This was one of the first four of five area Jerry Lewis Twin Cinemas that was announced in June of 1970. The South Keystone Shopping Plaza was a new-build, nondescript location anchored by an IGA grocery store and a drug store as well as the Jerry Lewis Keystone Twin Cinema. The cinema launched November 16, 1971 with “The Omega Man” and “The $1,000,000 Duck.” The parent company of the Jerry Lewis Circuit would go into a financial free fall toward bankruptcy in a year and all five of the local former Lewis theatres rebranded with short-term independent names (this one became the South Keystone Twin Cinema) until they were picked up by United Cinema of Indiana Inc. on May 23, 1973 headed by veteran Loew’s Rochester Theatre manager Lester Pollock. United appears to have folded in May of 1976.
The theatre - along with the other former Lewis Circuit locations - was picked up by CTS Heaston Theatres. Heaston repositioned the venue as a second-run discount house. It then added VHS movie rentals in a club pricing policy in October of 1983. In 1992, CTS Theatres (Heaston removed from the picture) took on the location dropping it in 1995. It reopened under independent operation, on October 27, 1995 still as a sub-run discount house. Ron Keedy repositioned the venue as a first-run art house and used his surname to good effect renaming it as the Key Cinemas.
The Key hosted the International Film Festival and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Film Festival. It also brought to town films that other circuits wouldn’t bring to Indy. When Landmark opened its Keystone Art Cinema on December 9, 2005, Keedy changed the name of the venue to the Key Cinemas Beech Grove and returned to sub-run discount operations. Regular operation was discontinued following March 20, 2008 screenings. It’s double-gang attractor said “Farewell to the Key” and the “ghost sign” of the Key Cinema in the rear of the shopping plaza was still quite visible in the 2020s.
Cobb Theatres opened the Regency Square 8 on November 28, 1986. Regal acquired the Cobb Theatre Circuit on June 11, 1997. It then built the Regal Treasure Coast 16 megaplex opening March 16, 1986 and downgrading its aging Regency multiplex to a sub-run discount house. Patrons were disinterested and it closed quickly thereafter on May 13, 2001.
Entertainment Film Works - the heir apparent to the Cinema ‘n" Drafthouse followed by Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia - relaunched here on May 17, 2002 with “Star Wars Episode 2.” All the EFW Theatres were closed for failure to pay leases. This one went out in style with deputies removing equipment. BMC Cinemas took over the venue on April 4, 2003 with a reopening. Epic Theatres took on the venue running it into the 2020s.
It was reopened on October 2, 1998 as the Lexington Cinema Grill as a franchisee of the Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia. It was closed on June 3, 1999.
At the expiry of a 50-year lease n 1997, the Covedale received a $150,000 makeover and relaunched as the Covedale Cinema Grill. It was a franchisee of the Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia. It was split into two screens of 200 patrons each opening January 8, 1998. It closed in 2001 and was transformed to a live venue.
The next operator was Keith McKeague and John Appleton of Great Concepts were associated with Cinema ‘n’ Drafthouse Circuit which became Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Atlanta in the late 1980s until Brian Shultz took it on in 1992.
Jim and John Duffy began the Cinema Drafthouse concept in Orlando running theatres under the Cinema ‘n’ Drafhouse. They moved the operation to Atlanta under the banner of the Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia, This location became one of the longest running in their circuit opening July 20, 1984.
Became the North Springs Cinema Grill operated by Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia in October of 1993 closing on September 30, 2000. It was auctioned off in a bank foreclosure auction October 17, 2000 including the projection and sound equipment.
The 19th location for Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia was here launching October 30, 1999 after the Terrace Tap House folded in 1998. The Cinema Grill appears to have closed after just five months on April 16, 2000. Two lawsuits - one that occurred during the construction and one for apparent lease default - ended the franchise and the entire premises were auctioned off including projectors on November 14, 2001.
Purchased at auction, it was then refreshed one last time with the projectors. It became the twin-screen nightclub, bar and sometimes movie theatre, The Fairbanks. It hosted special interest screenings and film festivals although was mostly known as a bar and nightclub. It then became the Exotic Night Club dropping films but also serving underage drinkers which appears to be its undoing in 2013. It then became an art studio and then an event center. Well you pretty well get the picture.
The Greenbriar Shopping Center (not Greenbrier) was announced as a project in 1963 to be theatre-less. The project’s official Phase I grand opening took place in December of 1969 with Rich’s Department Store as a main anchor. Its theatre-less status changed during Phase II of the complex when the fourth of five area Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema opened on December 21, 1972 with “They Only Kill Their Masters” and “Butterflies are Free.”
Unfortunately, by that time, the Jerry Lewis Cinema Circuit was going into free fall economic woes leading to the filing of bankruptcy of the parent company. With little support from the mother ship, all five of the local former Lewis theatres were picked up by United Cinema of Indiana Inc. on May 23, 1973 headed by veteran Loew’s Rochester Theatre manager Lester Pollock. United appears to have folded in May of 1976
Next, under Heaston Theatres' operation beginning in September of 1976, the Greenbriar was downgraded to a sub-run dollar discount venue. It then added VHS movie rentals in a club pricing policy in July of 1983. It was dropped at the end of a 20-year lease in 1992.
CTS Theatres took on the location on a new 20-year lease in April of 1992. In December of 1995, under independent operation, the theatre closed briefly for a refresh and a brief return to first-run status. It then passed to MCCI Theatres which closed it as a second-run house on October 5, 1999 when a new operator decided to refresh it once again.
Jeff Rawlins, formerly of the Norgate (which closed), the Glendale (which closed), and the Woodland (which closed), jumped next to the Greenbriar and Ron Hahn upgraded it to the Greenbriar Cinema Grill on January 21, 2000 with “Sleepy Hollow” and “The World is Not Enough.” It was the 20th location for Atlanta-based Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia. The Greenbriar Cinema Grill proved popular though closed at the end of lease on May 31, 2012.
Carmike took on the venue and closed it as the Latrobe Twin Cinemas following the January 14, 1999 screenings. It next became the Lonestar Cinema Grill launching September 14, 2001 with “Planet of the Apes,” “American Pie 2” and “Jurassic Park III.” It was a franchise of Cinema Grill Systems of Georgia and appears to have closed on August 30, 2003.
The theatre had a five year run under the name of the Mount Lookout Cinema for Holiday Amusements Circuit. Holiday ceased operations in 1988 and closed the Mount Lookout Cinema on September 18, 1988 along with the Hollywood Theatre on Harrison, and the Hollywood Cinema on Hamilton. It found new life as a theatre as a franchise of the Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia on April 9, 1997 as the Mount Lookout Cinema Grill. The theatre closed September 22, 2005.
General Cinema closed here on March 21, 1996 with “Hellraiser IV,” “Homeward Bound II,” “Muppet T.I.” and “City Hall.” A new operator came in and wanted to reduce seats. It had a seat give-away and would become a short-lived franchise under Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Atlanta in 1999 and closed.
It was reopened here on April 28, 2000 as Cinema Grill Eastland once again. It was more successful than the previous incarnation - by a hair - closing after just one year after the first location lasted just months. It then reopened as El Cine Eastland on August 30, 2002 screening Hispanic and subtitled American films.
Grand opening ad from September 6, 1931 for the Coronado Theatre posted with Walter Huston in “The Star Witness.” A nice note to owner Elizabeth Lewejohn from architects Emil Christensen and John Nyquist - the Columbus, Nebraska based architects of the Coronodo Theatre - is posted from 1931 in photos.
On December 12, 1954, the theatre installed widescreen projection to present CinemaScope films beginning with “Three Coins in the Fountain.” The Theatre was still operating in 1969 but was converted for an agribusiness location in 1977.
2528 Old Denton Road #150 is now home to City Night KTV Karaoke Bar & Café. And the Furneaux Creek finally regains its own page - albeit more than 10 months after the request. Sorry!
The AMC Grand 24 Theatres in Dallas had opened May 19, 1995 and was such an immediate, bombshell hit that it spurred a megaplex boom in the DFW area and beyond. Three projects would be announced by AMC that ramped up screen count to 30 in Mesquite, Grapevine, and Frisco, Texas (that latter of which was later changed to an interior 24-screen venue). In Grapevine, it was August of 1995 when the Mills Corp. announced a mammoth outlet mall. It was the eighth for Mills, called Grapevine Mills. It was another of its concept destination centers that already existed including the St. Louis Mills, the Gurnee Mills near Chicago, Potomac Mills in Virginia, Franklin Mills in Philadelphia, and joining projects on the books including the Ontario Mills, Concord Mills, Arundel Mills, and Katy Mills complexes.
Grapevine Mills featured six neighborhoods in a circular race track layout with two pass through stores allowing quicker north to south pedestrian travel. Entertainment and food would be a key concept and AMC got an outparcel location it was calling the AMC Odyssey 30 just yards away from the Mills' North entry/exit by the Sega GameWorks arcade. The space-themed AMC venue by RTKL Associates had a playful 80-foot space themed attractor.
Further food and entertainment steps away included a Virgin Megastore with CDs and DVDs, the Jekyll & Hyde Club / Eerie World theme restaurant featuring animatronic puppets from horror films including those from “Killer Klowns from Outer Space,” the Stockyards Food Court, and Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Café. An amazing iWerks Extreme Screen Theater was also planned for the Grapevine Mills to present educational films. However it was scrapped during the planning stages of the complex.
The 6,360-seat AMC Mesquite 30 - which had a rustic, western theme - and the AMC Odyssey 30 - which had the space-aged theme - were cousins with 6,360-seat capacity and the auditroia ranging from 118 to 603 patrons. So similar were the two theaters that the AMC Mesquite 30 employees were sent to Grapevine Mills to train there when the Mesquite project fell eight months behind schedule. AMC changed the name of the Grapevine location from the Odyssey to the AMC Grapevine Mills 30 just months prior to the opening. It would do the same for other Odyssey projects though some such as the AMC Oakview 24 in Omaha still had Odyssey exterior signage.
AMC Grapevine Mills 30 blasted off on December 19, 1997. Despite the name change, auxiliary concession stands were still named as the “Big Dipper” and “Little Dipper,” planetary signage was above many auditorium entries, a galactic ceiling motif was in evidence, and the cinema’s arcade room at launch was known as the “Galactic Gallery.” And it was hard to miss the aforementioned large attractor in the front with its AMC globe. But straight movie going was not the ticket at the end of the 2000’s opening decade as overbuilding of megaplexes and aging multiplexes allowed start-ups to take closed cinemas and create full kitchen and bars that challenged multiplexes. Cinema Grill, Movie Tavern and Studio Movie Grill were just a few of those upstart circuits.
Revenues were fading to the point that AMC’s Grand did the unthinkable bolting at a 15-year leasing option point while the Grapevine Mills rocket engine was sputtering with revenues down 40% from 2003 to 2010. The side concession stands had been taken out of commission at the Mills due to decreased foot traffic and demand. In Summer of 2010, the east concession stand would be renovated out and replaced with a full-service kitchen. That would coincide with 13 auditoriums in the kitchen’s stratosphere getting major renovations as part of a $7.5 million overhaul reducing seating and allowing for in-theater ordering and consumption. Eight cinemas were branded as Fork and Screen auditoriums and five were Cinema Suites. The arcade alcoves would also be renovated out and would help create the MacGuffins Bar with big screen TVs. And 35mm projectors were mostly phased out as digital projection would now be in all 30 screens instead of select screens. The venue became the AMC Dine-In Grapevine Mills 30.
Both the AMC Mesquite and Grapevine Mills had also taken their largest screens and designated them as IMAX experience auditoriums. While these screens were derided by many as “faux Max” screens, they added branding and additional revenue to the location with upcharged admission pricing. The retrofitting nationwide for AMC was in high gear when Dalian Wanda Group of China bought AMC in 2012. Recliners became the thing greatly reducing seat count and more Fork and Screens would be built including the south screens at the AMC Mesquite 30 in 2013/2014.
For both the Grapevine Mills and Mesquite, the main and only-used concession areas received high-tech self-serve Coca-Cola mixing stations and Icee drink dispensers. Another large auditorium became identified at each 30-plex as an AMC Prime / AMC Dolby Cinema theatre. In 2019, AMC began to convert the west side concession stand at Grapevine Mills to a full-serve kitchen. But when COVID-19 hit, the project was scrapped and the theatre continued with 13 upgraded seat option auditoriums, two large screen upcharge options, and basically the original auditoriums on the opposite end.
AMC Dine-In Grapevine Mills 30 closed along with the rest of the circuit on March 16, 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Seven DFW locations reopened August 20, 2020 with a 15 cent night as the AMC was also celebrating its 100th Anniversary year of operation (when combined with Dubiknsy Bros.). Grapevine and Mesquite were two on the list. As the 2020s continued, both 30-screeners in DFW tried to remain viable without squandering increasingly scarce facility enhancement budgets especially when Dalian Wanda Group sold off the AMC circuit in 2021.
The New Victory Theatre was announced in 1919 as a major addition to Minor Avenue as Victor Peterson was taking an existing building and creating a 350-seat theatre. Peterson had previously programmed the once-weekly films screening at the Bertrand Opera House. But when the owners demanded much higher rental costs in 1919, Peterson balked and moved to a former drug store.
The former retail spot opened as the New Victory Theatre on September 26, 1919 with “Romeo and Juliet.” In February of 1920, Peterson changed the name to the Victor Theatre. The Bertrand Theatre opened April 14, 1931 with “The Passion Flower.” It was taken on after being dark as the Victor Theatre which closed as a silent film house on September 21, 1929 and was briefly reopened in 1930 before failing. The name was changed to The Bertrand Theatre beginning April 14, 1931 with “The Passion Flower.”
In 1951, the theatre closed due to competition from television. It eked along with free merchant screenings and agricultural demonstrations until final closure as a movie venue on December 23, 1955 with “So This is Paris.”
J.W. Hoffman launched the new-build Jewel Theatre in Havelock on June 7, 1923 with Lydia Knott in Booth Tarkington’s “The Flirt.” The Luce Sisters provided the music. The theatre appears to have closed in 1928 failing to convert to sound and challenged by the Joyo and the new-build New Lyric. In 1937, the former Jewel Theatre was converted to an auto garage for the Jones Motor Company.
The New Lyric Theatre launched on February 17, 1928 with Marie Provost in “The Rush Hour.” It became the Former Lyric Theatre (true!) on August 5, 1936 for three weeks when veteran Havelock theatre owner Robert E. Wintersteen took on the venue on July 21, 1936. He staged a naming contest as Former Lyric Theatre just seemed odd.
The winner of the contest was Mrs. Robert Sterkle who suggested the (New) Havelock Theatre. She won tickets for two for an entire year. Second place winner, Edith Cassady, chose the Ballard Theatre for which she won a 17-pound Morrill’s Prize Ham. Third place winner Mrs. Otto Bloom’s entry of Shoptown Theatre receiving a 48-pound of flour (brand unknown at this time). And fourth prize went to Mrs. Art Anderson who suggested the North Side Theatre who got a case of canned goods (again, exact items are unknown at this time).
“Slim” Frasier of the Joyo Theatre across the street had seen enough. He came up with a business proposal essentially to merge the two theatres on November 28, 1936. He immediately closed the former Lyric turned Former Lyric turned Havelock Theatre and did a major refresh at the Havelock including adding a cry room, improving ventilation and likely moving his sound system from the old Joyo to the new Joyo.
The soon-to-be-former Joyo Theatre location closed permanently on January 18, 1937 with “Satan Met a Lady.” Slim reopened in the newer-build “new” Joyo Theatre on January 20, 1937 with “Three Cheers for Love.” Frasier then equipped the theatre for CinemaScope on February 12, 1954 with “The Robe.”
W.J. Vallery opened this O Street theatre namelessly on June 4, 1912 with a naming contest, motion pictures, and Webster’s Orchestra furnishing the music. Frank McCoy was the lucky naming contest winner earning $5 for the clever Joy-O or Joy Theatre on O Street while second place winner Stanley Webster suggested the Evergood Theatre receiving $2. The theatre would lose the hyphen over time going by Joyo Theatre and The Joyo. The only other dedicated Havelock movie theatre was the Happy Hour Theatre on N Street. But there was no more joy when the Happy Hour Theatre closed just prior to Christmas on 1912 after just under two years of operation.
Roy Headrick took on the Joyo and would buy out the Jewell Theatre in 1926 which had launched on June 4, 1923. Charles Clarence “C.C” / “Slim” Frasier purchased the theatre in 1926 and would move the venue across the street to the 1928-built Lyric Theatre. He would give the Joyo one last overhaul including improved ventilation and Largen sound in 1936. Slim Frasier closed the Joyo on January 18, 1937 following showings of Bette Davis in “Satan Met a Lady” supported by a cartoon and an oddity.
He then transitioned the theatre across the street relaunching at the new Joyo Theatre on January 20, 1937 with “Three Cheers for Love.” Frasier would go on to add widescreen there to present CinemaScope titles beginning on February 12, 1954.
This was one of the first four of five area Jerry Lewis Twin Cinemas that was announced in June of 1970. The South Keystone Shopping Plaza was a new-build, nondescript location anchored by an IGA grocery store and a drug store as well as the Jerry Lewis Keystone Twin Cinema. The cinema launched November 16, 1971 with “The Omega Man” and “The $1,000,000 Duck.” The parent company of the Jerry Lewis Circuit would go into a financial free fall toward bankruptcy in a year and all five of the local former Lewis theatres rebranded with short-term independent names (this one became the South Keystone Twin Cinema) until they were picked up by United Cinema of Indiana Inc. on May 23, 1973 headed by veteran Loew’s Rochester Theatre manager Lester Pollock. United appears to have folded in May of 1976.
The theatre - along with the other former Lewis Circuit locations - was picked up by CTS Heaston Theatres. Heaston repositioned the venue as a second-run discount house. It then added VHS movie rentals in a club pricing policy in October of 1983. In 1992, CTS Theatres (Heaston removed from the picture) took on the location dropping it in 1995. It reopened under independent operation, on October 27, 1995 still as a sub-run discount house. Ron Keedy repositioned the venue as a first-run art house and used his surname to good effect renaming it as the Key Cinemas.
The Key hosted the International Film Festival and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Film Festival. It also brought to town films that other circuits wouldn’t bring to Indy. When Landmark opened its Keystone Art Cinema on December 9, 2005, Keedy changed the name of the venue to the Key Cinemas Beech Grove and returned to sub-run discount operations. Regular operation was discontinued following March 20, 2008 screenings. It’s double-gang attractor said “Farewell to the Key” and the “ghost sign” of the Key Cinema in the rear of the shopping plaza was still quite visible in the 2020s.
The building still stands at 207 Main Street as of the 2020s.
Cobb Theatres opened the Regency Square 8 on November 28, 1986. Regal acquired the Cobb Theatre Circuit on June 11, 1997. It then built the Regal Treasure Coast 16 megaplex opening March 16, 1986 and downgrading its aging Regency multiplex to a sub-run discount house. Patrons were disinterested and it closed quickly thereafter on May 13, 2001.
Entertainment Film Works - the heir apparent to the Cinema ‘n" Drafthouse followed by Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia - relaunched here on May 17, 2002 with “Star Wars Episode 2.” All the EFW Theatres were closed for failure to pay leases. This one went out in style with deputies removing equipment. BMC Cinemas took over the venue on April 4, 2003 with a reopening. Epic Theatres took on the venue running it into the 2020s.
It was reopened on October 2, 1998 as the Lexington Cinema Grill as a franchisee of the Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia. It was closed on June 3, 1999.
At the expiry of a 50-year lease n 1997, the Covedale received a $150,000 makeover and relaunched as the Covedale Cinema Grill. It was a franchisee of the Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia. It was split into two screens of 200 patrons each opening January 8, 1998. It closed in 2001 and was transformed to a live venue.
The next operator was Keith McKeague and John Appleton of Great Concepts were associated with Cinema ‘n’ Drafthouse Circuit which became Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Atlanta in the late 1980s until Brian Shultz took it on in 1992.
Reopened July 1, 2005 as the Valley View Cinema Grill 10 as a franchise of the Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Atlanta.
Jim and John Duffy began the Cinema Drafthouse concept in Orlando running theatres under the Cinema ‘n’ Drafhouse. They moved the operation to Atlanta under the banner of the Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia, This location became one of the longest running in their circuit opening July 20, 1984.
Became the North Springs Cinema Grill operated by Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia in October of 1993 closing on September 30, 2000. It was auctioned off in a bank foreclosure auction October 17, 2000 including the projection and sound equipment.
The 19th location for Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia was here launching October 30, 1999 after the Terrace Tap House folded in 1998. The Cinema Grill appears to have closed after just five months on April 16, 2000. Two lawsuits - one that occurred during the construction and one for apparent lease default - ended the franchise and the entire premises were auctioned off including projectors on November 14, 2001.
Purchased at auction, it was then refreshed one last time with the projectors. It became the twin-screen nightclub, bar and sometimes movie theatre, The Fairbanks. It hosted special interest screenings and film festivals although was mostly known as a bar and nightclub. It then became the Exotic Night Club dropping films but also serving underage drinkers which appears to be its undoing in 2013. It then became an art studio and then an event center. Well you pretty well get the picture.
The Greenbriar Shopping Center (not Greenbrier) was announced as a project in 1963 to be theatre-less. The project’s official Phase I grand opening took place in December of 1969 with Rich’s Department Store as a main anchor. Its theatre-less status changed during Phase II of the complex when the fourth of five area Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema opened on December 21, 1972 with “They Only Kill Their Masters” and “Butterflies are Free.”
Unfortunately, by that time, the Jerry Lewis Cinema Circuit was going into free fall economic woes leading to the filing of bankruptcy of the parent company. With little support from the mother ship, all five of the local former Lewis theatres were picked up by United Cinema of Indiana Inc. on May 23, 1973 headed by veteran Loew’s Rochester Theatre manager Lester Pollock. United appears to have folded in May of 1976
Next, under Heaston Theatres' operation beginning in September of 1976, the Greenbriar was downgraded to a sub-run dollar discount venue. It then added VHS movie rentals in a club pricing policy in July of 1983. It was dropped at the end of a 20-year lease in 1992.
CTS Theatres took on the location on a new 20-year lease in April of 1992. In December of 1995, under independent operation, the theatre closed briefly for a refresh and a brief return to first-run status. It then passed to MCCI Theatres which closed it as a second-run house on October 5, 1999 when a new operator decided to refresh it once again.
Jeff Rawlins, formerly of the Norgate (which closed), the Glendale (which closed), and the Woodland (which closed), jumped next to the Greenbriar and Ron Hahn upgraded it to the Greenbriar Cinema Grill on January 21, 2000 with “Sleepy Hollow” and “The World is Not Enough.” It was the 20th location for Atlanta-based Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia. The Greenbriar Cinema Grill proved popular though closed at the end of lease on May 31, 2012.
Carmike took on the venue and closed it as the Latrobe Twin Cinemas following the January 14, 1999 screenings. It next became the Lonestar Cinema Grill launching September 14, 2001 with “Planet of the Apes,” “American Pie 2” and “Jurassic Park III.” It was a franchise of Cinema Grill Systems of Georgia and appears to have closed on August 30, 2003.
The theatre had a five year run under the name of the Mount Lookout Cinema for Holiday Amusements Circuit. Holiday ceased operations in 1988 and closed the Mount Lookout Cinema on September 18, 1988 along with the Hollywood Theatre on Harrison, and the Hollywood Cinema on Hamilton. It found new life as a theatre as a franchise of the Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia on April 9, 1997 as the Mount Lookout Cinema Grill. The theatre closed September 22, 2005.
General Cinema closed here on March 21, 1996 with “Hellraiser IV,” “Homeward Bound II,” “Muppet T.I.” and “City Hall.” A new operator came in and wanted to reduce seats. It had a seat give-away and would become a short-lived franchise under Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Atlanta in 1999 and closed.
It was reopened here on April 28, 2000 as Cinema Grill Eastland once again. It was more successful than the previous incarnation - by a hair - closing after just one year after the first location lasted just months. It then reopened as El Cine Eastland on August 30, 2002 screening Hispanic and subtitled American films.
Previously operated by Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Atlanta which reopened the former Embassy 6 on December 19, 2003.
Became the Cinema Grill Yorktown in April of 1998 operated by Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Atlanta. Closed February 27, 2005.
After being closed more than one year, the Flix Brewhouse Frisco/Little Elm reopened December 9, 2021.
Grand opening ad from September 6, 1931 for the Coronado Theatre posted with Walter Huston in “The Star Witness.” A nice note to owner Elizabeth Lewejohn from architects Emil Christensen and John Nyquist - the Columbus, Nebraska based architects of the Coronodo Theatre - is posted from 1931 in photos.
On December 12, 1954, the theatre installed widescreen projection to present CinemaScope films beginning with “Three Coins in the Fountain.” The Theatre was still operating in 1969 but was converted for an agribusiness location in 1977.
Closed as the AMC Oakview Plaza 24. Its former name was the AMC Oak View 24. It was never called the AMC Oak View 16.
2528 Old Denton Road #150 is now home to City Night KTV Karaoke Bar & Café. And the Furneaux Creek finally regains its own page - albeit more than 10 months after the request. Sorry!
The AMC Grand 24 Theatres in Dallas had opened May 19, 1995 and was such an immediate, bombshell hit that it spurred a megaplex boom in the DFW area and beyond. Three projects would be announced by AMC that ramped up screen count to 30 in Mesquite, Grapevine, and Frisco, Texas (that latter of which was later changed to an interior 24-screen venue). In Grapevine, it was August of 1995 when the Mills Corp. announced a mammoth outlet mall. It was the eighth for Mills, called Grapevine Mills. It was another of its concept destination centers that already existed including the St. Louis Mills, the Gurnee Mills near Chicago, Potomac Mills in Virginia, Franklin Mills in Philadelphia, and joining projects on the books including the Ontario Mills, Concord Mills, Arundel Mills, and Katy Mills complexes.
Grapevine Mills featured six neighborhoods in a circular race track layout with two pass through stores allowing quicker north to south pedestrian travel. Entertainment and food would be a key concept and AMC got an outparcel location it was calling the AMC Odyssey 30 just yards away from the Mills' North entry/exit by the Sega GameWorks arcade. The space-themed AMC venue by RTKL Associates had a playful 80-foot space themed attractor.
Further food and entertainment steps away included a Virgin Megastore with CDs and DVDs, the Jekyll & Hyde Club / Eerie World theme restaurant featuring animatronic puppets from horror films including those from “Killer Klowns from Outer Space,” the Stockyards Food Court, and Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Café. An amazing iWerks Extreme Screen Theater was also planned for the Grapevine Mills to present educational films. However it was scrapped during the planning stages of the complex.
The 6,360-seat AMC Mesquite 30 - which had a rustic, western theme - and the AMC Odyssey 30 - which had the space-aged theme - were cousins with 6,360-seat capacity and the auditroia ranging from 118 to 603 patrons. So similar were the two theaters that the AMC Mesquite 30 employees were sent to Grapevine Mills to train there when the Mesquite project fell eight months behind schedule. AMC changed the name of the Grapevine location from the Odyssey to the AMC Grapevine Mills 30 just months prior to the opening. It would do the same for other Odyssey projects though some such as the AMC Oakview 24 in Omaha still had Odyssey exterior signage.
AMC Grapevine Mills 30 blasted off on December 19, 1997. Despite the name change, auxiliary concession stands were still named as the “Big Dipper” and “Little Dipper,” planetary signage was above many auditorium entries, a galactic ceiling motif was in evidence, and the cinema’s arcade room at launch was known as the “Galactic Gallery.” And it was hard to miss the aforementioned large attractor in the front with its AMC globe. But straight movie going was not the ticket at the end of the 2000’s opening decade as overbuilding of megaplexes and aging multiplexes allowed start-ups to take closed cinemas and create full kitchen and bars that challenged multiplexes. Cinema Grill, Movie Tavern and Studio Movie Grill were just a few of those upstart circuits.
Revenues were fading to the point that AMC’s Grand did the unthinkable bolting at a 15-year leasing option point while the Grapevine Mills rocket engine was sputtering with revenues down 40% from 2003 to 2010. The side concession stands had been taken out of commission at the Mills due to decreased foot traffic and demand. In Summer of 2010, the east concession stand would be renovated out and replaced with a full-service kitchen. That would coincide with 13 auditoriums in the kitchen’s stratosphere getting major renovations as part of a $7.5 million overhaul reducing seating and allowing for in-theater ordering and consumption. Eight cinemas were branded as Fork and Screen auditoriums and five were Cinema Suites. The arcade alcoves would also be renovated out and would help create the MacGuffins Bar with big screen TVs. And 35mm projectors were mostly phased out as digital projection would now be in all 30 screens instead of select screens. The venue became the AMC Dine-In Grapevine Mills 30.
Both the AMC Mesquite and Grapevine Mills had also taken their largest screens and designated them as IMAX experience auditoriums. While these screens were derided by many as “faux Max” screens, they added branding and additional revenue to the location with upcharged admission pricing. The retrofitting nationwide for AMC was in high gear when Dalian Wanda Group of China bought AMC in 2012. Recliners became the thing greatly reducing seat count and more Fork and Screens would be built including the south screens at the AMC Mesquite 30 in 2013/2014.
For both the Grapevine Mills and Mesquite, the main and only-used concession areas received high-tech self-serve Coca-Cola mixing stations and Icee drink dispensers. Another large auditorium became identified at each 30-plex as an AMC Prime / AMC Dolby Cinema theatre. In 2019, AMC began to convert the west side concession stand at Grapevine Mills to a full-serve kitchen. But when COVID-19 hit, the project was scrapped and the theatre continued with 13 upgraded seat option auditoriums, two large screen upcharge options, and basically the original auditoriums on the opposite end.
AMC Dine-In Grapevine Mills 30 closed along with the rest of the circuit on March 16, 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Seven DFW locations reopened August 20, 2020 with a 15 cent night as the AMC was also celebrating its 100th Anniversary year of operation (when combined with Dubiknsy Bros.). Grapevine and Mesquite were two on the list. As the 2020s continued, both 30-screeners in DFW tried to remain viable without squandering increasingly scarce facility enhancement budgets especially when Dalian Wanda Group sold off the AMC circuit in 2021.
The New Victory Theatre was announced in 1919 as a major addition to Minor Avenue as Victor Peterson was taking an existing building and creating a 350-seat theatre. Peterson had previously programmed the once-weekly films screening at the Bertrand Opera House. But when the owners demanded much higher rental costs in 1919, Peterson balked and moved to a former drug store.
The former retail spot opened as the New Victory Theatre on September 26, 1919 with “Romeo and Juliet.” In February of 1920, Peterson changed the name to the Victor Theatre. The Bertrand Theatre opened April 14, 1931 with “The Passion Flower.” It was taken on after being dark as the Victor Theatre which closed as a silent film house on September 21, 1929 and was briefly reopened in 1930 before failing. The name was changed to The Bertrand Theatre beginning April 14, 1931 with “The Passion Flower.”
In 1951, the theatre closed due to competition from television. It eked along with free merchant screenings and agricultural demonstrations until final closure as a movie venue on December 23, 1955 with “So This is Paris.”
J.W. Hoffman launched the new-build Jewel Theatre in Havelock on June 7, 1923 with Lydia Knott in Booth Tarkington’s “The Flirt.” The Luce Sisters provided the music. The theatre appears to have closed in 1928 failing to convert to sound and challenged by the Joyo and the new-build New Lyric. In 1937, the former Jewel Theatre was converted to an auto garage for the Jones Motor Company.
The New Lyric Theatre launched on February 17, 1928 with Marie Provost in “The Rush Hour.” It became the Former Lyric Theatre (true!) on August 5, 1936 for three weeks when veteran Havelock theatre owner Robert E. Wintersteen took on the venue on July 21, 1936. He staged a naming contest as Former Lyric Theatre just seemed odd.
The winner of the contest was Mrs. Robert Sterkle who suggested the (New) Havelock Theatre. She won tickets for two for an entire year. Second place winner, Edith Cassady, chose the Ballard Theatre for which she won a 17-pound Morrill’s Prize Ham. Third place winner Mrs. Otto Bloom’s entry of Shoptown Theatre receiving a 48-pound of flour (brand unknown at this time). And fourth prize went to Mrs. Art Anderson who suggested the North Side Theatre who got a case of canned goods (again, exact items are unknown at this time).
“Slim” Frasier of the Joyo Theatre across the street had seen enough. He came up with a business proposal essentially to merge the two theatres on November 28, 1936. He immediately closed the former Lyric turned Former Lyric turned Havelock Theatre and did a major refresh at the Havelock including adding a cry room, improving ventilation and likely moving his sound system from the old Joyo to the new Joyo.
The soon-to-be-former Joyo Theatre location closed permanently on January 18, 1937 with “Satan Met a Lady.” Slim reopened in the newer-build “new” Joyo Theatre on January 20, 1937 with “Three Cheers for Love.” Frasier then equipped the theatre for CinemaScope on February 12, 1954 with “The Robe.”
The venue still was around in the 2020s.
W.J. Vallery opened this O Street theatre namelessly on June 4, 1912 with a naming contest, motion pictures, and Webster’s Orchestra furnishing the music. Frank McCoy was the lucky naming contest winner earning $5 for the clever Joy-O or Joy Theatre on O Street while second place winner Stanley Webster suggested the Evergood Theatre receiving $2. The theatre would lose the hyphen over time going by Joyo Theatre and The Joyo. The only other dedicated Havelock movie theatre was the Happy Hour Theatre on N Street. But there was no more joy when the Happy Hour Theatre closed just prior to Christmas on 1912 after just under two years of operation.
Roy Headrick took on the Joyo and would buy out the Jewell Theatre in 1926 which had launched on June 4, 1923. Charles Clarence “C.C” / “Slim” Frasier purchased the theatre in 1926 and would move the venue across the street to the 1928-built Lyric Theatre. He would give the Joyo one last overhaul including improved ventilation and Largen sound in 1936. Slim Frasier closed the Joyo on January 18, 1937 following showings of Bette Davis in “Satan Met a Lady” supported by a cartoon and an oddity.
He then transitioned the theatre across the street relaunching at the new Joyo Theatre on January 20, 1937 with “Three Cheers for Love.” Frasier would go on to add widescreen there to present CinemaScope titles beginning on February 12, 1954.