Now showing: Big screen theater reopens inside Tom Ridge Environmental Center

Dana Massing, Erie Times-News
·4 min read

Visitors to the Tom Ridge Environmental Center can now explore the ice age and the Arctic on the big screen in the movie theater.

The 175-seat theater reopened Feb. 20 for regular showings Tuesdays through Saturdays. Sunday and Monday screenings are expected to be added in April. Films hadn't been shown on the center's Big Green Screen on a regular basis for several years, but the Tom Ridge Environmental Center Foundation has signed a lease to reopen the theater that is owned by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

"We are going to operate it," Barbara Chaffee, the foundation's president and CEO, said.

The big screen theater in the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive, reopened Feb. 20 with showings of "Titans of the Ice Age" and "Wonders of the Arctic."
The big screen theater in the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive, reopened Feb. 20 with showings of "Titans of the Ice Age" and "Wonders of the Arctic."

What's playing and when

"Titans of the Ice Age" will be shown Tuesdays through Fridays at 1 p.m. and Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

David Clark's 38-minute 2013 film with narrator Christopher Plummer "transports viewers to the beautiful and otherworldly frozen landscapes of North America, Europe and Asia 10,000 years before modern civilization. Dazzling computer-generated imagery brings this mysterious era to life from saber-toothed cats and giant sloths to the iconic mammoths, giants both feared and hunted by prehistoric humans," according to information provided by Chaffee.

"Wonders of the Arctic" will be screened Tuesdays through Fridays at 2:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 1 p.m.

David Lickley's 40-minute 2014 film narrated by Victor Garber "is an immersive documentary that explores the diverse and fascinating flora and fauna that thrive in the Arctic region," according to information from Chaffee.

"They're both really good movies," she said.

Movies will once again be shown on a regular basis on the big screen inside the theater at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive. The screen is shown with its new stage in front.
Movies will once again be shown on a regular basis on the big screen inside the theater at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive. The screen is shown with its new stage in front.

The foundation is expecting to bring in the 45-minute 2022 film "Wings Over Water," narrated by Michael Keaton and showcasing migratory birds, starting in April, Chaffee said. The TREC Foundation will partner with the Presque Isle Audubon Society to present that movie, she said.

Ashley Hannay's family of five from Atlanta, Georgia, was at the Ridge Center the day of the theater reopening.

"We thought it would be fun," she said before going to see "Titans of the Ice Age" with her husband, Zack Hannay, and their children, Valor Hannay, 4; Gideon Hannay, 3; and Finlay Hannay, 7 months.

Waiting for the first showing of "Titans of the Ice Age" on Feb. 20 in the theater at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive, are, from left, family members Tom Lowes of North East; his wife, Sandy Lowes, holding great-granddaughter Finlay Hannay, 7 months; their granddaughter, Ashley Hannay of Atlanta, Georgia, holding son Gideon Hannay, 3; Valor Hannay, 4, partially hidden; and Zack Hannay.

The family was in the area visiting Ashley Hannay's grandparents, Tom and Sandy Lowes, of North East, who also watched the movie.

"This is a nice feature of this building," Tom Lowes said as they sat in the theater's back row.

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How much does it cost?

Movie tickets are sold in the Presque Isle Gallery & Gifts shop in the Ridge Center, 301 Peninsula Drive.

The price is $10 for adults age 18 and older; $8 for seniors age 62 and older and children ages 1 to 17; and $5 for members of school groups from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Chaffee told the Presque Isle Advisory Committee at its Feb. 15 meeting that 30% of the ticket sales goes to the movie distributors. She told the Erie Times-News that the remainder will benefit the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Presque Isle complex.

Anthony Perino, director of operations for the Tom Ridge Environmental Center Foundation, prepares the movie "Titans of the Ice Age" for its first showing Feb. 20 at the center, 301 Peninsula Drive.
Anthony Perino, director of operations for the Tom Ridge Environmental Center Foundation, prepares the movie "Titans of the Ice Age" for its first showing Feb. 20 at the center, 301 Peninsula Drive.

She and Anthony Perino, director of operations for the TREC Foundation, said they would like to rent the theater out for other events. Perino takes the tickets and starts the films.

They said a curved stage, which is 8 feet deep at its widest, has been added in front of the screen and will make the venue more attractive for non-movie events.

Will there be popcorn?

"We're not going to operate the concession stand," Chaffee said.

Instead, she said, soda and snack vending machines will eventually be located in the theater lobby area.

Chaffee said the concession stand space will remain in place to be used when the theater is rented for private functions.

Why did the theater close?

"We let our contract end with The Big Green Screen Association in 2019 because the theater model was already changing," Matt Greene, operations manager for Presque Isle State Park, told the Erie Times-News in 2023. "With the center open primarily during daylight hours, we weren't seeing many people attend the movies, except on some weekends."

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The theater has since been used for some special showings and for non-movie events.

Chaffee said the theater won't offer weekday morning movies because they weren't well attended. Rather, the theater would be available for school groups and meeting rentals in the mornings.

Dana Massing can be reached at dmassing@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Tom Ridge Environmental Center big screen theater reopens