79th Street Twin II Cinema

Anyone know if this theatre was ever a normal theatre? It never had a good appearance on the outside. The marquee was horrendous as was the entrance, and everything else. I never went in this theatre.

Louis, it was always porno, gay on one screen, straight on the other.

I wouldn't say it was always porno. My buddies and I went there in the mid 1960's and porno movies weren't shown anywhere because they weren't legal at the time. Back then it was the 79th Street Art Theatre, not a twin at the time, and it showed sexy B movies and nudist flicks. There was no gay side to it or we wouldn't have gone there.

They were "soft core" sex films, the porn of the time. It opened with such films and was never mainstream. The gay screen started when they twinned it in the seventies.

This had nothing to with the Star II, which as I understand was located in the 79th Street Mall, correct?

You're correct, it was the porn of the time (1960's) but when you say porno most people today think of the raw explicit raunchy stuff leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination and that just wasn't the stuff being shown at the 79th Street Art Theatre in the 1960's. I'm just clarifying the word "porno" so people don't think it was the porno of today and past few decades.

Harvey, I'm certain that it had nothing to do with the Star II if the Star II was at the 79th Street Mall. Was that west of Northside Shopping Center on 27th Avenue?

Ad for the 79th Street Art

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k309/bronsonlives/MiamiAdultTheaters1.jpg

Don,

I honestly do not know. My dad remembers the same mall on 27th Ave you speak of. He specifically remembers eating at a drive-in restaurant across from that mall on 79th. He thinks it was a Frank and Bun.

Harvey

Got an address on the Star Twin. 79th Street and 30th Ave in the Woolco Shopping Center. Google maps lists this intersection as NW.

Yeah, that's what I thought - it was way west of the 79th Street Art Theatre/Twin II Cinema. I went by there yesterday because the expressways were clogged in heavy rain - it's all a giant flea market now.

Frank 'n Bun was a very popular drive-in on the southwest corner of 27th Avenue and 79th Street in the 50's. There is an aerial photo of Northside and Frank 'n Bun at: http://www.pbase.com/donboyd/image/85074956

Don great to see you on this board! I am sure you will bring a wealth of information here. I enjoy your website very much, there is not a week that goes by that I don't go in and reminisce!

Thanks for your comments Louis. I found this site looking for information on another old movie theatre (Palm Springs) and it has some good information, links and comments that I can use on my site. I'm glad you enjoy the old photos like I do.

Don

This location one housed the Little River theatre. I am unsure if it is the same building.

This was also the location for the Bard theatre which ran movies as well as live burlesque in the late fifties.

Here is a Star Twin ad. I have not added the theatre since I cannot find an actual address.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25725093@N07/2706919783/

I think the Star theatre was located close to where Woolco opened a store back in the late 60s or early 70s. This was west of the Northside Shopping Center, very close to the Peoples Commerce Bank, which amazingly enough is still there. I remember that there was a small mall type shopping center built there, but I don't think it did very well. The Frank & Bun was more towards the corner of 79th Street & 27th Avenue. I don't remember the Frank & Bun, however I have seen it's location on Don's website. At the time Woolco was there, the Frank & Bun was not. An amusement park, Funland Park was on that corner too, kind of like behind the Royal Castle, which is still there.

Here are photos from 1985 and 1989, respectively:
http://tinyurl.com/c27pyq
http://tinyurl.com/c9mvbk