{"id":15908,"date":"2019-06-13T00:22:11","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T04:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/columbiaclosings.com\/wordpress\/?p=15908"},"modified":"2019-06-13T00:22:11","modified_gmt":"2019-06-13T04:22:11","slug":"tara-theater-tara-conference-center-14276-ocean-highway-27-february-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/columbiaclosings.com\/wordpress\/?p=15908","title":{"rendered":"Tara Theater \/ Tara Conference Center, 14276 Ocean Highway: 27 February 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I have fond memories of the Tara Theater<\/i> at the Litchfield By The Sea<\/i> resort. In particular, it was where I saw my last movie with my mother, 1986's Star Trek IV<\/i> (the one with the whales). <\/p>\n

The theater was a duplex on the grounds of the resort, and was quite nice. In particular, I remember that the men's room had stalls with latching doors for the urinals as well as for the toilets, which was a rather unusual and classy touch. At one time the Tara<\/i> was the flagship location of Litchfield Cinemas<\/i> which was an up and coming theater chain for a while. (The rooftop Richland Mall<\/a> theater started as a Litchfield<\/i>). These theaters were distinguished by, among other things, the then uncommon practice of drawing the screen drapes between the trailers and the main feature. I'm a little hazy about what happened to the chain, but I think perhaps the head guy was killed in a plane wreck, and the chain did not recover from that.<\/p>\n

Aside from Star Trek<\/i>, I particularly recall seeing the abysmally awful Tom Cruise feature Cocktails<\/i> there: a movie so bad that the only thing anybody remembers about it is that it gave the Beach Boys<\/i> their last #1 hit. (So far, at least).<\/p>\n

The theater closed in 1991, at which point I think the Georgetown theater had also closed, leaving Inlet Square<\/i> as the only South Strand option. (Of course that is gone now too). After that, it became a conference center and ballroom, which continued into the 2010s.<\/p>\n

The South Strand News<\/a> explains that by 2017: <\/p>\n

\"It just wasn\u2019t economical for us to continue operating the center.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These pictures date to shortly after the demolition. I have it in my mind that I took some several years before that, and if they ever turn up, I will post them.<\/p>\n

This PDF<\/a> is the flyer for the conference center when it was still in operation, and has interior pictures and a floorplan diagram. <\/p>\n

The address and map icon are for the current Starbucks<\/i> there which is not entirely correct, but is close enough. <\/p>\n

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