Why did the Boyd close in 2002?
The Boyd was built for silent movies, and so had to be palatial to attract audiences, and needed many seats to pay for a live orchestra and shows. The theater opened with a talkie. The invention of talkies meant newer moviehouses were plainer and had fewer seats, and many were built in neighborhoods. Nevertheless, the lure of downtown showplaces like the Boyd was so strong that they thrived until television arrived in most people’s homes in the 1950’s, and then many movie palaces were demolished. The Boyd installed a giant movie screen and adapted with Cinerama and epics like Ben Hur. By the mid 1970’s, many people resided in the suburbs, so the practice of mainstream movies being first shown downtown ended. In the 1980s multiplexes were built throughout the region, and the Boyd’s balcony closed. The three small auditoriums added in the 1980’s helped keep the movie palace open, but by 2002, it was no longer possible to justify market rent to show movies in the historic auditorium that
