Te theater closed unexpectedly on Jan. 13 after a sprinkler pipe froze and burst, flooding the facility’s basement and adjoining room.
By REBECCA RIDEOUT
GREENFIELD – Greenfield Garden Cinemas is set to re-open in time for the much-anticipated opening weekend of “Labor Day” – a feature film shot in Shelburne Falls and other locations in the area in the summer of 2012.
According to George Gohl, owner of Greenfield Garden Cinemas on Main Street, the theater closed unexpectedly on Jan. 13 after a sprinkler pipe froze and burst, flooding the facility’s basement and adjoining room that housed the theater’s electrical panel.
“We’ve had minor problems in the past, but nothing to this extent,” Gohl said. The seven-screen theater has been shut down for over a week and a half. The incident occurred early in the morning of Jan. 13, while Gohl was on vacation. “I got the call at 6:30 in the morning – that’s usually when these sorts of things happen,” he laughed.
Gohl and Bill Gobeille have run the downtown theater since 2000, and have owned the building since 2008.
The entire electrical panel needs replacement, leaving the owners waiting for parts to arrive. Gohl says they expect deliveries soon. They plan to re-open after inspections have been completed this week.
“If everything works out, we’ll be up and running Thursday, January 30th or Friday, January 31st,” Gohl said on Friday.
They will offer a full listing of films for the weekend of Jan. 31st and beyond, including “Labor Day.”
The film, which stars Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, was shown in a preview screening at the Memorial Hall Theater in Shelburne Falls on Jan. 19. Many of the scenes took place in Buckland, Shelburne, Montague and Belchertown.
The Greenfield Business Association’s Midwinter Movies film series “Reel Musicals,” a joint venture between the association and the Garden Cinemas that was interrupted by the flood damage, will start up again as well. “West Side Story” will be screened on Feb. 4.
More information for upcoming films will soon be available on the Garden Cinemas’ website, www.gardencinemas.net