It's curtains for Regal Cinemas as Apex building comes down in Bethesda (Photos)

It's been almost a year since Regal Cinemas Bethesda 10 closed its doors forever in the Apex Building at 7272 Wisconsin Avenue, on December 15, 2016. Better known to longtime residents as "UA," for its original United Artists Bethesda 10 branding, the cineplex is now being torn apart by giant yellow machines working through the night.

What's fascinating at this stage of the demolition for those nostalgic for UA, is that the outer walls are gone at the rear of the building, and the interiors of some of the theater's auditoriums are now visible from the outside. While there's no sign yet of the theater seats, one can see the cutouts in the walls for the projector, the projection room above the rear of the auditorium, empty spaces where speakers were once attached, and - most poignantly - the regal red curtains in each of the exposed auditoriums.

While stadium, reclining, and reserved seating have revolutionized the theater industry, there's still a nostalgia for having side wings of seating, where only at the most popular movies would you have some idiot kicking your seat or spreading the flu he should have had the decency to stay home with.

The regal red curtains in what
I believe was the 2nd largest
auditorium at the rear of the
Regal Bethesda 10 cineplex

Loyal, longtime customers won't soon forget the tuxedoed master of ceremonies who ran a tight ship at UA in the 1990s, or the venerable snack bar manager who never missed a chance to upsell you - or appeal to your charitable senses with a worthy cause before the lights went down..

Yes, the "closets" on the right side of the main corridor were cramped, and occasionally took on the odor of a nearby restroom. Yes, projector operators would sometimes turn the volume knob to 11 at the start of the movie in one of those tiny auditoriums, and proceed to fall asleep. Yes, I can tell you which technical malfunction marred the picture on the big screen at particular movies. Yes, the ushers vanished altogether by the turn of the century. And the old fire-alarm-goes-off-at-the-most-gripping-moment-in-the-film trick - 'nuff said.

The box about halfway up the
right side of this photo is the
projection room

But Bethesda misses its cineplex. Except for the occasional mainstream film at Landmark Bethesda Row, one has to get the car to see a blockbuster. Metro? Good Lord. Restaurant and shop closures have picked up steam, now that thousands are missing from the downtown streets on Friday and Saturday nights. Bethesda needs a new movie theater. But no matter how posh the seats, upscale the snack bar options, and expensive the ticket prices, it won't be "UA." Auditorium 10, please.