Facelift to refresh Naperville's Ogden 6 theater, with nod to nostalgia
Classic Cinemas Ogden 6 Theater doesn't want to lose the nostalgic feel of the cheap seats at the second-run theater that's been a north Naperville fixture since the 1970s.
But what the theater is losing is its center aisles, smallish screens and worn-out, closely spaced chairs. In a renovation costing into the millions, the last theater in the 14-location Classic Cinemas chain to still show movies long after their release dates also plans to switch Oct. 5 to airing new features, owner and CEO Chris Johnson said.
"It's going to be a total refresh," he said.
Work began in early summer to switch out the screens in all six theaters to wall-to-wall displays, requiring some changes to the emergency exits at the front of the theaters. When that wrapped up in June, Johnson said the business switched gears and began swapping out seats, which he said were showing wear and tear.
Instead of installing basic recliners, Johnson said he splurged for heated recliners, which theater manager Andy Dvorak said guests already love, even in the summer. Much larger than the older seats - which weren't originals from the 1970s, but certainly weren't new - the recliners are arranged between exterior aisles along each wall of the theater. Johnson said this layout preserves the middle seats, "the best seats in the house," and prevents people on the edges from sitting flush against a wall.
"It really makes the layout much better," he said.
Capacity in each auditorium decreased 60 percent with the renovations, to roughly 125 seats for each screen. Johnson said he knows it seems crazy to cut capacity so much. But considering the theater was at 15 percent occupancy, he expects the new seats should actually boost attendance. Guests now can reserve specific seats with their purchase and enjoy cup holders in the arm rests, instead of on the back of the seat in front of them.
Seating improvements in four of the auditoriums are complete; the remaining two are expected to be finished by Sept. 28.
Johnson said renovations also include new sound systems in each theater, fresh lighting, wheelchair-accessible seating areas for each screen and lobby improvements to add more selling stations and digital menu boards to the concessions stand.
The architect and interior designer on the project are both based in Naperville, making them familiar with the nostalgic past of the Ogden 6, eager to preserve its charm.
"We're tipping our hat to the past," Johnson said, "but definitely moving the theater into the future."
The facelift comes as the theater prepares to enter the age of new-release movies with Oct. 5 showings of "A Star is Born" and "Venom."
Johnson said the theater has been pondering for years the idea of showing fresher features, as the bargain theater industry has waned amid weak viewer interest. The faltering economics of selling tickets to not-brand-new movies for $4 each made now the time to the switch or suffer, he said.
Still, children and seniors will always pay $5 for shows at the refreshed Ogden 6, starting Oct. 5. Adults will pay $5 all day on Tuesdays. But after 6 p.m. the rest of the days of the week, adult admission will cost $7.50 a ticket.
"We're trying to make it really affordable," Johnson said.