Sunset Hills Cinema 4
10925 Sunset Plaza,
Sunset Hills,
MO
63122
10925 Sunset Plaza,
Sunset Hills,
MO
63122
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The Sunset Hills Cinema was opened by General Cinema as a two screen theatre seating 1,500. The larger auditorium had 1,000 seats and the small number two had 500. When the Sunset Hills first opened it was about that time that the suburban theatres started running day and date with the big movie palaces in downtown and on Grand Avenue. The Sunset Hills ran day and date with the Loew’s State Theatre and the Loew’s Mid City Theatre.
In 1964 they converted the two auditoriums into a four screens. This was the main GCC house in the St. Louis market until the Lindbergh 8 opened. When GCC closed its houses in St. Louis the Sunset Hills closed for about two years when the Mosley brothers cleaned it up and reopened it as a discount house. It remained that until it closed in 1997 and was demolished for the expansion for the Sunset Hills Shopping Center.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 17 comments)
Became a four-screen venue in October 1983.
Needy: I believe this theater was located in the open-air shopping center (Sunset Hills Plaza? Plaza at Sunset Hills? Can anyone help with the name) at South Lindbergh and Watson Road (Route 66). The theater was torn down a long time ago. Don’t know what’s there now.
As I recall, Sunset Hills and Northwest Plaza were the strongest performers for GCC.
Final night of operation was February 26, 1995. At the close it was a $1-house operated by Moseley.
Boxoffice ran an article about this theater in its issue of July 19, 1965. The text is fairly detailed in its description of the house, but the four photos are not very helpful. The Cinema I and II was said to be the first two-screener in the St. Louis area. The theater was designed for GCC by St. Louis architect Syl G. Schmidt.
OK, I’m looking at Google Maps and the layout of the Plaza and Shoppes at Sunset Hills. I’m guessing the theater was where the Longhorn Steak House is now. Keep in mind I said I was “guessing”, since the theater was an outlot. Can anyone confirm/correct on this?
Kyle, The Sunset Hills was where Pets Mart and Old Navy is now located.
Well, I was close :)
LOL Yep you sure was. That entire plaza has changed drastically. Where Korvettes was is now Home Depot. The Plaza 66 is gone.
I believe I read somewhere (sorry…forgot the source) that Wehrenberg wanted to keep and expand this theater, but the management company of the center would not allow them to purchase or lease extra space to do it…which is why Wehrenberg dropped this theater. Can anyone confirm this?
The former General Cinema Northeast 4 Theatre, in Philadelphia, PA, also had this particular design when it opened as Cinema I & II in 1965.