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Waukee, IA: Proposed Theater Plans Include Largest IMAX Screen in U.S.

Posted on Thursday, September 8, 2016 4:06 PM

Fridley Theatres presented its plans for a 14-18 screen movie theater complex to the Waukee City Council earlier this week. The company purchased 15 acres of land in December on Hickman Road near NE Westgate Drive with the intention of building a 12-screen location at the site.

According to a recent article published in The Des Moines Register, the plans have expanded to include what would be the largest IMAX screen in the United States:

The IMAX screen is planned to be seven stories tall and 97½ feet wide. If constructed as proposed, it would be the largest IMAX screen in the United States, he said. The world's largest IMAX screen is in Sydney, Australia, at 97 feet wide, according to the theater's website.

Vannorsdel said Fridley Theatres has signed a contract with IMAX to be the exclusive provider of the giant screen experience in the Des Moines metro. If it lands in Waukee, it would be the only IMAX in the region besides the 180-degree screen at the Science Center of Iowa's Blank IMAX Dome Theater. That screen is six stories tall.

Click the Read link below to view the full article.

Laser-powered IMAX Projectors

Another article that was published in the Business Record (see link below) mentions that the IMAX screen would use a laser-based projection system. In other installations using that technology, the traditional pair of digital IMAX projectors that use high-wattage Xenon bulbs are replaced with two new IMAX projectors that utilize lasers to project an image that has gotten some very good reviews from some who have seen it. According to the IMAX web site, thirteen IMAX locations in North America are using laser-based projection systems.

The plans for the theater, which is currently being called The Palms in Waukee, also include a full-service bar and restaurant. Two auditoriums would have in-theater food and beverage service.

Fridley Theatres, which owns/operates 22 locations in Iowa and Nebraska, is hoping to break ground in spring and open the new theater by the end of 2017.

The closest movie theaters to this new theater's site are the Century 20 Jordan Creek and XD in West Des Moines, and the Carmike Cobblestone 9 in Urbandale, which is about seven miles to the east on Hickman Road.

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