AMC Esquire 7
6706 Clayton Road,
Richmond Heights,
MO
63117
6706 Clayton Road,
Richmond Heights,
MO
63117
11 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 53 comments
\o/ @ Norman Plant for that mid 70’s marquee shot. LOL @ the fact that “Flesh Gordon” was playing there! Somebody at Mid-America must have loved that movie…it ran at the Holiday Drive-In probably one or 2 weekends a year every year too. Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised – they DID operate a full blown porn house (Fine Arts) and featured a weekly diet of T & A at the Holiday, I-70 AND the Falcon Drive-Ins!
I only saw one movie here…“Fantasia”, when it was re-released in 1990. I remember driving by it many, many times when parents and I would visit the Science and Natural History Museums, which were in a park in Clayton at that time. When I last visited that neighborhood, it was really dead…hardly any activity at all on a weekday summer night. That’s not how it used to be…
I’d love to see a pic of the old #4…as well as a pic of the original #1 with the floodlights & curtain.
Theatre #4 opened in March 1977. This structure was demolished during the summer of 1989 with the present building with four screens opening that November.
JAlex posted this relevant Esquire info on the thread of another St. Louis area theatre:
“The Esquire converted to a three-screen venue in late 1969 and early 1970. The theatre was closed in December 1969 and the main theatre (without the balcony) reopened on December 25, 1969. The two mini-theatres (the old balcony) opened on February 4, 1970.”
When was the 4th auditorium was added? Also, when was the 4th aud rebuilt to add the 4 newer screens?
Currently advertised as AMC Esquire 7.
Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ya5gq8l
I suspect that the “City” folks patronize the Esquire because it’s familiar. They along with their families have been going there for DECADES!
That’s a 5 screener, right? Aren’t they more indie/arthouse oriented?
If I’m not mistaken, the Esquire is the only multiplex in close proximity to the “City” – what the locals call the city limits of St. Louis – which, for all intents and purposes, is basically “the hood.” That explains the savory characters that the other guy complained about.
Calling them PIGS is a bit harsh, though.
Cool looking movie house does not look bad to be 70 years old.Bad costumers however is not a new thing, working in the theatre business for Loews in Nashville years ago we had the same problem at horror movies and others.If you show classy movies you get classy customers if you show horror movies you get horror patrons, but as theatre owners know all their money is green.Go to the movies during the week when all the freaks stay home.
The Esquire audiences are NIGHTMARES of epic proportion…they TALK, they take cell phone calls, they bring in fast food to eat, they bring babies to horror films…they are like animals who have been let out of their cages and the management is apparently terrified of confronting the illiterate street trash for fear of lawsuits and/or physical violence.
Wanna witness a social experiment? Go see “Precious” at the Esquire on FRI or SAT night-you will think you stepped into Lord of the Flies. It is a parade of the lowest common denominators within our society-PIGS.
This week marks the Esquire’s 70th Anniversary. According to CinemaTour records, the theatre opened on November 8, 1939.
Here’s to you, Esquire – the movie theatre that made me love the movies!
Are there any interior pictures of this place from the 50’s – early 80’s floating around cyberspace? I’d love to see a picture of the main auditorium (w/the original curtain & floodlights) from those days.
Nice pic of “the good old days.” Wish they took another (or wider) shot to let us see what was showing on Screen 4.
This theatre hosted the premiere of the film Snipes, starring St. Louis native Nelly, on September 3rd, 2002. Footage of the premiere can be found on the film’s DVD.
Correcting the entry of 9/22/05:
The Esquire, because of a booking-jam in the first-run theatres, presented the first run of “Guys and Dolls” for nine weeks beginning 12/25/55. After this engagement, returned to the previous policy of second-run films.
In September 1956 the Esquire officially joined the ranks of first-run theatres with a booking of “Run for the Sun.”
The Des Peres offices are those of Wehrenberg, not AMC.
Nope, I didn’t, but didn’t their offices used to be under the De Peres Cine. They may know where/how I could get a duplicate or something. I may try that thanks.
Have you contacted AMC about it? Their regional offices are at the rear of the structure.
I was wondering if anyone knows of a picture of the main auditorium city scene on the wall. I was there last night and my “girlfriend” said she would like something like that and I should make one on a smaller scale for a house wall. Or if anyone knows where something just like it exists already to buy. It is really cool.
I was home in St. Louis on 6/21/07 and tried to catch Fantastic Four here assuming it would be in the main auditorium but Shrek The Third was there instead WTF?!) Oh well…I’ll catch my beloved some other time.
This theatre, along with the Creve Coeur Cinema, is the theatre that made me love movies. Some of my happiest memories have been spent at this theatre. Having said that, it’s time for a makeover! I last went here in Summer 04 for Spider-Man 2 and, sadly, it seemed like the old place was starting to fade just a bit. Hopefully AMC will buy the building next door so they can remodel the place into a multi-level theatre with more screens (they’ve got a prime example on how to achieve this with their AMC Empire 25 plex in NYC).
Theatre became exclusive first-run on December 25, 1955 with “Guys and Dolls.”
Indeed, Tom Terry did play the Fox WUrli. If he played an electronic at the Esquire it may have been an early Hammond.
JamesGrebe