Lowcountry movie fans may be mourning the loss of the Hippodrome, which, as we reported last week, is set to close after it shows Tron: Legacy. But there’s still some good news out there. First, the Northwoods Stadium Cinemas in North Charleston is set to open on Nov. 24. And even better for all you art-house film fans out there: The Terrace is expanding.

The Terrace was originally designed as a mixed-use theater, and its Theater 1 was meant for live stage shows. (That explains the catwalk and professional stage lights that you may have noticed in the room.) Behind the screen, there’s a rehearsal hall, and that’s what’s getting converted into the newest theater. “We got the plans drawn up and the permit in place,” Paul Brown says. The Terrace owner brought in architect Brian Horne, who originally designed the theater. “We hope to get up and running in mid-December.”

Business at the Terrace has been good enough and steady enough to warrant the expansion, Brown says, adding that the studios and suppliers have been requesting it. “There’s a broader brush of art house movies out now than ever,” he says. “Keeping up with the competition, and also not wanting to lose out on any art house product to any other theater in the area, we want to be able to provide more movies to the people that come here.”

The new Theater 4 will have the Terrace’s biggest screen, its own entrance and exit, brand-new stadium seating, and, of course, first-class sound and picture. Brown would love to premiere the new theater with a screening of Metropolis, the classic German silent film. Since there are only three prints of it across the country, he’s really hoping that he can get his hands on one. The new space will allow them to show more at their upcoming Charleston Film Festival, host corporate events, and host more special events without having to cancel already-scheduled screenings.

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