The Pix Theatre opened on October 27, 1971, and is still open today. This theatre is in a historical building that has been standing since 1892. This building opened as a Livery Stable and was used for years to house and care for horses and carriages. But by 1925, a department store had taken over the top floor and was "one of Albany's finest department stores for over 20 years."
In 1971, the Pix Theatre took over the left side of the department store and operated til the 1980s, when it was then replaced by a liquor store. In 2006, the Pix Theatre reopened and obtained the entire building, offering first-run movies in a 200-seat theatre. The only things remaining today from the original 1892 building are the sloped wooden floors in the basement, remnants from the livery stable that once occupied the space.
Today, the Pix Theatre is operated by Denise Bigner, but was previously owned by Jeff Mexico and Mike Tingue. Mike Tingue owned the Pix and was on a mission to create a more family-friendly atmosphere by removing alcohol from the menu. Now, the Pix offers many options for snacks and drinks, including alcohol. They encourage attendees to follow rules such as no phones, no putting your feet up, and no talking to support the ideal movie-going experience and to reinstate classic theatre etiquette.
Being a single-screen theatre allowed them to install speakers in the bathroom in order to help the audience not miss any of the film if they needed to use the restroom. In addition to these speakers, in 2014, owners Rod and Denise Bigner set up a donation and fundraising mission to raise money to purchase a digital projector for their screening. They do, however, still have their 35 millimeter projector, although it is no longer in use.
With a 4.9/5 star Google rating, the Pix Theatre is a hit all throughout the city of Albany. Customers rave about how decent their pricing is and how well the owners keep up with the maintenance, and are constantly renovating and doing events to engage the community. For a small theatre, the prices of concessions are much lower than those of the big-name competitors such as Regal or AMC. Audiences say that the thing that keeps them coming back is the lack of disruption in the screenings and how every person in the crowd seems as though they genuinely want to enjoy the film and immerse themselves in the theatre experience they can't get from other theatres.
One reviewer wrote, "This is a great little theater! Many different snack options you won't get at any other movie theater, including beer and wine as well as lattes and fine chocolates. The theater portion itself has been remodeled with new, very comfortable seats that rock and even a couch option in the back. Prices are much better than the big corporate theaters!"
