The Avalon Theater at 4225 S. Kingshighway is sporting a for-sale sign for the first time since it closed in 1998. Why didn't this sign go up years ago, before much of the deterioration started? Well, the City of St. Louis was not trying to gain trusteeship over the defunct Sopo Corporation that owns the Avalon. On May 11, the City Counselor's Office filed suit against the corporation seeking to have the city appointed trustee to dissolve the corporation's assets -- namely, the Avalon Theater. The next hearing is scheduled for September 14 before Judge Robert Dierker.For years, Greg Tsevis has acted as owner of the theater, and has told people that the historic neighborhood theater is for sale at prices ranging from $1 million to $2 million. The trouble is that Tsevis' parents never appointed successor trustees to their corporation before passing away, meaning that Tsevis technically not the owner.
The listing price is familiar: $1 million. How valid would a sales contract with Sopo Corporation be? That's a good question, but the high listing price almost certainly guarantees that question won't be asked.
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Covered, now, is the world-famous Avalon signage:
CLO E
Miss seeing movies there, I do.
where I saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Salt and Pepper (both in 3rd or 4th run)
I grew up on Devonshire @ Kingshighway and I remember the Avalon reopening as a dollar theater when I was a kid. It was so fun! I saw Toys (yes, the terribly awesome, or awesomely terrible Robin Williams flick) with my dad.
I would cry with happiness if some type of restoration happened here...
I saw "The Andromeda Strain" at the Avalon during its first run -- and got to stay in my seat to see it twice. It's still a scary movie today.
Then in the 80's, when it was a 2nd run theater, I saw "Gremlins" there, and imagined the venue getting overrun with furry misfits and set on fire.
It got lots of press around 1988 for being the only local theater to show "The Last Temptation of Christ", which wasn't that interesting to me (it's about the same kind of ripoff as Da Vinci Code).
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