I think “replaced” is the wrong choice of words. It replaced those theaters as a place for those in area to see first-run films, but Valley and Terrace were physically separate theaters. Terrace was discount for about 5 years and changed to art-house Colony Theater in 1994.
When I get extra time I like to look at the Raleigh theater descriptions. I have found many mistakes in nearly all of the main theater descriptions for the Raleigh theaters. In the case of the Village Twin, the original auditorium was not left intact after the twinning. The auditorium was split down the middle creating two horrible shoe-box auditoriums with smallish screens.
It also really bothers me that the description of the theater for this page lists that the original auditorium was split, when in fact it was left perfectly intact when the 2nd auditorium was added. Also, the Cardinal was never equipped for Cinerama projection. Cardinal 1 was equipped with standard 5/70mm projection equipment. How do you get this changed?
Seth, The building that Bonefish is in IS the actual building that the original, large auditorium of Cardinal was in! They have torn down the lobby as well as the smaller screen (Cardinal 2), though the smaller screen was there and used by Blockbuster before the big shopping center uplift a few years ago.
That theater was once the Varsity. I think it operated as Studio I for a brief time before it closed. Soon after it closed Studio I & II opened just down the street at 2526 Hillsborough in the Electric Company Mall. That theater closed in October of 2000. It was a very unique and very small theater. Screen 1 had just under 50 seats and screen 2 just over 50. The old Varsity sat empty for a long time after McDonalds closed and it is now a textbook store. Do you have pictures of the McDonalds? I would love to see them!
There used to be the Mission Valley Inn directly across the street. It closed in the 1990’s and NCSU bought it and converted it into dormitories. It is now called Avent Ferry Complex.
raysson, The original specs for Mission Valley were around 500 seats for screen 1, and 300 seats for screen 2. Screen 2 is half the size of screen 1 and never had more than 300 seats. Auditoriums 3, 4 and 5 were all added at the same time in 1983 and all seat 288. The only other remodel that was done was in 1994-ish when United Artists took over. This was just a lobby renovation in which a kitchen was built and the concession stand was moved from a circular island in the middle of the lobby to a new stand to the right of the lobby as it stands today. There were some changes to the box office and downstairs managers office as well. The theater has not been majorly altered since, except for seat replacement and redecoration of the largest auditorium in 2007. I have all of the original blueprints from the original build and the additions in 1983.
The company that re-opened Pleasant Valley as a discount house was called Entertainment Film Works (EFW). They signed leases and opened up a handful of closed theaters around the same time as Pleasant Valley. They didn’t pay their rent or bills at most of their locations. Some of landlords threw them out, and in some locations (like Pleasant Valley) they just suddenly closed and very quickly moved out, in some cases owing thousands. They closed Pleasant Valley with almost no notice. They actually opened the theater for the day that day. After the first set of films was started, the staff was informed that they were closing effective immediately. They actually did OK there, and it seemed to be getting better all the time. I am convinced that if it was run properly it could have thrived as a discount house. For some more info on EFW, search “EFW” on the website film-tech.com in the “film-yak” forum.
The largest auditorium at Mission Valley has a seating capacity of 490 (previously 500 until handicap spaces were added). Screen 2 is 260, down from the original 300 for the same reason as above. Screens 3, 4 and 5 were all added at the same time in 1983, and they each seat 288. JEDI was shown in 70mm in Raleigh, though I cannot remember if it was at the Cardinal or Mission Valley.
Just a couple of clarifications: While the Cardinal was certainly equipped with 70mm projectors (Century JJ-2’s, I think), it was never a Cinerama equipped theater. Also, the original auditorium there seated over 700 people. The second screen was added as an addition to the right of the original screen in the 1970’s. The old original auditorium was not altered, except that it was now called “Cardinal 1.” The added screen (Cardinal 2) was just demolished a couple of years ago when Blockbuster moved out of the space.
I think “replaced” is the wrong choice of words. It replaced those theaters as a place for those in area to see first-run films, but Valley and Terrace were physically separate theaters. Terrace was discount for about 5 years and changed to art-house Colony Theater in 1994.
When I get extra time I like to look at the Raleigh theater descriptions. I have found many mistakes in nearly all of the main theater descriptions for the Raleigh theaters. In the case of the Village Twin, the original auditorium was not left intact after the twinning. The auditorium was split down the middle creating two horrible shoe-box auditoriums with smallish screens.
It also really bothers me that the description of the theater for this page lists that the original auditorium was split, when in fact it was left perfectly intact when the 2nd auditorium was added. Also, the Cardinal was never equipped for Cinerama projection. Cardinal 1 was equipped with standard 5/70mm projection equipment. How do you get this changed?
Seth, The building that Bonefish is in IS the actual building that the original, large auditorium of Cardinal was in! They have torn down the lobby as well as the smaller screen (Cardinal 2), though the smaller screen was there and used by Blockbuster before the big shopping center uplift a few years ago.
That theater was once the Varsity. I think it operated as Studio I for a brief time before it closed. Soon after it closed Studio I & II opened just down the street at 2526 Hillsborough in the Electric Company Mall. That theater closed in October of 2000. It was a very unique and very small theater. Screen 1 had just under 50 seats and screen 2 just over 50. The old Varsity sat empty for a long time after McDonalds closed and it is now a textbook store. Do you have pictures of the McDonalds? I would love to see them!
There used to be the Mission Valley Inn directly across the street. It closed in the 1990’s and NCSU bought it and converted it into dormitories. It is now called Avent Ferry Complex.
raysson, The original specs for Mission Valley were around 500 seats for screen 1, and 300 seats for screen 2. Screen 2 is half the size of screen 1 and never had more than 300 seats. Auditoriums 3, 4 and 5 were all added at the same time in 1983 and all seat 288. The only other remodel that was done was in 1994-ish when United Artists took over. This was just a lobby renovation in which a kitchen was built and the concession stand was moved from a circular island in the middle of the lobby to a new stand to the right of the lobby as it stands today. There were some changes to the box office and downstairs managers office as well. The theater has not been majorly altered since, except for seat replacement and redecoration of the largest auditorium in 2007. I have all of the original blueprints from the original build and the additions in 1983.
(Lewis Tew was the longtime manager of Cardinal. He was later the City Manager for Carmike Cinemas)
The company that re-opened Pleasant Valley as a discount house was called Entertainment Film Works (EFW). They signed leases and opened up a handful of closed theaters around the same time as Pleasant Valley. They didn’t pay their rent or bills at most of their locations. Some of landlords threw them out, and in some locations (like Pleasant Valley) they just suddenly closed and very quickly moved out, in some cases owing thousands. They closed Pleasant Valley with almost no notice. They actually opened the theater for the day that day. After the first set of films was started, the staff was informed that they were closing effective immediately. They actually did OK there, and it seemed to be getting better all the time. I am convinced that if it was run properly it could have thrived as a discount house. For some more info on EFW, search “EFW” on the website film-tech.com in the “film-yak” forum.
The largest auditorium at Mission Valley has a seating capacity of 490 (previously 500 until handicap spaces were added). Screen 2 is 260, down from the original 300 for the same reason as above. Screens 3, 4 and 5 were all added at the same time in 1983, and they each seat 288. JEDI was shown in 70mm in Raleigh, though I cannot remember if it was at the Cardinal or Mission Valley.
Just a couple of clarifications: While the Cardinal was certainly equipped with 70mm projectors (Century JJ-2’s, I think), it was never a Cinerama equipped theater. Also, the original auditorium there seated over 700 people. The second screen was added as an addition to the right of the original screen in the 1970’s. The old original auditorium was not altered, except that it was now called “Cardinal 1.” The added screen (Cardinal 2) was just demolished a couple of years ago when Blockbuster moved out of the space.