Alamo Drafthouse Cinema sets Tempe opening this month

Don’t be surprised if the ghosts of theaters past emerge for a curtain call this month, their return from the ethereal realm prompted by a wondrous makeover of the onetime Lakes 6 movie house that opened in 1987 on much the same site.

Scheduled to go into operation in May at the northeast corner of Rural and Baseline roads, the new Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will feature seven screens, 35mm projection and in-theater food and beverage service, as well as a standalone lobby bar offering a selection of craft beers and cocktails.

It will represent quite a modernization of the original movie house, which remained open through the 1990s and beyond as a popular destination for local filmgoers.

The center, Lake Country Village, also housed a Hallmark card shop, an Asian accessories store, a pizza restaurant, a Chinese restaurant and a pest control shop, among others.

“This is our second Arizona location, and if you’ve ever been to the one in Chandler (4955 S. Arizona Ave.), then you know we offer a unique drinking, dining and viewing experience unlike anything available elsewhere in the area,” said Craig Paschich, owner and operator.

Alamo partnered with local artist Joe Pagac, a muralist and fine artist based in Tucson who has created works of art across Arizona and the United States, to produce a mural on the west wall of the building.

The mural was designed to look as if the wall has been broken away and different generic movie characters from a wide range of genres are flooding out from within.

Said Pagac: “I had a lot of fun designing this mural to capture that blockbuster feeling you get from summer movies. I wanted to get a good variety of action genres combined together without making it too busy.”

Pagac has produced a time lapse video of the west wall mural which can be viewed online at https://youtu.be/n2cxuE-OXzA