Gross-Alaska, Inc. celebrates centennial.

• Author: Schmitz, Richard

On February 5, Gross Alaska Theatres unofficially kicked off its centennial celebration by opening three new screens at Glacier Cinema complex in Mendenhall Valley near Juneau.

What David Gross began by showing films of boxing matches and dancing girls in gold rush camps at the turn of the century, great granddaughter Dorain Gross builds on as she leads the four-generation family firm toward the new millennium.

Along with a total of seven screens in Juneau - the five-plex Glacier Cinema and the twin-screen 20th Century downtown - Gross-Alaska, Inc. owns and operates a twin in Ketchikan and video stores in Juneau and Haines.

Dorain Gross explained that future expansion was part of the plan when Glacier Cinema opened as a twin 13 years ago. The three new houses are small: seating capacity is 178, 107 and 77 (the twins seat 223 each). Despite the relative sizes, quality is not sacrificed as all have state-of-the-art sound systems and wall-to-wall screens. The result is a welcome increase in flexibility.

For example, popular films such as the Star Wars re-release can be held longer by moving them to a smaller theater. Or art-type films, such as The English Patient, can be booked into one of the smaller houses, Gross explained.

When David Gross opened the 20th Century Theater in 1940, it, too, featured the best in technology. Gross saw more than a few of his earlier enterprises lost to fire, so he had the 20th Century building constructed of foot-thick concrete. Above the theater, the building housed luxury apartments, and the theater itself featured art deco fixtures and an ample balcony. Gross and his family lived on the sixth floor. Today her great grandparents' master bedroom is Dorain Gross's executive...