Loews Park Central
12802 Park Central Drive,
Dallas,
TX
75251
12802 Park Central Drive,
Dallas,
TX
75251
5 people
favorited this theater
Loews first foray into the Dallas-Fort Worth metoplex, Park Central opened in 1977. It was a free-standing quad theatre in the midst of the Park Central development. Although the development featured hotels and restaurants, it mostly grew into an office park.
The theatre lobby was done in dark red and earth tones typical of Loews Theatres at that time. A Patrick Carey mural of old movie stars hung above one wall of the lobby. In the center of the lobby beneath a fake skylight was a circular concession stand.
The theatre had two large auditoriums seating around 600 and two smaller auditoriums seating around 250. The large auditoriums were 70mm capable. Auditorium one was equipped with Sound 360. Auditorium two was capable of an 8-track Dolby presentation with 70mm engagements. The smaller auditoriums were monaural. The seats were the Griggs push-back seats typical of that time.
The back of each auditorium was the smoking section, and ashtrays were built into the backs of the seats.
When Dolby Stereo became the dominant sound format, the Sound 360 system in auditorium one was modified to play Dolby Stereo.
The smoking section and ashtrays did not last long.
Initially successful and much more elegant looking than the Northpark and Prestonwood area theatres, Park Central’s business slowly declined in part due to its poor location in an office park. Loews maintained the theatre well, but during the 1980’s, they did not upgrade it with THX, computerized ticketing, cupholder armrests, Ultra Stereo, or any other amenities added to the Northpark and Prestonwood area theatres.
In the early-1990’s, the health department condemned the original concession stand, and Loews replaced it with a large white stand running the length of one wall in the theatre. They changed the lobby wall coverings to blue and gray, and they added computerized ticketing to the theatre along with an automated ticketing machine. After steadily declining through the 1980s, attendance briefly improved following the partial remodeling but began to decline again after about a year. During the time the company was known as Sony Theatres, this theatre retained the Loews name.
When Loews opened their nearby Keystone Park megaplex in 1996, they were contractually obligated to close Park Central even though it was still turning a six-figure annual profit. The theatre sat empty for five years as a tenant was sought. In December of 2001, the roof over auditoriums three and four collapsed. By the end of the month, the rest of the theatre had been knocked down before it fell down.
Contributed by
Stephen M. Evans III
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Recent comments (view all 21 comments)
You had Drive-in pictures Didn’t you?
She has them has not had time to post them with school and all,she will when she has time.
Okay,I heard from Miss.Robin.
I remember this theatre fondly from the time it opened in December ‘77 with Saturday Night Fever in Dolby Stereo, but I believe screen 1 was the only house to have 70MM (saw Days Of Heaven,Hurricane,Meteor,Poltergeist,Star Trek III:The Search For Spock all in 70). When it opened with Saturday Night Fever in screen 1, rather than having surround speakers along the side walls, the surrounds were in the back. When you sat towards the back, you heard a lot more surround than front; seated toward the front, you heard more front than surround. They eventually put surround speakers along the side walls! After it was torn down, you could see where the actual theatre was because they covered it with asphalt!
METEOR had 70MM prints?
Hey,Cobalt.It is possible.I know a projectionist that swears he ran that horrible Burt Reynolds movie"STROKER ACE" in 70mm at National Hills Theatre in Augusta! “Meteor” was probably a bit better,not much,but a bit.Wasn’t Sean Connery and Hank Fonda in it?
I attended this theater in the 1970s and 1980s, and I could have sworn that the smoking section was to the left of the left aisle in each theater. I definitely remember the clouds of smoke rising from that side of the theater during a show. I believe that the fire marshal eventually forbid cigarette smoking in Dallas theaters.
The giant movie star mural on the wall was very cool. This was one of the first theaters that I went to with a really huge lobby, so that you could stay cool or dry while waiting for your film to start.
Thanks for posting these photos.I was offered the chance to open this theatre.But turned them down to stay in Nashville.Never knew what it looked like till now.Maybe I should have moved there!I would have been the first Manager there.
“Loews first foray into the Dallas-Fort Worth metoplex…” – sorry, not so; Loew’s opened the Downtown theatre at 1100 Elm in 1969; Loew’s took over the ownership of the Hope Theatre, built in 1921, the following year and renamed it the Melba. The company had had a long, if spotty, association with the Dallas area by the time this theatre was built.
Well likely their first ground up build of the multiplex era…?