Leo Mall Twin
Bustleton Avenue,
Philadelphia,
PA
19149
Bustleton Avenue,
Philadelphia,
PA
19149
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research i conducted that this closed at the very end of 1990….
The Prey played here in 1984 June to be exact…
I lived on Sewell Rd as a little kid (1953-1964) and we used to play and build underground forts and treeforts in the woods running from Stevens Rd. to Bustleton Ave. These woods were also our shortcut to Lumar Shopping center. We’d hit Lumar Drugs for Lime Rickeys from their fountain and then hit the A&P to smell the fresh ground 8 o'clock coffee. One horrible day, bulldozers were clearing the trees and grading the dirt that held our forts, destroying everything we built. I hated that theater’s very existence. Never set foot inside it. Went to the Orleans, Mayfair or Merben instead.
I was an Usher and then a Projectionist Trainee at the Leo when I was just a kid(15); I rode my bike all the way from Davisville Rd. in Warminster to rip tickets and watch free movies; back then we helped people to their seats and paged patrons during shows, long before cell phones… I worked originally for Posel and then AMC all through high school and two years of college. Great memories…
I like that twin with the mod seventies look,like ronnie said “wow,Cool”.
wow, cool.. 1988 wonder how much long it lasted after that?
1988 photo of the Leo Twin
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The AMC Premiere Twin was closed 5 years before AMC Neshaminy 24 even was built.
The 2 best examples of former Budco Theatres that are now AMC Theatres are:
William Goldman’s Orleans Theatre (AMC Orleans 8 Theatre)
Budco 309 Cinema Theatre (AMC 309 Cinema 9 Theatre)
Other theatres that were Budco/AMc and are still operating are:
Bryn Mawr Film Institude (Goldman’s/Budco/AMC Bryn Mawr Theatre)
Prince Music Theatre (William Goldman/Budco/AMC Midtown Theatre)
Your memory is correct, the Leo was a single theatre originally and was twinned in the manner you speak of. My memories of the Leo, Colonial and Premiere were that they were nice theatres, but not exceptional theatres. I do recall that for a while, before they became AMC theatres, many of the AMC theatres were owned by Budco. The Orleans theatre is such an example.
The Leo, Colonial, and Premiere were all single screen theaters originally and were all twinned by the time I moved to Philly in 1979. I am guessing they were all pretty nice theaters before being
twinned. The Leo wasn’t too bad as a twin, but I don’t recall movable
masking, etc. The Premiere was actually located inside the Neshaminy
Mall and closed to make way for the AMC Neshaminy 24. The Colonial
was also located inside a mall and I remember always having to sit
fairly close to the screens as they were relatively small. All these theaters, if my memory is correct, were twinned by dividing down the
center, creating relatively narrow auditoriums. Would love to hear
about how they were pre twinning.
The Leo Mall Theatre, as well as the Bucks Mall Colonial Theatre, and the Premiere Theatre, were owned by Ramon Posel, who sold these three theatres to Stanley Durwood’s American Multi Cinema Inc. in early 1980.
At one point, after the AMC Leo Mall Twin closed, there was a mini Channel Home Repair store in the Leo Theatre building, which was across from the former Pantry Pride supermarket and JM Fields/The Dry Goods/Big K Mart department store.
The Leo Mall, the Leo Theatres, and the Krewstown Shopping Center (also in N.E. Philly) were owned by Posel Management. The late Mr. Ramon Posel also created the Ritz Theatre chain.