Common Ground: Stories from America's Vintage Movie Theaters

Common Ground: Stories from America's Vintage Movie Theaters

In 2016, I started driving two-lane roads through small towns all over the United States, looking for vintage movie theaters: movie theaters with just one or two screens, usually built somewhere between 1920 and 1960, and usually in dusty downtowns or rundown suburbs. Eight years later, I’ve documented over two hundred such movie theaters. Some thriving, some abandoned, most just hanging in there. I stop, I take a few pictures, and, if I’m lucky, I hear a story from someone about what that theater means to them, and what that theater means to their town. Join me as I visit eight vintage American movie theaters and share their stories—stories about everything from childhood matinees and bad dates, to cult movies and concession stands.

Episodes

December 27, 2023 21 mins
In this episode I journey to Youngstown, Ohio, to tour the Foster Theater on Youngstown\'s South Side. We're joined by Lana Shagrin Oyer, whose father, Joseph Shagrin, built the Foster and managed it for twenty-five years. Along the way we learn about the Foster's history, the forces that have shaped the neighborhood over the last eighty years, and what the future holds for this theater.
Mark as Played
In this first episode of Common Ground: Stories from America's Vintage Movie Theaters, I visit the Colonial, in Belfast, Maine. Belfast has seen some hard times, but this funky, colorful downtown institution has survived, even thrived, under the ownership of Mike Hurley and Therese Bagnardi. I hear about how they put an elephant on the roof, how they built a tunnel to Dreamland, and about when cleanup calls for the leafblower. ...
Mark as Played

This is the trailer for Common Ground: Stories from America's Vintage Movie Theaters.

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce

    Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!

    24/7 News: The Latest

    The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

    Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.