 Promoting
Timeless Excellence in Film
We
are pleased to announce the re-opening of the fully restored Avon
Theatre, featuring the best of independent, world and documentary
films, foreign and Hollywood classics, and educational programming
that will enhance the cultural richness of the downtown Stamford
community. Once again, discerning film goers can ask: "What's
on at the Avon?"
Avon
Theatre Film Center, Inc. is a tax-exempt organization under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It was formed in 2003 under
the name the Avon Theatre Film Center, Inc., to restore a
vital downtown landmark and reopen it as a community venue for the
presentation of timeless film.
A Brief History of the Avon Theatre
The Avon Theatre has been described as an eclectic and whimsical picture house, with a prevailing Neo-Colonial motif that incorporates traditional Art Deco themes. The theatre is highlighted by a strikingly original exterior facade, framed magnificently by a restored vertical "AVON" marquee that lights up the Connecticut sky at night.
The theatre is bestowed with interior murals that were commissioned by a local artist, Oscar Glas. Those murals remain on display to this day and adorn the sidewalls of the main floor auditorium. Glas' murals evoke a sense of local history by paying homage to the early settlers and Native Americans of coastal Stamford.
1938 – 1939: Designed by renowned NYC architect William Hohauser, and built by the F.D. Rich Company.
June 15, 1939: opened by owner/operator Samuel Weiss Amusements with It’s A Wonderful World, starring James Stewart and Claudette Colbert.
1967: Weiss Amusements leases theatre operations to the Trans-Lux Corportation.
1979: Avon Theatre building is sold to Robert N. Rich, Frank D. Rich, Jr., and Lawrence Gochberg. Rich interests gifted to Rich Foundation. Trans-Lux as lessee converts Avon into a 2-screen cinema.
1991: Crown Theatres purchases the Trans-Lux chain and takes over theatre operations.
1999: Avon Theatre is shut down, future status uncertain.
2001: Royce Foundation purchases the Avon and embarks on a restoration project.
February 13, 2004: Avon Theatre reopens as a not-for-profit art house cinema.
Read
what Avon Theatre patrons are saying...
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