The Cooper Foundation of Lincoln, Nebraska

Lincoln, Nebraska

The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....

, is a charitable and educational organization established in 1934 by Joseph H. Cooper, a long-time theater owner and former partner of Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

. It supports nonprofit organization organizations in Lincoln and Lancaster County, Nebraska

Lancaster County, Nebraska

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 250,291 people, 99,187 households, and 60,702 families residing in the county. The population density was 298 people per square mile . There were 104,217 housing units at an average density of 124 per square mile...

.

The foundation once owned and operated fifteen theatres in Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

, Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, and Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

. It sold off its theater interests in 1975.

Cinerama theaters

In 1961 and 1962, the Cooper Foundation was instrumental in presenting Cinerama

Cinerama

Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...

 films and film production by building three theaters to showcase the three-projector Cinerama format. There were three of these, the so-called "Golden Triangle" in Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

, St. Louis Park, Minnesota

St. Louis Park, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 44,126 people, 20,782 households, and 10,557 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,122.5 persons per square mile . There were 21,140 housing units at an average density of 1,975.0 per square mile...

 (a Minneapolis suburb), and Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

.

Although existing theaters had been adapted to show Cinerama films, The Cooper Foundation designed and built three near-identical circular "super-Cinerama" theaters. They were considered the finest venues to view Cinerama films. The theaters were designed by architect Richard L. Crowther

Richard L. Crowther

Richard L. Crowther, FAIA was an architect and author who achieved international renown for his progressive holistic compositions, particularly his pioneering designs employing passive solar energy.- Career :...

 of Denver, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. The original blueprints for the theater are in the Denver Public Library

Denver Public Library

The Denver Public Library is the public library of the city of Denver, Colorado in the United States. Its administrative headquarters is on the 7th floor of the Central Library in Downtown Denver. , the library system had 2,519,977 items in its collection, and a library card base of 417,616 local...

 Special Collections Department.

Crowther designed each element of the theaters to enhance the Cinerama experience. The circular design took advantage of the discovery that patrons, if left to their own devices, would seat themselves in an oval pattern. The exterior circular shape served as a constant reminder to passing motorists that this was a Cinerama theater. The design included a cylindrical shape and a flat roof.

The base of the building exteriors consisted of black Roman brick

Roman brick

Roman brick can refer either to a type of brick originating in Ancient Rome and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered; or to a modern type of brick, inspired by the ancient prototypes...

. The upper portion of the exteriors were clad in insulated Monopanels which were a burnt-orange color called "Swedish red".

Locations and current status

The first such theater, the Cooper Theater, in Denver, featured a 146-degree louvered screen (measuring a massive 105 feet by 35 feet), 814 seats, courtesy lounges on the sides of the theater for relaxation during intermission (including smoking facilities), and a ceiling which routed air and heating through small vent slots in order to inhibit noise from the building's ventilation equipment. It was demolished in 1994 to make way for a Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...

 Bookstore.

The second, also called the Cooper Theater, was built in St. Louis Park, Minnesota

St. Louis Park, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 44,126 people, 20,782 households, and 10,557 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,122.5 persons per square mile . There were 21,140 housing units at an average density of 1,975.0 per square mile...

 at 5755 Wayzata Blvd. The last film presented there was Dances with Wolves

Dances with Wolves

Dances with Wolves is a 1990 epic western film directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army Lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and his dealings with a...

in January, 1991, and at that time the Cooper was considered the flagship in the Plitt theater chain. It was torn down in 1992. Efforts were made to preserve the theater, but at the time it did not qualify for national or state historical landmark status (as it was not more than fifty years old) nor were there local preservation laws.

The third super-Cinerama, the Indian Hills Theater

Indian Hills Theater

The Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, was built in 1962 as a movie theater showcasing films in the Cinerama wide-screen format. The theater's screen was the largest of its type in the United States...

, was built in Omaha. The Indian Hills theater closed on Sept. 28, 2000, as a result of the bankruptcy of Carmike Cinemas

Carmike Cinemas

Carmike Cinemas Inc. is a motion picture exhibitor headquartered in Columbus, Georgia in the United States of America. As of December 31, 2010 it operates or has an interest in 239 theaters with 2,236 screens in 35 states, making it the fourth largest theatre company in the United States.Carmike...

, and the final film presented was the rap music-drama Turn It Up

Turn It Up (film)

Turn It Up is a 2000 drama–musical film. It was directed by Robert Adetuyi and stars Ja Rule, Pras, Faith Evans and Jason Statham. The film grossed $1,247,949 during its brief theatrical run.-Cast:*Pras as Diamond*Ja Rule as David "Gage" Williams...

. Despite an intensive grass-roots campaign by local preservationists, support by film actors and the movie industry including Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...

, Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...

, Janet Leigh

Janet Leigh

Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....

, Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury

Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...

, the National Trust for Historic Preservation

National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...

, and the American Society of Cinematographers

American Society of Cinematographers

The American Society of Cinematographers is an educational, cultural, and professional organization. It is not a labor union, and it is not a guild. Membership is by invitation and is extended only to directors of photography and special effects experts with distinguished credits in the film...

, the owner, Nebraska Methodist Health Systems, Inc., went ahead with demolition on August 20, 2001, to make space available for a parking lot for its administration offices. (Ironically, on August 8, the Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission had voted unanimously to recommend to the Omaha City Council that the Indian Hills be designated a Landmark of the City of Omaha. The building was destroyed anyway before the council met to take action.) The demise of the theatre and efforts to preserve others throughout the nation are chronicled in Jim Fields

Jim Fields

James Wallace Fields is an American film director, producer, playwright and actor. Fields wrote, produced and directed the movies 416, Saving The Indian Hills, Preserve Me A Seat, Plain Living and, most recently Bugeaters, currently in production...

's documentary Preserve Me a Seat.

The Foundation today

As of 2009, the Cooper Foundation continues to support nonprofit organizations in and around Lincoln, Nebraska. It also co-sponsors the E. N. Thompson Forum on World Issues along with the Lied Center for Performing Arts

Lied Center for Performing Arts

The Lied Center for Performing Arts is a state-of-the-art performing arts facility located in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA that opened in 1990. It is part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is used for various events, including orchestra, theatre, and speakers.The Center consists of 5 separate...

 and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...

.

External links

• Official site of the Cooper Foundation
• E. N. Thompson Forum at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
• Behind the Silver Screen of the Cooper Theaters: The 1996-97 Biennial Report of the Cooper Foundation (PDF, 7.81 MB)
• Cooper Theater (Denver) at Cinema Treasures
• Cooper Theater (St. Louis Park) at Cinema Treasures
• Indian Hills Theater at Cinema Treasures