Northgate Twin Theatres
1058 West Club Boulevard,
Durham,
NC
27701
1058 West Club Boulevard,
Durham,
NC
27701
1 person
favorited this theater
The Northgate Shopping Center was built in 1960 in W. Kenan Rand Jr., and it became Durham’s largest and most popular shopping center that was anchored by a Big Star/Colonial Grocery Store, along with a Kerr Drugs, a Roses Department Store, a Thalhimers' Department Store and speciality shops.
In 1962, the Northgate Theatre opened with a special preview of the theatre that was for invited guests and government officials along with a special screening that was for those attending. The offical opening of the Northgate Theatre took place on Christmas Day and was open to the public with the featured screening of Walt Disney’s live action feature “Jumbo”. The theatre operated as a 700-seat single screen theatre that played first-run features and family films. It had a super widescreen and was owned and operated by Charlotte based Consolidated Theatres.
The theatre remained a single screen theatre until June 17, 1975 when the original auditorium was spit down the middle making it a twin cinema, and it was renamed Northgate Twin Theatres. Ownership changed hands when the Fuqua Theatres Group acquired the Northgate’s operations. The opening features that premiered on June 17, 1975 when it became a twin were “Pippi Longstocking” and “The Other Side of the Mountain”.
Martin Theatres took over in 1976, and then later Carmike Cinemas acquired the theatre in 1982.
The Northgate Twin was showing some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters until its closing in 1985 when it was closed due to the renovation of the Northgate Mall. The theatre that took its place was the Willowdaile Cinemas which opened the following year just six miles up on Guess Road in Northern Durham.
Contributed by
raymond
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Recent comments (view all 28 comments)
Radio Shack is actually still there. I miss Mayberry’s. We used to frequent them when they were at North Duke Mall which is another piece of history by itself. I remember the strip mall outside w/ Roses & the other stores as well as the part across where the bank is now.
From the December 24, 1962 article of the Durham Morning Herald:
A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR ALL OF DURHAM
THE SOUTH’S MOST NEWEST AND MODERN THEATRE
NORTHGATE THEATRE IN DURHAM’S NORTHGATE SHOPPING CENTER
THE BEAUTIFUL NEE NORTHGATE THEATRE OPENS AT 2 P.M. CHRISTMAS DAY.
LOCATED IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF NORTHGATE SHOPPING CENTER,NEXT TO BALENTINE’S BUFFET AND REBEL ROOM.
3 FULL ACRES OF FREE PARKING!
FEATURING FIRST-RUN MOVIES, COLOR CARTOONS, NEWS REELS
-Luxurious Foam Cushioned Seats for utmost comfort
-Extra Wide 42" Spacing Between Rows of Seats
-Most Up-To-Date Sound And Projection Equipment
-Sensational Aqua Waterfall Contour Curtain
-Perforated Corrugated Aluminum Sidewalls for Beauty and perfect Acoustical Reproduction
-Revolutionary new box office in lobby-first in the Carolinas.
TO THE LEFT:
Spacious Lobby and Lounge Area Features Modern Concession Stand,
The Latest Built-In Vending Center and Indoor Box Office.
TO THE RIGHT:
800-seat auditorium equipped with Wide-Spaced Foam Cushioned Seats,
Extra Widescreen, Full Waterfall Curtain.
OUR GRAND OPENING ATTRACTION:
“JUMBO”
WITH FREE 1,000 GIANT JUMBO CIRCUS BALLOONS WHILE THEY LAST!!!
1985…the summer of some great movies playing on 2 screens at the Northgate Twin Theatres at Northgate Mall in Durham.
Screen 1: “BACK TO THE FUTURE"
Screen 2: "RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II”
WHO REMEMBERS….. seeing in long lines and capacity crowds…..
“Superman:The Movie”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “Star Trek II”,
“Saturday Night Fever”, “E.T.”, and all of the Disney releases playing at this theatre?
All great Stories,thanks for taking the time to write them!
For the record: The Northgate Theatre was the outlet for all of the Disney films that were showed as first-run features and later on Disney would re-released them as a double bill,which the Northgate showed too. Even when the cinema was twinned in 1975,it continue to show new and re-released Disney films.
It also became the outlet for MGM too. The Northgate showed a lot of the Elvis Presley films too that were released as a first-run in general release from 1962 until 1969 for MGM. However,MGM re-released these Elvis Presley films as a double bill too. Not only did it show the Elvis films,but a lot of MGM films were showed as first-run features and were re-released at the Northgate too,among them were “How The West Was Won”,“The Dirty Dozen”,and “Doctor Zhivago” to name a few.
There was a fire on November 2, 2010 at a Northgate Cinema 10 at the West Club Boulevard Mall, resulting in a temporary closing: View link Does anyone know if this Northgate Cinema 10 is an expansion/renovation of the Northgate Twin or is it a new theater that should have its own listing?
In our city certain Theatre chains got certain movies,ABC/Plitt got alot of Warner Bros. Georgia Theatres took all the United Artist product and Weis got Paramount.Sure it was the same way here in Durham.Time i got over to GCC in 1982 it seemed the product was split with everyone.
CWalczak:
The Northgate Cinema 10 is not a expansion/renovation of the former Northgate Twin Theatres. The listing is on the cinema treasures site under “Phoenix Cinema 10” which will be updated. Due to my extensive knowledge of Durham movie theatres,the original Northgate Theatre was on the opposite end of the shopping center,next door to Sears facing Guess Road and Club Boulevard. The Northgate Cinema 10,which opened in 2005 is located on the opposite section of the mall. The cinema opened in what was the former Belk Leggett Department Store,former Hecht’s Department Store and former Thalhimers. The Northgate Cinema 10 is owned and operated by East Coast Entertainment Corporation and I heard that Regal Cinemas is set to take over operations which will be the first-ever Regal movie plex in Durham.
Mike Rogers:
Speaking of certain movies or theatre chains that got them,in Durham the only ABC/Plitt movie chain(the Lakewood Center)was the outlet for Warner Bors.,Columbia, and Twentieth Century-Fox.
The Carolina Theatre(Downtown Durham)was the outlet for not only United Artists films,but was also the outlet for Universal too. A lot of the James Bond 007 films(1962-1974)played here.
The Yorktowne Theatre(Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.)was the outlet for a lot of films released through Paramount Pictures and sometimes catered to independent films.
The Northgate Theatre(Club Boulevard)was the outlet for Disney and MGM.
The Riverview Cinema(Roxboro Road)catered to blaxploitation, adult, and kung-fu flicks. All theatres mentioned are on this cinema treasures site.
thanks raysson. I didn’t include COLUMBIA Pictures,But we played alot of Columbia Pictures at Columbia Square 1 and 2.I hate we never played UA because I WAS such a big 007 fan.We would pick them up sometimes third run after the Georgia Theatres Drive-ins in town would finish.By then the prints were not the best for a first run Twin in the seventies.