the ''84th & Center'', which opened the following year. In ensuing years, other drive-ins were built in Lincoln and Omaha, and temporary acquisitions were made in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

as well. In 1967, Douglas opened its first indoor theater in Omaha, the ''Cinema Center'', which remained in operation until the company sold to Marcus in 2008. Three theaters were opened in Lincoln shortly thereafter: the ''Cinema Twin'', in September 1971 (first showing ''

Summer of '42 ''Summer of '42'' is a 1971 American coming-of-age film based on the memoirs of screenwriter Herman "Hermie" Raucher. It tells the story of how Raucher, in his early teens on his 1942 summer vacation on Nantucket Island (off the coast of Cape ...

'' and ''

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

''), ''Douglas 3'', in March 1973 (first showing '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', ''

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'' and ''

Serpico ''Serpico'' is a 1973 American neo-noir biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino in the title role. The screenplay was adapted by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler from the book of the same name written by ...

'') and ''Plaza 4'', in April 1973. In the early 1970s, the Jerry Lewis Theater complex in Omaha was purchased and the name was changed to the "Maplewood Twin Cinema." The "Q-Twin Drive-in" and the "Q-4 Cinemas" were built and operated on 120th and Q Streets in Omaha. In 1989, the ''Edgewood 3'' theater opened in southeast Lincoln, at 56th & Hwy 2. It was remodeled, and reopened in April 2003, to include three additional screens and stadium seating. Having six screens, it also dropped the "3" from its name. On November 21, 1997, the ''East Park'' theater at 66th & 'O' in Lincoln re-opened after remodeling. It was once part of a small indoor mall, which had been converted into strip shops.

Peak years

On February 4, 2003, then-mayor of Lincoln Don Wesely announced plans for Douglas Theatres to build a $15 million, 14-screen megaplex downtown. On 8 August, demolition began to raze most of the buildings on the block bordered by 11th, 12th, O and P streets. After over a year of construction, The Grand opened on November 19, 2004. It took the place of four smaller theaters: the Lincoln, which was torn down to partially make way for the Grand, as well as the Cinema Twin, Douglas 3 and Plaza 4, which closed the night before the opening of the Grand. The Douglas 3 was demolished in October 2006 to make way for an urban par

which is also a public wireless hotspot. The other two theaters remain vacant in downtown Lincoln . The Grand included over 3,000 stadium seats, and an arcade, "The Vault", which features a 60,000-pound vault door purchased from Wells-Fargo. At its peak, Douglas Theatres had a total of 100 screens, including: * East Park (''Lincoln'') - Sold to

Marcus Theatres Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl� ...

* Edgewood Cinema (''Lincoln'') - Sold to Marcus Theatres * Lincoln Grand (''Lincoln'') - Sold to Marcus Theatres * SouthPointe Cinema (''Lincoln'') - Sold to Marcus Theatres * 20 Grand (''Omaha'') - Sold to Marcus Theatres and later renamed The Majestic * Maplewood Twin Cinemas (''Omaha'') - Closed * Cinema Center (''Omaha'') - Closed * Q-Cinema 9 (''Omaha'') - Closed * Q-Twin Drive-in (''Omaha'') - Closed * Twin Creek Cinema (''Bellevue'') - Sold to Marcus Theatres * Village Pointe Cinema (''Omaha'') - Sold to Marcus Theatres

Sale and closure

On March 26, 2008, it was announced that

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

would buy seven Douglas Theatres, along with the name for $40.5 million. Cinema Center and Q-Cinema 9 in

would continue to be owned by Douglas Theatres, and set close before summer, and Cinema Center would be set to close between October 2008 and February 2009. Q-Cinema 9 officially closed on April 3, 2008, and the final Douglas location, the Cinema Center, closed its doors in January 2009.

References

External links

From Lincoln Journal Star Newspaper

The Douglas Grand: Tickets, parkingA Grand timeline: A quick history of area movie housesTheater complex set to draw audiencesFinal day business slows at downtown theatersFew tears for three closing theatersDemolition crews take down Douglas 3
{{Major USA Cinema Chains Movie theatre chains in the United States Former cinemas in the United States Companies based in Lincoln, Nebraska Entertainment companies established in 1952 Cinemas and movie theaters in Nebraska 1952 establishments in Nebraska