Showcase Cinemas Louisville

I believe this theater is now closed. Does anyone know when it was originally built/opened?

According to the Louisville Courier-Journal for Wednesday, September 08, 2004, The Showcase Cinemas opened in '1965 with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in "The Sandpiper" and a Cinerama feature called "Halleluja Trail."' ("Showcase Cinemas: The end
Venerable complex closes Sunday night")

Theatre 1 did indeed have a massive curved screen, probably outfitted for single-film Cinerama presentations. Hallelujah Trail qualifies: according to Martin Hart at www.widescreenmuseum.com, this film was done in MGM Camera 65, a.k.a. Ultra Panavision 70, shot on 65 mm and printed to 70 mm (to allow for the sound track.)

This was THE place to see a movie in Louisville. It's where I took my wife on our first date (to see That Thing You Do). I saw dozens of movies here over the years, including Star Wars back in 1977 and Titanic years later. Showcase had several huge screens with hundreds of comfortable seats. If memory serves, the theaters did not share a common entrance and were later enclosed. Theaters 3 and 4 were the best places to see a movie here, and the curved screen was a sight to behold. It was one of the few places I've been where sitting up front was actually enjoyable. The sound and size of the screens were almost like Imax when the right movie was being shown.

Sadly the last few movies I saw there reflected the rise of newer theaters in Louisville. The crowds were smaller, the neighborhood rougher, and the projection and attention to the details at the theater were lacking.

This place holds a lot of great memories for me. I'll certainly miss it.

Wow, sad to hear it closed. I grew up watching movies there, it was kind of a sanctuary for me. If I remember correctly, the first movie I saw there was "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" in 1974; I think the last film I saw there was "Terminator 2" in 1991. In between I saw a ton movies; the "Star Wars" films, "Superman", "Alien", "Raiders of The Lost Ark", etc.

Oh, I can beat that! I saw Earthquake there in Sensaround (sp?) in 1974, and it was phenomenal! The whole theatre rumbled and shook. You felt it in your seat before you heard it, and it was such cool technology at the time. The first movie I saw there, though was the re-release of the Sound of Music in '72 or '73. My best (worst) memory, though, was seeing Jaws there for my birthday in 1975, and then walking across the road to the Kingfish restaurant! Bleah!!

When we first moved to J-town in 1972, there were only two main cinemas, and they shared a big lobby. They added the others later; I think there were 6 when we left in 1976. It was always our first choice theatre, and I'm so glad I got to see all the epic 70s disaster pics on the huge screens that they had.

I remember going to the releases of the special edition Star Wars films when I younger. I also remember all of the HUGE windows that were everywhere! They would always paint movie characters on the windows at the entrance.

Now that it's closed, This place is REALLY creepy looking at night! The fact that it is an all white building boarded up with white boards makes it look ghostly. I was driving past last night and noticed the "national amusements" sign in the side of the main building still works. You wouldn't think it still had electricity!
It's a shame this place got so run down before it closed. NA has 2 newer theaters in Louisville, but neither of them have the atmosphere that this one did.

Wow, I can't believe this place fell so far. I remember this being the premiere site to go see movies in Louisville. Before I moved away in 1989, this place was where every big movie opened in town. The importance of the movie or popularity either put the showing in the cavernous Cinema #1 or #'s 3 & 4. The smaller theaters were built to compete with the miniplexes that opened in around the city in the mid 80's. I remember those huge windows too and the Hellish traffic getting in and out of the complex.

I remember riding my 10 speed from Jeffersonville in order to catch matinee showings of several movies including The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Good times..

Supposedly being converted into a Megachurch now, but the deal hasn't been closed. Place is, as mentioned above, just sitting vacant because they won't sell it to anyone who wants to open a theater.

They apparently don't want it reopened to give their new theaters competition. Sad.. Oh well, I may have to swing by to photograph the site this summer when i visit the area.

I lived on Fegenbush in Louisville in 2004 just a few miles from the Showcase. Growing up in Louisville I too watched the Bonds, Star Wars and other big titles here. It was great back in the day but that area was pretty rough when I lived there briefly 3 years ago.

Well, the building is still standing.

Sounds like the same situation we have here in New Jersey. NA's old Amboys Multiplex, where I worked as a projectionist for years, closed in 2005, when the floor in the lobby sank. It is still standing, all boarded up. And in 2006 NA closed the All-Jersey Multiplex near Newark airport, and it too sits all boarded up. The only thing these two buildings are see now are the graffitti artists, who do their thing, then NA has someone come and whitewash the buildings again. One final note, Amboys opened in 1979, was 14 screens at the end, All-Jersey opened in 1991 as 12 and closed as 12.

I can relate to many of the comments above. I have many fond memories of Showcase Cinemas on Bardstown Road. As a youngster I remember most seeing the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. Later on I was going on dates to Showcase. My travels around town this past week took me by the site and it looks very run down. I also remember the Take 5 restaurant that was built in the front parking lot and operated for many years. I have many great memories of that place.

Three exterior lights still burning. "For Sale, Lopp Commercial Real Estate, 1-800-576-5677"

Showcase cinemas, bashford manor mall, and the toy tiger. I remember that strip like i lived there, but I was actually from bardstown. I remember peeing my pants as a kid when my uncles took me to see star wars there. I didn't want to miss anything. It took us what seemed like hours just to get out of the parking lot, and they made me sit in the back of the truck all the way to bardstown. I still think of that when I see people getting up during a movie, I was only seven. All that's gone, it's a totally different place now. I went there on some awesome date nights when I got older, and I made sure to go before the movie.