Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland
1228 Main Street,
Kansas City,
MO
64105
1228 Main Street,
Kansas City,
MO
64105
25 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 69 comments
Here’s a new 4-page 50th anniversary FIDDLER ON THE ROOF retrospective featuring a roadshow playdate chronology and historian Q&A. The Midland’s lengthy run is mentioned in the piece.
July 8th, 1966 grand opening ad for the “Screening Room” in the photo section.
Full page 1965 grand opening ad at https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01110225224715029151525644274
Ad also in photo section.
Reopened on July 14th, 1965. https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01110225224715029151525643677
This opened on October 28th, 1927. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
Now called the Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland.
Updated website link: http://www.midlandkc.com/
ORIGINAL SEATING CAPACITY IS WRONG! IT SEATED 1500 IN UPPER BALCONY, 600 OM MEZZANINE AND 2000 ON MAIN LEVEL UNTIL IT WAS ALTERED BY REMOVING SEVERAL ROWS TO PROVIDE MORE LEG-ROOM.
I KNOW BECAUSE I WAS THE ASSISTANT MANAGER FOR MR DURWOOD.
On the day of the Apollo 15 moon landing, AMC opened the Midland 3 (combining the Midland with The Screening Room and the Studio Theatres under one name literally overnight) on Friday, July 30, 1971, with Sean Connery in THE ANDERSON TAPES (the ‘old’ Midland) while adding in their respective ‘new’ auditoriums Debbie Reynolds in Curtis Harrington’s WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? (prev. Screening Room) and Woody Allen in BANANAS (prev. Studio). There was no explanation for this new iteration.
The Midland 3 and the Empire 4 on 14th & Main were suddenly combined without explanation by AMC to create the Midland-Empire 7 on Wednesday, September 11, 1974. The Midland itself would be listed first as Auditorium 1 in the new designation. It was showing Rollin Binzer’s 1973 documentary LADIES & GENTLEMEN, THE ROLLING STONES.
AMC closed the Midland/Midland 3 permanently on Thursday, September 24, 1981 while leaving the previous Empire 4 open. The Midland was showing Tony Anthony’s 3D import COMIN' AT YA! (the features changed the next day so much at the remaining Empire that it’s impossible to tell what the Midland’s other two auditoriums were showing at closing, perhaps THE ELEPHANT MAN & ORDINARY PEOPLE going by descending listed order).
The Midland’s organ is not lost…it is now installed at the nearby Civic Center Music Hall.
The Loew’s Midland was equipped with a 4/20 Robert Morton pipe organ, sadly long since lost.
March 16th, 1962 grand opening ad for the Saxon as well as the March 23rd, 1962 ad for the Studio in photo section. Durwood’s first twin, not the Parkway.
I thought I might add this bit of information. After the Loew’s Midland Theater Closed, it was converter in the Stage are to a Pro Bowling Facility. That lasted for only several months and then folded because the other pro bowling team had their competitions at the old Plaza Bowl. With in two months an owner of major surfact parking lots in Kansas City wanted to get a permit from the City to demolish the Midland Theater leaving only the Midland Tower. What is really insane is that the City was actually going to issue the demolition permit. At the same time, there were plans to demolish the Tower and Esquire Theaters also for surface parking lots – that did not happen because of a contract dispute between the owners of the theaters and Fox Midwest Theaters that had open contracts to use the Buildings and they were still paying taxes even though the theaters were closed. It is very sad to think that the beautiful Midland Theater was very close to being lost forever. Sadly we lost the Tower, Esquire and Orpheum Theaters in 1961 all in beautiful condition.
Not sure what it was called, but I remember the VERY small auditorium in what seemed like the basement of the Midland. One of the posted articles mentioned The Screening Room.I’m not sure it was named that, but I saw many movies there, including Midnight Cowboy.
The Midland no longer shows any movies. It’s main use today is for smaller concerts. They removed all of the seats from the lower level. I remeber seeing The Empire Strikes Back here back in the day.
This page needs the AKA’s Saxon Theatre and Studio Theatre, per the Boxoffice article Tinseltoes linked to.
It gets barely a mention in this article, but AMC is giving up control of the Midland to the Cordish Company, its former partner in operating both the Midland the Main Street theaters. It had been previously announced that Cordish had signed an agreement with Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas to operate the Main Street Theater.
Here is a paragraph from a January 16, 1926, article about the proposed Midland Theatre in The Reel Journal:
As finally built, the theater portion of the project was six floors, rather than four, and the adjacent office tower had twelve floors.It’s noted in the description on this page that the Midland Theatre cost $4,000,000 to build in 1926-27. The theater was indeed large and lavish, but I don’t think it accounted for the entire budget. The twelve story Midland Building at the back end of the theater has about three times the floor space of the theater portion of the project, and probably consumed at least half of that $4,000,000 construction cost.
Here is a 1927 photo showing the office building and theater under construction, taken from the office building end of the project.
Some of the best pictures on CT,thanks.
The poster I’d like to share with you here View link was for a show which took place in the Loew’s Midland Theater I suspect in 1929. The back of the ad promotes a film called “The Taming of the Shrew†which featured Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. It was released on 30 Nov, 1929. I guess the show then was about the same time.
I’d have a couple of questions in relation, and would welcome your thoughts.
First, it says ‘our opening show.’ Would I be right to assume this does not mean the opening show of the theatre itself (which according to the above would have to be 1927) but rather means one of the following: the first vaudeville show in the theatre or the opening show of the Six Rockets at this theatre. In case of the latter, would that mean they’d perform a run of shows? If yes, appx. how many would be a reasonable estimate? I should add, the Rockets includes my grandmother and her sister (bottom left and bottom right respectively who by this time had been on the road since mid-1928!
Second, are all the original schedules of the theatre archived anywhere?
Many thanks in advance for any comments! Warm wishes and season’s greetings!
I found this, not sure if anyone else has posted it, but this an interesting bit about the theater under Durwood’s ownership from 1965:
View link
Great slideshow kcfan, loved the this is not an exit sign.Hard to believe that this was a bowling alley for a while.
Check out my recent photos of the Midland while attending the Leonard Cohen Concert November 9th. Leonard sailed through three hours like someone half his age, but with an effortless grace that only comes from living a life full and rich. And oh…that velvet voice. A perfect evening in a heavenly place! Enjoy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcfan/4093327507/
ziggy (Sept 16 comment above) is correct. The Midland is far too ornate to be considered Adam in style. It looks like a hybrid French-Italian interior with a Renaissance Revival exterior.
I think its great another old Loews is is still there and being used today. Why do we keep tearing down all the cool stuff and building condos, Thats right I know $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
I just realized that the style for this theatre is listed as “Adam”. It needs to be changed to “French” or “French Baroque” since this theatre is definitely NOT Adam. I think the Midland was Thomas Lamb’s first foray into the French styles.