Sacramento Inn Cinema
1600 Cormorant Way,
Sacramento,
CA
95815
1600 Cormorant Way,
Sacramento,
CA
95815
1 person
favorited this theater
The Sacramento Inn Cinemas opened in 1973. General Cinema Corp. (GCC) operated it for 20 years until their lease ran out in 1993.
Landmark Theatres purchased the property and began showing art house films until they re-sold the property in 1999.
The theater was demolished in 2003.
Contributed by
Mike Croaro
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Recent comments (view all 18 comments)
I do recall the Studio did show porn in the 1970’s before closing.
The Studio closed I sometime in 1975 or 1976 and became a restaurant.
As of September 2005, only the parking lot lights and the marquee holder remain on the site.
Here is a 4/8/1999 article about the closing of this theater.
“Sacramento, Calif., Specialty Movie Theater to Close.
Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Author: Williams, Norman D.
Landmark Theater Corp. has sold the venerable Sacramento Inn Cinemas and plans to drop the curtain there for the final time on June 3.
The sale of the property, which closed on March 5, puts an end to Landmark’s presence in Sacramento — at least temporarily. Last year, it declined to renew its 9-year-old lease commitment at Tower Theatre.
The sale may also mark the end of the site’s 42-year existence as a movie theater. Officials at Landmark were tight-lipped about the sale on Wednesday, but a 10-K filing by Landmark’s parent company, Silver Cinemas International Inc. of Addison, Texas, said the building’s new owner “plans to redevelop” the site.
Public records show that ownership was transferred to Catapult Partners Llc. of Menlo Park. The sale was valued at about $1.6 million, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month.
Catapult officials declined to discuss the deal.
The closure of the three-screen cinema complex near the Sacramento Inn off Arden Way will leave the area with only one remaining art house venue. Fans of offbeat, foreign language and independent films featured at the Sacramento Inn were saddened.
“I’m going to miss it,” said Dolores Boyles as she stood in the rain to buy tickets to “Shakespeare in Love.” “We’ve been coming here 20 years because they show the kinds of movies that aren’t shown anywhere else.”
The news caught Mike Lazar, president of Capital Public Radio, by surprise. The company, which operates the National Public Radio affiliate stations in Sacramento, runs a Movie Club program in which its members can attend free screenings at the Sacramento Inn.
“It’s one of our most popular programs,” he said, adding that he will attempt to make a similar arrangement with another theater. “I know there are other people interested in talking with us.”
The theater employed about 20 people here, according to Eva Sarry, who handles publicity and promotions locally for Landmark. “We don’t know much; we don’t even know if we have jobs anymore,” she said Monday.
Landmark is the largest exhibitor of specialty motion pictures in the country. A spokesman in Los Angeles said that the company is now scouting for a new Sacramento venue.
“There were basically a confluence of factors that made this time propitious for the sale,” said Cary Jones, vice president of marketing. “We got a good price for the complex, … and also the theater needed some renovations and repairs in order for it to be competitive in the market.
“And so, given the various costs and the deal that we made, the timing was right,” Jones said.
Landmark first bought the theater in 1993 from the Cormorant Association for $1.3 million, according to Dataquick, a service that catalogs public records. That was after General Cinema’s 20-year lease on the property expired. The theater had a loyal following, employees said, but industry experts contend business in the specialty film industry has been tough in recent years.
While the number of new films released by independent producers and distributors has been rising for the past few years, the generally older theaters that screen those releases are increasingly needing repairs and upgrades.
Silver Screen, one of the largest second-run film exhibitors in the country, lost $1.2 million in 1997 on revenues of $19 million. Rather than investing in improvements for its properties, the company has been selling some of them in a “new-build expansion program.”
Officials there could not be reached for comment.
While it is still unclear what’s in store for the Sacramento Inn Cinema’s 1600 Cormorant Way site, local real estate experts doubt it will be a movie theater because of the awkward access to the building.
Possible uses that have been discussed include a retail store, hotel or even a church".
I miss the Sacramento Inn. I used to perform in a cast at the ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW which ran there for many years. I remember seeing “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” there as a kid. The last film I saw there was the “Mystery Science Theatre 3000” movie. I drive past where it was everyday and get bummed out. Along with other suburb theatres like the Birdcage Walk, the Sac Inn is just a part of my past I can’t go visit anymore.
Unfortunately (in the 70s), the most painful theater seats in Sacto. Even as a kid, had a hard time sitting for a double feature. Quit going there once I got a driver’s license.
I never found this theatre uncomfortable. Perhaps the seats were improved after the 1970s. Saw my first indoor movie at age 5 there: MARY POPPINS. In the 1990s I was there all the time to see Indy and foreign films. Loved this place and it had a nice mid-century modern feel to it. It seemed a lot more 1958 than 1968 to me. One of the two screens was split and although it wasn’t so bad, it was always nicer to be in the big screen auditorium.
i used to live in Sacramento back in the mid 90s . i actually never been to this Theater but i remember seeing it all the time off the Freeway when ever i would go to Arden Mall . havn’t been to Sacramento in years i had forgotten about this theater and from what i see it’s torn down .
I also remember going to see Rocky Horror there. The other screens would be showing Heavy Metal, Fire and Ice and Pink Floyd the Wall. Also remember seeing Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and The Pirate Movie there. Great memories of that theater.
I saw Problem Child here when I was, maybe, 7 years old. Even at that age I knew what an annoying piece of garbage that movie was.