State Theater

This is one of my favorite marquees in the Twin Cities. The State Theatre opened in 1921 and was one of the more elaborate theatres for it's time. It was restored and reopened in 1991. I've been inside only a few times and I must say, the insides are quite stunning. It is a thing of beauty and thank goodness they preserved this building as Minneapolis has a history of demolishing historic builds.

Pantages Theater

Built in 1916 and operated for quite some time, it was closed in 1984. The theater was renovated by the city of Minneapolis in 2002 and reopened. In 2005, the city transferred ownership of its theaters to the Hennepin Theatre Trust.

Final Four Bracket

Music Stars

A close up of some of the musical acts that have played at First Avenue. Of all of the stars listed in the photo, I've seen three of the bands here at First Ave. It is one of my personal favorite places to see a concert in the Twin Cities.

State Theater

From much earlier in the summer, the State Theater in downtown Minneapolis.

Slice Of Guthrie Theater

Just a small portion of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. To see it in person is the way to go.

The End

Tonight was the final showing for the Cottage View Drive-In. The weather was cold, damp and dreary. I guess, fitting weather to the theater's 46 year run. In it's place will be a a very familiar super store that starts with a "Wal" and ends with an "art".

I first photographed the drive-in back in 2007 in late August, but didn't post the photo until September 10. I know it was August because it was a very hot and buggy night, I really needed bug spray badly and made a very short night of it. The very next season, half of their lights burnt out and I never got second chance to improve this shot.

That very photo, from the hot buggy night, can be seen in my local Applebee's Restaurant on their wall. It is part of a photograph mural of sites of Cottage Grove. What's funny to me is, they never asked for permission to display my photo on their wall, but there it is. What do I do? I'm honored to have my photo there and never want it to go away. Soon I will take a photo of me by my photo and post it here on the blog.

As for the theater closing, it is a bummer for the community, but the city will benefit in the long run. The taxes collected are ten fold since the drive-in is only open seasonally. I believe they estimated $20,000 versus $230,000 from the Super Store. I don't quite remember the exact figures, but it is pretty close. A piece of our history has closed, but the untold story is, the theater would be soon closing, regardless of the Walmart purchase, as they needed a projector upgrade from an analog film projector to a digital one, thank you Hollywood. The cost of the upgrade was $70,000 and with the small grossing theater, it was never going to happen. So really, it was a matter of time before they closed and the lot collected no tax dollars.

As sad as it is to see it go from the city of Cottage Grove, I am happy that I was able to give my kids ever lasting memories of the Cottage View Theater for the last six, seven, eight years, or whenever it was I first brought them here.

Minnesota! It's Not Just For Lutherans Anymore

I believe the first time I saw this sign a few years back, I thought this was a church, even though the sign is displayed at an old theater. After a quick research, I was very wrong. The Brave New Workshop does a lot of improve and comedy shows each and every week. This old theater is alive and well with plenty of current performances. The theatre is located in downtown St Paul.

Highland 1 & 2 Theater

I had set out to photograph the Highland Theater located on Cleveland Avenue and Ford Parkway in St Paul. I have this photo, but I waited for 10 to 15 minutes for the police officer to leave. You can see the officer in the photo and there was a very long conversation going on. This gives me a reason to go back to the theater for a full shot without vehicles in front of the building.

Cottage View Returns

I've gotten word, the Cottage View Drive-In will be open for at least two more years! From all of us drive-in theater fans, we couldn't be happier. From my understanding, with the downturn in the economy, the interest in purchasing the land is dead. Thus, at least two more years the theater will be open.

To see what is currently playing: Now Showing at Cottage View Drive-In

Lines And Shapes

The west facing wall of Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis.

Marquee Theatres

I've been told the marquee theater sign has changed at the Mall Of America. This contribution photo from Dave R was sent to me last week. I'll certainly get out to the mall soon to see it. I've always enjoyed the various displays the theaters have outside their doors. Hopefully marquees will be one tradition in the United States that survives. It would be a shame to see them all disappear over time because they use evil light bulbs. I still have trouble coming to grips why an incandescent light bulb is bad because it uses more electricity, yet at the same time, the average power supply in a computer today is rated at 400 Watts. 2012 is when we start saying goodbye to the 100 Watt incandescent light bulb and completely phased out by 2014 with the 40 Watt. We are asked to put CFL's in the sockets instead, but my concern is the small amount of mercury in them.

Palace Theatre

At one time, this theater was run down, decayed, and a scary place to be around. Today, the Palace Theatre, from the website address in the sign, is now a comedy and improve theater. The place has had quite the turn around. You can find this revamped theater in downtown St Paul.

Entrance To Cottage View Drive-In

This is the metal fence entrance to the Cottage View Drive-In. It's obviously closed during the day time hours. Perhaps this is the final season for the drive in, only time will tell.

Indiana Jones Movie At The Drive In

Well, we made our first trip to the Cottage View Drive-In theater in Cottage Grove off of Highway 61. We saw the new 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skulls' movie as the feature movie. This was followed up by 'Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian'. Having seen the previous three Indiana Jones movies when I was much younger, I was looking forward to the latest release. Well, while it did keep up with the action from the previous movies, I was a bit taken back by the story line. I won't give the plot away, but it was easy to figure out where the story was going. Some of the other Indiana Jones movies, sure, there is a lot to believe for the viewer. This was a bit over the top for me. My kids enjoyed the movie and want to see the first three movies now. I can easily sit through them. As for the second Chronicles Of Narnia movie....having not seen the previous movie, I was unsure of any of the characters or what had taken place previously. I was able to follow the story line and if you have not seen the first movie, this one is has a decent enough story line for the viewer.

Cottage View Drive In - Opening Soon

I reported in the fall of 2007 that the Cottage View Drive-In, one of two drive-in theaters in the Twin Cities area, would be closing and selling it's land to the highest bidder. Due to overwhelming support, much praise, and a bit of a backlash by the community on the sale of the land, I'm happy to report the Cottage View Drive-In will be open in 2008 for business. My circle of friends in the Cottage Grove area have been talking quite a bit about the drive in being open once again. We brought six or seven car loads of families several times last year and have plans already in the works for this summer.

See what's playing at Cottage View Drive-In

The first showing is this Friday, April 18th. The theater will only be open on weekends until school is just about done for the year.

It's Up In The Air For Next Season

One of two remaining drive in theaters is soon to close. For the past several years, there has been talk of the land owner of the Cottage Grove Drive-In was going to sell his land to a business. Last I've read in the local newspaper was he's having second thoughts. There has been a lot of positive talk about the drive in and he may keep it open an additional year. He said in the newspaper article that he was surprised by the good natured talk about the drive in. I know it's inevitable that it will close, I've brought my kids to the drive in as many times as I've could this summer. I hope they cherish the experience. Perhaps there will be yet another year for Cottage View. I can only hope.

My 3 Daily Photo Favorites:
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Rabual, Papua New Guienea
Terrell, Texas

Revisiting Cottage View

I made a return visit to the Cottage Grove Drive In theater on Friday. My original photo at this location I really liked, but I wished I had a bit more sun light in the photo. Besides, this is the final season the theater will be open and a photo like this will be gone forever unfortunately. I am happy with the amount of daylight left in this shot.

There is talk of putting a walmart store in this location. Yet there is another one of these stores in the neighboring city to the north, south and west, all within a 15 minute drive of this location. Their thinking is it will bring in shoppers from the other communities. Why on earth would someone drive to Cottage Grove to shop at walmart when there is already one in their city? Wouldn't it make more sense to build something original that the other communities don't offer? I've talked to my wife about running for city council in the past, this may be the last straw that gets me to be serious about it.

My 3 Daily Photo Favorites:
Quito, Ecuador
Bastia, France
Wellington, New Zealand

Just A Bit Of Fog

An opposite view of my September 10 subject, Cottage View Drive In, during the morning fog.

Friday Night At Cottage View Drive-In

Summer is winding down, Cottage View Drive-In will soon be closed. With the kids back in school, the drive-in is only open on Friday and Saturdays. I heard from the staff that this will be the last year of the drive in, the land will be sold. He did say, the own has said this very thing for the last six years. I'm keeping my fingers crossed this is not the final year of one of the two outdoor theaters in the Twin Cities.

I took this photo just before it was completely dark out, standing in the brush with my tripod. I was not alone, there was me and several dozen mosquitoes swarming around me. I walked away with a couple of outstanding shots and 19 bug bites from my friends. I actually left much sooner than I wanted to because the bugs were so bad that night.

My 3 Daily Photo Favorites:
Newcastle, Australia
Paris, France
Hong Kong, China

The Big Screen

Made a visit to Cottage View Drive-In located off of Highway 61 in Cottage Grove. We made it there a few weeks ago on their second open weekend of the season. The sun was setting and turned the white screen a shade of orange. I completely missed the sunset, which has quite a vantage point from where the drive-in is located. I guess I was too busy people watching at the time and talking with my wife and family to notice. Currently they are playing Spiderman 3, with Shrek the Third coming out on Friday, we are hoping they will be changing to it Shrek so we can bring the family to another show. One of my first couple daily photos featured the Cottage View drive in from outside the gate back in April 25, 2006.

See what's playing at Cottage View Drive In

My Top 3 Daily Photo Favorites
Boston, Massachusetts
Paris, France
Bastia, France