Quite a place, but was out of sync with the times on the day it opened. Mall theatres were not the places to support exclusive runs. Very strange “hidden” rooms throughout. But, it was fun training as a manager there in 1981.
AMC built the Northpark, and closed City Place. City Place was fine for the time it was built, but not stadium seated and attracted a loud and crazy crowd.
Loews Cineplex unloaded the Burnham as quickly as they could. What little profit it generated was immediately consumed by HUGE maintenance costs due to vandalism and grafiti. Some locations are like that. The Icon works diligently to prevent that kind of distruction, and so far, seems to be winning.
Spectrum came on line at the height of the Cineplex Odeon expansion during the late 80’s and 90’s. They even got into distribution with Cineplex Odeon Films. However, as a company, they over-extended themselves to the point of near bankruptcy. Loews swooped in in 1998. Big mistake for Loews. Cineplex had a reputation for taking on huge lease payments. Today, after the Loews Cineplex bankruptcy is a distant memory, most of the original Cineplex locations are long gone as well…
I worked for Presidio Theatres as a manager from 1985-1987. I was based at the Lakehills Cinema 4 in south Austin. Arbor opened summer of ‘85. Jay, you’re right, the elevator shaft was designed to look like a clock tower in an Italian or European courtyard. It was the jewel of the Presidio circuit! Presidio set out to build the finest theatres in the country, and in my opinion, achieved that goal during its short lifetime. If any Presidio alumni out there read this, I’d LOVE to reconnect! The Presidio Legacy lives on to this day in the way some circuits do business. For example, Presidio was the first circuit to post the manager in the lobby at the concierge station. Loews copied that idea with “Guest Service” stations located in each lobby. GCC did too. Now that AMC has absorbed both companies, we have that original idea in nearly ALL of our locations. I am currently a manager at the AMC Loews 600 North Michigan 9 in downtown Chicago. Would really enjoy hearing from a blast from the past, so to speak!
Quite a place, but was out of sync with the times on the day it opened. Mall theatres were not the places to support exclusive runs. Very strange “hidden” rooms throughout. But, it was fun training as a manager there in 1981.
AMC built the Northpark, and closed City Place. City Place was fine for the time it was built, but not stadium seated and attracted a loud and crazy crowd.
Loews Cineplex unloaded the Burnham as quickly as they could. What little profit it generated was immediately consumed by HUGE maintenance costs due to vandalism and grafiti. Some locations are like that. The Icon works diligently to prevent that kind of distruction, and so far, seems to be winning.
Spectrum came on line at the height of the Cineplex Odeon expansion during the late 80’s and 90’s. They even got into distribution with Cineplex Odeon Films. However, as a company, they over-extended themselves to the point of near bankruptcy. Loews swooped in in 1998. Big mistake for Loews. Cineplex had a reputation for taking on huge lease payments. Today, after the Loews Cineplex bankruptcy is a distant memory, most of the original Cineplex locations are long gone as well…
I worked for Presidio Theatres as a manager from 1985-1987. I was based at the Lakehills Cinema 4 in south Austin. Arbor opened summer of ‘85. Jay, you’re right, the elevator shaft was designed to look like a clock tower in an Italian or European courtyard. It was the jewel of the Presidio circuit! Presidio set out to build the finest theatres in the country, and in my opinion, achieved that goal during its short lifetime. If any Presidio alumni out there read this, I’d LOVE to reconnect! The Presidio Legacy lives on to this day in the way some circuits do business. For example, Presidio was the first circuit to post the manager in the lobby at the concierge station. Loews copied that idea with “Guest Service” stations located in each lobby. GCC did too. Now that AMC has absorbed both companies, we have that original idea in nearly ALL of our locations. I am currently a manager at the AMC Loews 600 North Michigan 9 in downtown Chicago. Would really enjoy hearing from a blast from the past, so to speak!
Regards,
John Oeland