Village Plaza 5
141 South Elliott Road,
Chapel Hill,
NC
27514
141 South Elliott Road,
Chapel Hill,
NC
27514
1 person
favorited this theater
Showing all 12 comments
The proposed tenplex for this site fell through when Regal bought out Eastern Federal and its Movies at Timberlyne 6. Most of Regal’s North Carolina locations came from four chains: Litchfield (the second incarnation), United Artists (who bought the first incarnation of Litchfield), Eastern Federal and Consolidated Theatres (its final incarnation as an all-stadium chain). There may have been other factors leading to the cancellation of the ten-screen Village Plaza theater (such as rent), but most likely Regal simply chose not to build the proposed theater.
The Re-release of George Lucas' STAR WARS played here at the Village Plaza I-II-III in August of 1978.
This was supposed to be rebuilt as a ten screen megaplex…..And they just recently turned the property that the Village Plaza was on is now a park owned and operated by the Town of Chapel Hill?
The site that was formerly Crown Honda-Volvo off 15-501 would be a great place for putting a 10 screen or a 20 screen megaplex with acres of free parking. Comments???
“PATTON” was one of several roadshow enagements that played here in North Carolina.
The Official Grand Opening of the PLAZA TWIN THEATRES on October 16, 1970 was one of the first to show it during its premiere engagement before capacity crowds.
THE PLAZA TWIN THEATRES was Chapel Hill’s first-ever twin cinema that opened on October 16,1970.
The other premiere showing was MONTE WALSH Starring Lee Marvin that played in Screen One.
This is what I found from an article that was posted in the Friday October 16, 1970 edition of the Durham Herald-Sun and the Chapel Hill News…….
GRAND OPENING TODAY OF CHAPEL HILL’S FIRST-EVER TWIN THEATRES OPENS AT 1:00PM TODAY!
THE PLAZA TWIN THEATRES 1 & 2
Located in the Kroger Plaza Shopping Center at the corner of Elliott Road and East Franklin Street:
-Full Rocking Chair Seats For Maximum Comfort
-Super Widescreen Projection in both auditoriums
-Astounding Stereophonic Sound in both auditoriums
-Huge Lobby Area and Concession Stand Available for your convenience!
-ACRES OF FREE FRONT DOOR PARKING..
-SUPER BARGAIN SHOWS WITH MATINEES EVERYDAY!
OUR GRAND OPENING ATTRACTIONS AT THE PLAZA TWIN THEATRES:
PLAZA 1-LEE MARVIN IN MONTE WALSH
PLAZA 2-EXCLUSIVE TRIANGLE ROADSHOW ENAGEMENT IN STEREOPHONIC SOUND
GEORGE C. SCOTT and KARL MALDEN IN “PATTON”
FYI: The Village Plaza installed the systems for DOBLY STEREO in 1980(in screen 3) for the showing of The Empire Strikes Back during its initial run.
The third screen was equipped for films to be shown in either 35MM or 70MM presentations.
A lot of good movies played at here at the Village Plaza…
“Airport"
"The French Connection"
"Chinatown"
"Purple Rain"
"Terminator 2:Judgment Day"
"Dirty Harry"
"Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
"The Empire Strikes Back"
"Goodfellas"
"Blazing Saddles"
"Young Frankenstein"
"ALL of the Planet of the Apes movies”-original
“The Towering Inferno"
"Terminator 3"
"Staying Alive"
"Lawrence of Arabia”-re release
“Ben-Hur”-re release
“Gone With The Wind”-re release
“The Poseidon Adventure”–(1972)
“Sounder"
"Harold and Maude"
"A Man Called Horse”
Owned and operated by Eastern Federal Corporation.
The Village Plaza Theatre was a Chapel Hill landmark for 33 years from 1970 until 2003. Located at the corner of Elliott Road and East Franklin Street in the Village Plaza Shopping Center. The theatre opened in 1970 as a twin cinema,a third auditorium was added in 1973,making it a triplex. Two more auditoriums were added in the late 1980’s-early 1990’s until its demise in 2003.
Lots of bureaucratese from 2003:
http://tinyurl.com/2zwqtx
Here is a 2002 article that discusses closure of the Plaza:
http://tinyurl.com/26y45u
CHARLOTTE, NC â€" July 30, 2003 – Eastern Federal Corporation, a Charlotte, NC based movie theater circuit and one of the leading regional exhibitors in the country, is pleased to announce the first phases of the reconstruction of the Village Plaza Theater in Chapel Hill, NC. The existing Village Plaza theater will close July 31, and – together with the adjacent retail shops – will be demolished shortly thereafter to make way for Chapel Hill’s newest & largest theater. Depending on government approvals and construction schedule, the brand new Plaza Stadium 10 is slated to open in summer 2004.
The current Plaza theater debuted in 1970 as a twin theater, was expanded to a triple in 1973, and then converted to its current five-screen format in 1996. The Plaza’s heyday had long since passed, however, as newer movie theaters opened in Chapel Hill and in neighboring Durham.