Villa Theatre

The Villa first opened on December 23, 1949, after being built by then-owners Joseph L. Lawrence and David K. Edwards—the first feature shown was Prince of Foxes.

[2] Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, The Villa was known for being the first Salt Lake City Theater to show new widescreen formats, including CinemaScope, Technirama-70, and Cinerama.

In 1981, the Villa was the only theater in Salt Lake City to offer the new Steven Spielberg film "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

In the fall of 2000 Carmike Cinemas entered bankruptcy and The Villa was put up for sale, with a 2.4 million dollar asking price.

[citation needed] Carmike Cinemas responded by cleaning up and repairing the theater, even taking out an advertisement for the Villa hyping the summer's blockbuster hit Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

[citation needed] Even as ticket sales increased at the Villa during 2002, the financial improvement was not enough to take the theater off the market.

Carmike Cinemas repaired the neon on the theater's sign and marquee during the Villa's last week of operation so that it would be in perfect condition for closing night.

Dr. Adib wanted to create a museum-like atmosphere, where people could enjoy the fine craftsmanship and elegant beauty of Persian and Oriental rugs while also reconnecting with the rich history of the Villa.