When it originally opened in 1982, the Yukon 5 Cinema was the biggest thing to happen to the rural outskirt, at least until they unveiled Garth Brooks Boulevard years later; that’s the street where, ironically enough, this once-loved theater was located on, in the Chisholm Shopping Center.
Formerly a part of the ailing Silver Cinemas chain—a Landmark Theatres property with only three movie-houses remaining in the country—despite renovations in 2007, the theater closed for good in 2014. After years of wishing, hoping and praying for an offer to reopen and re-renovate the place, currently the Yukon 5 is set to be demolished “as soon as possible,” according to a recent piece in the Yukon Progress.
I thought I had never been to this theater before, until I remembered I went on a rather unspectacular date (with a former Israeli soldier who was far too good for me, natch) there in 1998, where we saw Stepmom, starring Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts. While the weepy flick was mostly forgettable, apparently it wasn’t as forgettable as the theater, which very much reminded me—if I’m remembering correctly—of a Carmike Theatre.
Still, it got the job done, entertainment-wise, I suppose. But, you know, when someone like me hears that they’re going to turn the area into a useless parking lot once the theater is ultimately leveled, as a longtime (and mostly pretentious) cineaste, it gives my heart a momentary brain-wrap.
From the Yukon Progress:
“It’s not a ‘need’ for parking, but that’s what we’re going to do,” Hattis said. “Ultimately, maybe there will be a different type of building. Whatever we do, it will be less costly to build new than it would be to try to convert that building.”
Much like the way the drive-in is now a relic of the past, it seems as though these small-town theaters are the next thing to be phased out of our decaying culture. However, with the far flashier AMC West Pointe 8, located at 12825 NW 10th Street—which underwent their own renovations last year—still doing what I can only assume is gangbusters business, Yukon residents won’t be missing out on any of Hollywood’s ho-hum blockbusters any time in the near future.
Meanwhile, the next chance I get to shop at the Chisholm—if ever—I’ll lay a small bouquet of celluloid and roses down on the new parking lot’s dark asphalt, saying a cinematic farewell to yet another one of the Metro’s defunct movie-houses.
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