Town & Country Cinema

3955 E. Broad Street,
Columbus, OH 43213

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: General Cinema Corp.

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Town & Country Cinema

Built as a single screen cinema the Town & Country Cinema was opened on September 21, 1966 with Paul Newman in “Torn Curtain”. It was twinned on May 20, 1977 with screening of Muhammad Ali in “The Greatest” & James Coburn in “Cross of Iron”. It was closed by General Cinema on September 25, 1986.

Contributed by dave-bronx

Recent comments (view all 18 comments)

Ron Newman
Ron Newman on August 7, 2005 at 4:31 pm

This cinema was at the intersection of East Broad Street and Robinwood Avenue, on the south side of Broad Street.

A few blocks further east, also on the south side of Broad, was the Cinema East. Its address was 4177 East Broad Street in Whitehall. It was a large first-run single-screen theatre, probably built in the early to mid 1960s.

Ron Newman
Ron Newman on August 18, 2005 at 12:33 am

I looked this theatre up in the Columbus Dispatch (Dispatch.com) online archive. Although I could only read the first few sentences of each article without paying, I did learn the following facts:

The theatre closed as a General Cinema on Thursday, September 25, 1986. Acccording to a Dispatch article published the previous day, “General Cinema Corp., which has run the East Side twin-screen theater since its opening in 1966, had no intentions of closing the theater, which was doing well, said Hubert Bourne, General Cinema’s district manager.” Perhaps someone can look up the full text of this article and find out why it actually closed.

In March of 1989, a stage company called Columbus National Theatre signed a lease to convert this cinema into a three-stage complex. They were supposed to open their first season the following July, but ran into problems with building inspectors. It’s not clear whether they ever in fact occupied this building.

In July 1991, the Whitehall City Council turned down a proposal by Columbus Cinema ‘n’ Drafthouse to reopen the venue as a second-run cinema serving beer and wine. Later that month, the Ohio Supreme Court somehow overruled the city council, so Cinema ‘n’ Drafthouse proceeded with their plans.

Ron Newman
Ron Newman on August 18, 2005 at 12:37 am

Also, the street address was 100 Robinwood Avenue in Whitehall.

The Cinema Grill was still operating here on January 1 and 2, 1994, when the Dispatch says it showed matinees of a G-rated animated film called “We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story”.

jlgreenlee
jlgreenlee on February 16, 2008 at 7:14 am

I worked at Cinema East, just down the street, while my brother worked at Town & Country. He and his friends used to collect large popcorn buckets and even soda cups after the features, and then resell them while pocketing the money. Eww. Anyway, seeing a movie at Cinema East was always a better experience, since it had a single, large screen (and balcony).

I know I saw Superman and Superman II at Town & Country. It’s true, there was nothing remarkable about the place, and it won’t be missed.

RichM
RichM on June 6, 2008 at 5:06 pm

T&C Cinema, wow, this sight is really bringing back memories, cant imagine movie complexes being in the areas that they were like this one. Don’t really remember what movies I saw here, but did see a few. Lived on far east side of Columbus, and frequently Whitehall for grocery shopping, movies, drive in, Massey’s Pizza etc. from late 60s through my formative years.

Mark_L
Mark_L on March 31, 2012 at 10:27 pm

Opened 9/21/1966 with TORN CURTAIN. Matinee seats $.50.

Billinuk
Billinuk on January 16, 2013 at 7:36 pm

I remember those ‘early bird" 50 cent matinees. I saw a fair number of movies there including Torn Curtain, Penelope, Hombre, Glen Ford in Rage, The Stalking Moon etc. I always liked the theatre but Jlgreenlee ’s comment about the Cinema East is true, that was a classy place – I belive it opened with a roadshow of Lord Jim, but I remember seeing a wide range of films there from Caprice to a sneak preview of Viva Maria! .

buckohio1165
buckohio1165 on May 15, 2015 at 3:00 pm

Hmmm I thought I saw SUPERMAN at Cinema East, but maybe it was at Town & Country. I know I saw PORKY’S (1982) at T&C. My friends saw it before me because they were either 17 or said they were and I said “I’m 16”…so I waited in the lobby and then we all went back thru the line and this time I said I’m 17 and we all saw PORKY’S. As a kid I saw Disney’s SLEEPING BEAUTY on re-release there as well.

rivest266
rivest266 on November 12, 2021 at 11:33 pm

This opened on September 21st, 1966. Grand opening ad posted.

rivest266
rivest266 on November 14, 2021 at 8:37 am

This reopened with two screens on May 20th, 1977. Grand opening ad posted.

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