Carolina East Mall Cinemas
3500 S. Memorial Drive,
Greenville,
NC
27834
3500 S. Memorial Drive,
Greenville,
NC
27834
1 person
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Located at the Carolina East Center, next to the Carolina East Mall. The cinema opened in the early to mid-1970’s as a 4-screen theatre under the owned and operated ABC Southeastern Theatres, and later acquired in the late-1970’s by Plitt Southern Theatres.
In the early-1990’s, the cinema was acquired by Cineplex Odeon corporation until 1995.
Carmike Cinemas took over the operations(and the last theatre chain to run this cinema) of the Carolina East Mall Cinemas until its closing in 2005.
Contributed by
raymond
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
This theatre was never a twin. The Plitt Quad was the original name of this theatre, which opened in December 1980. I attended two movies at this theatre shortly after it opened in 1980: “Flash Gordon”(with music by Queen) and “Popeye”(starring Robin Williams). Plitt Southern Theatres built this 4-screen theatre to replace its former downtown venue, the Pitt (no “l” in the name) Theatre, which Plitt had acquired from ABC Southeastern. The Pitt, located next to what is now Cubbies restaurant, burned down in August 1979. Plitt Theatres owned no other theatres in Greenville besides the Pitt and the Plitt/Carolina East 4. Carmike renamed the theatre Carolina East 4 when they bought it in 1990, although the Plitt sign remained until the mid-1990s.
This theatre was actually located in the Carolina East Center next to Carolina East Mall, not in the mall itself. The Mall was demolished a couple of years ago, but the theatre still stands,including the Carmike Cinemas sign on the marquee.
The Carolina East Cinemas, originally the Plitt Quad Theatres, was the first four-screen multiplex in North Carolina located east of Cary.
please check out REMEMBERING PLITT THEATRES on facebook if you ever worked at ABC/PLITT or just enjoyed seeing flicks there.
I would, but I’m not yet on Facebook (maybe this could finally get me on there). The Plitt Quad in Greenville and its predecessor, the Pitt Theatre (ABC/Plitt) were well-run theaters that were better than Stewart & Everett’s theaters (Plaza Cinema & Park). Carmike took over the Plitt Quad in 1990 and it went downhill: on the first week of Carmike’s ownership, “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane” starring Andrew Dice Clay opened at the Plitt Quad (on Friday, July 13!). I saw that turkey and that’s when I found out Carmike was in charge-although the lack of a Cineplex Odeon logo in the newspaper ad should have been a tipoff. Carmike was apparently barred from using its logo in conjunction with the Plitt name, and the Plitt became the Carolina East 4 soon after.
Flash Gordon was the first movie I saw at the Plitt Quad, the day after the theater opened. Near the end of the movie was a scene showing the sky filled with flying “hawk-men” (I don’t remember exactly what they were called, as I haven’t seen this film since the theatrical release). My brothers and I walked out of the Plitt, looked up at the sky, and we saw the sky filled with hundreds of black birds swarming around, headed towards the theater. It was a rather spooky end to the show!
Carmike closed the Carolina East 4 in 2001. During the last few months of operation Carmike reduced admission prices (but still higher than the old second-run houses) and booked mostly films catering to an African-American audience (shades of the Roxy Theatre and Jim Crow days!).
Not only is the Carolina East Cinema vacant, but the entire shopping center is dead,except for a few outparcels (PNC bank, Gary’s Skin Grafix tattoo parlor, and a DMV office).
The information about this theatre will be revised. I have found the original advertisement for the grand opening of this theatre. It opened in December of 1980 and closed in April of 2001 under Carmike Cinemas.