Lefont Toco Hills Theatre
3003 N. Druid Hills Road NE,
Atlanta,
GA
30329
3003 N. Druid Hills Road NE,
Atlanta,
GA
30329
3 people
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Growing up, I lived in the neighborhood of the Toco Hills Theatre and remember its construction. It was built at one end of the Toco Hills Shopping Center, a strip mall, in 1964. Toco Hills was expanding at the time and an extension to the single line of stores, fronted by acres of suburban parking, was crowned with the construction of the theatre. Further additions to the strip were added around the theatre in later years, as I recall.
The last time I was there in 2000, the area looked more developed but also sadly desolate.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the Kirkwood Theatre, which once stood at 1965 Boulevard Drive in the Kirkwood business district, was demolished years ago. A fire had damaged the theater severely years earlier. It stood empty until the the wreckers delivered the coup de grace around 1985.
In the 1950’s, I knew the Kirkwood Theater well, before they became and adult theater, circa 1960. Trust me, it’s long gone.
In 2003, the last time that I was in Atlanta, there was another vintage theater still standing in Atlanta’s Southeast side. The former Atlantic Theatre still stood on Memorial Drive located in a small strip mall on the south side of Memorial Drive, west of Clifton Street. It originally opened in 1963 next to what was then the Atlantic Discount Center. It had a relatively brief life as a movie house. The neighborhood was changing by the time the theater originally opened. Later it operated as a disco. Unfortunately, I cannot imagine that the neighborhood would make a viable site for a movie house today.
As far as the Toco Hills Theatre went, it was a modest sized 1960’s vintage theater with a good size screen.
I don’t know if these properties are on the market, but you might want to check them out. They are vintage theatres and to the best of my knowledge are not currently being used for either live performances or film exhibition:
Hilan Theatre on 800 N Highland, Atlanta
Kirkwood Theatre on Kirkwood, SE Atlanta
Towne Cinema, Avondale Estates
Cobb Cinema on S Cobb Dr in Smyrna
Cobb, about 3 doors down from the Stand on the square in Marietta
Temple on Cherokee Ave SE near Grant Park
I looked into reopening this theater, and when we contacted the management company they told us that they were in the middle of flattening the slope floor to make it useable as retail space. I would consider this theater demolished.
But does anyone know of a theater for sale/lease in Georgia?
Actually Toco Hills had been operated by quite a few people. I believe it was part of the Cobb chain way back, later an Eastern Federal property, Storey operated it a while, a independent operator or two then Lefont, the last operator. There may have been other operators as well. Same basic setup as the long gone Miracle in Smyrna, the closed North Springs in N. Fulton, the Belvedere, now an adult theater, all at one time part of the Eastern Federal chain.