You’re right Mike. I didn’t post a comment about the Hilltop. Some great titles above….I love looking at them….they remind me of previews of coming attractions! I remember “Midnight Cowboy” and “Alice’s Restaurant” also played as a double feature in Tampa at various theatres once their first-run engagements played out. “Gone with the West”…..I’ve never heard of that one. Wonder if it even played the Tampa market. I love the horror titles! Mike do you really think Georgia Theatres would have stooped so low as to take an ax to the booth once they closed the theatre? If they did that’s pathetic.
Thanks for the link Joe! That’s absolutely amazing you found this informative article on the Trans-Lux in Boxoffice. CT people are the best! I’m surprised my wild guess on the screen width was right on the mark. They certainly fell way short of their goal of 50 theatres by the end of 1969. Although it’s highly doubtful, I wonder if any of these 16mm theatres are still in existence today.
Mike, I don’t think I ever mentioned seeing 2001 in 16mm because I had forgotten about it until researching the Trans-Lux. I was trying to remember the 16mm films I had seen here when 2001
came to mind. It really didn’t look bad, just a little smaller than a big screen theatre. One thing
I do remember…there were very few people at the showing I attended.
Thanks Bob! Glad you enjoyed it. Don’t know how many actually read and enjoy the little stories and personal rememberences but I believe they add a sort of nice touch to the posting.
Yep, they did a pretty awful twin job on the Austin. The first time I saw it I couldn’t believe it. What was once just about the most beautiful theatre in town was now the most ridiculous looking. It might have been different had they angled the seats properly and maybe installed curtains over the bare screens. But it was done very fast and cheap to get ‘em open again quickly…pure greed.
Yes, I saw the Main Street posting. The poster mentioned one theatre still had seating and the lobby was being used for some type of Halloween store. But whether or not all 6 theatres contain seating and equipment is questionable. The last owner was Carmike and they usually remove equipment upon closing a theatre. I was in the area about a month ago and pulled up to the building. It was closed although it does appear it’s being used for something but I couldn’t tell what.
Regal did open a 20-screen theatre in North Tampa called the Hollywood 20 in the early 1990s. I think it was only open for about 10 years or so before Regal went bankrupt. What a waste. There was some talk about rennovating the building for a medical center which I believe is what they did.
General Cinema opened Northdale Court 6 around the mid-80s I think. This was another one that wasn’t around for long. I remember seeing “The Shadow” here in 1994 and it wasn’t too long afterwards when it was gone. Today the former theatre space is an outlet store. I think either sports equipment or something of that nature. You’d never in a million years guess it was once a theatre.
Mike: I enjoyed putting them up for you very much. You’ll probably think of a few others in Augusta that you might have forgotten about as time goes by. If so just send them to me.
There hasn’t been a dollar theatre in Tampa since the closing of Twin Bays 4 years ago. The Britton does have dollar Tuesdays but that’s only one day per week. Mission Bell 8 also had dollar Tuesdays for awhile and a few other theatres had their own dollar days. In a city the size of Tampa you’d expect at least a couple dollar houses but we only had one — Twin Bays 4. The crowd that frequented that theatre was fairly well-behaved. Not exactly the riff-raff you’d expect to see at a dollar house.
Amazing story about the “working girls.” Bet this wasn’t the only drive-in where stuff like this was going on. You wouldn’t think a drive-in would be the best spot for some private fun of that kind anyway. But I guess if business is good then what the heck. Glad to hear it’s still an operating drive-in. Certainly not often these days to hear the phrase “this drive-in is still open.” Thanks for the nice background details Mike.
Now that’s my kind of drive-in double feature! And I thought the Ruskin D/I in Florida was small with only 200 spaces. Mike, did you ever send me a photo of this one?
Sorry to disillusion you but all of the theatres listed above are history.
Varsity 6 was merged into an indoor flea market.
Main Street 6 became a furniture store or some similar type of business which is now closed. The building still stands but is probably empty.
Twin Bays 4 was demolished years ago and Horizon Park 4 became a men’s clothing store which is now closed (I posted a history of these two just recently.)
UA’s Mission Bell 8 was demolished about two years ago.
At present I don’t believe there are any theatres in the Tampa area that would be available for lease.
Oh yes! I was there opening night. I pleaded with my friend to work my shift so I could be off that Friday evening. I wouldn’t have missed the grand opening of Loew’s for the world. In December of 1968 I was 18 so no problem getting in. There were two showings of “Candy” that night and they played her recorded message again before the second showing. But I didn’t stay to see film again.
I left just after it began. Sitting through it once was more than enough although I wouldn’t mind taking a peek at it today (42 years later!) just to see if it’s aged well which I suspect it hasn’t.
The Orangeburg, Bon-Air, and Kendra…are these the same drive-ins you mailed me awhile back to put on CT? If they are I apologize for not getting them up sooner! Yes, I remember the Kings Mt. D/I. We had left the film convention and followed you there before heading back to Tampa.
Great news about you theatre folks being honored! I’ll check out the Imperial site. Haven’t heard from Bill in months now. I’ll also take a look at the Belmont. I remember Mrs. Peggy…very nice lady. She gave us a complete lesson on process of booking films for the Belmont. I remember she ranted about Disney’s restrictions for drive-in showings. She wasn’t a happy camper about that!
Just saw it on the news so I hope he’s o.k. too. Hopefully by tomorrow he’ll be back on CT. Electricity was probably knocked out.
Following a prayer with a film like “Candy” was almost sinful if not hypocritical. The film could easily have been rated X in 1968. It was certainly bold and suggestive even for this permissive period. The book “Candy” was actually banned in Tampa’s bookstores and yet they allowed the film to be shown. The film did feature several heavyweight stars for the period: Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, James Coburn, John Huston, Walter Matthau, Ringo Starr.
I remember seeing this theatre years ago after it had been closed for some time. The front doors had been torn off and the buidling looked filthy. I heard it was a very nice theatre at one time but for whatever reason (maybe the location) not very many people frequented it and the loyal neighborhood audience never materialized. It was torn down years ago when Interstate 275 was built. The interstate runs right over the property.
Forgot to include this bit of trivia in my prior posting. In 1974 the Britton Theatre held the world premiere of a little horror movie that has achieved somewhat of a cult status. The film was called “Dead of Night” (also known as “Deathdream”) and was shot entirely in Brooksville just north of Tampa. A portion of the film near the climax was also shot at the Brooksville 41 Drive-In Theatre.
It starred John Marley (of Godfather & Love Story fame) and the plot dealt with the homecoming of a soldier killed during the Vietnam war who somehow returns home as a sort of living dead vampire. It’s a creepy and well-made little shocker directed by Bob Clark who later did the “Porky’s” films and the holiday favorite “A Christmas Story.”
Mr. Marley made a personal appearance at the Britton and spoke on stage prior to the screening. Afterwards he remained in the theatre and chatted with several patrons including yours truly. There are many excellent reviews of the film posted on the Internet Movie Database.
AMC opened Twin Bays 4 and Horizon Park 4 on the same day, August 26, 1971. Both theatres were the same style and design and were identical to each other. This was AMC’s initial entry into the Tampa market and was much praised and heralded by local moviegoers. The Tribune’s film critic stated, “the coming of the quads will hopefully relieve the bad theatre situation in Tampa.” At the time there were only six first-run theatres locally, the Tampa, Florida, Palace, Britton, Hillsboro and Loew’s. The market was poorly under-screened for a city the size of Tampa in 1971. Smaller cities in fact had twice the number of first-run theatres.
Seeing as both theatres were identical and opened on the same day, the first portion of both postings will be the same for each theatre. The difference will be in my comments for each.
Two new theatres opening in the area was great news for local filmgoers. And what was even more thrilling was each theatre would feature not one or two but four screens under one roof for a total of eight new screens! At the time these four small theatres were a wonder to behold. Tampa had yet to receive its first twin theatre much less four.
These were the typical mini shoebox theatres with two large and two smaller auditoriums that probably seated anywhere from 125 to 225 per screen. They were always neat, clean, and well-maintained. Even today AMC theatres are among the cleanest.
AMC promoted the small quads with their creed:
*With smaller auditoriums patrons will not feel “lost” as they may feel in larger theatres on days with low attendance.
*Projection in smaller auditoriums provide for a shorter throw to the screen resulting in a sharper and brighter picture.
*The capability of showing a popular film in two auditoriums at the same time using a single print thus saving additional costs.
The opening day announcement advertised the theatre amenities:
Four Luxurious Motion Picture Theatres Under One Roof Acres of Free Parking Reduced Admission During our Exclusive Twi-Lite Every Evening Discount Senior and Student ID cards that Offer One Year Disounts
Both theatres played the same attractions on opening day:
Pinocchio / A New Leaf / Ryan’s Daughter / The Andromeda Strain
The theatre was was located in the Twin Bays Shopping Center in South Tampa right next to Britton Plaza. Twin Bays 4 had an erratic admission history. Opening as a first-run theatre it later became a second-run $1 house for some time. It then reverted back to first-run and later back to $1 once again. This fluctuation between first and second-run movies/admissions occured at least two or three additional times during Twin Bays life span. For a time it was also a $1.50 house before finally closing as a $1 theatre.
The design of the small lobby made it somewhat tricky to sneak into another theatre without being seen. With admission being only $1 it wasn’t worth the grief and embarrassment of getting caught. It was easier to simply exit the theatre, pay another $1 and re-enter. This I did several times after nearly being caught once.
Some of the many films I saw here first-run that come to mind:
Abdominable Dr. Phibes/American Graffiti/Slaughterhouse 5/Dirty Harry/Son of Blob
And these I saw for $1.00:
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex/The Exorcist/The Goodbye Girl/Coal Miner’s Daughter/Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind/ Oh God!/Piranha/Greystoke The Legend of Tarzan/E.T./Back to the Future/American Werewolf In London/10/Born on the 4th of July/The Terminator/Nightmare on Elm Street/Night of the Living Dead (midnight showing)/The Goonies/The Entity/Saturday Night Fever
Both American Graffiti and Saturday Night Fever were long running films that played here for months and months.
Twin Bays 4 closed on September 28, 1997 and the final features were:
Face-Off/Steel/Batman & Robin/The Lost World/Con Air/Nothing To Lose
A feature article on the closing was published in the Tampa Tribune 3 days prior titled:
“Last Picture Show: Curtain Closes For Good At Twin Bays 4."
Several regulars were interviewed saying they were not happy. Twin Bays was the best theatre bargain in town and they were so sorry to see it close. The theatre was always clean and the crowds well behaved. The manager was quoted as saying the theatre was no longer profitable. AMC was looking to replace small units with megaplexes of 20 to 30 screens with stadium seating.
Following the closing the building sat vacant for a time and was later demolished along with the entire shopping center. A Loew’s Home Improvement store now sits on the site.
Yes, as a matter of fact they did. When researching these two I was shocked to see that Horizon Park closed the day following the Twin Bays closure. And what’s really odd is the Tampa Tribune did a front page feature story on Twin Bays closing but not one word about Horizon Park…not a single mention. I was hoping to post the Twin Bays story tonight but if not I’ll post tomorrow.
Mike, Appreciate the compliment. You’re right…CT is great therapy. Man did I goof up!! I can’t believe I made such a dumb mistake. I didn’t realize it until after I posted the story but I wasn’t able to get back on CT to make a correction until now. In 1971 I stated that Tampa had 4 first-run theatres. That’s incorrect. I can’t believe I forgot about the Hillsboro and the Loew’s which makes a total of 6 first-runs houses. Where has my mind gone? Nevertheless Tampa was still way under-screened with only 6 first-runs houses.
AMC opened Horizon Park 4 and Twin Bays 4 on the same day, August 26, 1971. Both theatres were the same style and design and were identical to each other. This was AMC’s initial entry into the Tampa market and was much praised and heralded by local moviegoers. The Tribune’s film critic stated, “the coming of the quads will hopefully relieve the bad theatre situation in Tampa.” At the time there were only four first-run theatres locally, the Tampa, Florida, Palace and Britton. The market was poorly under-screened for a city the size of Tampa in 1971. Smaller cities in fact had twice the number of first-run theatres.
Seeing as both theatres were identical and opened on the same day, the first portion of both postings will be the same for each theatre. The difference will be in my comments for each.
Two new theatres opening in the area was great news for local filmgoers. And what was even more thrilling was each theatre would feature not one or two but four screens under one roof for a total of eight new screens! At the time these four small theatres were a wonder to behold. Tampa had yet to receive its first twin theatre much less four.
These were the typical mini shoebox theatres with two large and two smaller auditoriums that probably seated anywhere from 125 to 225 per screen. They were always neat, clean, and well-maintained. Even today AMC theatres are among the cleanest.
AMC promoted the small quads with their creed:
*With smaller auditoriums patrons will not feel “lost” as they may feel in larger theatres on days with low attendance.
*Projection in smaller auditoriums provide for a shorter throw to the screen resulting in a sharper and brighter picture.
*The capability of showing a popular film in two auditoriums at the same time using a single print thus saving additional costs.
The opening day announcement advertised the theatre amenities:
Four Luxurious Motion Picture Theatres Under One Roof Acres of Free Parking Reduced Admission During our Exclusive Twi-Lite Every Evening Discount Senior and Student ID cards that Offer One Year Disounts
Both theatres played the same attractions on opening day:
Pinocchio / A New Leaf / Ryan’s Daughter / The Andromeda Strain
One of the biggest attractions to play Horizon Park 4 was “The Poseidon Adventure” which bypassed the big first-run theatres. The film played in two auditoriums to capacity crowds. I saw many films here and never recall a bad or unpleasant experience. Although when I saw “Billy Jack” two boys seated at the front were arguing about something and began fist-fighting. The fight lasted only about 10 seconds and both sat back down afterwards. I remember thinking here’s a movie that promotes peace and love and here we have a fight going on.
Horizon Park 4 closed on September 29, 1997 and the final attractions were:
Money Talks / Krull / Fire Down Below / Hoodlum
The theatre was later gutted and the front of the building was expanded outward and made into a men’s clothing store which is now history. As of last week the building remains empty.
Yes, it’s the same theatre. The exterior of the building still resembles a theatre but the interior was completely gutted a few years ago and the walls separating the theatre from the flea market were torn down. The former theatre space is now part of the wide open flea market. I visited the flea market several months ago just to see what (if anything) had been done with the theatre space and all traces of the Varsity 6 are gone. It blends in with the flea market perfectly. You’d never even know the space was a former movie theatre.
I’ve completed some research on the Horizon Park 4 and Twin Bays 4 (opening/closing dates and some additional info) that I’ll be posting this evening. And I have more coming on the Varsity 6 which was also an AMC theatre.
I was just about to sign-off when I noticed your reply. The entire area where the Sundown was located was a wooded area filled with tall trees and bushes that nearly obliterated the theatre lot and the still standing refreshment stand. As I recall there were no other buildings or developments in that area. I think it was sometime towards the mid-to-late 1970s when the land was cleared and construction began on the buildings and offices that now occupy the site.
The entrance to the 40th Street was a dual driveway with the marquee just off Broadway between the dual drives (which are still there.) The lot where the drive-in stood was used for years as some type of rock or stone manufacturing company. It sits inward from Broadway and is surrounded by bushes and trees. There’s also a building or two on the lot as well as a wall. So you were right in the area where the drive-in once was! I never did make it to this theater when it was open. I believe it was gone before I became aware of drive-in theatres.
I saw the flyer for the 28th Street on the website but like you I wasn’t able to zoom-in close enough.
Thanks tlsloews. Sadly all buildings on the right side of photo are long gone along with the Florida.
You’re right Mike. I didn’t post a comment about the Hilltop. Some great titles above….I love looking at them….they remind me of previews of coming attractions! I remember “Midnight Cowboy” and “Alice’s Restaurant” also played as a double feature in Tampa at various theatres once their first-run engagements played out. “Gone with the West”…..I’ve never heard of that one. Wonder if it even played the Tampa market. I love the horror titles! Mike do you really think Georgia Theatres would have stooped so low as to take an ax to the booth once they closed the theatre? If they did that’s pathetic.
Thanks for the link Joe! That’s absolutely amazing you found this informative article on the Trans-Lux in Boxoffice. CT people are the best! I’m surprised my wild guess on the screen width was right on the mark. They certainly fell way short of their goal of 50 theatres by the end of 1969. Although it’s highly doubtful, I wonder if any of these 16mm theatres are still in existence today.
Mike, I don’t think I ever mentioned seeing 2001 in 16mm because I had forgotten about it until researching the Trans-Lux. I was trying to remember the 16mm films I had seen here when 2001
came to mind. It really didn’t look bad, just a little smaller than a big screen theatre. One thing
I do remember…there were very few people at the showing I attended.
Thanks Bob! Glad you enjoyed it. Don’t know how many actually read and enjoy the little stories and personal rememberences but I believe they add a sort of nice touch to the posting.
Yep, they did a pretty awful twin job on the Austin. The first time I saw it I couldn’t believe it. What was once just about the most beautiful theatre in town was now the most ridiculous looking. It might have been different had they angled the seats properly and maybe installed curtains over the bare screens. But it was done very fast and cheap to get ‘em open again quickly…pure greed.
Yes, I saw the Main Street posting. The poster mentioned one theatre still had seating and the lobby was being used for some type of Halloween store. But whether or not all 6 theatres contain seating and equipment is questionable. The last owner was Carmike and they usually remove equipment upon closing a theatre. I was in the area about a month ago and pulled up to the building. It was closed although it does appear it’s being used for something but I couldn’t tell what.
Regal did open a 20-screen theatre in North Tampa called the Hollywood 20 in the early 1990s. I think it was only open for about 10 years or so before Regal went bankrupt. What a waste. There was some talk about rennovating the building for a medical center which I believe is what they did.
General Cinema opened Northdale Court 6 around the mid-80s I think. This was another one that wasn’t around for long. I remember seeing “The Shadow” here in 1994 and it wasn’t too long afterwards when it was gone. Today the former theatre space is an outlet store. I think either sports equipment or something of that nature. You’d never in a million years guess it was once a theatre.
Mike: I enjoyed putting them up for you very much. You’ll probably think of a few others in Augusta that you might have forgotten about as time goes by. If so just send them to me.
There hasn’t been a dollar theatre in Tampa since the closing of Twin Bays 4 years ago. The Britton does have dollar Tuesdays but that’s only one day per week. Mission Bell 8 also had dollar Tuesdays for awhile and a few other theatres had their own dollar days. In a city the size of Tampa you’d expect at least a couple dollar houses but we only had one — Twin Bays 4. The crowd that frequented that theatre was fairly well-behaved. Not exactly the riff-raff you’d expect to see at a dollar house.
Amazing story about the “working girls.” Bet this wasn’t the only drive-in where stuff like this was going on. You wouldn’t think a drive-in would be the best spot for some private fun of that kind anyway. But I guess if business is good then what the heck. Glad to hear it’s still an operating drive-in. Certainly not often these days to hear the phrase “this drive-in is still open.” Thanks for the nice background details Mike.
Now that’s my kind of drive-in double feature! And I thought the Ruskin D/I in Florida was small with only 200 spaces. Mike, did you ever send me a photo of this one?
Nice Disney double feature from the early 1960s.
Sorry to disillusion you but all of the theatres listed above are history.
Varsity 6 was merged into an indoor flea market.
Main Street 6 became a furniture store or some similar type of business which is now closed. The building still stands but is probably empty.
Twin Bays 4 was demolished years ago and Horizon Park 4 became a men’s clothing store which is now closed (I posted a history of these two just recently.)
UA’s Mission Bell 8 was demolished about two years ago.
At present I don’t believe there are any theatres in the Tampa area that would be available for lease.
Oh yes! I was there opening night. I pleaded with my friend to work my shift so I could be off that Friday evening. I wouldn’t have missed the grand opening of Loew’s for the world. In December of 1968 I was 18 so no problem getting in. There were two showings of “Candy” that night and they played her recorded message again before the second showing. But I didn’t stay to see film again.
I left just after it began. Sitting through it once was more than enough although I wouldn’t mind taking a peek at it today (42 years later!) just to see if it’s aged well which I suspect it hasn’t.
The Orangeburg, Bon-Air, and Kendra…are these the same drive-ins you mailed me awhile back to put on CT? If they are I apologize for not getting them up sooner! Yes, I remember the Kings Mt. D/I. We had left the film convention and followed you there before heading back to Tampa.
Great to have you back and dry as well tlsloews!
Great news about you theatre folks being honored! I’ll check out the Imperial site. Haven’t heard from Bill in months now. I’ll also take a look at the Belmont. I remember Mrs. Peggy…very nice lady. She gave us a complete lesson on process of booking films for the Belmont. I remember she ranted about Disney’s restrictions for drive-in showings. She wasn’t a happy camper about that!
You got that right…my sneaking-in days are history!
Just saw it on the news so I hope he’s o.k. too. Hopefully by tomorrow he’ll be back on CT. Electricity was probably knocked out.
Following a prayer with a film like “Candy” was almost sinful if not hypocritical. The film could easily have been rated X in 1968. It was certainly bold and suggestive even for this permissive period. The book “Candy” was actually banned in Tampa’s bookstores and yet they allowed the film to be shown. The film did feature several heavyweight stars for the period: Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, James Coburn, John Huston, Walter Matthau, Ringo Starr.
I remember seeing this theatre years ago after it had been closed for some time. The front doors had been torn off and the buidling looked filthy. I heard it was a very nice theatre at one time but for whatever reason (maybe the location) not very many people frequented it and the loyal neighborhood audience never materialized. It was torn down years ago when Interstate 275 was built. The interstate runs right over the property.
Forgot to include this bit of trivia in my prior posting. In 1974 the Britton Theatre held the world premiere of a little horror movie that has achieved somewhat of a cult status. The film was called “Dead of Night” (also known as “Deathdream”) and was shot entirely in Brooksville just north of Tampa. A portion of the film near the climax was also shot at the Brooksville 41 Drive-In Theatre.
It starred John Marley (of Godfather & Love Story fame) and the plot dealt with the homecoming of a soldier killed during the Vietnam war who somehow returns home as a sort of living dead vampire. It’s a creepy and well-made little shocker directed by Bob Clark who later did the “Porky’s” films and the holiday favorite “A Christmas Story.”
Mr. Marley made a personal appearance at the Britton and spoke on stage prior to the screening. Afterwards he remained in the theatre and chatted with several patrons including yours truly. There are many excellent reviews of the film posted on the Internet Movie Database.
AMC opened Twin Bays 4 and Horizon Park 4 on the same day, August 26, 1971. Both theatres were the same style and design and were identical to each other. This was AMC’s initial entry into the Tampa market and was much praised and heralded by local moviegoers. The Tribune’s film critic stated, “the coming of the quads will hopefully relieve the bad theatre situation in Tampa.” At the time there were only six first-run theatres locally, the Tampa, Florida, Palace, Britton, Hillsboro and Loew’s. The market was poorly under-screened for a city the size of Tampa in 1971. Smaller cities in fact had twice the number of first-run theatres.
Seeing as both theatres were identical and opened on the same day, the first portion of both postings will be the same for each theatre. The difference will be in my comments for each.
Two new theatres opening in the area was great news for local filmgoers. And what was even more thrilling was each theatre would feature not one or two but four screens under one roof for a total of eight new screens! At the time these four small theatres were a wonder to behold. Tampa had yet to receive its first twin theatre much less four.
These were the typical mini shoebox theatres with two large and two smaller auditoriums that probably seated anywhere from 125 to 225 per screen. They were always neat, clean, and well-maintained. Even today AMC theatres are among the cleanest.
AMC promoted the small quads with their creed:
*With smaller auditoriums patrons will not feel “lost” as they may feel in larger theatres on days with low attendance.
*Projection in smaller auditoriums provide for a shorter throw to the screen resulting in a sharper and brighter picture.
*The capability of showing a popular film in two auditoriums at the same time using a single print thus saving additional costs.
The opening day announcement advertised the theatre amenities:
Four Luxurious Motion Picture Theatres Under One Roof
Acres of Free Parking
Reduced Admission During our Exclusive Twi-Lite Every Evening
Discount Senior and Student ID cards that Offer One Year Disounts
Both theatres played the same attractions on opening day:
Pinocchio / A New Leaf / Ryan’s Daughter / The Andromeda Strain
The theatre was was located in the Twin Bays Shopping Center in South Tampa right next to Britton Plaza. Twin Bays 4 had an erratic admission history. Opening as a first-run theatre it later became a second-run $1 house for some time. It then reverted back to first-run and later back to $1 once again. This fluctuation between first and second-run movies/admissions occured at least two or three additional times during Twin Bays life span. For a time it was also a $1.50 house before finally closing as a $1 theatre.
The design of the small lobby made it somewhat tricky to sneak into another theatre without being seen. With admission being only $1 it wasn’t worth the grief and embarrassment of getting caught. It was easier to simply exit the theatre, pay another $1 and re-enter. This I did several times after nearly being caught once.
Some of the many films I saw here first-run that come to mind:
Abdominable Dr. Phibes/American Graffiti/Slaughterhouse 5/Dirty Harry/Son of Blob
And these I saw for $1.00:
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex/The Exorcist/The Goodbye Girl/Coal Miner’s Daughter/Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind/ Oh God!/Piranha/Greystoke The Legend of Tarzan/E.T./Back to the Future/American Werewolf In London/10/Born on the 4th of July/The Terminator/Nightmare on Elm Street/Night of the Living Dead (midnight showing)/The Goonies/The Entity/Saturday Night Fever
Both American Graffiti and Saturday Night Fever were long running films that played here for months and months.
Twin Bays 4 closed on September 28, 1997 and the final features were:
Face-Off/Steel/Batman & Robin/The Lost World/Con Air/Nothing To Lose
A feature article on the closing was published in the Tampa Tribune 3 days prior titled:
“Last Picture Show: Curtain Closes For Good At Twin Bays 4."
Several regulars were interviewed saying they were not happy. Twin Bays was the best theatre bargain in town and they were so sorry to see it close. The theatre was always clean and the crowds well behaved. The manager was quoted as saying the theatre was no longer profitable. AMC was looking to replace small units with megaplexes of 20 to 30 screens with stadium seating.
Following the closing the building sat vacant for a time and was later demolished along with the entire shopping center. A Loew’s Home Improvement store now sits on the site.
Yes, as a matter of fact they did. When researching these two I was shocked to see that Horizon Park closed the day following the Twin Bays closure. And what’s really odd is the Tampa Tribune did a front page feature story on Twin Bays closing but not one word about Horizon Park…not a single mention. I was hoping to post the Twin Bays story tonight but if not I’ll post tomorrow.
Mike, Appreciate the compliment. You’re right…CT is great therapy. Man did I goof up!! I can’t believe I made such a dumb mistake. I didn’t realize it until after I posted the story but I wasn’t able to get back on CT to make a correction until now. In 1971 I stated that Tampa had 4 first-run theatres. That’s incorrect. I can’t believe I forgot about the Hillsboro and the Loew’s which makes a total of 6 first-runs houses. Where has my mind gone? Nevertheless Tampa was still way under-screened with only 6 first-runs houses.
AMC opened Horizon Park 4 and Twin Bays 4 on the same day, August 26, 1971. Both theatres were the same style and design and were identical to each other. This was AMC’s initial entry into the Tampa market and was much praised and heralded by local moviegoers. The Tribune’s film critic stated, “the coming of the quads will hopefully relieve the bad theatre situation in Tampa.” At the time there were only four first-run theatres locally, the Tampa, Florida, Palace and Britton. The market was poorly under-screened for a city the size of Tampa in 1971. Smaller cities in fact had twice the number of first-run theatres.
Seeing as both theatres were identical and opened on the same day, the first portion of both postings will be the same for each theatre. The difference will be in my comments for each.
Two new theatres opening in the area was great news for local filmgoers. And what was even more thrilling was each theatre would feature not one or two but four screens under one roof for a total of eight new screens! At the time these four small theatres were a wonder to behold. Tampa had yet to receive its first twin theatre much less four.
These were the typical mini shoebox theatres with two large and two smaller auditoriums that probably seated anywhere from 125 to 225 per screen. They were always neat, clean, and well-maintained. Even today AMC theatres are among the cleanest.
AMC promoted the small quads with their creed:
*With smaller auditoriums patrons will not feel “lost” as they may feel in larger theatres on days with low attendance.
*Projection in smaller auditoriums provide for a shorter throw to the screen resulting in a sharper and brighter picture.
*The capability of showing a popular film in two auditoriums at the same time using a single print thus saving additional costs.
The opening day announcement advertised the theatre amenities:
Four Luxurious Motion Picture Theatres Under One Roof
Acres of Free Parking
Reduced Admission During our Exclusive Twi-Lite Every Evening
Discount Senior and Student ID cards that Offer One Year Disounts
Both theatres played the same attractions on opening day:
Pinocchio / A New Leaf / Ryan’s Daughter / The Andromeda Strain
One of the biggest attractions to play Horizon Park 4 was “The Poseidon Adventure” which bypassed the big first-run theatres. The film played in two auditoriums to capacity crowds. I saw many films here and never recall a bad or unpleasant experience. Although when I saw “Billy Jack” two boys seated at the front were arguing about something and began fist-fighting. The fight lasted only about 10 seconds and both sat back down afterwards. I remember thinking here’s a movie that promotes peace and love and here we have a fight going on.
Horizon Park 4 closed on September 29, 1997 and the final attractions were:
Money Talks / Krull / Fire Down Below / Hoodlum
The theatre was later gutted and the front of the building was expanded outward and made into a men’s clothing store which is now history. As of last week the building remains empty.
Yes, it’s the same theatre. The exterior of the building still resembles a theatre but the interior was completely gutted a few years ago and the walls separating the theatre from the flea market were torn down. The former theatre space is now part of the wide open flea market. I visited the flea market several months ago just to see what (if anything) had been done with the theatre space and all traces of the Varsity 6 are gone. It blends in with the flea market perfectly. You’d never even know the space was a former movie theatre.
I’ve completed some research on the Horizon Park 4 and Twin Bays 4 (opening/closing dates and some additional info) that I’ll be posting this evening. And I have more coming on the Varsity 6 which was also an AMC theatre.
I was just about to sign-off when I noticed your reply. The entire area where the Sundown was located was a wooded area filled with tall trees and bushes that nearly obliterated the theatre lot and the still standing refreshment stand. As I recall there were no other buildings or developments in that area. I think it was sometime towards the mid-to-late 1970s when the land was cleared and construction began on the buildings and offices that now occupy the site.
The entrance to the 40th Street was a dual driveway with the marquee just off Broadway between the dual drives (which are still there.) The lot where the drive-in stood was used for years as some type of rock or stone manufacturing company. It sits inward from Broadway and is surrounded by bushes and trees. There’s also a building or two on the lot as well as a wall. So you were right in the area where the drive-in once was! I never did make it to this theater when it was open. I believe it was gone before I became aware of drive-in theatres.
I saw the flyer for the 28th Street on the website but like you I wasn’t able to zoom-in close enough.