Center Theatre 4

A lot of great movies played here at the CENTER…. Not only did the “The Sound of Music” played here during its exclusive engagement,but films like “PATTON”,“THE FRENCH CONNECTION”,“DIRTY HARRY”,“THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK”,“THE RETURN OF THE JEDI”,“GANDHI”,“REDS”,and the re-releases of “BEN-HUR”,“MY FAIR LADY”,“LAWRENCE OF ARABIA”,and “DOCTOR ZHIVAGO” brought in record crowds.I got to see “THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE”,and “THE TOWERING INFERNO” where it played at the CENTER. A lot of blaxploitation flicks played here as well…from “COFFY”,to “SLAUGHTER”,and even “SUPER FLY” and to the others like “NEW JACK CITY”,and “BOYZ IN THE HOOD” brought in massive crowds. Its best films played during the 1970’s in its largest auditorium until the 1983,when the theatre was split down the middle giving it a really bad impression to a once great cinema showplace.

Somehow we never played “LAWRENCE OF ARBIA” or “BEN_HUR” during my time in the business in the 70’s.We did get “RYAN’S DAUGHTER” “GWTW” “DR.ZHIVAGO” and my favorite of all time,“2001”.They all ran over three hours are darn close to it.We got the same four dang classics every year from MGM.

While “My Fair Lady” played in 1971 as a re-released,the CENTER also re-released other classic films as exclusive enagements presented in 70MM. Among them “Lawrence of Arabia”,“Gone With The Wind”,“Ben-Hur”,
“Ryan’s Daughter”,and “Giant” to name a few.

thanks raysson.

PATTON when it played at the CENTER II was presented as a roadshow enagement as was presented in 70MM-Six Track Stereophonic Sound during its release. However,it was re-released too. The CENTER also re-released other roadshow enagements like “My Fair Lady”,and “2001: A Space Odyssey”(presented in 70MM as a Durham-Chapel Hill Area Exclusive),“The Sound of Music”,“Doctor Zhivago”,and “Hello Dolly”.

It also presented other films that the CENTER show when it played as roadshow enagements as well. The World War II film “TORA! TORA! TORA!” was given the full roadshow treatment where it played for three weeks,both as an original and as a re-released. In the 1971 advertisement of the Durham Morning Herald,it was presented as a North Carolina exclusive in 70MM and Full 6-Track Stereophonic Sound with the advertisement stating..“70-MM Makes You Believe You Are There!” The roadshow treatment was given with reserved seating and three shows daily with special admission prices.

Also to point out as well….When DIRTY HARRY played at the CENTER II
during its original release on December 24, 1971, it was given also the roadshow enagement treatment and also as a exclusive enagement.

Also ended up as roadshow enagements at the Lakewood CENTER included
“Grand Prix”,“Far From The Madding Crowd”,and “Ice Station Zebra”,when it was a single screen theatre during the mid-1960’s.

HISTORY:
The Lakewood Center Theatre opened on November 24,1966 as a single screen theatre with a seating capacity of 800. It remained a single screen theatre until 1970.
When it was a single screen theatre,the CENTER was the first to present exclusive roadshow enagements that included “My Fair Lady”,“The Sound of Music”,“Doctor Zhivago”,and “Battle of the Bulge”. Later would have other exclusive showings for “Camelot”,“Oliver!”,and
“Funny Girl”.

A second auditorium was constructed during the mid-1960’s and in 1970 the CENTER II opened with a seating capacity of 625 for the 12-25-1970 opening of “Patton"
starring George C. Scott and it was a Triangle roadshow enagement.

The Lakewood CENTER THEATRE also had re-released films that were shown as well during their exclusive enagements. Films re-released that played here were
“Gone With The Wind”,“The Ten Commandments”,“Gigi”,
“West Side Story”,“Ben-Hur”,and “Lawrence of Arabia”.

Advertisement from the November 23, 1966 edition of the Durham Herald-Sun:

THE DOORS WILL OPEN TO THE BEAUTIFUL NEW LAKEWOOD CENTER THEATRE…MOVIEGOING WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!!!

The Center Theatre Will Bring Durham And The Triangle Area A Wonderful New World of Luxury And Comfort In Motion Picture Theatres.
-Luxurious Rocking Chairs
-Stereophonic Surround Sound
-Mammoth Cured(Ultravision) Distortion Free Screen
-A Sea of Front Door Parking!!!
-Startling Luxurious Surroundings

With a seating capacity of over 800 and convenient front door parking,the new Center Theatre will make movie going more convenient than ever. From the ultra-plush carpeting,the accoustically draped walls,roomy airflo rocking chairs,you will experience innovations that project you into a new world of moviegoing.

For the eye,the mammoth curved screen reproduces the sharpest distortion-free screen image yet known….

For the ear…full range stereophonic sound envelopes you in a feeling of participation. The latest in electronic air-conditioning insures consistent maximum comfort. From architecture to entertainment,the Center Theatre is an incomparable showplace.

The Grant’s Department Store at Lakewood Shopping Center closed in the mid-1970’s. It was one of two Grant’s stores in the Durham area(the other was over at Wellons Village also closed in the mid-1970’s) It was transformed into Carolina Office Supply,which took over the W.T. Grant Building until it closed in early 1991.

A Food Lion Grocer sits where the former Grant’s Department Store used to be. Also Carolina Office Supply at Lakewood Shopping Center.
The Woolworth’s at Lakewood closed its doors forever in early 1997.
A Thrift Store has been located in the former Woolworth’s Dept.Store.

The Kroger Grocer(which was next door to the Center Theatre)closed its doors in 1986,when it moved to a 47,000 square foot new supermarket that was over on Shannon Road next to South Square Mall.
It was briefly had another grocer there(Byrd’s Food Center)which didn’t last long due to the vacancy of a once great shopping plaza.
A Community Center sits where it was once occupied by Kroger.

The Center Theatre closed in 2001 by Carmike Cinemas. It was converted into a surplus store run by Duke University. That closed in early 2006. The theatre sits stand and now it has been turned into a community center and a church.

FYI: MISCORRECTION: Movies like “The Empire Strikes Back”,and “Return of the Jedi” were NEVER shown in 70MM when it played at the Center. However,the largest auditorium,which had the a capacity seating of over 800,did have a huge widescreen(that was ideal for showing 70MM films).
“The Empire Strikes Back”,and “The Return of the Jedi”,were shown on a super widescreen,but were shown in 35MM.

ALSO PLAYED AT THE CENTER THEATRE:
“Planet of the Apes"
"Beneath the Planet of the Apes"
"Conquest for the Planet of the Apes"
"Patton"
"Cabaret"
"Tarzan and the Jungle Boy"
"What’s Up Doc?"
"Shaft’s Big Score!"
"Shaft in Africa"
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
"Alien"
"Aliens"
"Twilight Zone the Movie"
"Camelot”-Shown in 70MM and was re-released
“My Fair Lady"
"Boss Nigger"
"Altered States"
"The Blues Brothers”

The Center became a single screen theatre from 1966 until 1970 when it added a second auditorium(also known as The Center 1 & 2)and it remained that way until the early 1980’s,when it split the original auditorium into making room for a third auditorium in 1983. A fourth auditorium was added in 1986,when the second auditorium also was split in two. It remained that way until the late 1990’s,when the Center showed discount movies until its closing in 2001.