Waikiki 3
2284 Kalakaua Avenue,
Honolulu,
HI
96815
2284 Kalakaua Avenue,
Honolulu,
HI
96815
5 people
favorited this theater
The Waikiki Theatre opened in 1936 as a single screen Atmospheric style theatre. It was complete with (among other things) an artificial rainbow, tropical vegetation and coconut trees. Artificial clouds were also projected on a midnight-blue curved ceiling. In 1939, the Waikiki Theatre was equipped with a Robert Morton theatre organ, which had originally been installed (with a twin console) in the Hawaii Theatre, Honolulu in 1929.
The change in name (to Waikiki Theatre 3) occurring in 1969 when the twin Waikiki Theatres 1 and 2 opened. There has never been any physical connection between the buildings. The Waikiki 3 remained a single screen facility.
This theater closed in November 2002, and its grand organ was removed. Sadly, the Waikiki 3 was demolished in April of 2005.
Contributed by
Richard Peterson, March Warner
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Recent comments (view all 69 comments)
1981 photo of the Waikiki Thesatre. Waikiki, Hi.
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The Opening date for the Waikiki Theatre was Aug. 20, 1936, seating at opening was listed at 1,300.
Was there another Waikiki theater? According to this article the space occupied by a Waikiki 1 & 2 theater on Seaside Avenue is going to be converted to a Ross clothing store: View link
This might have been the downtown theatre shown in the end credits on HAWAII 5-0 on season one dvd. Any local help out there in the Pacific.
Nice looking theatre Chuck.
Carl, there was only one Waikiki Theatre, the original was on Seaside and the spin off 1 & 2 was on Kalakaua. They had two seperate entrances. The 1 & 2 was at the entrance to the shopping center. I am surprised they are putting a Ross in that location since there is a large Ross Clothing right in downtown Honolulu. Guess they figure to grab more of the tourist trade.
This is the theatre the marquee of which you can very briefly see at the end of HAWAII 5-0’s first season’s end credits, filmed in 1968. It comes into view just as the credit reads “Filmed Entirely on Location in Hawaii.” I’ve freeze-framed it on DVD and can make out that the movie playing was PLANET OF THE APES.
From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, June 6, 1968. Rory is right about what was playing at the Waikiki Theatre.
I saw a number of movies here, but the one I remember was stephen King’s “Creepshow”. Saw it in the 7th grade with some classmates, who were on a date but wanted to bring me as a chaperone of sorts. To this day, I don’t know why. Even though it was Rated R, I think the father of one of them got us in.
The one thing I remember the most about this visit was not just the cockroach scene in “Creepshow”, but the fact that a Chilly Willy cartoon was shown before it. Looking back, it seems odd for that to be shown before a horror film.
When you walk down Seaside now you know something drastically s missing. The Waikiki should have been preserved. Was a very big part of Waikiki. I can understand the 1 & 2 being changed to retail but not the Waikiki. So much history lost.