When Coolness Wears Off
The Sandy Starships Theater opened December 1980. It was a four-screen theater in a strip-mall in Sandy, Utah. The theater had a futuristic design, as if it were a spaceship, and even had a robot mascot. The Sandy 9 theatres became the dollar scene and patrons stood in line on the lit up “space station” floor waiting in line for the new releases that were shown at the Sandy Starships theater. Starships closed after its 20-year lease expired in November 2000. But long before it closed, the once hip full price theatre tapered off to dollar prices. The coolness had worn off. The starship had lost its appeal before it was even a decade. What was once prestige had earned “junkie”, “dirty” and “cheap”. The Starship failed though Sandy 9 remains. There are several landmarks that seem aged and run down – either the land has shifted or our desires have. We find something better, more satisfying, less costly – or perhaps it’s just the economy tha...