Union Station 10 Cine'
900 St. Louis Union Station,
St. Louis,
MO
63103
2 people favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Wallace Theaters, Wehrenberg Theatres
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News About This Theater
- Apr 22, 2011 — Saint Louis will get a new downtown art theater in 2012
The Union Station Cine' was opened 1988 by Wehrenberg Theatres of St. Louis, in the rear of the old Union Station, next to the Power House. It had a grand opening on July 15, 1989. The Union Station itself was completely renovated and turned into a shopping mall and entertainment center.
The theatre had 35mm and two auditoriums with THX sound. The theatre itself was a 42,000 square foot free standing building.
The lobby area featured an old fashioned ice cream parlor and a deli so that patrons could either eat before or after the show. There was a mural that was removed from above the old ticket counter in Union Station where passengers would buy their train tickets. The mural depicted line men working on the rails and different types of trains. The mural was restored and put on the wall above the concession stand in the new theatre.
The Union Station Cine' was successful as far as patronage was concerned but the high priced lease hindered the profit. When Wehrenberg went into bankruptcy they tried unsuccessfully to renegotiate the lease but to now avail. They closed the theatre and a short time later Wallace Theatres picked up the lease and operated the theatre until late in 2003. It has been closed ever since.
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Recent comments (view all 15 comments)
Yes, the building is still standing. Unused for about five years now.
I was at Union Station last month. A good third, maybe half of the place was vacant.
If I recall correctly, Wehrenberg Theaters publicly announced they would never again operate a theater in the St. Louis city limits after closing the Union Station.
Looks like the building has been foreclosed on and is going to auction in the coming week:
View link
In a story about the auction address given as: 401 S. 18th Street.
After reading the articles posted by CinemaJunkie, sounds to me like Wallace was forced out of the Union Station 10, rather than just deciding to cancel their lease. Do I have that right?…actually, not surprised this theater didn’t make it…
July 15th, 1989 grand opening ad in photo section
The mural was by Louis Grell, who is a well-known muralist. Photos of the mural are on the website http://www.louisgrell.com/artworks/union-station-st-louis-mo-1942/.
Kyle Muldrow – Where did you hear that Wehrenberg would never operate in STL city again after this? They never really tried to succeed in that area.
I worked for Wehrenberg for 35 years in the corporate office. The theater was actually opened in 1988 with a grand opening later in 89 and did not have 70 mm only 35 in all 10 screens. We were also out of Union Station long before the bankruptcy. The company also never said anything about never wanting to operate a theater in the city again. We just didn’t. Amc theaters were the original ones that had the plans and were to open the theater. They backed out and we stepped in. We had the Stadium one and Stadium two Cine’s for years prior to Union Station and they were very profitable. As with many city businesses, crime is the main reason for shutting down a location. Union Station back then was as a whole becoming a crime ridden area.