Northgate Twin Theatres
1058 West Club Boulevard,
Durham,
NC
27701
1058 West Club Boulevard,
Durham,
NC
27701
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The Northgate Theatre was twinned on June 12, 1975 with the opening features “The Other Side of the Mountain”,and the family feature “Pippi Goes On Board”.
It was owned and operated by Fuqua Theatres Group,which was a subsidiary of Consolidated Theatres before Martin Theatres took over operations in early 1976.
The Northgate Theatre was operated by Consolidated Theatres of Charlotte from 1962 until 1976.
Martin Theatres acquired it from 1976 until 1983
Last operated by Carmike Cinemas from 1983 until its closing in 1985
The Northgate Theatre was operated by Consolidated Theatres of Charlotte from 1962 until 1976.
Martin Theatres acquired it from 1976 until 1983
Last operated by Carmike Cinemas from 1983 until its closing in 1985
The Northgate Theatre was featured in an article in the January 21, 1963, issue of Boxoffice magazine. A preview of the house was held on December 21, 1962, with a screening of “Jumbo” for an audience of invited guests. The public opening of the theater took place on Christmas Day.
The Northgate Theatre was built and owned by the developers of the Northgate Shopping Center, and was first operated by Consolidated Theatres of Charlotte. The theater was designed by the Raleigh architectural firm Leif Valand & Associates.
Most of these Disney films were shown at the Northgate as double features,but when it was a single screen theatre show a LOT of Disney films. They cut it back when the Northgate became a twin cinema.
A lot of family-oriented films played here at the Northgate,including a lot of Disney movies. I remember seeing “The Apple Dumpling Gang” as a kid when it was a single screen theatre back in 1975. Other Disney films that played here were “The Black Hole”,“Return to Witch Mountain”,“The Devil and Max Devlin”,and “The Love Bug”. It also played reissued or re-released Disney classics like “Old Yeller”,“The Parent Trap”,
“Fantasia”,“Treasure Island”,“Fantasia”,“Robin Hood”,
“The Aristocats”,“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”,
“Cinderella”,“Alice In Wonderland”,“Peter Pan”,along
with “Lady and the Tramp”,and “Sleeping Beauty”. The Northgate also showed at one time the re-released of Disney’s “Song of the South”.
I remember other movies that played at the Northgate:
“Raiders of the Lost Ark”,“Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan”,“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”,“E.T.”,
“Back to the Future”,“Rambo:First Blood Part II”,
“The Outlaw Josey Wales”,“Every Which Way But Loose”,
“Smokey and the Bandit”,“Grizzly Adams”,“Ordinary People”,“All the Right Moves”,and at one time showed the controversial flick “Making Love”. It was also a showcase for grindhouse movies as well…My parents saw “Shaft In Africa” here back in 1973,and also the reissue of classics like “Doctor Zhivago” and “Lawrence of Arabia” played here when they were re-re-released back in the 70’s and 80’s.
I do recall the lines snaked around the theatre all the way towards Sears Department Store one afternoon when the Northgate showed “Superman:The Movie” to record breaking crowds opening weekend in December of 1978. The same can said when “Saturday Night Fever” played at the Northgate to packed audiences in December of 1977.
FYI:
The Northgate Shopping Center in Durham opened in 1960 as a strip shopping plaza by W. Kenan Rand Jr.
The stores that it had was a Thalhimers Department Store, Roses,
Kerr Drugs,Robbins,The Young Men’s Shop,Tharrington’s Men Store,
Hahn Shoes,and the Record Bar. The strip island section consisted of the Northgate Barber Shop,NCNB Bank and Mayberry’s Ice Cream Parlor. It was anchored by Colonial Stores/Big Star Foods which was a full-service supermarket that was incredibly huge! All that change in 1974,when the Northgate Shopping Center became Durham’s first enclosed mall.
The Northgate Theatre was on the opposite end of the shopping center. It opened in 1962 as a single screen theatre and remain that way until 1976 when the original auditorium was split in two making it a twin cinema until it closed its doors in 1985 after more than 23 years in business,due to construction and expansion of Northgate Mall.
The auditorium when the Northgate Theatre was a single screen cinema was incredibly huge!!!
The Northgate Theatre open in 1962 as a single screen theatre with a huge widescreen auditorium and it remain that way until 1976 when the original auditorium was split in two making it a twin cinema.
Once known as the Beautiful Northgate Theatre.
The Northgate Theatre were on the opposite side of the Shopping Center near the entrance of several stores one of them was Sears(which opened at Northgate in 1973 at the time renovation was expanding for a indoor shopping center-Northgate Mall). The auditoriums when it was a single screen theatre was incredibly huge and very specious with its astounding widescreen. I used to go there as a kid when they showed a LOT of Disney films. The showing of Disney’s “Mary Poppins” was a delight at the Northgate. Not to mention family films of interest and first-run Hollywood releases. All of that changed in early 1976,when the original auditorium was split in two making it a twin theatre(The Northgate Twin Theatre). It remained that way until late 1985,when the Northgate closed its doors forever.
The Northgate Twin Theatre was part of the Martin Theatres chain before it came part of the Carmike Cimemas. The theatre operated from 1962 until 1985,when it closed its doors to make way for the renovation of the Northgate Mall. The theatre that replaced it was the Willowdaile Cimemas which was at the intersection of Guess and Horton Roads and later on the Carmike 7 which was over on Avondale Drive.