Northwest Plaza Cinema
500 Northwest Plaza,
St. Ann,
MO
63074
500 Northwest Plaza,
St. Ann,
MO
63074
6 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 34 comments
Please build a new movie theatre here at north west plaza. massive revenue lost all going to Saint Charles. Please build here at the crossing of north west plaza. We need one.
Oh, now I get it, thanks!
The 9-plex was inside the mall when they enclosed it. This was a stand alone building out by Lindbergh on the parking lot.
UPDATE: Became A Twin On December 20, 1974, Reopening With “The Towering Inferno” At Screen 1 And Walt Disney’s “The Island Of The Top Of The World” And “Winnie The Pooh And Tigger Too” At Screen 2. Expanded To A Quad On April 9, 1982, And A 9-Plex On November 17, 1989.
Would be great if they built a new AMC or Marcus theater at this location now that it’s been rehabbed!
They need a new cool movie theatre (cinema) at the new crossings northwest plaza.I think it would be a big money maker in that location. With state of the art lounge chairs. Be perfect for community. Also a new gym fitness center….
I remember working in the theatre back in early-April ‘82 in preparation for that 4-screen opening. I was home from college on Spring Break and my boss asked me and a group of guys to come in and help sweep up all the dust and wipe down all the seat backs, etc. What I remember most is being cornered by a couple of the Union workers while we were there. They tried to talk us out of being there. They felt we were putting them out of work by being there. I also remember giving them a puzzled look while I kept on with my $2.50/hr sweeping task. Times were tough, to be sure, for both the Unions and for the starving college students trying to make a few bucks whenever they could.
April 9th, 1982 grand opening ad for its expansion to 4 screens in photo section.
December 19th, 1974 grand opening ad as a twin also in the photo section.
June 25th, 1969 grand opening ad in photo section.
Found an interesting fact about this theater in an old issue of Starlog Magazine. A sneak preview for the 1980 Flash Gordon movie was held there in August of that year, with producer Dino de Laurentis in attendance. The magazine can be read online here: https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-041
mrhineha: “Star Wars” did not play at this theater in its original release.
I remember going with my parents to see Star Wars (the original movie) in 1977. I also remember my friend worked there in the late 80’s before it closed and she gave me the button she wore to advertise the U2 movie “Rattle and Hum” (She went with me to see it after she was off for the day and she fell asleep)…I was a HUGE U2 fan. I know I saw other movies there, but these are the only two that I remember.
I also remember the bathrooms were in the basement of the building and the women’s room was fancy like the 1950s style with a long room full of mirrored dressing tables and individual stall doors. I was in awe when we went down there after the movie.
That is super cool that there are two photos of this cinema! I so wish that I had photos of some of these great places myself. I first saw my favorite film here, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” I was so young that all I remember was that it was an incredible light show!
The first time I ever went to a movie by myself was there. The Empire Strikes Back. Not it’s inital theatrical run, but a 1982 re-release. I didnt want to see The Last Unicorn.
when they torn down the old cinema i went up there and grabed 2 of the chairs. they used to recline out. i repainted them leaving the old gum in place..i use these chairs in my own movie basement
Yes – great photo there, Chris. Good to have. Funny story: you mentioned that it opened in ‘69, and while I was working there (in 1981) I had the pleasure of knowing the projectionists that worked there. One of them worked there the day it opened – 12 years earlier. Those guys -and they were all well over 60 years old – they had to walk ALL the way up those steps to get to the booth on the top level. Some were heavy smokers and so it was not unusual to see them sitting in an aisle seat – taking a rest – as they made their way up.
Thank you for the picture! I don’t care if it’s a little grainy…THAT is the Northwest Plaza Cinema I remember!!
I made an errors in this theatre’s info when I submitted it to CT years ago. 1. The city needs to be changed/updated to St. Ann, MO (instead of St. Louis). 2. The theatre opened as a single screener in 1969 (see JAlex’s post for more detailed info).
GREAT STORY about the seats! Heh…my mother actually took me to a matinee of “The Big Fix” there when I was a kid. LOL!
I worked at NWP from ‘79 to '84 and it really was a treasure of a place. In fact, my wife and I had our first date there in '78 (The Big Fix with Richard Dreyfuss). My brother-in-law was one of the last managers there, and with his help was able to salvage two seats from the balcony (along with a wide armrest table with a floor light). And with much restoration (and a lot of gum to remove from underneath) I have a nicely-restored pair of seats that I believe are the very two from our first date. Ah the memories.
I second the comments by Chris. This theater was HUGE!!! They probably could have gone to six screens in that building and it still would not have felt cramped. Too bad this one got torn down. Favorite memories of this place are seeing Jungle Book, Chariots Of Fire, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at this theater. Thanks for the memories, NWP!
WOW! So hard to believe that building held just 1 screen! Even when they converted it to 4 screens, accomodations were never…EVER…cramped!
Looks like there’s room enough for 6 screens in there!
All the early reports about this theater in Boxoffice do indicate that it opened as a single-screen house, and a very large one at that. The announcement of the June 25, 1969, opening appeared in Boxoffice of June 30, and said that the Northwest Plaza Cinema had 1,700 seats. A slightly longer item in Boxoffice of July 14 included a small photo of the theater, though it looks like it was taken before the building was completed, as there’s no signage.
A brief notice in Boxoffice of November 18, 1974, said that GCC had closed the house for twinning, and the reopening was scheduled for December 20.
To boil it down: GCC opened the Northwest Plaza as a single screen operation in June 1969; converted it to a twin in December 1974; and into a 4-plex in April 1982.
In October 1989 it was announced Wehrenberg would take over GCC’s Missouri theatres 10/31. GCC closed the Northwest Plaza on 10/29, just two days before the Wehrenberg takeover date.
The opening of the Northwest Plaza 9 Cine occurred November 17, 1989.