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Centre Daily Times July 21 2005
Garman's IMAX project uncertain
Expansion plans also call for new inn, theater
By Ivonne D'Amato; idamato@centredaily.com
"The historic Garman Opera House has undergone several transformations over the years -- from an opera house to a movie theater, then a furniture warehouse, a live-performance theater and, in 2000, back to a movie theater.
Now it will undergo an expansion to include a new inn and a new screening room, but whether that will include an IMAX screen remains a question.
A news release from Sen. Jake Corman, R-Benner Township, announced Tuesday that the renovations will include a 10-room inn atop the theater and an IMAX theater with 70 seats.
But Kathryn Iadarola, owner of the theater at 116 E. High St., said Wednesday that state funding for the project is not finalized and "until the commitment papers are signed, it's not a done deal." She would not comment on whether the Garman will get an actual IMAX screen for the new screening room, but she said that it will seat 70 and have a curved IMAX-style screen.
Iadarola said it was too early in the process to give definitive answers and once she had her "ducks in a row" she would comment more on the project.
Renovations are slated to begin in the fall, she said.
An IMAX representative said that an "existing screen can be retrofitted" with an IMAX MPX screen. "The smaller system is designed to deliver the same immersive experience one would get from a flat-screen IMAX."
The IMAX MPX technology was released in 2003, the representative said, and it was designed for existing theaters to include a screen that would reach from floor to ceiling, from wall to wall, at a slight curve.
In order to retrofit a regular movie screen, the theater must have stadium seating, the representative said.
IMAX is not aware of the Garman's expansion project, he said."
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