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In a Plea to Preserve Them, One Photographer Has Captured 1,200 American Movie Theaters and Counting
Key takeaways
- Benita Van Winkle | Author of America s Hometown Movie Theaters
- I have spent the past 40-plus years photographing American movie houses that, like my own hometown theater, were built before the advent of the multiplex cinema.
- Collectively, the photographs are a personal anthem, a visual cry for the earlier movie theaters to please remain standing and to maintain their relevance within our communities.
Benita Van Winkle | Author of America s Hometown Movie Theaters
Add as preferred source Robinson Theater, Richmond, Virginia, 2013. Opened 1937, architect Edward Francis Sinnott Sr., original seating capacity 597. © 2025 Photographs Benita Van Winkle Growing up, I felt a strong sense of community whenever I went to the local movie theaters in Clearwater, Florida. Going to the movies influenced and shaped my weekends back then. The films affected how I saw aspects of the world. The theater was also a place where one could escape for a while and forget about the angst of childhood. I remember reading S.E. Hinton’s popular coming-of-age novel The Outsiders soon after I turned 11. The first line really resonated with me: “When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.” Those words express perfectly the moment of transition upon exiting the darkened auditorium, leaving behind the make-believe world of film and re-entering reality, surrounded by strangers with whom I now shared a connection.
I have spent the past 40-plus years photographing American movie houses that, like my own hometown theater, were built before the advent of the multiplex cinema. This body of work is from my ongoing documentary photography project, Please Remain Standing, which began from a photojournalist’s desire to record these older structures before they were torn down and forgotten. A few years in, I shifted focus to celebrate the endurance of the American movie theater, not memorialize its demise. Despite the decline in attendance, groups as well as individuals have made remarkable efforts to save their hometown cinemas. The energy and enthusiasm behind these restorations is inspiring. In the same spirit, I hope my work will create awareness and encourage the preservation of these architectural gems, reminding us of the benefits gained from the moviegoing experience.