Conway Theater

I worked at the Conway Theatre from 1969 until 1974, when it closed. The UA Cinema 1 & 2 in Faulkner Plaza opened in February of 1973. At that time, there were three theatres in Conway – The new UA Cinema 1 & 2, the Conway Theatre and the 65 Drive-In. The Conway Theatre closed first. The drive-in closed some years after the Conway Theatre, sometime during the 1980s, and is long gone. The Conway Corporation purchased the property and now uses it for its purposes. The Cinema 1 & 2 was converted to a six-screen theatre later on. Now there are two six-screen theatres in Conway. But I miss the old Conway. It was truly a showplace. As an old opera house, it featured a stage. Behind the screen there were still backdrops hanging in place, a very large electrical control board, trap doors and a large room on one side that allowed acrobats to swing out over or onto the stage. It was really beautiful, and it was a crying shame the owners let it go to ruin, to the point when it had to be razed and erased from the downtown area. For those of us old enough to remember, it recalls some wonderful times spent watching movies there.

There was also the 500+ seat Grand Theatre on Oak St. but not enough info to submit to CT. anyone have any info on the Grand?

I’m not old enough to remember the Grand Theatre, but my Mother used to talk about it. She said they referred to it as “The Rat Races.” It was located where the Monday-Powell Shoe Store was in downtown Conway, in the same block as the Western Auto Store, and across the street from Van-Atkins, which later became Frank Rivers Men’s Store.

Great story Richard.