The Harlo Harlowton, Montana 2011
Harlowton, Montana is much more upscale and bustling than is Martinsdale down the road. Still I was surprised to see that the Harlo Theater is still open (although not showing first-run movies). With satellite and cable TV, Netflix, internet streaming of movies and the near monopoly of the big multi-plex theaters over the big-screen movie business, it’s hard for a small town independent movie house to carve out a viable niche. Having lower income expectations than big city businesses helps a lot I imaging as does being 100 miles from the next largest town with little else to do on date night when you want to get your girlfriend out of the house away from the parents. How long will the Harlo stay open? The demographics aren’t looking good. The 2010 population was 998, down 64 from ten years earlier.]]>