LH Press Library
Millions Reinvested in Shopping Center
Theater razed to make way for store
Lake Highlands People, by J.D. Sparks
June 10, 2005
Renovations to the Medallion Shopping Center at the corner of Skillman Street and Northwest Highway began with the demolition of the Medallion Theater last month, to mixed reviews.
Property management officials said the move was part of ongoing improvements to the center that promise to bolster the local economy, while others mourned the building’s loss, saying it represented a simpler way of life.
Crews from Midwest Wrecking Company began by hand the laborious process of dismantling a portion of the 15,000-square-foot theater where it adjoined Pier One Imports at the west end of the shopping center.
Mike Geisler, a partner with Venture Commercial Real Estate, said the theater, as well as two building that housed a catering company and World of Trains, were torn down to make room for an 80,000-square-foot department store, which he declined to name. (Kohl's Department Store)
Construction is due to begin in early fall and be completed by April 2006.
Mr. Geisler said it’s one of many ongoing renovations planned, including landscaped medians, a new asphalt parking lot, and a “softer” rock-faced facade.
Additionally, he said, Target will begin $6 million in mostly in-store renovations beginning in January.
“These changes show a significant reinvestment in East Dallas,” Mr. Geisler said. “It shows the strength of the neighborhood and the confidence of Target.”
A Super Target is located less than a mile away (at Skillman Street and Abrams Road) from the Medallion Shopping Center.
But for some, like Lake Highlands resident Scott Dorn, the sight of the old theater reduced to twisted metal brought a pang of remorse.
The theater was built in 1969.
Then a single-screen movie house, it opened with the Paul Newman and Robert Redford classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Years later it expanded to five screens that could seat 950 — quaint by today’s megaplex standards, many with 25 to 30 screens and theaters that can seat up to 500 at a time.
Mr. Dorn and his friends used to watch dollar movies at the Medallion. So when he heard about the tear down, he took photos for his collection, along with a couple of bricks.
“It’s a mixed review,” the 34- year-old computer salesman said. “Buildings die all the time, it happens. But I’ll miss it. I’ll miss the nostalgia of I
Randy Carlisle of South Dallas said it may be hard for some to believe that the dated, run-down Medallion, with its incongruous insignia — a piece of sheet metal carved in the shape of a flame and spray painted a garish yellow and red, had once been the place to go.
“Dallas used to be covered in these small theaters,” he said. “It was more simple then — not simple-minded, just a more simple way of life.”
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