TheIndian Hills Theater inOmaha,Nebraska, United States, was amovie theater built in 1962 showcasing films in theCinerama wide-screen format. Its location was at 8601 West Dodge Rd. The theater's screen was the largest of its type in the United States. Despite the protests of local citizens,Hollywood legends, and theNational Trust for Historic Preservation, the theater was demolished in 2001 byNebraska Methodist Health System for a parking lot.

Indian Hills Theater

Address	8601 West Dodge Road,Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Coordinates	41°15′45″N96°02′50″W / 41.262466790349585°N 96.04717146459537°W /41.262466790349585; -96.04717146459537
Construction
Opened	December 1962
Expanded	1977 1987
Closed	September 28, 2000
Demolished	August 2001

The Indian Hills Theater opened in December 1962 and had a capacity of 806 persons. It was the firstCinerama theater in Nebraska and was originally operated by theCooper Foundation.^[1]

In April 1977, an additional theater, known as, "Cameo," was announced and would add 300 seats.^[2] Cameo was completed in 1977 of that same year.^[3]

In August 1987, an addition two 200-seat auditoriums was announced.^[4] The addition was completed in December of that same year.^[5]

As a result of its then-operator,Carmike Cinemas, bankruptcy, Indian Hills Theater was closed in September 2000. The theater was believed to be only one of four theaters capable of showing Cinerama films in the United States.^[6] By December, many groups had shown interest in reopening, and even restoring the theater.^[7] By April 2001,Nebraska Methodist Health System made an offer to purchase the building.^[8] Despite initial hopes to restore the theater, Methodist announced that it would demolish the building and replace it with a parking lot.^[9]

Methodist refused to sell the building and refused to restore it itself, citing costs of $1.7 million.^[10][11] Actos such asKirk Douglas,Janet Leigh,Patricia Neal, and directorRobert Wise wrote letters to Methodist against demolition.^[12] In July 2001, 115 people gathered to protest the demolition.^[13] TheNational Trust for Historic Preservation announced its support for keeping the theater.^[14] Demolition work started on July 17 at the three smaller theaters.^[15] A city commission voted to give Indian Hills Theater landmark status. However, many did not believe that landmark status would prevent the building from being demolished, as demolition had already started.^[16] Demolition of the main theater began in August 2001.^[17]

• Saving the Indian Hills onIMDb.
• Film Threat review of Saving the Indian Hills documentary ]

41°15′45″N96°02′49″W / 41.26250°N 96.04694°W /41.26250; -96.04694