I found some more listings. These aren’t necessarily the dates they opened but it was somewhere during their runs.
Airport 5/28/70 (Midland)
The Greatest Story Ever Told 5/28/65 (Empire)
Battle Of The Bulge 5/27/66 (Empire)
Cinerama’s Russian Adventure 10/7/66 (Empire)
Ice Station Zebra 12/27/68 (Empire)
This Is Cinerama (Reissue) 6/15/73 (Empire)
The Empire went from 3 strip to 70mm Cinerama in late 1963 so any Cinerama listing past 12/63 will be 70mm.
I forgot to post this scan of a piece of the carpet my buddy and I ripped out after the last movie I saw there in 2000. I feel it’s a one little piece of my favorite theater. I also have a piece of rock from one of the rock gardens by screen #2. Sure it’s vandalism but we didn’t care.
Here are some ticket stubs from Superman that were stapled inside a book I bought a few years ago. Most are from the Glenwood Theatre in Overland Park, KS but one is from the Northpoint.
Here’s a scan of a book I bought a few years ago with a bunch of Star Wars ticket stubs stapled to the front and back. A couple were from the Astor Plaza.
Here’s a scan of a book I bought I bought a few years ago with a bunch of Star Wars ticket stubs stapled inside. Most are from the Glenwood Theatre in Overland Park, KS but one is from the Cooper.
Hi Claydoh77. I appreciate your links to the Midland site. I was reading your posts about the Glenwood and tried to email you but your address didn’t work. I’d love to see those postcard images of the Glenwood you mentioned. Please email me at
Thanks! Here’s a picture I took of the Midland’s marquee last week.
Globe operates the Twin now. It’s on 291 Hwy and Kentucky Rd. so that address sounds right. The address above is for the old Independence Square theater, which is now called the Pharoah.
It doesn’t look like the arch to me but I guess it could have been inspired by it. I think the theater opened in 1965 or 66. I’m not sure. I’m trying to track down the opening date by going through the K.C. Star microfilm but I haven’t found it yet.
I went to a concert here last night and was impressed by this great old palace. They did a good job with the renovation but the new paint scheme is a little loud and garish. I’m very happy it’s still around though. It’s a great place to see a show, even if it’s not movies.
I’m very excited about the Empire reopening. I’m curious to see the interior. I wish more mainstream movies were being shown but that’s not a big deal. I have fond memories of both places from my childhood and hopefully will have many more.
I saw it at the Blue Ridge West theater in Kansas City, MO. It was right next door to one of my favorite arcades. It was great fun playing the game then seeing the movie. I was surprised it didn’t play at the much bigger and nicer Blue Ridge East theater across the street from the mall. It had 70mm capability and a pretty good sized screen. It would be been a perfect fit for the very cool computer imagery of the film.
I saw Superman The Movie there in 1978 and I know it had four screens, three upstairs and the main auditorium on the main floor as I recall. Here’s the ad for Superman’s release.
Here’s a recent picture of the old Capri.
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Here’s the opening day ad from the 11/24/65 KC Star.
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And here’s an opening soon ad from the 11/12/65 KC Star.
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I found some more listings. These aren’t necessarily the dates they opened but it was somewhere during their runs.
Airport 5/28/70 (Midland)
The Greatest Story Ever Told 5/28/65 (Empire)
Battle Of The Bulge 5/27/66 (Empire)
Cinerama’s Russian Adventure 10/7/66 (Empire)
Ice Station Zebra 12/27/68 (Empire)
This Is Cinerama (Reissue) 6/15/73 (Empire)
The Empire went from 3 strip to 70mm Cinerama in late 1963 so any Cinerama listing past 12/63 will be 70mm.
I went and saw Indy 4 at the Twin and took some pictures.
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Here’s the KC Star ad for Star Wars' opening on 5/26/77.
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I forgot to post this scan of a piece of the carpet my buddy and I ripped out after the last movie I saw there in 2000. I feel it’s a one little piece of my favorite theater. I also have a piece of rock from one of the rock gardens by screen #2. Sure it’s vandalism but we didn’t care.
View link
Here are some ticket stubs from Superman that were stapled inside a book I bought a few years ago. Most are from the Glenwood Theatre in Overland Park, KS but one is from the Northpoint.
View link
And here are some stubs from Superman The Movie which played at the Glenwood in December 1978.
View link
Here’s a scan of a book I bought a few years ago with a bunch of Star Wars ticket stubs stapled to the front and back. A couple were from the Astor Plaza.
View link
Here’s a scan of a book I bought I bought a few years ago with a bunch of Star Wars ticket stubs stapled inside. Most are from the Glenwood Theatre in Overland Park, KS but one is from the Cooper.
View link
Here’s a scan of a bunch of Glenwood ticket stubs from Star Wars in 1977. They were stapled in a book I bought a few years ago.
View link
Here’s a photo of the Empire I took last week. It looks like things are going pretty good with the restoration.
View link
Hi Claydoh77. I appreciate your links to the Midland site. I was reading your posts about the Glenwood and tried to email you but your address didn’t work. I’d love to see those postcard images of the Glenwood you mentioned. Please email me at
Thanks! Here’s a picture I took of the Midland’s marquee last week.
View link
Here’s a picture from 1997. From the book The Plaza First And Always by William S. Worley.
View link
Globe operates the Twin now. It’s on 291 Hwy and Kentucky Rd. so that address sounds right. The address above is for the old Independence Square theater, which is now called the Pharoah.
It doesn’t look like the arch to me but I guess it could have been inspired by it. I think the theater opened in 1965 or 66. I’m not sure. I’m trying to track down the opening date by going through the K.C. Star microfilm but I haven’t found it yet.
I went to a concert here last night and was impressed by this great old palace. They did a good job with the renovation but the new paint scheme is a little loud and garish. I’m very happy it’s still around though. It’s a great place to see a show, even if it’s not movies.
I’m very excited about the Empire reopening. I’m curious to see the interior. I wish more mainstream movies were being shown but that’s not a big deal. I have fond memories of both places from my childhood and hopefully will have many more.
Here are a couple of ads for the Glenwood Manor motel complex, of which the theatre was part of when it first opened.
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I saw it at the Blue Ridge West theater in Kansas City, MO. It was right next door to one of my favorite arcades. It was great fun playing the game then seeing the movie. I was surprised it didn’t play at the much bigger and nicer Blue Ridge East theater across the street from the mall. It had 70mm capability and a pretty good sized screen. It would be been a perfect fit for the very cool computer imagery of the film.
Here’s a picture of the marquee from 1979. From the book Great American Movie Theaters by David Naylor.
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Here are a couple of pictures of the marquee from the early 80’s.
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Here’s a picture of the marquee from 1975. It’s from the book The Front Row: Missouri’s Grand Theaters by Mary Bagley.
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The Empire had four screens as early as 1975, as this newspaper ad shows.
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I saw Superman The Movie there in 1978 and I know it had four screens, three upstairs and the main auditorium on the main floor as I recall. Here’s the ad for Superman’s release.
View link
I can’t wait to see the new theater when AMC reopens it.
Here’s a newspaper ad celebrating the opening of this theater on June 20, 1975.
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