Paramount 5 Theatre

1610 W. 1st Street,
Ankeny, IA 50023

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Fridley Theatres

Previous Names: Frontier Theatre, Paramount Theatre

Nearby Theaters

The Frontier Theatre originally opened as a single-screen theatre. It was converted into a 4-screen theatre and reopened August 17, 1990 as the Paramount Theatre. Later Fridley Theatres converted it to five screens.

The theatre closed in 2000 when Fridley opened the new Springwood 9. The former Paramount Theatre has since been demolished.

Contributed by Chuck

Recent comments (view all 4 comments)

insaneacylum
insaneacylum on November 27, 2010 at 8:18 am

The Paramount was opened around 1991, when it expanded the single screen to 5 screens in the space originally housing a Food 4 Less grocery store. The original 1 screen was called the Frontier Theater for the the shopping center by the same name that the theater was located in. Not sure when it opened, but it was definitely open in the 70’s. The original 1 screen sat around 200, but had a large open area between the front row and the stage/screen. During popular movies (Star Wars, Karate Kid, Raider’s of the Lost Ark…) this area was normally filled with 50-100 kids sitting on the floor. The Frontier was independently owned, I beleive. The lobby area was very small, with a small counter used for both concessions and ticket sales, along with two ‘1 at a time’ restrooms. As Ankeny expanded, the theater was vastly inadequate, particularly with the many movie theater options down the road in Des Moines. The expansion from 1 to 5 screens in the early 90’s was too little and too late given the boom of population and retail options in the area, giving rise to a new theater being built a few years later.

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on November 27, 2010 at 1:33 pm

Thanks for an imformative story,theatreman926.

rivest266
rivest266 on November 29, 2015 at 2:38 pm

August 17th, 1990 grand opening ad in photo section. Opened with four screens.

Logan5
Logan5 on June 13, 2022 at 10:00 pm

“The Rocketeer” was presented at the Paramount in Ankeny, IA beginning on the film’s nationwide release date, Friday June 21, 1991.

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