Vernon E. Sager opened the new-build Southern Theater in 1917 and his confectionery experience was put to good use in the concession area. The theater was then operated by Elizabeth Sager who installed sound in 1930 to remain viable. She sold the theater to the Spayne family in 1932 who ran both it and, later, the neighboring tavern for decades. Nicolas and then Ray Spayne steered the theater to closing in the 1960s.
Continuous movie operation ended with German language films on July 31, 1963 playing “Der Traeumende Mund” and “Weisser Holunder.” The venue was then refreshed and had a grand reopening as the Southern Theatre playing live Country and Western music. A live simulcast on radio proved popular running to April 23, 1967 likely at the end of a second, 25-year leasing period. The theater appears to have had a period of vacancy thereafter. The Spaynes decided to raze the theatre’s auditorium in 1979 to provide parking for their tavern next door.
This project was announced in November of 1917 as the Hippodrome and Hippodrome Arcade. The Hippodrome would be a 3,000 seat theater at 182 South Main and shares of stock were sold to the public for $10 a share. But shares went to nothing in 1921 as the Hippodrome project stalled with the majority of the arcade completed but just the theater’s lobby completed on the exhibition side.
A sheriffs sale of the property in 1925 drew interest from Marcus Loew who bought the property. After much inspection, the existing Hipp (to be) lobby area and arcade entry were okayed for usage followed by the plans for a new Loews theater in 1928. After delays, Loews would eventually turn the venue into a modern talkie theater launching in 1929 - just 11 years after the building started. It was Akron’s first movie house built with the new medium of sound.
The Keith-Albee Palace Theatre was the third Palace Theatre in Akron and by far its most remembered. Rapp & Rapp went for a Louis XV design with interior colors of rose, blue, black and gold. The venue was actually two buildings - one was the lobby, arcade and passageway to the second building - the auditorium. Two levels below the auditorium was the venue’s and the arcade’s kitchen. Up one level was the stagehands, musician’s, and animal handler’s rooms. On the main floor were dressing rooms.
The venue would both get sound and - with the founding of RKO Pictures in 1929 - it would be renamed. The Albee name was retired in many Keith-Albee locations. The Akron venue was slightly renamed in 1930 as the RKO Palace Theater. It was a name that would be short-lived. The RKO nameplate was removed in 1933 when the venue was dropped by RKO and picked up by Chatfield Theaters as the Palace Theater. Monarch Theatres took on the venue shortly thereafter continuing it as the Palace Theater.
In 1945, Lou Gamble and Gamble Enterprises operated the venue also as the Palace Theater. Finally, on September 28, 1956, Smith Management / Midwest Drive-In Theaters (later General Drive-In and General Cinema) bought the lease of the venue from Gamble General Cinema Corp. closed the Palace Theater on March 1, 1966 at the end of a second 20-year leasing period with Karel Stepanek in “The Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World.” Manager Ernie Austgen had been the manager there since 1951 and was despondent by all reports.
The theater wasn’t quite done, however, reopening for live events as the Palace Theater into 1969. In 1969, it had a brief run as a house of worship as the Palace Club. But a broken water main in January of 1970 hastened the eventual course of the theater/club. The Palace was razed in October of 1970. The Palace had played host to Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Cab Calloway, Bing Crosby and many others. Even in demolition, one can see that the Palace had earned its moniker. The theater barely outlasted another of Akron’s long-standing downtown venues when the Colonial was also torn down earlier in 1970. Both the Colonial and the Palace became parking areas.
Obviously, the name of this entry should be the Palace Theatre… but because there were three Palace Theaters (see “Little Palace Theatre” for the second Akron Palace location), the RKO moniker does give it distinction.
Regal launched its Regal Lafayette Square 7 in 1991 and closed it at the expiry of a 20-year leasing period in 2011. Odyssey Entertainment took on the venue immediately thereafter giving it a refresh with new seating. It relaunched in March of 2011.
Odyssey temporarily closed in March 16, 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 21, 2020, the Odyssey Circuit reopened the Lafayette Square. But the business environment had changed. Odyssey closed permanently here on February 23, 2023. Bryan Sieve, President of Odyssey Theatres said simply, “We had hoped business levels in Marietta would have returned to pre-pandemic levels but they simply have not.” Lease negotiations did not result in a favorable outcome that might have provided a sustainable path forward. The Circuit that includes both the Odyssey and CineMagic brand was then reduced to just seven remaining theatre locations with 48 total screens across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and Ohio.
The Brannon Square Shopping Center was announced in 1977 and opened in 1978. The Septum Brannon Square Twin Cinema I & II launched with the Center showing “Oliver’s Story” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” on December 15, 1979. The theatre was renamed as the Navrang Theatre and then the Digimax into the 2020s; it just seemed to be getting better all the time.
The Regal Interstate Parkway 14 launched at the beginning of the megalplex boom in cinema exhibition history. The venue launched December 21, 1994 with wall-to-wall screens, an unscale coffee stand in Café Gregory, and computerized ticketing in which credit card reservations could be made in advance.
The venue added four more screens beginning on January 8, 1999 to become the Regal Interstate Park 18.
Septum Cinemas originated out of Star Cinemas' reorganization of the failed Georgia Jerry Lewis Cinema locations in 1973. All of those venues were looking for new managerial help once Network Cinemas and Lewis had ceased operations in 1973. The Memorial Drive Cinema 5 opening in 1982 and the Holcomb Woods in 1985 were Septum’s / Robert Busman’s most ambitious projects with each featuring a 70mm auditorium. The David Blumenthal architectural style of the Memorial 5 was an Art Deco appeal to the 1930s including large posters of studio-era stars on the wall.
The Septum Memorial Drive 5 launched on on December 8, 1982 with “Another 48 Hours” as the only film. Two days later, the venue had another audi ready with “The Toy” and on December 17, 1982, all five scenes were functioning as the theater added “Tootise,” “Best Friends,” and “Trail of the Pink Panther.” In March of 1986, Cineplex Odeon’s then-subsidiary Plitt Theatres bought Septum’s 48 screens for $11 million. The theater, however, continued as the Septum Memorial Drive 5 for two more years until April 3, 1988.
On April 4, 1988, the venue became the Cineplex Odeon Memorial Drive 5 Cinema and the Septum name was retired. Cineplex closed the Memorial Dr. 5 on March 17, 1996 with “The Birdcage,” “Hellraiser 4,” “City Hall,” “Don’t Be a Menace,” and “Rumble in the Bronx.” After other uses, the venue was transformed to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in 2005.
Septum Cinemas was built on the back of Jerry Lewis Cinema locations that were looking for new managerial help once Network Cinemas and Lewis ceased operations. The Holcomb Woods' June 14, 1985 grand opening ad is in photos. The new build venue was Septum’s most ambitious project along with the Memorial Drive Cinema 5 and both featured a 70mm auditorium. In March of 1986, Cineplex Odeon’s then-subsidiary Plitt Theatres bought Septum’s 48 screens for $11 million. The theater continued as the Septum Holcomb Woods 6 for two years.
In March of 1988, the venue became the Cineplex Odeon Holcomb Woods 6 Cinema. Cineplex closed here at a 10-year opt-out point of a lease on June 21, 1995. On October 27, 1995, it became the Carmike Cinemas Holcomb Woods 6. on a discount sub-run policy with all seats $1. Carmike would change the venue to a first-run policy before closing in August of 2000 at the opt out of its leasing contract now at 15 years.
The fledgling Entertainment Film Works (EFW) Circuit took on the venue one last time beginning on March 2, 2001 taking over many multiplexes closed due to flux in the exhibition industry not limited to General Cinemas departure and rampant bankruptcy protection by chains including Carmike, Edwards, Landmark and Regal/UA all in 2000. The last ad for the EFW Holcomb Woods 6 appears on October 7, 2001 - likely the venue’s swan song.
Tri-City Mall opened in 1968 theatre-lessly. The Mann 4 Theatres Tri-City Mall launched with “Crocodile Dundee,” “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Tin Men” and “Burglar” on May 22, 1987. The Tri-City also added a food court in the 18-year old facility’s second expansion in three years. The theatre laid an egg and on September 4, 1987, its programming policy was changed to a sub-run, ultra-discount dollar house playing two features for a dollar and renamed as the Mann 4 Tri-City Dollar Theatres. Mann bolted the dying mall at the end of May of 1993 but not before changing its name to the Mann Tri-City Dollar Theatres (ending with five screens instead of four, it had dropped the numeral from the moniker).
Harkins took on the venue on June 4, 1993 as the Harkins Tri-City 5 $1.50 Theatre. It was the circuit’s 27th theater. The venue was closed for a brief period with Harkins reopening as the Harkins Tri-City 5 Theatres - hopefully without paying much in rent and still operating as a $1.50 discount house. Harkins took an opt out on February 16, 1998 as the Mall was in irreversible greyfield status - a term associated with a “dead mall.” Harkins ended the venue’s run shy of 11 years and JC Penney would not extend its 30-year lease basically ending the Tri-City Mall’s run. Your final Harkins' double features were “In & Out” with “Seven Years in Tibet,” “Rocketeer” with “Fairy Tale: A True Story,” “Kiss the Girls” with “The Jackal,” “Devil’s Advocate” with “Mad City,” and “Starship Troopers” with - of course - “Walt Disney’s The Little Mermaid.”
With just six stores remaining in the Mall post-Harkins and JC Penney departures, the wise decision was made to demolish the 30-year old Tri-City Mall in favor of the strip shopping center, Tri-City Pavillions. The Penney building did remain - though was demolished in 2008 ending the original Mall’s legacy 40 years after it had launched. (BTW: as you may have gathered, there was no period of the theater’s operation as the “Tri-City Cinemas” though it’s a really good name.)
The Treasure Village Shopping Center on Buford Highway was anchored by a new-build Jerry Lewis Cinema. By the time the venue opened, Network Cinema’s phones were disconnected and Jerry Lewis had ankled the project. Star Cinemas took on this location just three months after it had opened along the Jerry Lewis Old Dixie, Mableton, and Roswell locations in May of 1973. It was renamed as the Buford Highway Twin Cinema I & II.
In 1975, the venues were then under the Septum Twin Cinemas / Septum Cinemas banner. “Star Wars” had a record run there making over $150,000 23 weeks playing in Dolby Stereo from December 23, 1977. As competition increased, the venue used one auditorium for X-rated fare beginning in the 1980s which had an amazing ten-plus year run. In 1991, the venue began booking Indian films under Monty Hadda’s watch which proved so popular that others copied the move. The Buford would move back to full time adult cinema capping an amazing run in June of 2015. Considering that 185 out of 200 Jerry Lewis locations reportedly lost money, the Buford and the Roswell locations were easily two of the Jerry Lewis Cinema Circuit’s most profitable locations that stayed with their original screen count.
The December 17, 1971 Grand Opening ad of the Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema in Mableton with “Evel Knievel” in Mableton I Auditorium and “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” in Mableton II Auditorium is posted in photos. Star Cinemas took on this location and the Jerry Lewis Old Dixie, Buford Highway, Snellville, and Rosswell locations in May of 1973 with Lewis and Network Cinema out of business and under legal challenges. Other operators followed suite around the country. This location was renamed as the Mableton Twin Cinema I & II by Star Cinemas.
In 1974, the venues were then under the Septum Twin Cinemas / Septum Cinemas banner. In 1978, the venue became the Mableton Triple Cinema I, II & III. After Septum moved on form the location in 1982, new operators renamed it as the Mableton Hilltop Cinema through 1984. It then became the Hilltop Family Cinema late in 1984. Jack and Phyllis Hubbard operated it for many years. The venue has since closed.
The architect of the Canton Village Shopping Center location of this Jerry Lewis Cinema was W.J. Ostrowski for operator Richard T. Hooker Sr. & Associates. Seat count was 350. Franchise owner Murray Levine left the operation here and in Suffield, South Windsor and Manchester reportedly without paying rent in 1978. Sheriff Richard Ostop served the papers and then ran the theater in hopes of paying of the creditors as the renamed Canton Village Cinema on March 23, 1978 and closing in 1979, as noted above.
The Hunting Ridge Mall was announced at 448 Post Road in 1970 with an A&P anchoring the 15-store plaza. The Mall was constructed in 1971 and a 350-seat automated Jerry Lewis Cinema was an original tenant. The venue launched after a significant delay on October 25, 1972 with Robert Redford in “The Candidate.” As the theatre was preparing its launch, it received a unanimous thumbs down from the city’s zoning board on operating with matinees due to parking concerns. That rule was overturned in December of 1972.
Meanwhile, over at Jerry Lewis Cinemas Inc. and its parent company, Network Cinema, things weren’t going too well. Lawsuits were piling up in late-1972 against the circuit for price gouging, lack of support, and inflated claims. This location was probably not too happy about falling behind schedule for nearly a year. 1973 brought Jerry Lewis parting ways with the dying concept and Network Cinema’s bankruptcy. On April 5th, 1973, Network Cinema’s phones were disconnected.
Give this location credit for dumping the Lewis name within just two months of its opening date. On December 22, 1972, the venue was renamed as Cinema 22 and the family-friendly policy espoused by Mr. Lewis was over quickly. The venue showed a double feature of “Swinging Stewardesses” and “Swinging Pussycats” just two weeks later. Though it was in keeping with the “porno chic” era of cinema exhibition, this was not what the Hunting Ridge Mall bargained for. “Gone With the Wind” was replaced with “The Sensuous Teenager” and “Love Under 17.”
The venue was operated by the Brandt Circuit from 1973 until its closure on Labor Day, September 7, 1987 with “Hamburger Hill.
This theater opened in Beaver, West Virginia (zip code 25813) about 1.2 miles from Glen Rogers and operated with the same owner in Stanley Walker. The theatre transitioned to widescreen projection to show CinemaScope titles in 1955. The Beaver closed in 1958.
The AMC Cantera 30 launched at the height of the mega-led boom. Announced in 1996, the venue launched on March 20, 1998. In 2005, AMC merged with the Loews Circuit. In 2007, the Cantera was renamed as the AMC Loews Cantera 30. In 2010, AMC acquired the Kerasotes Circuit of theaters causing competition issues. On June 28, 2010, AMC sold four locations to Regal to be in compliance including the Cantera.
On July 12, 2010, the venue was renamed as the Regal Cantera 30. Regal was neither a proponent nor practitioner of 24+ screen megaplexes. A deal was consummated in 2011 with Regal off-loading 13 screens carving up the property - a move that had occurred in a number of other AMC 24+ locations. On September 30, 2011, the downsized venue became the Regal Cantera Stadium 17 and, in 2013, it added an RPX screens as the renamed Regal Cantera Stadium & RPX. The Main Event upscale arcade took on the 13-screen area redeveloping it for its newest location that launched in September of 2014.
Regal closed the Cantera on March 16, 2020 for the COVD-19 pandemic along with all other hardtop theaters. The venue reopened in September of 2020 but closed again on October 8, 2020 along with the Cineworld / Regal locations again due to COVID-19. The venue reopened in 2021.
Today (February 9, 2023) is the venue’s final date of operation.
Vernon E. Sager opened the new-build Southern Theater in 1917 and his confectionery experience was put to good use in the concession area. The theater was then operated by Elizabeth Sager who installed sound in 1930 to remain viable. She sold the theater to the Spayne family in 1932 who ran both it and, later, the neighboring tavern for decades. Nicolas and then Ray Spayne steered the theater to closing in the 1960s.
Continuous movie operation ended with German language films on July 31, 1963 playing “Der Traeumende Mund” and “Weisser Holunder.” The venue was then refreshed and had a grand reopening as the Southern Theatre playing live Country and Western music. A live simulcast on radio proved popular running to April 23, 1967 likely at the end of a second, 25-year leasing period. The theater appears to have had a period of vacancy thereafter. The Spaynes decided to raze the theatre’s auditorium in 1979 to provide parking for their tavern next door.
This project was announced in November of 1917 as the Hippodrome and Hippodrome Arcade. The Hippodrome would be a 3,000 seat theater at 182 South Main and shares of stock were sold to the public for $10 a share. But shares went to nothing in 1921 as the Hippodrome project stalled with the majority of the arcade completed but just the theater’s lobby completed on the exhibition side.
A sheriffs sale of the property in 1925 drew interest from Marcus Loew who bought the property. After much inspection, the existing Hipp (to be) lobby area and arcade entry were okayed for usage followed by the plans for a new Loews theater in 1928. After delays, Loews would eventually turn the venue into a modern talkie theater launching in 1929 - just 11 years after the building started. It was Akron’s first movie house built with the new medium of sound.
The Keith-Albee Palace Theatre was the third Palace Theatre in Akron and by far its most remembered. Rapp & Rapp went for a Louis XV design with interior colors of rose, blue, black and gold. The venue was actually two buildings - one was the lobby, arcade and passageway to the second building - the auditorium. Two levels below the auditorium was the venue’s and the arcade’s kitchen. Up one level was the stagehands, musician’s, and animal handler’s rooms. On the main floor were dressing rooms.
The venue would both get sound and - with the founding of RKO Pictures in 1929 - it would be renamed. The Albee name was retired in many Keith-Albee locations. The Akron venue was slightly renamed in 1930 as the RKO Palace Theater. It was a name that would be short-lived. The RKO nameplate was removed in 1933 when the venue was dropped by RKO and picked up by Chatfield Theaters as the Palace Theater. Monarch Theatres took on the venue shortly thereafter continuing it as the Palace Theater.
In 1945, Lou Gamble and Gamble Enterprises operated the venue also as the Palace Theater. Finally, on September 28, 1956, Smith Management / Midwest Drive-In Theaters (later General Drive-In and General Cinema) bought the lease of the venue from Gamble General Cinema Corp. closed the Palace Theater on March 1, 1966 at the end of a second 20-year leasing period with Karel Stepanek in “The Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World.” Manager Ernie Austgen had been the manager there since 1951 and was despondent by all reports.
The theater wasn’t quite done, however, reopening for live events as the Palace Theater into 1969. In 1969, it had a brief run as a house of worship as the Palace Club. But a broken water main in January of 1970 hastened the eventual course of the theater/club. The Palace was razed in October of 1970. The Palace had played host to Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Cab Calloway, Bing Crosby and many others. Even in demolition, one can see that the Palace had earned its moniker. The theater barely outlasted another of Akron’s long-standing downtown venues when the Colonial was also torn down earlier in 1970. Both the Colonial and the Palace became parking areas.
Obviously, the name of this entry should be the Palace Theatre… but because there were three Palace Theaters (see “Little Palace Theatre” for the second Akron Palace location), the RKO moniker does give it distinction.
1958
The theatre management changed their closing date to sometime in late April 2023.
Regal launched its Regal Lafayette Square 7 in 1991 and closed it at the expiry of a 20-year leasing period in 2011. Odyssey Entertainment took on the venue immediately thereafter giving it a refresh with new seating. It relaunched in March of 2011.
Odyssey temporarily closed in March 16, 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 21, 2020, the Odyssey Circuit reopened the Lafayette Square. But the business environment had changed. Odyssey closed permanently here on February 23, 2023. Bryan Sieve, President of Odyssey Theatres said simply, “We had hoped business levels in Marietta would have returned to pre-pandemic levels but they simply have not.” Lease negotiations did not result in a favorable outcome that might have provided a sustainable path forward. The Circuit that includes both the Odyssey and CineMagic brand was then reduced to just seven remaining theatre locations with 48 total screens across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and Ohio.
The Brannon Square Shopping Center was announced in 1977 and opened in 1978. The Septum Brannon Square Twin Cinema I & II launched with the Center showing “Oliver’s Story” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” on December 15, 1979. The theatre was renamed as the Navrang Theatre and then the Digimax into the 2020s; it just seemed to be getting better all the time.
The Regal Interstate Parkway 14 launched at the beginning of the megalplex boom in cinema exhibition history. The venue launched December 21, 1994 with wall-to-wall screens, an unscale coffee stand in Café Gregory, and computerized ticketing in which credit card reservations could be made in advance.
The venue added four more screens beginning on January 8, 1999 to become the Regal Interstate Park 18.
Launched April 16, 1949 with Louis Jordan with “Beware!“ and Rocky Lane in "Oklahoma Badlands.”
Septum Cinemas originated out of Star Cinemas' reorganization of the failed Georgia Jerry Lewis Cinema locations in 1973. All of those venues were looking for new managerial help once Network Cinemas and Lewis had ceased operations in 1973. The Memorial Drive Cinema 5 opening in 1982 and the Holcomb Woods in 1985 were Septum’s / Robert Busman’s most ambitious projects with each featuring a 70mm auditorium. The David Blumenthal architectural style of the Memorial 5 was an Art Deco appeal to the 1930s including large posters of studio-era stars on the wall.
The Septum Memorial Drive 5 launched on on December 8, 1982 with “Another 48 Hours” as the only film. Two days later, the venue had another audi ready with “The Toy” and on December 17, 1982, all five scenes were functioning as the theater added “Tootise,” “Best Friends,” and “Trail of the Pink Panther.” In March of 1986, Cineplex Odeon’s then-subsidiary Plitt Theatres bought Septum’s 48 screens for $11 million. The theater, however, continued as the Septum Memorial Drive 5 for two more years until April 3, 1988.
On April 4, 1988, the venue became the Cineplex Odeon Memorial Drive 5 Cinema and the Septum name was retired. Cineplex closed the Memorial Dr. 5 on March 17, 1996 with “The Birdcage,” “Hellraiser 4,” “City Hall,” “Don’t Be a Menace,” and “Rumble in the Bronx.” After other uses, the venue was transformed to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in 2005.
Septum Cinemas was built on the back of Jerry Lewis Cinema locations that were looking for new managerial help once Network Cinemas and Lewis ceased operations. The Holcomb Woods' June 14, 1985 grand opening ad is in photos. The new build venue was Septum’s most ambitious project along with the Memorial Drive Cinema 5 and both featured a 70mm auditorium. In March of 1986, Cineplex Odeon’s then-subsidiary Plitt Theatres bought Septum’s 48 screens for $11 million. The theater continued as the Septum Holcomb Woods 6 for two years.
In March of 1988, the venue became the Cineplex Odeon Holcomb Woods 6 Cinema. Cineplex closed here at a 10-year opt-out point of a lease on June 21, 1995. On October 27, 1995, it became the Carmike Cinemas Holcomb Woods 6. on a discount sub-run policy with all seats $1. Carmike would change the venue to a first-run policy before closing in August of 2000 at the opt out of its leasing contract now at 15 years.
The fledgling Entertainment Film Works (EFW) Circuit took on the venue one last time beginning on March 2, 2001 taking over many multiplexes closed due to flux in the exhibition industry not limited to General Cinemas departure and rampant bankruptcy protection by chains including Carmike, Edwards, Landmark and Regal/UA all in 2000. The last ad for the EFW Holcomb Woods 6 appears on October 7, 2001 - likely the venue’s swan song.
Tri-City Mall opened in 1968 theatre-lessly. The Mann 4 Theatres Tri-City Mall launched with “Crocodile Dundee,” “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Tin Men” and “Burglar” on May 22, 1987. The Tri-City also added a food court in the 18-year old facility’s second expansion in three years. The theatre laid an egg and on September 4, 1987, its programming policy was changed to a sub-run, ultra-discount dollar house playing two features for a dollar and renamed as the Mann 4 Tri-City Dollar Theatres. Mann bolted the dying mall at the end of May of 1993 but not before changing its name to the Mann Tri-City Dollar Theatres (ending with five screens instead of four, it had dropped the numeral from the moniker).
Harkins took on the venue on June 4, 1993 as the Harkins Tri-City 5 $1.50 Theatre. It was the circuit’s 27th theater. The venue was closed for a brief period with Harkins reopening as the Harkins Tri-City 5 Theatres - hopefully without paying much in rent and still operating as a $1.50 discount house. Harkins took an opt out on February 16, 1998 as the Mall was in irreversible greyfield status - a term associated with a “dead mall.” Harkins ended the venue’s run shy of 11 years and JC Penney would not extend its 30-year lease basically ending the Tri-City Mall’s run. Your final Harkins' double features were “In & Out” with “Seven Years in Tibet,” “Rocketeer” with “Fairy Tale: A True Story,” “Kiss the Girls” with “The Jackal,” “Devil’s Advocate” with “Mad City,” and “Starship Troopers” with - of course - “Walt Disney’s The Little Mermaid.”
With just six stores remaining in the Mall post-Harkins and JC Penney departures, the wise decision was made to demolish the 30-year old Tri-City Mall in favor of the strip shopping center, Tri-City Pavillions. The Penney building did remain - though was demolished in 2008 ending the original Mall’s legacy 40 years after it had launched. (BTW: as you may have gathered, there was no period of the theater’s operation as the “Tri-City Cinemas” though it’s a really good name.)
Harkins
This venue opened in 1972 for franchisee Mini Movie Corp. in the McLean Shopping Center as the Jerry Lewis Cinema.
The Treasure Village Shopping Center on Buford Highway was anchored by a new-build Jerry Lewis Cinema. By the time the venue opened, Network Cinema’s phones were disconnected and Jerry Lewis had ankled the project. Star Cinemas took on this location just three months after it had opened along the Jerry Lewis Old Dixie, Mableton, and Roswell locations in May of 1973. It was renamed as the Buford Highway Twin Cinema I & II.
In 1975, the venues were then under the Septum Twin Cinemas / Septum Cinemas banner. “Star Wars” had a record run there making over $150,000 23 weeks playing in Dolby Stereo from December 23, 1977. As competition increased, the venue used one auditorium for X-rated fare beginning in the 1980s which had an amazing ten-plus year run. In 1991, the venue began booking Indian films under Monty Hadda’s watch which proved so popular that others copied the move. The Buford would move back to full time adult cinema capping an amazing run in June of 2015. Considering that 185 out of 200 Jerry Lewis locations reportedly lost money, the Buford and the Roswell locations were easily two of the Jerry Lewis Cinema Circuit’s most profitable locations that stayed with their original screen count.
The December 17, 1971 Grand Opening ad of the Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema in Mableton with “Evel Knievel” in Mableton I Auditorium and “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” in Mableton II Auditorium is posted in photos. Star Cinemas took on this location and the Jerry Lewis Old Dixie, Buford Highway, Snellville, and Rosswell locations in May of 1973 with Lewis and Network Cinema out of business and under legal challenges. Other operators followed suite around the country. This location was renamed as the Mableton Twin Cinema I & II by Star Cinemas.
In 1974, the venues were then under the Septum Twin Cinemas / Septum Cinemas banner. In 1978, the venue became the Mableton Triple Cinema I, II & III. After Septum moved on form the location in 1982, new operators renamed it as the Mableton Hilltop Cinema through 1984. It then became the Hilltop Family Cinema late in 1984. Jack and Phyllis Hubbard operated it for many years. The venue has since closed.
The architect of the Canton Village Shopping Center location of this Jerry Lewis Cinema was W.J. Ostrowski for operator Richard T. Hooker Sr. & Associates. Seat count was 350. Franchise owner Murray Levine left the operation here and in Suffield, South Windsor and Manchester reportedly without paying rent in 1978. Sheriff Richard Ostop served the papers and then ran the theater in hopes of paying of the creditors as the renamed Canton Village Cinema on March 23, 1978 and closing in 1979, as noted above.
The Hunting Ridge Mall was announced at 448 Post Road in 1970 with an A&P anchoring the 15-store plaza. The Mall was constructed in 1971 and a 350-seat automated Jerry Lewis Cinema was an original tenant. The venue launched after a significant delay on October 25, 1972 with Robert Redford in “The Candidate.” As the theatre was preparing its launch, it received a unanimous thumbs down from the city’s zoning board on operating with matinees due to parking concerns. That rule was overturned in December of 1972.
Meanwhile, over at Jerry Lewis Cinemas Inc. and its parent company, Network Cinema, things weren’t going too well. Lawsuits were piling up in late-1972 against the circuit for price gouging, lack of support, and inflated claims. This location was probably not too happy about falling behind schedule for nearly a year. 1973 brought Jerry Lewis parting ways with the dying concept and Network Cinema’s bankruptcy. On April 5th, 1973, Network Cinema’s phones were disconnected.
Give this location credit for dumping the Lewis name within just two months of its opening date. On December 22, 1972, the venue was renamed as Cinema 22 and the family-friendly policy espoused by Mr. Lewis was over quickly. The venue showed a double feature of “Swinging Stewardesses” and “Swinging Pussycats” just two weeks later. Though it was in keeping with the “porno chic” era of cinema exhibition, this was not what the Hunting Ridge Mall bargained for. “Gone With the Wind” was replaced with “The Sensuous Teenager” and “Love Under 17.”
The venue was operated by the Brandt Circuit from 1973 until its closure on Labor Day, September 7, 1987 with “Hamburger Hill.
Closed permanently in January of 2023.
Closes permanently on January 31, 2023.
Closed permanently January 26, 2023
The Cinema 414 launched likely with 16mm projection on September 25, 1970 with “The Crazy World of Laurel and Hardy” with “The Best of W.C. Fields.”
This theater opened in Beaver, West Virginia (zip code 25813) about 1.2 miles from Glen Rogers and operated with the same owner in Stanley Walker. The theatre transitioned to widescreen projection to show CinemaScope titles in 1955. The Beaver closed in 1958.
The AMC Cantera 30 launched at the height of the mega-led boom. Announced in 1996, the venue launched on March 20, 1998. In 2005, AMC merged with the Loews Circuit. In 2007, the Cantera was renamed as the AMC Loews Cantera 30. In 2010, AMC acquired the Kerasotes Circuit of theaters causing competition issues. On June 28, 2010, AMC sold four locations to Regal to be in compliance including the Cantera.
On July 12, 2010, the venue was renamed as the Regal Cantera 30. Regal was neither a proponent nor practitioner of 24+ screen megaplexes. A deal was consummated in 2011 with Regal off-loading 13 screens carving up the property - a move that had occurred in a number of other AMC 24+ locations. On September 30, 2011, the downsized venue became the Regal Cantera Stadium 17 and, in 2013, it added an RPX screens as the renamed Regal Cantera Stadium & RPX. The Main Event upscale arcade took on the 13-screen area redeveloping it for its newest location that launched in September of 2014.
Regal closed the Cantera on March 16, 2020 for the COVD-19 pandemic along with all other hardtop theaters. The venue reopened in September of 2020 but closed again on October 8, 2020 along with the Cineworld / Regal locations again due to COVID-19. The venue reopened in 2021.