The movie houses in Bozeman and Billings will have nothing on Big Timber when the Cottonwood Theatre opens its doors. The anticipated Grand Opening of the long-awaited new entertainment in town will be next week, owner Steve Kuennen says.
It’s been twenty years since the old Arcade Theatre closed its doors. Since then Big Timber has been without an indoor movie house. The Arcade was located where the Cottonwood is now, 221 McLeod Street, the building most recently vacated by The Centerpiece.
Kuennen has spent the past three and a half months refurbishing the building back into a movie house. He has paid close attention to detail and comfort Movie goers will find the atmosphere and surroundings comparable with theatres in much larger cities. Equipment recently installed at the Cottonwood include two projectors and a Dolby stereo sound system. Steve explained the system “ enhances the sound through creating less distortion,” and described it as one of the best. The speakers are installed behind the new perforated poly vinyl l8’ by 19’ screen to create a true sound sense.
The screen is capable of reflecting 3-D movies. The walls of the theatre are draped in specially designed curtains to aid in the production of the desired sound effect in the viewing room.
The theatre will seat 170 people, allowing for spatial comfort m each seat a feature the owner insisted upon The floor has been rebuilt to slant downward and is designed for optimum viewing from any portion of the audience area...
A special feature of the new enterprise will be Saturday afternoon matinees for the kids. The concessions at the movie house will be an important part of the movie going experience with a full line of traditional food and drinks to be offered. Prices of the concessions and the movie tickets will be comparable to similar show centers in the area, Kuennen said...
From the Big Timber Pioneer