Esquire Theater

I’ll lead off by saying it was a MAJOR crime to not show “Jedi” at Creve Coeur or Mark Twain! Anyway, the Esquire was definitely a mixed bag.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s, the main auditorium was notable for its 70mm and 6-track Dolby Stereo capabilities, best used for films like “Blade Runner” and “Aliens.” The original fourth auditorium was one of Mid-America’s usual utilitarian screens. Nothing special, just reasonably sized. Saw movies like “Predator” there. My memory was that it had a separate entrance, box office and concession. You entered on the east side, as opposed to the other three screen’s north entrance.

Best not to speak of the impossibly awful two upstairs screens. Don’t get me started! Mid-America was advertising that “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” was being shown at the Esquire on the “largest screen in the city.” When my mom and I got there for a matinee, it was instead showing in one of the tiny shoebox-sized upstairs screens. That memory still gets on my nerves!

The newer four screens are along Mid-America’s amazingly unremarkable blueprint: unappealing and nondescript. I saw movies in those four auditoriums, but definitely never wanted to. Bad in the way the Woods Mill was.

The Esquire’s updating of the main auditorium around 1989 did go well, however, and had good projection and sound.

I remember standing in line in what liked seemed forever with my parents to see Return of the Jedi here. Also remember skipping school to see Young Guns II here as well. Great memories for me.

I only saw one movie here…“Fantasia”, when it was re-released in 1990. I remember driving by it many, many times when parents and I would visit the Science and Natural History Museums, which were in a park in Clayton at that time. When I last visited that neighborhood, it was really dead…hardly any activity at all on a weekday summer night. That’s not how it used to be…

Theatre #4 opened in March 1977. This structure was demolished during the summer of 1989 with the present building with four screens opening that November.

Currently advertised as AMC Esquire 7.

I suspect that the “City” folks patronize the Esquire because it’s familiar. They along with their families have been going there for DECADES!

That’s a 5 screener, right? Aren’t they more indie/arthouse oriented?

If I’m not mistaken, the Esquire is the only multiplex in close proximity to the “City” – what the locals call the city limits of St. Louis – which, for all intents and purposes, is basically “the hood.” That explains the savory characters that the other guy complained about.

Calling them PIGS is a bit harsh, though.

The Esquire audiences are NIGHTMARES of epic proportion…they TALK, they take cell phone calls, they bring in fast food to eat, they bring babies to horror films…they are like animals who have been let out of their cages and the management is apparently terrified of confronting the illiterate street trash for fear of lawsuits and/or physical violence.

Wanna witness a social experiment? Go see “Precious” at the Esquire on FRI or SAT night-you will think you stepped into Lord of the Flies. It is a parade of the lowest common denominators within our society-PIGS.

Are there any interior pictures of this place from the 50’s – early 80’s floating around cyberspace? I’d love to see a picture of the main auditorium (w/the original curtain & floodlights) from those days.

1985 photo of the Esquire Theatre.
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This theatre hosted the premiere of the film Snipes, starring St. Louis native Nelly, on September 3rd, 2002. Footage of the premiere can be found on the film’s DVD.