 A glimpse of the Quo's one of two billboards as they remain todayPhoto courtesy of Shannon Quay
The original 1,200-seat auditorium opened with the Doris Day comedy "The Glass Bottom Boat".
In early 1968, two tiny auditoriums opened on the second floor, which had been originally designed as a sprawling restaurant. These were called the Penthouse 1 & 2. A small restaurant and bar was also opened upstairs.
An unusual feature was that while customers ate, they could wear headphones and view the movie on the screen of the nearby Algiers Drive-In through a large plate-glass window.
The Quo Vadis' owners announced in 1969 plans for a third story, which would house a "rooftop-garden" theater seating over 1,000 and featuring a beer garden. However, this was never actually built.
In 1970, the original main auditorium was twinned, seating about 540 each. Later in the 1970's, one of these 540-seat auditoriums was itself twinned. The Over 21 restaurant was closed in the early 1980's and converted into yet another auditorium.
In 1986, the Quo Vadis Entertainment Center, as it was by then renamed, was purchased by National Amusements, who continued to operate it as a multiplex.
It closed in January of 2002, with "Harry Potter", "Ali" and "Vanilla Sky" the last movies on its marquee.
Today half of the seats are removed and are in use at another theater and church. The city proposed a Cultural Center, but nothing happened. Today it stands with a for sale sign.
The theater is most likely to be demolished as no developers have came forward and the land is across from a mall which is very prime land.
Contributed by Bryan Krefft, Sean Doerr
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