Atlantic (gesloten)

Atlantic cinema on Harderwijk Boulevard after 30 years closed

With the closure of the Atlantic cinema on the Strandboulevard, a piece of history in Harderwijk comes to an end. The outdated cinema can no longer compete with the competition of Kok CinemaxX, which opened in 2016, and operator Van den Berg is not impressed by a thorough makeover. On October 1 the curtain falls after exactly three decades.

Olger Koopman 25-09-19, 16:57
  Cinema Atlantic will close after thirty years
Cinema Atlantic will close after 30 years © Olger Koopman
With the closure of the Atlantic cinema on the Strandboulevard, a piece of history in Harderwijk comes to an end. The outdated cinema can no longer compete with the competition of Kok CinemaxX, which opened in 2016, and operator Van den Berg is not impressed by a thorough makeover. On October 1 the curtain falls after exactly three decades.

The letter on the door from Atlantic suggests that the cinema might still open again. "Closed because of renovation", it says. Two men in a van come and go with inventive material and a look in the hall shows a lot of chaos. Robert van den Berg, however, puts an end to all doubt. "We are closed and will not open anymore".

The cinema is formally from his father Henk, but he also wants to say something about it. "The future perspective didn't look challenging enough," he explains. And: "The rack was out." The main reason for this was the arrival of competitor Kok CinemaxX, three years ago. Before that, Atlantic was the only cinema in Harderwijk.

Moving plans


The cinema was started in 1989 by the couple Roderick and Yvonne van der Meulen and about twelve years ago it was taken over by the entrepreneurial family Van den Berg. Moving plans, to De Harder or to the other side at the Dolfinarium, were stranded or were always postponed. ,, We had to invest a lot to get into the battle. But you need sense and time and energy for that. In the end, we didn't make that choice, "says Van den Berg.

What is coming back now for the cinema is unclear. Pan owner Janshen-Hahnraths Group from Kerkrade (also owner of the FairPlay casino located in the same building) was unable to answer questions about that yesterday.

 
© Olger Koopman
Neighbor Gert Reijerse (owner of restaurant De Admiraal) thinks the building is doomed to vacancy. ,, It is really built as a theater and very difficult to transform into something else. As joint boulevard entrepreneurs, we talked about taking over the cinema, but we quickly put that aside. The risk is too great. Maybe there is a party who wants to make a nice city theater out of it. Either way, it's a shame that Atlantic is closing. Especially in the winter, the cinemas gave some excitement on this side of the boulevard. "