I have a feeling my grandchildren are going to grow up without something that was a very big part of my own life.

Movie theaters.

[caption id="attachment_111" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Fairfax (Va.) Theater"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-111" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/wow-300x218.jpg" alt="Fairfax (Va.) Theater" width="300" height="218" />[/caption]

Oh, they aren't gone yet, but if you look at the evolution taking place, they're definitely on their way. I remember my mother telling me when she was growing up, people generally went to the movies once a week or so. It was an era before television, an era in which Hollywood was turning out a flood of entertaining pictures. Not all of them were "Gone With the Wind" or "Casablanca," but even the ones that were thrown together in a week or two were still fun to watch.

There was usually a feature film, a second, shorter movie (hence the term "B" picture), some previews, a cartoon and a newsreel.

Most towns had their own theater, even little ones like my mother's hometown of Crestline, Ohio, which had only 5,000 people. Of course, some cities had multiple theaters, and the biggest cities had the best ones. New York City's Radio City Music Hall, which opened in 1932 and held nearly 6,000 people, is my earliest memory of seeing a movie.

I saw "Around the World in Eighty Days" there in 1957, and I remember we sat way down near the front. Pretty intimidating for a 7-year-old.

I remember seeing at least one movie -- "How the West Was Won" -- in Cinerama when we were living in Dayton, Ohio, and it made me happy to learn that the theater where I saw the movie is one of the <a title="Cinerama" href="http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s12cinerama.html" target="_self">last survivors</a> of the original Cinerama Domes.

When we moved to Virginia, the Fairfax Theater became my home screen. I remember in 1963 it was 60 cents for adults and 30 cents for children, low prices even for that time. It was sort of a rundown theater and by the time my friend Mick Curran and I saw "Alice's Restaurant" there in the '70s, the balcony already had been condemned.

Of course the multiplexes took over, and the big movie palaces disappeared. They say fewer and fewer people go to the movies all the time, and you could prove it by me. In 2008, I think I only made it out twice -- for "Iron Man" and "Indiana Jones." As this year winds down, I've only been to the movies once, back in February to see "Doubt," although I'm definitely hoping to catch "2012" before the world ends.

I haven't stopped watching movies. In fact, I probably watch more than ever. It's just that I watch them at home on DVD. When I can get a DVD for less than the price of two tickets -- sometimes a lot less -- and not have to deal with the annoyances of theater crowds, it's just so much easier.

And look at all the people who have big screen televisions now, along with all sorts of speakers providing "theater sound." Throw in Netflix and movie attendance seems to be down for all but the true blockbusters.

[caption id="attachment_112" align="alignright" width="260" caption="Radio City Music Hall"]<img class="size-full wp-image-112" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/260px-Radio_City_Music_Hall_procenium_LC-G612-_19401.jpg" alt="Radio City Music Hall" width="260" height="181" />[/caption]

We're not as sociable as we used to be, either.

Even folks who like to watch movies with other people are move inclined to have their friends over and pop in a DVD instead of all going out to the movies together. You can avoid the chirping cell phones, the folks who think their conversations are more interesting than the soundtrack and the sticky floors.

And you can pause the movie anytime youwant.

Yes, there are still movies I would rather see on a big screen than on my 37-inch television. That's one reason I'll probably catch a matinee of "2012" sometime soon. I imagine seeing that aircraft carrier hit the White House will look a lot better the bigger it is.

But most of the time, I'd rather just stay home.

I hope my grandchildren even have the choice.