AMC 309 Cinema 9
1210 Bethlehem Pike, Routes 309 and 63,
North Wales,
PA
19454
1210 Bethlehem Pike, Routes 309 and 63,
North Wales,
PA
19454
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This theatre was built by William Goldman & Co. as a single-screen theatre. Originally owned by Budco, which also owned the adjacent 309 Drive-In. Twinned sometime in the mid-1970’s. During the late-1970’s, another screen was added on the right side of the existing building.
Around 1983, two more screens were added on the left side of the existing building. When AMC took over the Budco chain, they added four more screens on the north side of the building. The theatre’s famous sign is the hexagonal “3 0 9” on the building, and the neon “309” sign on Route 309.
Contributed by
Tim Quan
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Recent comments (view all 25 comments)
Haven’t been there since “The Rock” in 1996 when the first twenty minutes of the feature was projected two-perforations out-of-frame, and, presumably, I was the only sighted person in the auditorium as nobody made the slightest fuss. Finally, I got up and informed an usher of the problem. He looked at me as if I had just landed from another planet, mumbled something unintelligble and walked away. About ten minutes later, the problem was corrected.
When exactly did this become an AMC?
The 309 Cinema 9, along with the long gone Orleans 8, Andorra 8, Barn 5, Springfield Twin, , City Line Twin, and Millside 4, as well as Midtown Twin (Prince Music Theatre), Olde City Twin (Ritz East Twin) and Anthony Wayne Twin (Clearview’s Anthony Wayne 5) became AMC Theatres when AMC bought Budco Theatres in 1988.
I think that acquisition was in 1986 and two years later United Artists Circuit bought Sameric Corp, the last remaining large Philadelphia based chain for mainstream exhibition.
I think you are right. I had my dates mixed up.
From the pictures I’ve seen of the current 309 Cinema 9, it look like the 1980 addition was to the left of the original Budco 309 Cinema Theatre building. The 1982/83 addition was to the right of the building, but I could be wrong about which side was added first.
The final addition that turned this theatre from a 4-plex to a 9-plex has the one back screen and two front screens built next to the left of the 1980 addition, and the other 2 front screens across from the 1982/83 addition.
It’s also unique that the 309 cinema still has the “Cinema” in cursive, just like it’s former sister theatres Plymouth Cinema and Ellisburg Circle Cinema.
Any chance they are going to put anything into it? They should also put a marquee up on the back wall facing 309 or put the one that fell on 309 back up!
Maintenance always has been an issue because of the various additions. The lobby was redone in 1992-1993 to move the concession stand back and to allow for more registers. Previously, the entire place was a mess on opening nights and big releases because people were spiraled around a small stand — intended for drive-in audiences — and there was no easy way to situate the lines for those entering the theater. Further, resupply and preparation was behind a door that later became the arcade area. This is to the immediate left when one enters the building through the front doors. We used to have a popper going upstairs to handle any surges. Before the refurbishment, the equipment was getting to beaten up that if you touched popcorn scoops to the back of the warmers you would get an electric shock if your scoop didn’t have a rubber handle. Sometime in the ‘00s, they eliminated the generators that once sat behind the building. These were guarded by a low wall, and we would find people toking up and getting intimate in the weeds there. Location is what keeps this place open. Time has passed it by, but for awhile the $3 twilight shows (4 p.m.-6 p.m.) and cheaper prices than the former Eric up the street helped to drive traffic here.
The first addition was on the left. Subsequent splitting of the two auditoria made it into a 4plex. The last addition, resulting in 9 screens, was done, prior to the purchase by AMC, by a group of hotshot movie mogul wannabees who hired a major theatre architect from Boston, rather than the local architect who designed all Budco’s facilities, who proceded to screw up the patron circulation.