Indian Hills Theater

The Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, was built in 1962 as a movie theater showcasing films in the Cinerama wide-screen format. The theater's screen was the largest of its type in the United States. Despite the protests of local citizens, Hollywood legends, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the theater was demolished in 2001 by Nebraska Methodist Health System for a parking lot.

The theater was built for Swanson Enterprises of Omaha at a cost of US$1 million by A. Borchman Sons Company. The theater was designed by architect Richard L. Crowther of Denver, Colorado, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Crowther designed each element of the theater to enhance the Cinerama experience, and the design included a cylindrical shape and a flat roof. The original blueprints for the theater are in the Denver Public Library Special Collections Department. Following construction, the theater was leased to the Cooper Foundation of Lincoln, Nebraska for exhibition of films in the Cinerama format.

The interior auditorium was circular in shape and seated 810 patrons, with 662 on the main floor and 148 on the balcony. The auditorium was wheelchair-accessible and spaces were specifically designed for wheelchair-using patrons. The curved screen was 35 feet 3 inches (10.74 m) high and 110 feet (34 m) wide, with a 146-degree curve. The screen extended from the floor to the ceiling and was the largest indoor movie screen in the United States at the time of construction. The screen consisted of 2,500 strips of one-inch, perforated tape called louvers. Twenty speakers in five mountings were evenly spaced behind the screen—four speakers on each side of the theater and eight speakers in the rear. The speakers were "Voice of the Theater" models manufactured by Altec Lansing Co. The three projection booths required for Cinerama were located on the main floor of the auditorium, with one in the center and the other two evenly spaced between the center and side walls.

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