https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screens/2012-09-18/alamo-s-lamar-and-highball-redesigned/

Alamo S. Lamar & Highball Redesigned

By Marc Savlov, September 18, 2012, 12:30pm, Picture in Picture

Rumors of the vaporization of South Lamar Plaza by soul-sucking, vampiric real estate developers from the planet McPlanet have been proven to be just that: rumors. The actual facts of the matter, as revealed in an official Alamo Drafthouse press release earlier today, are much less intergalactic in nature, but pretty cool nonetheless.

Both the Alamo and its neighboring watering hole/bowling alley/karaoke-freakout-zone The Highball will be temporarily closing while extensive renovations progress. The Highball will shutter up first, on Nov. 17, with the Drafthouse to follow on Jan. 3, 2013.

How do we feel about this? Okay. It was one thing to vacate the holy birthplace of all things Alamo at 409 Colorado, but it will be quite another to witness the phoenix-like rebirth of the Alamo S. Lamar. The new theater will boast three new screens, a more Alamonied lobby area (probably with some sort of monster theme, a la the Alamo Slaughterhouse), and best of all, "greatly increased parking capacity."

No word yet on whether a rooftop water park and helipad combo will make the final cut, but we're keeping our fingers crossed just the same.

Says Alamo founder and CEO Tim League, "As much as I love the current shopping center, the redevelopment of South Lamar Plaza will enable us to execute much-needed lobby renovations and increase the parking capacity for the complex. I am very excited about the design of the new space and I feel that after a brief closure we will re-open with the best Alamo Drafthouse yet."