Mark Twain Theatre
4532 South Lindbergh Boulevard,
Sunset Hills,
MO
63127
4532 South Lindbergh Boulevard,
Sunset Hills,
MO
63127
2 people
favorited this theater
The Mark Twain Theatre was the premier of Fox Midwest Theatres into the St. Louis market when it opened in August 1968. The theatre was a beautiful large single screen theatre seating 986. The theatre was striking when passing it on Lindbergh Boulevard. It sat back from the street with landscaping and trees lining the front of the theatre. It had two large porticos that came to a point on each side of the theatre and formed a walkway from either side of the parking lot. The front center was all tinted class and the building was covered in white limestone.
A large spacious lobby greeted the patrons with a central concession stand. There were three aisles into the auditorium and the walls were lined with a gold drapery. The screen was curved and the theatre was equipped with 70mm. The screen was covered with Austrian-made curtains that raised and lowered before and after each show.
Located just down Lindbergh from the GCC Sunset Hills Cinema I & II it had no problems because of its size and the huge screen and excellant sound. The Mark Twain Theatre played “Star Wars” from August 5, 1977, and it played for almost five months. In the late-1970s, the Mark Twain Theatre was twinned.
The Mark Twain Theatre was closed in 1985 and a short time later was turned into a banquet hall that remains open today.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 36 comments)
So many of the widescreen show boats of the 1970’s played here. The Mark Twain often featured large lobby card type pictures. “The Towering Inferno” was a big hit with fire laden pictures in the lobby. “Superman the Movie” was a typical attraction. As mentioned, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was a delight here. But it was difficult to sustain the crowds year round as shows like “Making Love” did not prove to be sell-outs. I remember the arrival of the misbegotten “1941” at the Mark Twain in 1979. All the concession people were wearing 1941 t-shirts and everyone was ready for a blockbuster…but it was just a bust.
Since I saw “1941” in December of 1979 at the Mark Twain and it was not twinned, it had to have happened later. As I recall, it was still a single as late as 1982.
Have not been on the site for awhile. I remember eating that prepopped and trucked in from Denver popcorn over the years I worked there. Ben was free spirit and he really did not affect me too much because I had to grow up and move on with life after we worked together there. He treated me well though.
I always thought this was the most beautiful modern theater in town and never could figure out the lack of blockbuster business. During the week we were really dead. The new multiscreen lack a certain class of the old single screen houses, though in this day and age it seems about right.I really hope people in the theater management end make decent money now!!!
My husband has fond memories of this theater & seeing Star Wars here, as well as (I think) Jaws. He says he remembers being lined up around the building outside in the heat waiting to get in.
We even contemplated having our wedding reception here when we got married, since it’s now a banquet hall. :)
This was my favorite movie theatre, along with the Creve Coeur Cinema. It bummed me out when it closed. Two Hearts opened in 1990 according to their website. I remember seeing SUPERMAN, ANIMAL HOUSE, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, SILENT RUNNING, DUNE, 1941, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, THE DEEP and GHOSTBUSTERS to name a few. It must have closed sometime in 1985-86 when I was away at college. I vaguely remember Wehrenberg thinking of partitioning the auditorium in to two or three houses (like they did to the Creve Coeur), but wound up closing it instead. I will have to do some research. Cool site overall. Love the old movie houses.
This theatre was a sister to a theatre in Mission Valley in San Diego. The late 70’s were a hard time for the industry, especially large single screen theatres. Seeing an empty auditorium of that size for 1941 was especially sad. The Jerk had it’s world premiere here. Working this theatre during Animal House, Close Encounters and Raiders was exciting!
Described in this 1969 trade article: Boxoffice
My second all-time favorite cinema after Creve Coeur Cine! Magnificent 70mm projection and 6-track Dolby Stereo sound! Best memory was a re-release of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” my all-time favorite film! I personally remember the projection as being even better than at Creve Coeur. Other great memories were of “Superman,” “The Shining,” “Ghostbusters” and “Reds.”
It is cool that the building still stands, even though it’s now a banquet center! :–)
Now that we have photographs of both of them, I can see the remarkable similarity between the Mark Twain Theatre and the slightly earlier Valley Circle Theatre in San Diego, California, also designed by Harold W. Levitt.
I don’t know how many theaters Levitt designed for National General during the company’s rapid expansion of the 1960s, but the three houses in California that I know he designed for them (the Valley Circle, the National Theatre in the Westwood district of Los Angeles, and the South Coast Plaza Theatre in Costa Mesa) have all been demolished. I hope Missouri will decide to shame California by preserving the Mark Twain Theatre, thus demonstrating a greater appreciation for the theater designs of this talented Midcentury architect than his home state has shown.
I was a projectionist in the St. Louis local IATSE, starting in the early 1980’s. While on the extra board, I had the pleasure of working at the Mark Twain, until the union went on strike against the owner, Wehrenberg. I have to say that at the time, the Mark Twain was by far the best equipped, best maintained theatre in St. Louis. The Norelco DP-75 35/70MM projectors provided bright, crisp images. The plush seating, crushed velvet curtain, clean sound system, and large screen, provided top notch movie viewing experiences.
Hey Ben, or anyone else from the 72-76 era it’s Mike Mowery, shoot me an e , I will always remember what a beautiful place to work and watch a movie that it was.