This is not a photo of the Rialto Theatre in Durham; the Belk store across from the Rialto shown in the photo is the clue. Durham’s downtown (and later at South Square Mall) Belk store was called Belk-Leggett; while the above picture shows a Belk-Stevens store, which was the Winston-Salem Belk banner. There is no Rialto Theatre listed on CT for Winston-Salem nor do any of the downtown W-S theaters have Rialto listed as an AKA. If Belk-Stevens operated outside of Winston-Salem it was most likely in smaller towns near Winston-Salem. Judging from the scene this Rialto was in Winston-Salem.
The West Park Twin was located in the West Park Shopping Center at US 421 Business West and West Park Drive, just southwest of Wilkes Regional Medical Center. The West Park Twin was located on the empty lot between US 421 Business and the parking lot; the rear of the theater backed up to US 421 Business.
I believe the Tennessee Theatre in Nashville was demolished years ago. The above photo looks too new to have been the theater in Nashville. The “retro” marquee is a dead giveaway; it looks different than the marquee that was on the Tennessee in Nashville.
It was indeed opened as a Premiere Cinema; Cinemark took over less than a month after it opened. That Premiere chain had no connection to the Premiere Theatres (UEC Theatres) in Eastern North Carolina.
This theater opened around 1988 as a Litchfield Theatre (I don’t remember if Litchfield ran it as Sedgefield Crossing Cinemas or Litchfield Cinemas). Regal Cinemas took over around 1994 and used the Sedgefield Crossing Cinemas name. This theater is still running, mainly because it is the cheapest movie theater in Greensboro.
This theater has been open since at least 1989, if not earlier. Considering that the Brassfield 10 competes against several megaplexes (Carmike 18, Regal Greensboro Grande 16, Grand 18 near Four Seasons Mall, and the Carousel Grande 20), it’s amazing that Cinemark hasn’t pulled the plug yet.
This was most likely the location of the Trans-Lux Inflight Cine' in Greensboro rather than the location given for the “Greensboro Theater”. The location listed on the Greensboro Theater page is actually that of the Sedgefield Crossing $2 Cinema, which is the only theater ever built at that address. Also, Trans-Lux built all of its North Carolina Inflight Cine’s adjacent to Zayre stores (except Kinston; no Zayre there, Trans-Lux built next to Woolco in that town). The Royal Cine location was still operating as a theater as late as 1990, but under a different name and no longer porn. Newspaper ads from 1989-90 mentioned a discount cinema at High Point and Holden Roads “near Ames” (Ames had bought out Zayre at this time); most likely the Trans-Lux Inflight/Greensboro Theater is the same cinema as the Royal Cine.
AdrianEverett: I couldn’t get your link to work so I searched Pembroke Mall on Google Earth instead. Was the empty, odd-shaped lot on the corner of Jeanne Street and Constitution Drive the site of the Pembroke Mall Ultravision Theatres?
This theater should be listed as Westchester Cinemas (without the word “Mall”), as it was not at Westchester Mall. The Martin Twin was actually the closest cinema to Westchester Mall.
If this was never a Jerry Lewis franchise then that company never entered North Carolina. The only mini-cinema chain in North Carolina I am aware of was the Trans-Lux Inflight Cine' chain, which built its first NC location in Kinston (originally single-screen, it is listed on CT as Plaza Cinema Twin). Others followed in Kannapolis, Charlotte, Burlington, Greensboro and High Point. The dedicated mini-cinema chains such as Jerry Lewis, Trans-Lux Inflight Cine' and whatever company the Six Forks Cinema was to affiliate with were on the ropes by 1972, as the established chains started building mini-twins of their own. The fact that this cinema ever opened, let alone is still operating as a cinema over forty years later, is amazing. Most other mini-cinemas from the late 1960s-early 1970s closed down decades ago when the multiplexes crowded them out; many mini-cinemas (including all NC Trans-Lux Inflight Cine’s except Kinston) became porn theaters at some point in their existence. The Six Forks Cinema/Terrace Twin/Colony Twin never to my knowledge operated as a pornhouse, although some X-rated films may have been shown there.
Did this theater end up a Carmike like the Charleston, SC Ultravision Theatre (that one ended up a 4-screen)? Carmike pretty much owns all the theaters in Columbus (except the pornhouse), its (and predecessor Martin Theatres') headquarters city. It wouldn’t surprise me if Carmike ran this one into the ground as they did with many other ex-ABC/Plitt/Cineplex Odeon cinemas in the Southeast.
If the address listed above is correct then the James Theater has been demolished. However, there is a building on the southwest corner of South James and West Spruce Streets (301 South James?) that looks like it could have been a movie theater at one time.
The closing of the 264 Playhouse Theatre marked the beginning of the decline of movie theater competition in the Greenville, NC area. Both the 264 Playhouse and the Tice Drive-In theaters closed in 1986, eliminating independently owned cinemas from Greenville and Pitt County to this day. Shortly afterward Carmike Cinemas acquired Stewart & Everett Theatres (Plaza Cinema 1-2-3 and Park Theatre); by 1990 Carmike owned every operating movie theater in Pitt County and would close every one of them by 2001 after opening their 12-screen in 1998. The Carmike 12 was the only operating movie theater in Pitt County from 2001 until 2007 (excluding East Carolina University’s Hendrix Theater; that was open to the public only for live shows, films there were/are for students only). Closing the local pornhouse began a domino effect on the local cinema business ultimately ending in total monopoly (until Consolidated’s – now Regal’s – Greenville Grande 14 opened in 2007).
The 264 Playhouse Theatre is actually closer to the Paramount Theatre in Farmville than it was to the downtown Greenville theaters; the nearest theaters were the Carmike Carolina East 4 (named Plitt Quad when the 264 Playhouse operated), South 11 Drive-In (demolished before the 264 Playhouse was built), Greenville Grande 14 (built long after the 264 closed), Tice Drive-In in Winterville, and the Farmville Paramount.
The building at 711 East Washington Street currently housing the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith is most likely the former Carver Theatre; its address was most likely renumbered after it ceased functioning as a theater. The lack of windows, wooden doors with diamond-shaped windows, and the spacing between the two sets of doors (where a ticket booth may have been located at one time) give this church building the look of a converted theater.
The Riverdale Cinema 3 was never a Cinemark house. Gordon Theaters opened the Riverdale in 1965, Martin Theatres took over in 1969 and subsequently twinned the theater. Martin was rebranded Carmike Cinemas in 1985; the Riverdale Twin was run by Carmike from 1985 until about 1987, when Neighborhood Theatres took over. Neighborhood turned the Riverdale into a three-screen cinema in 1991 and eventually sold out to Regal Cinemas, who closed the Riverdale Cinema 3.
This was Jacksonville’s last standing drive-in theater. When it closed in 1985, all other drive-ins in Jacksonville, including the South 17 Twin on Wilmington Highway/US 17 South (non-porn) and Starlite (most likely the XXX drive-in just north of the South 17 Twin), had been demolished. The Cinema Drive-In has since been demolished as well.
The X-rated drive-in that was just north of the South 17 Twin (and south of the Triangle Motor Inn) was most likely the Starlite Drive-In listed here on Cinema Treasures.
If the Ritz was located at 1027 Broad Street it would have been directly across the street from the Palace Theatre and behind the Queen Street theater; any building at 1027 Broad Street would have been demolished by the late 1960s to make way for a large self-service gas station (which has itself been demolished).
This is not a photo of the Rialto Theatre in Durham; the Belk store across from the Rialto shown in the photo is the clue. Durham’s downtown (and later at South Square Mall) Belk store was called Belk-Leggett; while the above picture shows a Belk-Stevens store, which was the Winston-Salem Belk banner. There is no Rialto Theatre listed on CT for Winston-Salem nor do any of the downtown W-S theaters have Rialto listed as an AKA. If Belk-Stevens operated outside of Winston-Salem it was most likely in smaller towns near Winston-Salem. Judging from the scene this Rialto was in Winston-Salem.
The West Park Twin was located in the West Park Shopping Center at US 421 Business West and West Park Drive, just southwest of Wilkes Regional Medical Center. The West Park Twin was located on the empty lot between US 421 Business and the parking lot; the rear of the theater backed up to US 421 Business.
The Air-Vue Drive-In was demolished around 1976, as the Ashley Plaza shopping center opened in 1977.
The location of this drive-in is now occupied by Ashley Plaza (Kmart) shopping center. Status should be Demolished.
I believe the Tennessee Theatre in Nashville was demolished years ago. The above photo looks too new to have been the theater in Nashville. The “retro” marquee is a dead giveaway; it looks different than the marquee that was on the Tennessee in Nashville.
It was indeed opened as a Premiere Cinema; Cinemark took over less than a month after it opened. That Premiere chain had no connection to the Premiere Theatres (UEC Theatres) in Eastern North Carolina.
This theater opened around 1988 as a Litchfield Theatre (I don’t remember if Litchfield ran it as Sedgefield Crossing Cinemas or Litchfield Cinemas). Regal Cinemas took over around 1994 and used the Sedgefield Crossing Cinemas name. This theater is still running, mainly because it is the cheapest movie theater in Greensboro.
This theater has been open since at least 1989, if not earlier. Considering that the Brassfield 10 competes against several megaplexes (Carmike 18, Regal Greensboro Grande 16, Grand 18 near Four Seasons Mall, and the Carousel Grande 20), it’s amazing that Cinemark hasn’t pulled the plug yet.
This was most likely the location of the Trans-Lux Inflight Cine' in Greensboro rather than the location given for the “Greensboro Theater”. The location listed on the Greensboro Theater page is actually that of the Sedgefield Crossing $2 Cinema, which is the only theater ever built at that address. Also, Trans-Lux built all of its North Carolina Inflight Cine’s adjacent to Zayre stores (except Kinston; no Zayre there, Trans-Lux built next to Woolco in that town). The Royal Cine location was still operating as a theater as late as 1990, but under a different name and no longer porn. Newspaper ads from 1989-90 mentioned a discount cinema at High Point and Holden Roads “near Ames” (Ames had bought out Zayre at this time); most likely the Trans-Lux Inflight/Greensboro Theater is the same cinema as the Royal Cine.
AdrianEverett: I couldn’t get your link to work so I searched Pembroke Mall on Google Earth instead. Was the empty, odd-shaped lot on the corner of Jeanne Street and Constitution Drive the site of the Pembroke Mall Ultravision Theatres?
This theater should be listed as Westchester Cinemas (without the word “Mall”), as it was not at Westchester Mall. The Martin Twin was actually the closest cinema to Westchester Mall.
If this was never a Jerry Lewis franchise then that company never entered North Carolina. The only mini-cinema chain in North Carolina I am aware of was the Trans-Lux Inflight Cine' chain, which built its first NC location in Kinston (originally single-screen, it is listed on CT as Plaza Cinema Twin). Others followed in Kannapolis, Charlotte, Burlington, Greensboro and High Point. The dedicated mini-cinema chains such as Jerry Lewis, Trans-Lux Inflight Cine' and whatever company the Six Forks Cinema was to affiliate with were on the ropes by 1972, as the established chains started building mini-twins of their own. The fact that this cinema ever opened, let alone is still operating as a cinema over forty years later, is amazing. Most other mini-cinemas from the late 1960s-early 1970s closed down decades ago when the multiplexes crowded them out; many mini-cinemas (including all NC Trans-Lux Inflight Cine’s except Kinston) became porn theaters at some point in their existence. The Six Forks Cinema/Terrace Twin/Colony Twin never to my knowledge operated as a pornhouse, although some X-rated films may have been shown there.
Did this theater end up a Carmike like the Charleston, SC Ultravision Theatre (that one ended up a 4-screen)? Carmike pretty much owns all the theaters in Columbus (except the pornhouse), its (and predecessor Martin Theatres') headquarters city. It wouldn’t surprise me if Carmike ran this one into the ground as they did with many other ex-ABC/Plitt/Cineplex Odeon cinemas in the Southeast.
If the address listed above is correct then the James Theater has been demolished. However, there is a building on the southwest corner of South James and West Spruce Streets (301 South James?) that looks like it could have been a movie theater at one time.
This was the last locally owned and operated cinema in the Greenville area. It went out of business in September 1986 after the drive-in season ended.
The closing of the 264 Playhouse Theatre marked the beginning of the decline of movie theater competition in the Greenville, NC area. Both the 264 Playhouse and the Tice Drive-In theaters closed in 1986, eliminating independently owned cinemas from Greenville and Pitt County to this day. Shortly afterward Carmike Cinemas acquired Stewart & Everett Theatres (Plaza Cinema 1-2-3 and Park Theatre); by 1990 Carmike owned every operating movie theater in Pitt County and would close every one of them by 2001 after opening their 12-screen in 1998. The Carmike 12 was the only operating movie theater in Pitt County from 2001 until 2007 (excluding East Carolina University’s Hendrix Theater; that was open to the public only for live shows, films there were/are for students only). Closing the local pornhouse began a domino effect on the local cinema business ultimately ending in total monopoly (until Consolidated’s – now Regal’s – Greenville Grande 14 opened in 2007).
The 264 Playhouse Theatre is actually closer to the Paramount Theatre in Farmville than it was to the downtown Greenville theaters; the nearest theaters were the Carmike Carolina East 4 (named Plitt Quad when the 264 Playhouse operated), South 11 Drive-In (demolished before the 264 Playhouse was built), Greenville Grande 14 (built long after the 264 closed), Tice Drive-In in Winterville, and the Farmville Paramount.
The building at 711 East Washington Street currently housing the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith is most likely the former Carver Theatre; its address was most likely renumbered after it ceased functioning as a theater. The lack of windows, wooden doors with diamond-shaped windows, and the spacing between the two sets of doors (where a ticket booth may have been located at one time) give this church building the look of a converted theater.
Carmike Cinemas took over the Beechmont Twin in 1985 and sold it off by 1989.
The Riverdale Cinema 3 was never a Cinemark house. Gordon Theaters opened the Riverdale in 1965, Martin Theatres took over in 1969 and subsequently twinned the theater. Martin was rebranded Carmike Cinemas in 1985; the Riverdale Twin was run by Carmike from 1985 until about 1987, when Neighborhood Theatres took over. Neighborhood turned the Riverdale into a three-screen cinema in 1991 and eventually sold out to Regal Cinemas, who closed the Riverdale Cinema 3.
If this theater was part of Schneider-Merl Theatres it would have opened before 1976, as the Schneider-Merl chain was sold to Martin Theatres by then.
The Carmike 16 Jacksonville is located at Jacksonville Mall on an outparcel behind Belk Department Store.
This was Jacksonville’s last standing drive-in theater. When it closed in 1985, all other drive-ins in Jacksonville, including the South 17 Twin on Wilmington Highway/US 17 South (non-porn) and Starlite (most likely the XXX drive-in just north of the South 17 Twin), had been demolished. The Cinema Drive-In has since been demolished as well.
The X-rated drive-in that was just north of the South 17 Twin (and south of the Triangle Motor Inn) was most likely the Starlite Drive-In listed here on Cinema Treasures.
If the Ritz was located at 1027 Broad Street it would have been directly across the street from the Palace Theatre and behind the Queen Street theater; any building at 1027 Broad Street would have been demolished by the late 1960s to make way for a large self-service gas station (which has itself been demolished).