Ford City 14 Theaters
7601 S. Cicero Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
7601 S. Cicero Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
5 people
favorited this theater
The Ford City was originally operated by General Cinema. It was originally two different theaters, the six-screen Ford City and a triplex (Ford City East) located in the Ford City Mall in the southwest side of Chicago. It was equipped with 70mm projection. In 1990, the theater became known as Ford City 14Theaters. It was one of the largest megaplex theaters of its day. In 2002, AMC took over the Ford City 14.
Contributed by
James Piscitelli
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Recent comments (view all 31 comments)
I just remembered, Vince moved the DM office out to Yorktown Cinema during his tenure.
I worked at Ford City for a few months in the late ‘80’s, under Tom…I forget his last name…Greenan?. Anyway, by then, the District Office was at Woodgrove Festival Cinema, in Woodridge, and was occupied by Charles Wesley.
Anyway, working at Ford City was great. It was always busy, and I enjoyed it. If I ever win the lottery, I will work at a theater somewhere, selling popcorn…what a great time.
I grew up on the south side and took the #79 bus to Ford City Theatre. I have many fond memories of the original theater. ANd I do remember the tornado incident as well as a smoke bomb incident in the theater. When my mom was pregnant with my brother in 1974, I remember the movie Earthquake! was shown in theater #3 with the new “Sensurround” surround sound. I heard that the fire marshal ordered the sound turned down because of the vibration causing structural damage.
There was only one woman who went into labor during the showing of Earthquake at Ford City Cinema while I was there. I hope it was not your mom!
I stumbled onto an interesting web site:
http://generalcinematheatres.com/
When it first loads, it even plays the old GCC music that started every feature presentation. The links on the left still work. Under Corporate Info there are a lot of pictures, including Dick Smith, President, and Howard Spiess who spent a lot of time at Ford City Cinema.
The locations link has locations as they existed in 1999 and in 1983 complete with addreses. Be sure to click the Shoppers World link to see the story and links to lots of pictures of the original GCC in Framingham Mass.
Gccguy – No.. It was not my mom.
Does anyone know what sits on the site of the old Ford City Cinemas?
Yes, as of last summer, the space once occupied by the old theaters contained some stores which are part of the Ford City Mall: Marshall’s, Famous Footwear and Old Navy. This is at approximately 74th St., just east of Cicero Ave.
Thanks for the info Bob. And say, what sits on the site of Ford City East?
Sorry I took so long to respond! The Ford City East shopping center (still called that, I think), which included the theaters, now has a Gertie’s Ice Cream/Lindy’s Chili restaurant and some other small businesses. It’s partially empty and looks kind of desolate (except for Gertie’s). It’s not in a very good location for businesses.
Here’s a realtor’s link with info on the property:
View link