The Crest closed on April 30, 1956. Its lobby was used for various retail purposes and the blade signage changed to Cove. The former Crest joined the sad long line of movie theaters bulldozed to make way for another Minnie Pearl Roast Beef Restaurant chain location - one of six built in the area.
BTW: The franchises were built and readied… and then boarded up… and then auctioned, never opening… all with their oversized auctioned price tags sticking out of the rooftops.
Should you pay your respects to either establishment, you are better off heading to 4415 North Prospect Road because those Peoria Heights folks renumbered the street there at the confluence of Moneta Avenue and N. Prospect Road.
Trivia note: The Rialto folks found an amazing movie poster collection dating back decades that had been locked away in a closet and found prior to the venue’s auction. BTW: At the auction, the 1920’s $10,000 chandelier that was two tiered and ten feet long went for…. $50 at the hammer!
Plitt Theatres closed the Palace Theatre on February 6, 1980 with Steve Martin in “The Jerk” in its 8th week. Plitt turned out to be the jerks having announced the closure publicly for February 10, 1980 and advertising two February 7, 1980 shows that did not play because their insurance had run out on the venue the previous night. Fans of the theater were denied their final showings.
Reading the above, yes, the Palace should have been saved without question; but it was actually saved once prior. Its final 16+ years from 1963 to 1980 were on borrowed time and only happened because of a deal with Publix Great States Theatres and a local hospital that had received the property in an estate / will.
A potential Palace Theatre restoration would have been challenging other than the amazing facade. That’s because of the major transformation to streamline moderne in 1936 when the Palace lost some of its most significant interior elements and Plitt’s austerity-centric 1967 alterations - to say nothing of asbestos abatement and ADA challenges that would have been ahead.
Doesn’t really help matters, of course, and the City of Peoria very much failed to save the Rialto. A fairly feasible proposal was drafted to place it within the Civic Center project instead of being bulldozed. The Rialto project would have been significantly more challenging and expensive; yet it would have shown that the City valued architecture - which it clearly did not. This was due to the economic pressure at that time with its central business district in free fall greyfield status collapse with retail moving to Northwoods Mall and other strip shopping complexes.
And this has been said I’m sure earlier, but the Peoria Preservation Alliance did get the Palace’s amazing facade elements carefully removed and stored at demolition in 1981. But those elements were lost forever in a January 1984 storage facility housing them was lost to fire. Ironically, whatever was left of the Palace in that facility was ground into oblivion as the former Beeney Warehouse was demolished just days later.
The Lyceum Theatre closed on August 16, 1930 without converting to sound. It was the longest-running all silent operating theater in Peoria’s history which wasn’t exactly the record a theater wanted to have in the 1930s. “The Lyce” - as it was known affectionately - was replaced by a bowling alley.
The Princess Theatre opened in another location as one of Peoria’s first nickelodeons. Seaver Amusement Co. improved the presentation when it built the new Princess Theatre in 1908. Dee Robinson moved it programmatically to three acts of vaudeville and two, one-reel films between those live performances.
By the 1920s, vaudeville profit margins were thin so the Princess was remodeled with a new pipe organ in 1925 shifting to full-time movies. It received sound to remain commercially viable. It was remodeled getting a streamline moderne sign and other amenitites in the 1930s.
Kerasotes operated it into the TV age and sublet it to an independent for its final months. Its final films were largely exploitation films and discount double features on a grind policy. The Princess was abdicated on March 19, 1954 with a shoppers' special of “The Stars are Singing” and “Tropic Zone” churning from 11a to 11p.
The Becker family acquired / salvaged the Princess Theatre’s pipe organ at its closure and prior to its 1957 demolition for the $3 million Central Illinois Light Company (CILCO) building. It was still in usage in their home in the 1960s.
The Columbia gravitated from a nickelodeon to a real theatre in its 40 years of operation. It closed December 31, 1951 with a double feature of “Jungle Terror” and “Ridin' Over the Rainbow.” It was used for one year as a retail store for B&M clothing store - which had been around as long as the Columbia - while they built a new location. The Columbia Building was demolished for a W.T. Grant store.
Kerasotes Theatres launched the ShowPlace 8 on November 14, 2003 after a free preview the night before. More than 1,300 folks came for the free shows resulting in hundreds of folks being turned away. The opening replaced two aging twin-screen locations in town. The ShowPlace replaced the nearby Sandburg Mall Cinema 1 & 2 and the downtown West Cinema 1 & 2 which both closed November 13, 2003. The West was unable to make it to its 100th birthday though got past the 90 year mark with room to spare.
The Earl Theatre in downtown Knoxville opened in September of 1941 with “Barnacle Bill.” It was operated by Earl Williams. Williams had operated the Lyric from its 12th year of operation to closure from 1924 to 1941. The Earl replaced it.
Williams closed the Grove in 1958 knowing that TV had doomed this small town theatre. But Don Bowen relit the venue in April of 1958 hoping to buck the trend. That hope faded when he closed permanently in June of 1958. The building was later deomlished.
The Grove Theatre opened on August 29, 1941 with “That Night in Reno.” It It closed April 30, 1960 with “Devil’s Hairpin” and “Johnny Dark.” It became a church to reduce taxing liabilities and then became a home to the Salvation Army.
Carrols Development built this venue in a strip shopping center that housed an Arlan’s Discount Store and A&P. The 604-seat venue was automated launching on September, 1971 with “Carnal Knowledge” and “Summer of ‘42.” It was an upgrade in terms of technology, comfort and parking over the aging downtown theatres run by Kerasotes.
Dubinksy Brothers took over the cinema. Excellence took over when it bought out Dubinksy Bros. effective on December 1, 1989. In 1991, Carmike and Excellence created a joint operating agreement in February and, that same year, essentially buying out the Excellence side by September. This moved the Cinema to Carmike ownership.
It closed the Carmike Cinema 1 & 2 on August 14, 1997 with “Air Force One” and “Picture Perfect.”
The local paper has this as the Columbia Theatre from 1951 to 1953 which “Closed for the Summer” in early May of 1953 (see photos). That signage was there all the way to February 16, 1955 when it was torched and destroyed after a 93 week run. The venue was previously the Rialto Theatre and the Dreamland Theatre. (“Closed for the Summer” unfortunately had great runs at other Pekin and Peoria area theatres.)
The Bellevue Drive-In Theatre appears to have closed following the September 14, 1980 triple feature of Darby Lloyd Rains in “Naked Came The Stranger,” Mary Woronov in “Sugar Cookies” and Roberta Pedon in “Delinquent School Girls.”
As to the fire question above, a lightning strike was believed to have caused the big fire causing $75k worth of damage on May 22, 1975 and that was followed by what was likely arson on July 5, 1975 that caused minor damage while the venue was being repaired. The Bellevue reopened in November of 1975 after all repairs were made.
It appears to have closed August 23, 1986 with “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.” The drive-in was inactive at the time of its January 1989 arson attack. Its remnants were demolished for a project in 1992.
The Pioneer closed on September 5, 1983 at the end of its lease with “Last House on the Left” and “Don’t Look in the Basement.” It was still standing in the early 1990s and deemed to be ready to operate the next day if needed. It wasn’t and was later demolished.
The Holiday closed for the season with “American Ninja” and “Exterminator 2” on September 5, 1985. A tornado took out the screen and the 20-year mark was the start of a permanent holiday. The land was used for other purposes with the remainder of the ozoner demolished.
The Music Hall opened March 1, 1897 with its 1,025 seats occupied. The upper level opera house building housed four retail businesses and a bowling alley on its main floor. It was renamed the Gardner Theater as it would switch away from live music to predominately movies with some vaudeville.
George A. Giles bought the venue and rooted out the entire first floor taking the theater down to ground level in 1919. It lost its permit to operate in 1921 and was refreshed again - this time with fire egress and safety more in mind.
The rebranded Uptown Theatre - essentially the Gardner Theater’s sound era moniker - launched on December 25, 1929 by the George A. Giles Circuit. The opening film was “Rio Rita” using the Western Electric sound on film technology. In March of 1947, the venue celebrated with a Golden Anniversary commemorating the Music Hall’s opening in 1897. Smith Management closed the venue in early 1953.
The White City Shopping Plaza was opened in 1963 theatre-less anchored by a Bradlee’s Department Store, an Iandoli’s Supermarket, and a Touraine’s women’s fashion store. Stanley-Warner Theatres designed a luxury suburban cinema with 70mm projection and stereo sound capability with more comfortable seating and lots of free parking - all advantages that this era of cinema had over aging downtown theatres.
The freestanding, 1,070 seat White City Cinema opened January 29, 1965 to the public with “Mary Poppins” a day after an invitation-only launch. The theatre was built to the plans of Drew Eberson (an architectural exterior sketch is in photos) who initially had drawn an auditorium with a capacity of 1,300 and reduced with wider aisles and different seat selection.
The theatre was twinned in the Summer of 1977. Half of the cinema was later destroyed by fire on January 18, 1985. The - then - Redstone Showcase Cinemas operated theatre closed for months before reopening five months later in June of 1985 as a rebuilt triplex. The theatre survived until closure on March 25, 2001. The White City Shopping Center demolished the vacant theatre not long after.
The terms of the independent operation of the Cinema post-Carmike was one year beginning October 5, 2009 for $1,500 monthly paid to property owner, Western Illinois University. It was operated by the Rialto folks on a sub-run $3 price point policy.
June 22, 1950 grand opening ad with “Slave Girl” and “Mexican Hayride” in photos. Closed just after its 50th Anniversary with a triple feature on September 3, 2000 with “X-Men,” “The Replacements,” and “Bless This Child.”
Closed May 1, 1999 with three screens playing: “The Matrix,” “Lost and Found,” and “Life” splitting a screen with “ Doug’s First Movie.” The operation moved to Timpany Plaza.
The Bijou closed in May of 1916 with its seats sent to Springfield, Massachusetts and the building was demolished in June of 1916. It was primarily a vaudeville house with films in the mix every performance.
The Lyric Theatre opened on February 12, 1914 with vaudeville and Mutual films sandwiched between the acts. It also housed the Grange Hall which was used for meetings. The Lyric stayed true to having vaudeville over films closing November 30, 1933. It had short-term success with Columbia films in 1934 before switching to live plays in 1935. In the 1940s, it was a burlesque house with films in the mix. It appears to have closed in September of 1948 for its refresh and rebranding.
Saxony Theatres totally revamped the Lyric for $100,000 to the architectural plans of Louis Chiaramonte of Boston. It seated 1,000 patrons with its Grand Opening on February 22, 1949 with “Command Decision” a day after an invitation only preview of the same film. The upstairs was still in use as a fraternal hall.
The Saxon closed in 1970. It got one more chance reopening on February 16, 1972 as the Estre Cinema. It closed “temporarily” after the December 3, 1972 show of “Carry On, Doctor” promising a Christmas week return. All we could find was a lump of coal.
The Fitchburg Theatre was opened February 7, 1929 with Harry Rodgers at the Wurlitzer console and the sound film, “In Old Arizona” supported by five vaudeville acts. It was equipped with widescreen equipment at least by 1957 to present CinemaScope titles.
On its 40th Anniversary it played Robert Mitchum in “Secret Ceremony” on February 7, 1969 - but that ceremony wasn’t announced remaining a secret. The Fitchburg’s continuous run appears to have ended November 7, 1970 with “The Last Grenade” and “Girly.”
On July 13, 1971, it got new life in the porno chic era of cinema exhibition as an adult theatre beginning with “Construction Gang” and “How Many Times?” It began marketing its films as “XXXX rated” - a strength test in marketing for unrated adult films that were just a little more adult than the competitors' titles.
The operation was closed at least twice and the newspaper and theatre agreed to stop advertising the titles and the photos associated with the XXXX films. And at some point they claimed to be showing “X-rated” - rated - films in 1974 allowing their reopening. That seems to have ended in March of 1975. Photographic& Digital Arts
On June 30, 1975, the venue was relit as the Family Theatre beginning with “Doc Savage.” Promotions were so solid for the reopening that it was robbed of its candy the night before its launch. It tried everything - chopsocky double features, family features and $1 discount pricing for all shows - but there was no audience for it. The Family Theatre closed on December 23, 1975.
In September of 1977, it was relit as the Cinema Showcase showing mainstream Hollywood fare still advertising into 1980. In 1980, Bill Hanney turned it into a live events hall under the name of Fitchburg Cinema and changed to the Fitchburg Theatre. It most famously hosted (separate) concerts by Woody Herman, Johnny Winter, and Devo - the later which was broadcast by WBCN. In 1981 and 1982, Hanney mixed film and live traveling shows, as well as some music acts. In 1983 and 1984, it was advertising as the Family Theatre once again showing films full time. In 1985, it was triplexed becoming the Fitchburg Cinemas 1-2-3 operating into 1988 before closing and missing its 60th Anniversary.
In the 2020s, a black box theatre concept failed and the venue was set to become a mixed use housing project.
The Crest closed on April 30, 1956. Its lobby was used for various retail purposes and the blade signage changed to Cove. The former Crest joined the sad long line of movie theaters bulldozed to make way for another Minnie Pearl Roast Beef Restaurant chain location - one of six built in the area.
BTW: The franchises were built and readied… and then boarded up… and then auctioned, never opening… all with their oversized auctioned price tags sticking out of the rooftops.
Should you pay your respects to either establishment, you are better off heading to 4415 North Prospect Road because those Peoria Heights folks renumbered the street there at the confluence of Moneta Avenue and N. Prospect Road.
Trivia note: The Rialto folks found an amazing movie poster collection dating back decades that had been locked away in a closet and found prior to the venue’s auction. BTW: At the auction, the 1920’s $10,000 chandelier that was two tiered and ten feet long went for…. $50 at the hammer!
Plitt Theatres closed the Palace Theatre on February 6, 1980 with Steve Martin in “The Jerk” in its 8th week. Plitt turned out to be the jerks having announced the closure publicly for February 10, 1980 and advertising two February 7, 1980 shows that did not play because their insurance had run out on the venue the previous night. Fans of the theater were denied their final showings.
Reading the above, yes, the Palace should have been saved without question; but it was actually saved once prior. Its final 16+ years from 1963 to 1980 were on borrowed time and only happened because of a deal with Publix Great States Theatres and a local hospital that had received the property in an estate / will.
A potential Palace Theatre restoration would have been challenging other than the amazing facade. That’s because of the major transformation to streamline moderne in 1936 when the Palace lost some of its most significant interior elements and Plitt’s austerity-centric 1967 alterations - to say nothing of asbestos abatement and ADA challenges that would have been ahead.
Doesn’t really help matters, of course, and the City of Peoria very much failed to save the Rialto. A fairly feasible proposal was drafted to place it within the Civic Center project instead of being bulldozed. The Rialto project would have been significantly more challenging and expensive; yet it would have shown that the City valued architecture - which it clearly did not. This was due to the economic pressure at that time with its central business district in free fall greyfield status collapse with retail moving to Northwoods Mall and other strip shopping complexes.
And this has been said I’m sure earlier, but the Peoria Preservation Alliance did get the Palace’s amazing facade elements carefully removed and stored at demolition in 1981. But those elements were lost forever in a January 1984 storage facility housing them was lost to fire. Ironically, whatever was left of the Palace in that facility was ground into oblivion as the former Beeney Warehouse was demolished just days later.
The Lyceum Theatre closed on August 16, 1930 without converting to sound. It was the longest-running all silent operating theater in Peoria’s history which wasn’t exactly the record a theater wanted to have in the 1930s. “The Lyce” - as it was known affectionately - was replaced by a bowling alley.
The Princess Theatre opened in another location as one of Peoria’s first nickelodeons. Seaver Amusement Co. improved the presentation when it built the new Princess Theatre in 1908. Dee Robinson moved it programmatically to three acts of vaudeville and two, one-reel films between those live performances.
By the 1920s, vaudeville profit margins were thin so the Princess was remodeled with a new pipe organ in 1925 shifting to full-time movies. It received sound to remain commercially viable. It was remodeled getting a streamline moderne sign and other amenitites in the 1930s.
Kerasotes operated it into the TV age and sublet it to an independent for its final months. Its final films were largely exploitation films and discount double features on a grind policy. The Princess was abdicated on March 19, 1954 with a shoppers' special of “The Stars are Singing” and “Tropic Zone” churning from 11a to 11p.
The Becker family acquired / salvaged the Princess Theatre’s pipe organ at its closure and prior to its 1957 demolition for the $3 million Central Illinois Light Company (CILCO) building. It was still in usage in their home in the 1960s.
The Columbia gravitated from a nickelodeon to a real theatre in its 40 years of operation. It closed December 31, 1951 with a double feature of “Jungle Terror” and “Ridin' Over the Rainbow.” It was used for one year as a retail store for B&M clothing store - which had been around as long as the Columbia - while they built a new location. The Columbia Building was demolished for a W.T. Grant store.
Closed January 23, 1992 as a dollar house.
Kerasotes Theatres launched the ShowPlace 8 on November 14, 2003 after a free preview the night before. More than 1,300 folks came for the free shows resulting in hundreds of folks being turned away. The opening replaced two aging twin-screen locations in town. The ShowPlace replaced the nearby Sandburg Mall Cinema 1 & 2 and the downtown West Cinema 1 & 2 which both closed November 13, 2003. The West was unable to make it to its 100th birthday though got past the 90 year mark with room to spare.
The Earl Theatre in downtown Knoxville opened in September of 1941 with “Barnacle Bill.” It was operated by Earl Williams. Williams had operated the Lyric from its 12th year of operation to closure from 1924 to 1941. The Earl replaced it.
Williams closed the Grove in 1958 knowing that TV had doomed this small town theatre. But Don Bowen relit the venue in April of 1958 hoping to buck the trend. That hope faded when he closed permanently in June of 1958. The building was later deomlished.
The Grove Theatre opened on August 29, 1941 with “That Night in Reno.” It It closed April 30, 1960 with “Devil’s Hairpin” and “Johnny Dark.” It became a church to reduce taxing liabilities and then became a home to the Salvation Army.
November 24, 1982 grand opening ad with “The Missionary,” “48 Hours,” and “Heidi’s Song” in photos.
Carrols Development built this venue in a strip shopping center that housed an Arlan’s Discount Store and A&P. The 604-seat venue was automated launching on September, 1971 with “Carnal Knowledge” and “Summer of ‘42.” It was an upgrade in terms of technology, comfort and parking over the aging downtown theatres run by Kerasotes.
Dubinksy Brothers took over the cinema. Excellence took over when it bought out Dubinksy Bros. effective on December 1, 1989. In 1991, Carmike and Excellence created a joint operating agreement in February and, that same year, essentially buying out the Excellence side by September. This moved the Cinema to Carmike ownership.
It closed the Carmike Cinema 1 & 2 on August 14, 1997 with “Air Force One” and “Picture Perfect.”
The local paper has this as the Columbia Theatre from 1951 to 1953 which “Closed for the Summer” in early May of 1953 (see photos). That signage was there all the way to February 16, 1955 when it was torched and destroyed after a 93 week run. The venue was previously the Rialto Theatre and the Dreamland Theatre. (“Closed for the Summer” unfortunately had great runs at other Pekin and Peoria area theatres.)
The Bellevue Drive-In Theatre appears to have closed following the September 14, 1980 triple feature of Darby Lloyd Rains in “Naked Came The Stranger,” Mary Woronov in “Sugar Cookies” and Roberta Pedon in “Delinquent School Girls.”
As to the fire question above, a lightning strike was believed to have caused the big fire causing $75k worth of damage on May 22, 1975 and that was followed by what was likely arson on July 5, 1975 that caused minor damage while the venue was being repaired. The Bellevue reopened in November of 1975 after all repairs were made.
It appears to have closed August 23, 1986 with “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.” The drive-in was inactive at the time of its January 1989 arson attack. Its remnants were demolished for a project in 1992.
The Pioneer closed on September 5, 1983 at the end of its lease with “Last House on the Left” and “Don’t Look in the Basement.” It was still standing in the early 1990s and deemed to be ready to operate the next day if needed. It wasn’t and was later demolished.
The Holiday closed for the season with “American Ninja” and “Exterminator 2” on September 5, 1985. A tornado took out the screen and the 20-year mark was the start of a permanent holiday. The land was used for other purposes with the remainder of the ozoner demolished.
The Music Hall opened March 1, 1897 with its 1,025 seats occupied. The upper level opera house building housed four retail businesses and a bowling alley on its main floor. It was renamed the Gardner Theater as it would switch away from live music to predominately movies with some vaudeville.
George A. Giles bought the venue and rooted out the entire first floor taking the theater down to ground level in 1919. It lost its permit to operate in 1921 and was refreshed again - this time with fire egress and safety more in mind.
The rebranded Uptown Theatre - essentially the Gardner Theater’s sound era moniker - launched on December 25, 1929 by the George A. Giles Circuit. The opening film was “Rio Rita” using the Western Electric sound on film technology. In March of 1947, the venue celebrated with a Golden Anniversary commemorating the Music Hall’s opening in 1897. Smith Management closed the venue in early 1953.
The White City Shopping Plaza was opened in 1963 theatre-less anchored by a Bradlee’s Department Store, an Iandoli’s Supermarket, and a Touraine’s women’s fashion store. Stanley-Warner Theatres designed a luxury suburban cinema with 70mm projection and stereo sound capability with more comfortable seating and lots of free parking - all advantages that this era of cinema had over aging downtown theatres.
The freestanding, 1,070 seat White City Cinema opened January 29, 1965 to the public with “Mary Poppins” a day after an invitation-only launch. The theatre was built to the plans of Drew Eberson (an architectural exterior sketch is in photos) who initially had drawn an auditorium with a capacity of 1,300 and reduced with wider aisles and different seat selection.
The theatre was twinned in the Summer of 1977. Half of the cinema was later destroyed by fire on January 18, 1985. The - then - Redstone Showcase Cinemas operated theatre closed for months before reopening five months later in June of 1985 as a rebuilt triplex. The theatre survived until closure on March 25, 2001. The White City Shopping Center demolished the vacant theatre not long after.
The terms of the independent operation of the Cinema post-Carmike was one year beginning October 5, 2009 for $1,500 monthly paid to property owner, Western Illinois University. It was operated by the Rialto folks on a sub-run $3 price point policy.
June 22, 1950 grand opening ad with “Slave Girl” and “Mexican Hayride” in photos. Closed just after its 50th Anniversary with a triple feature on September 3, 2000 with “X-Men,” “The Replacements,” and “Bless This Child.”
Closed May 1, 1999 with three screens playing: “The Matrix,” “Lost and Found,” and “Life” splitting a screen with “ Doug’s First Movie.” The operation moved to Timpany Plaza.
The Bijou closed in May of 1916 with its seats sent to Springfield, Massachusetts and the building was demolished in June of 1916. It was primarily a vaudeville house with films in the mix every performance.
The Lyric Theatre opened on February 12, 1914 with vaudeville and Mutual films sandwiched between the acts. It also housed the Grange Hall which was used for meetings. The Lyric stayed true to having vaudeville over films closing November 30, 1933. It had short-term success with Columbia films in 1934 before switching to live plays in 1935. In the 1940s, it was a burlesque house with films in the mix. It appears to have closed in September of 1948 for its refresh and rebranding.
Saxony Theatres totally revamped the Lyric for $100,000 to the architectural plans of Louis Chiaramonte of Boston. It seated 1,000 patrons with its Grand Opening on February 22, 1949 with “Command Decision” a day after an invitation only preview of the same film. The upstairs was still in use as a fraternal hall.
The Saxon closed in 1970. It got one more chance reopening on February 16, 1972 as the Estre Cinema. It closed “temporarily” after the December 3, 1972 show of “Carry On, Doctor” promising a Christmas week return. All we could find was a lump of coal.
The Fitchburg Theatre was opened February 7, 1929 with Harry Rodgers at the Wurlitzer console and the sound film, “In Old Arizona” supported by five vaudeville acts. It was equipped with widescreen equipment at least by 1957 to present CinemaScope titles.
On its 40th Anniversary it played Robert Mitchum in “Secret Ceremony” on February 7, 1969 - but that ceremony wasn’t announced remaining a secret. The Fitchburg’s continuous run appears to have ended November 7, 1970 with “The Last Grenade” and “Girly.”
On July 13, 1971, it got new life in the porno chic era of cinema exhibition as an adult theatre beginning with “Construction Gang” and “How Many Times?” It began marketing its films as “XXXX rated” - a strength test in marketing for unrated adult films that were just a little more adult than the competitors' titles.
The operation was closed at least twice and the newspaper and theatre agreed to stop advertising the titles and the photos associated with the XXXX films. And at some point they claimed to be showing “X-rated” - rated - films in 1974 allowing their reopening. That seems to have ended in March of 1975. Photographic& Digital Arts
On June 30, 1975, the venue was relit as the Family Theatre beginning with “Doc Savage.” Promotions were so solid for the reopening that it was robbed of its candy the night before its launch. It tried everything - chopsocky double features, family features and $1 discount pricing for all shows - but there was no audience for it. The Family Theatre closed on December 23, 1975.
In September of 1977, it was relit as the Cinema Showcase showing mainstream Hollywood fare still advertising into 1980. In 1980, Bill Hanney turned it into a live events hall under the name of Fitchburg Cinema and changed to the Fitchburg Theatre. It most famously hosted (separate) concerts by Woody Herman, Johnny Winter, and Devo - the later which was broadcast by WBCN. In 1981 and 1982, Hanney mixed film and live traveling shows, as well as some music acts. In 1983 and 1984, it was advertising as the Family Theatre once again showing films full time. In 1985, it was triplexed becoming the Fitchburg Cinemas 1-2-3 operating into 1988 before closing and missing its 60th Anniversary.
In the 2020s, a black box theatre concept failed and the venue was set to become a mixed use housing project.