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Downtown got a nice treat today as the ImaginAsian Center shed its green construction fencing and fully displayed its eye-catching contemporary features.

Sue Ann Kirst, president of Cinema Properties Group, spoke with us a few minutes before the friends-and-family opening ceremony this evening.”I want this [film center] to be enjoyed by the community. I really want this area to be a great part of Downtown,” she said enthusiastically.

After Kirst reminded us of the Hodgetts + Fung-designed reconstruction, she paused and expressed regret that the former Linda Lea Theatre couldn’t be restored. “The rotting interior was beyond saving.”

As much as we also miss the character of the old Linda Lea, the building’s new futuristic design is no compromised alternative. A catchy new LED sign on the facade’s metallic awning was shining above the sharp orange ticket booth as theater employees waited for guests to arrive. Its bright curb appeal is like nothing else in the area. That, coupled with theater patrons walking to and from the venue, will make Main Street between 2nd and 3rd a much more pleasant walk.

The ImaginAsian Center’s first public screening is Midnight Eagle on December 7th.

-Previous coverage (with interior construction photos): ImaginAsian Center Gets Its Glass
-Exterior construction photos throughout the life of the project here and here
-ImaginAsian Center Gets Set For Its Big Day (blogdowntown)

The New ImaginAsian Center

Before: The original Linda Lea Theatre