This just in…
Today we “learned” in the Kansas City Star that movie mogul Wade Williams‘ gigundo, historic Glenwood Arts sign would be moving to 95th and Mission Road after the theater complex at Metcalf South shopping center bites the dust later this month.
Not gonna happen.
No way the Ranch Mart would allow that, Williams says.
Instead, the sign will be heading east to Williams’ Englewood Theatre in Independence.
Speaking of which,…
“I’m trying to decide whether to put two more screens at the Englewood,” Williams says.
Matter of fact, had it not been for a basement flood and another niggling annoyance the Englewood would have reopened last year, Williams says.
At present he’s embroiled in a dispute with the vaunted Arrow Fabricare Services.
“They were working on the curtain for our big screen,” Williams says. “It’s sixty feet wide and weighs probably 200 pounds or more. Now it’s going to cost $15,000 to replace.”
Things went awry after he sent it to Arrow for cleaning, Williams says.
“The people who took them down and cleaned them ruined them,” he says. “They passed the buck to their insurance company and it’s costing me $3,000 every month that I’m closed. I would have been open last fall.”
As for the Star’s misreporting that the Glenwood Arts sign would be moving to Ranch Mart, “We’ll probably take it out to the Englewood and change it from Glenwood to Englewood,” Williams says. “”It’s only four letters. But it has to be saved. We spent a lot of money when we bought it from Dickinson because it was a wreck.We’ll use it for The Englewood Station Arts District.”
Vivilore in the Englewood Station Arts District
Uh, The Englewood Station Arts District?
“Hell, there’s art galleries there, a great restaurant and they’ve redone all the sidewalks,” Williams says. “The restaurant is called Vivilore. And The Englewood is the most luxurious theater in the city now. It’s a luxury movie theater – not a movie palace – but a luxury theater.”
As for not moving the sign to Ranch Mart,” They won’t accept our sign,” Williams says. “I don’t like it, but what can you do?”
That brings us to the old Aztec movie theater in downtown Shawnee.
It’s just a hop, skip and a jump from the She’s a Pistol gun store.
The jury’s still out on whether Williams and the Fine Arts Theatre Group will reopen the Aztec as the Fine Arts Theatre as was announced somewhere around a million years back.
“Well, actually a couple of churches want it,” Williams says. And a man on the Shawnee City Council wants it and I can’t decide. It’s almost done – it’s three quarters done.”
Williams says he’ll make a final determination on the Aztec by year’s end.
Stay tuned!
