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Sheridan Plaza gone
posted by
BruceHannover
on
March 21, 2008 at 2:45 pm
HOLLYWOOD, FL — AMC Sheridan Plaza Theatres, is no more. It was torn down last month by the mall owner, in order to accomadate a Kohl’s department store. I installed the projection equipment and was the opening Projectionist/ Asst. Mgr. ( Union!) when the place opened in 1985. One of our frequent guests was the man himself, Stan Durwood, owner and founder of the AMC chain. Stan liked to visit us, because it was warmer in Hollywood than it was in his hometown of Kansas City. Even in his 70’s and 80’s, Stan would bring his weight lifting equipment when he came south.
In later years, AMC had added five newer auditoriums to bring the complex up to twelve screens, all with Simplex XL projectors which, went down with the building. I saw it being torn down and saw into “my” former booths and all of the equipment was still inside, including the Christie Platters. Oh well.
Comments (3)
They destroyed the projectors along with the building? Wow, that seems like such a waste!
Milton;
My guess is that the shopping center developer was in such a rush to get AMC out and begin work on the Kohl’s store that they probably bought out all the equipment along with the lease. I had spoken with the developer rep. on site, during the demolition and he said that AMC “wanted out, as it had not been performing to their satisfaction.” I tried, in vain, to get some of our local theatre equipment dealers to obtain the equipment, and the demo contractor even halted demo for a day so that we could attempt to save the equipment. Actually, he smelled money, if he could sell the stuff, and not trash them along with the building. But I understand that no one came through quickly enough to buy all that stuff. Oh well.
I find it funny how these demolition people get a nice piece of change to tear down these buildings, and if someone comes by to try and get some equipment, all of a sudden dollar signs start flashing like a giant strobe light. We had the same thing happen here in New Jersey a few years ago. A bunch of people, some non-profit maybe tried to get equipment out of a sixplex that was closed for almost a year. The landlord said “why should I” and a month later, we all watched it go down in a heap. It really is a sickening feeling.