Members and supporters helped cut the ribbon at the renovated Dundee theater Tuesday morning.
The Dundee Theater first opened in 1925. The 92-year-old theater -- closed since 2013 -- was purchased by Susie Buffett's Sherwood Foundation, which then gave the Dundee to Film Streams. $8.3 million in donated renovations later, the bones of the old building stands, paying homage to the past, while crews work on bringing the theater into the next century.
Among those cutting the ribbon: Rachel Jacobson, Film Streams Founder/Executive Director; Paul G. Smith, Film Streams Board Chair; Michael Alley, Principal, Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture; Susie Buffett, The Sherwood Foundation; Pete Festerson, Omaha City Councilman; Matt Herzog, Partner, Project Advocates; Scott Thompson, President, Lund-Ross Constructors; and Katie Weitz, PhD, Film Streams Board Member.
A list of the new improvements include:
-Peggy Payne Theater: The original theater auditorium now seats 300 and features all new projection and sound equipment, installed by industry leader Boston Light & Sound. Classic, sloped-floor cinema seating (familiar Dundee blue!); 17x40 ft. screen; 35mm reel-to-reel, DCP, DVD and streaming projection capabilities.
-Karen & Jim Linder Microcinema: A brand new 25-seat screening room will help Film Streams bring even more mission-oriented art films to Omaha, while also serving as a home for Courses, a program of multi-week film seminars for adult audiences. DCP and 16mm projection capabilities.
-New Entrance: Patrons will now enter the Dundee Theater through a safer, more accessible main entrance on the north side of the building, directly from the parking lot along Capitol Avenue. Greeting them will be the Annette & Paul Smith patio, one of multiple gathering spaces inside and outside the cinema.
-Katie's Video: A collection of film books, Criterion Collection Blurays, and other cinema offerings for sale or browsing, Film Streams' tribute to the Dundee's former independent video store.Featuring new items and selections from the shelves of Jackson Street Booksellers. Named for Film Streams supporter and board member Katie Weitz, PhD.
-Expanded counters and offerings at the Omaha Steaks Box Office, First National Bank concessions, and a larger lobby/community space shared with…
-Kitchen Table Central: Film Streams' restaurant partner at the Dundee Theater. Real food made from scratch using the best local ingredients possible. Enjoy dine-in or carry-out options. More info: kitchentableomaha.com
-Curated by Peter Fankhauser, a new art installation located in the Bunny & Larry Buss Lounge features work by 12 area artists: Erin Foley (The 400 Blows), Joey Lynch (The Sound of Music), Sarah Hummel Jones (Pulp Fiction), Dan Crane (Badlands), Maranda Allbritten (The Spirit of the Beehive), Celeste Butler (2001: A Space Odyssey), Angie Seykora (Un Chien Andalou), Sarah Bay Yale (The Night of the Hunter), Jamie Danielle Hardy (McCabe & Mrs. Miller), Luke Severson (Seven Samurai), Sarah Rowe (Moonrise Kingdom), and Amy Haney (Metropolis).
