Randhurst 16 Theaters
101 E. Euclid Avenue,
Mount Prospect,
IL
60056
101 E. Euclid Avenue,
Mount Prospect,
IL
60056
9 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 42 of 42 comments
The new AMC Randhurst 12 has started construction & will open in May 2011. Link.
I find it odd that the new theater will have 4 less screens than the old. Could it be that area competition has made 16 screens less-than profitable?
Well, I will get out here to visit again before it’s replaced.
I’m pretty sure this is the theatre I saw the original DAWN OF THE DEAD as a midnight movie, in the early 80s. They played it every weekend for a few years, I think. I also remember seeing MEATBALLS there with my Mom, when I was 11.
I was in the original Randhurst Cinemas in the late 80’s a couple of times. I remember the lobby as being pleasant and bright, a design something like the Old Orchard or Golf Mill. The theatres were unremarkable but had decent proportions/sightlines and good sound for the time. The whole place was kept clean. It’s a shame that it came down. But a building like that probably couldn’t profit today without a lot of effort.
Here is a July 1982 ad from the Daily Herald:
http://tinyurl.com/r9qj78
I worked at Randhurst in the Mid-80’s, and I remember the Big Rocky Horror 10th Anniversary… Also, The Song Remains the Same at Midnight. Those were great fun. I worked there on and off from, like 1984 through 1990. I left to be an Assistant Manager at Deerbrook, then Manager at Lincoln Mall, and Floor Manager at Ford City… I left the company to work for Blockbuster, and when I quit that to go back to School, I worked at Randhurst again Part Time for awhile.
Exact date this one opened(to show official releases) was 11-22-96. I worked there for about 7 years and it was a pretty good place up until AMC bought it out in 2002. They nto give as many benefits to their employees. however, tehy would let us prescreen movies the day before to make sure the print was ok.
BWchicago, i remember the bulk candy. they also had a soft serve yogurt machine which was not used properly. The thearte did well until AMC Barrington showed up in 1998. Form then on, it was still popular but not as much. Titanic was there from its opening date until Godzilla kicked it out. That was probably the biggest failure with havign 9 screens and not filling one of them. Titanic was still selling out in one of the small theatres before that.
The reason why the theater needs to go, or at least is going, is maintenance. While I don’t have any specific facts, I have been attending it for as long as I can remember. I’m in my late teens now and have seen many movies there including two of the recent 3 Star Wars films at midnight. It’s a very preteen hangout spot, and as such, isn’t in the best condition. A lot of the technologies BWChicago mentioned, like the candy bagging areas, were short lived, those two turned into storage and movie poster areas. Another big reason is probably technology advances. Digital and 3D are the latest rage to which Randhurst has neither. I would not be surprised to see many if not entirely digital projection, that would be uber sweet. I wonder what will happen to the theatres when the 18 new ones open? The old Lowes on Algonquin became a banquet hall, but there wasn’t stadium seating there and there is here in all 16 screens which makes alternate uses more difficult.
-Brian
At the theater’s opening, some unique features included two self-serve bulk candy and bagged popcorn aisles, a HVAC system that operated based upon number of tickets sold for a given screen, partial stadium seating, love seats in the back row, Pizzeria Uno pizza, and French Quarter Coffee. An infomercial for WBBM-TV was shot here for the weeks following its opening.
Good grief. Damn, I love the current Randhurst. Looks like I better get down there and take some pictures.
I can only imagine that AMC will be the owners of the 18 screener.
The Randhurst is doomed, after only 10 years. It will be replaced by an 18-screener. Why?
View link
Here is a review of the old Randhurst from the Daily Herald in January 1981:
http://tinyurl.com/3y2qfn
By the time “Spider Man” (May, 2002) came out, it had just changed from General Cinema to AMC Theatres.
When exactly did AMC take over from General Cinemas? The only movie I saw here was SPIDERMAN in 2002 and I’m wondering if it was still a GC at the time.
I managed Randhurst Cinema from 1974 to 1975 when it was only a single screen. I always thought it was designed as a twin but they cut the blueprint in half and only built the west half of it. There was a vacant grassy area to the east of the building.
Erik,
I remember going to see Led Zepplin’s “The Song Remains The Same” at Randhurst at the same time “Rocky Horror” was playing. I remember fans of Led Zepplin and fans of Rocky Horror would argue (in good humor) which film was better. No one ever won that arguement because the doors would open and we’d all go in to see the movies.
Those were some fun times.
Mary
Before they tore it down, I worked for the Randhurst General Cinema theater in Mount Prospect, IL during 1986 as a minimum wage ticket-ripper, popcorn popper, concessions person, etc. (that old building was replaced by a multiplex nearly a decade ago)
At the time, their trailer was the GCC logo…arranged to resemble a movie projector camera…and it had a memorable little jingle, too. I kept the film of that trailer for years after they threw them out. I don’t think I still have it, though.
My memories of that year are mainly of watching the ENDINGS of the films over 100 times, just prior to cleaning the theater between showings. I’ve seen the end of TOP GUN 150 times… “you can be my wingman anytime.” over and over.
I remember that “Back to the Future” stayed in that theater for over 7 months… well into 1986. I also remember “The Money Pit,” “Howard the Duck,” “Pretty in Pink,” and midnight showings of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” which was 11 years old even back then. It was a fun time for me.
Erik in Chicago
This new theater was built by General Cinemas also.
AMC took over the chain in 2002.