Saturday, August 11, 2007


Aug. 11, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
When Galaxy 8 Theatre opened its doors in May 1998, local moviegoers were starved for a modern movie viewing experience that had been absent in Porterville for years.

Nine years later, Galaxy 9, the high-tech reincarnation of the movie house on Henderson Avenue near Indiana Street, is still one of the most popular recreational draws the city has to offer.

It was the company's community stewardship combined with its commitment to giving moviegoers the optimum movie experience that led city officials to name it the Outstanding Business Honoree for the spring quarter.

The Porterville theatre was Galaxy Theatres' first venture. Prior to the formation of Galaxy Theatres, LLC, the company developed cinemas for other movie company, said Rafe Cohen, Galaxy Theatres president.

Cohen called the city's award 'satisfying.'

'It is more meaningful to get it in the 10th year than in your first or second year,' Cohen said, referring to an early outstanding business recognition. 'It is easier when you are the new game in town, but when you're in your 10th year, it speaks volumes that you've maintained a level of commitment with the city.'

Cohen, 58, was familiar with Porterville prior to the Galaxy endeavor. In the early 1990s, he and his business partners tried to bring a Cinemark theater to Porterville, but to no avail.

They could never 'really bite down and make it happen,' Cohen said. 'After that, we decided that the opportunity was so important that we started not just developing theaters, but operating them as well.'

During that time, residents were starved for a better movie-going experience than that at the Porter Theater, which closed its door one year before Galaxy 8 opened.

Porterville Mayor Cameron Hamilton said one of the biggest issues facing Porter Theater was that the city had outgrown the downtown location.

'The convenience of going to the movies was exasperated by the parking situation,' Hamilton said. 'When Galaxy came in, it offered a much greater chance at seeing a lot of different movies because of the added theaters, and more convenient parking.'

Another lasting impact that the theater had was that it breathed life into the Porterville Plaza, which was reeling from the loss of Thrifty, Albertsons and Montgomery Ward.

'It gave new life to a dying mall,' Hamilton said. 'It revitalized a section of our community.'

The company now owns 10 theaters in suburban communities on the West Coast, including one in nearby Tulare and another in Riverbank, a suburb of Modesto.

But the company has never forgotten where it got its start, and has continued to update and reinvent the movie experience for Porterville residents, Cohen said.

'Whenever something new is on the horizon, it is in Galaxy 9,' Cohen said.

In 1999, they added a 400-seat ninth auditorium just in time for the release of the blockbuster 'Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.'

The theater was one of the first in the nation to show movies in digital light processing and among the first 500 out of the nation's 37,000 theaters to use digital technology.

A 3-D system was also added to one of the auditoriums, which Cohen said he believes will pay dividends in coming years.

'I think 3-D is really what is going to be exciting and new in the theater business,' Cohen said.

City officials also commended the company for its continued support of community events, such as the Iris Festival, the Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee events and other city workshops and conferences.

'We don't view ourselves just as a business here to extract cash out of the community and take it home,' Cohen said. 'To be a part of the community, it means participating in community events. Life tends to be a two-way street, and in order to have good relations with the community, we have to reach out and be a part of it.'

With the company's 10th anniversary approaching, Cohen said residents should expect some changes to the flagship theater's look.

'There's going to be some updating and refreshing of the theater itself, which I expect will happen in the next six months,' he said.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0254-18833503


Delivered by Newstex LLC
via theFinancials.com


Giuen Media
Advertising Agency
Sales and Promotion
 http://giuen.wordpress.com