Preserving The Cameo Movie Theater

1. Preserving The Cameo Movie Theater Presented by: Lekeshia Turner Kim Ingerman

2. THE CAMEO MOVIE THEATRE

3. THE CAMEO THEATRE HISTORY • Opened in the 1930’s on Robinson Street in Binghamton New York. • The Cameo Theatre was first opened by Ken and Fran Robinson. • The box office is a bird like shape and it is located in the lobby. In the rear of the auditorium is where the restrooms and concession areas are located. • There is one screen and 740 seats. • In the late 1980’s Carroll leased the theatre and also operated it, eventually the Carroll’s merged with Nutmeg Theaters of CT to form Cinema National.

4. THE CAMEO THEATRE HISTORY COUNTIED • In 1987, that circuit sold to USA Cinemas which, in 1988, was sold to Lowes. • Lowes operated The Cameo Theatre until 1993. • The Cameo Theatre reopened under DTS Sound (digital sound) but not meeting with much success, the theatre eventually closed down. • Fran Robinson reopened the theater for a few more years, and for the last time in 2002 it closed and has been empty every since.

5. The Cameo Theatre FRONT DOORS

6. The Cameo Theatre SIDE VIEW OF THEATRE

7. The Cameo Theatre BOX OFFICE

8. Our Project Idea We would like to develop a restaurant, small museum, and movie theater all in one. The museum room area would have the history of The Cameo Theatre, plaques, images, and information about all different types of movie theaters in the past and around the world today. The reason why we would like to develop this project is so that we could preserve this site, bring back the past, and bring people from in and outside the Broome County area. We would like to keep our cost low to encourage outside visitors, and always have a day of the week special to encourage people from all areas to come to our new establishment. Low costs will bring more people!

9. Why would we like to preserve the cameo theatre site? • Its past history. • Part of peoples heritages. • Better emotional connection if its visible to people. • Reuse of historic buildings reduces construction costs. • Preserving saves our environment. • This building remains sound even after being built a long time ago. • “ If the building isn't harming anything or anyone then why don’t we just leave it alone!” (Ingerman)

10. Personal interviews of memories of the Cameo “ONE OF THE MEMORIES THAT I REMEMBER THE MOST IS BEING WITH MY SISTER AT THE CAMEO THEARTE AND I LOST MY TOOTH. THE MOVIE THAT WE SAW AT THE CAMEO THEATRE WAS THE FLINTSTONES” (INGERMAN). WHILE ASKING A COUPLE WHILE ON A SITE VISIT OF THE CAMEO THEATRE I SOON LEARNED FROM A OLDER COUPLE THAT THEY DID REMEMBER THE THEATRE. THE OLDER MAN BY THE NAME OF CHRIS LEGER SAID “HE LOVED THE CAMEO THEATRE, IT’S OUT OF BUSINESS NOW, AND HE WOULD ALWAYS GO THERE WITH HIS WIFE BECAUSE IT WAS CLOSE TO HOME AND IT WAS VERY CHEAP”. HE ALSO LET IT BE KNOWN THAT IT WAS A VERY POPULAR MOVIE THEATRE IN HIS TIME BUT NOW THEY HAVE FANCIER THEATERS. HE BELIEVES PEOPLE FORGOT ABOUT THE THEATRE.

11. WHY ITS IMPORANT TO US. MOST IMPORTANTLY THAT HISTORY IS IMPORTANT. OLD BUILDINGS ARE EXTREMALLY IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE THAT HAVE MEMORIES OF A BULIDING FROM THEIR PAST.