In the photo section Chuck, one of the pics I posted in the summer, should be the 1st one I think, the building that once housed the Liberty theatre is the building to the extreme right of the photo.
Hello Chuck! The Liberty theatre was on the same block as the boone theatre (it was always the boone). There was just literally a couple of buildings that seperated the 2 theatres. Whitesville was a booming town back in the day. My uncle was a projectionist at the liberty theatre in the 50’s and early 60’s. From what he told me, the liberty closed in the early 70’s and became home to a bowling alley for several years. I remember the bowling alley for sure. After the bowling alley, it became a antique furniture store for 10-15 years, most recently, it became an auction house on fridays and saturdays. The building is still standing and in great shape. Thanks for the info on the JUR.
Hey Chuck, since your doing some research on WV theatres and drive ins this week, see if you can find any more info on the JUR drive in at Sylvester, WV. I uploaded that one back in July and would love to find out more about it!
Probably the worst theatre I have ever been too, ugly on the outside and inside. Saw the reissue of “Star Wars” there in ‘97, standing room only, hated the sound, really terrible, also remember seeing “the good son” & “the fugitive” there. In the front lobby they had a huge murial made up of cut up one sheets from crossroads cinema 6 (same owner), I remember thinking what a waste! The Galleria 14 is much nicer…
Another fine theatre that is no longer around, should be listed as demolished. There is a completely different building there now. Never heard of it being called Kanawha cinema 9 either, it was just known as Kanawha Cinemas on their marquee.
I had no idea this drive in was still open! I called their number last night and got a message stating “closed for the season” I will definately visit next spring, this is just a little less than an hours drive from my house. They never advertise and I haven’t seen any newspaper ads for years, that’s why I thought they shut down about 10 years ago. Much closer to me than the Meadow Bridge Drive In, which has radio ads all the time, and is still open for the season!
Hello Stephen, As far as I know Curtis McCall, the president of Marquee Cinemas, still ran the Cinema 6 even when it was a discount house. All the employees wore Galleria uniforms. I miss this theatre, though a little out dated, it was still nice. Spent many weekends there as a kid growing up in the 80’s. The first movie I saw there was Rocky IV and it was standing room only, it was oversold and patrons were literally standing in the aisles! It was under construction at the time. In ‘85 it had 3 fairly large viewing areas, in early '86 the 3 new additions were completed, 1 gigantic new auditorium and 2 very small postage stamp sized areas! Movies that had been playing for weeks or didn’t stand much of a chance at the box office were shown in the 2 very small auditoriums. My mother and father would drop me off at the Cinema 6 for 2 hours while I watched a movie and they shopped. Those were the days! I remember seeing “Aliens” in the summer of '86 on a Saturday and was so fascinated by it, went right back Sunday again! They were very lenient at the time on who they let in to view “R” rated movies, I was barely 15 at the time and could go see anything I wanted! My cousin was with me one time when “Fatal Attraction” was being shown, and the ticket girl asked him how old he was, he told her 12! Needless to say she sold him a ticket! I had meant to submit this theatre for a couple months as it was always one of my favorites growing up, but due to finding time Chuck beat me to it lol!
Chuck, Crossroads Cinema 3 opened in 1983 when Crossroads mall opened, then it was converted to Cinema 6 in early 1986. It was not closed until summer of 2008 after a run as a dollar house.
Watching the you tube video was kinda sad, so many abandoned drive ins across america, a happy place for so many people decades ago, now they just sit there lonely, waiting for an audience that will never come.
approximately 1 mile from the crab orchard drive in, the moonlight drive in was another mile from southland and the beckley open air drive in was about ¼ mile from the moonlight!
recently found out the Jur closed in 1964
The Martin interior looks almost exactly like the Boone theatre in Whitesville WV I frequented as a child
would love to hear any of your stories kc!
cool pic!
I would love to see a movie on a curved screen just like this one!
lots of great photos in the photo section!
I’ve done the same for movie posters Mike! lol
In the photo section Chuck, one of the pics I posted in the summer, should be the 1st one I think, the building that once housed the Liberty theatre is the building to the extreme right of the photo.
If you see this photo Chuck, what used to be the Liberty theatre is the building to the extreme right of the photo
Hello Chuck! The Liberty theatre was on the same block as the boone theatre (it was always the boone). There was just literally a couple of buildings that seperated the 2 theatres. Whitesville was a booming town back in the day. My uncle was a projectionist at the liberty theatre in the 50’s and early 60’s. From what he told me, the liberty closed in the early 70’s and became home to a bowling alley for several years. I remember the bowling alley for sure. After the bowling alley, it became a antique furniture store for 10-15 years, most recently, it became an auction house on fridays and saturdays. The building is still standing and in great shape. Thanks for the info on the JUR.
amazing how nature can reclaim in just a few years!
cool looking tower, looks ancient!
very cool marquee!
yep, had to have closed in late ‘79 or '80. Escape from Alcatraz came out in '79
Hey Chuck, since your doing some research on WV theatres and drive ins this week, see if you can find any more info on the JUR drive in at Sylvester, WV. I uploaded that one back in July and would love to find out more about it!
Probably the worst theatre I have ever been too, ugly on the outside and inside. Saw the reissue of “Star Wars” there in ‘97, standing room only, hated the sound, really terrible, also remember seeing “the good son” & “the fugitive” there. In the front lobby they had a huge murial made up of cut up one sheets from crossroads cinema 6 (same owner), I remember thinking what a waste! The Galleria 14 is much nicer…
Another fine theatre that is no longer around, should be listed as demolished. There is a completely different building there now. Never heard of it being called Kanawha cinema 9 either, it was just known as Kanawha Cinemas on their marquee.
I had no idea this drive in was still open! I called their number last night and got a message stating “closed for the season” I will definately visit next spring, this is just a little less than an hours drive from my house. They never advertise and I haven’t seen any newspaper ads for years, that’s why I thought they shut down about 10 years ago. Much closer to me than the Meadow Bridge Drive In, which has radio ads all the time, and is still open for the season!
Hello Stephen, As far as I know Curtis McCall, the president of Marquee Cinemas, still ran the Cinema 6 even when it was a discount house. All the employees wore Galleria uniforms. I miss this theatre, though a little out dated, it was still nice. Spent many weekends there as a kid growing up in the 80’s. The first movie I saw there was Rocky IV and it was standing room only, it was oversold and patrons were literally standing in the aisles! It was under construction at the time. In ‘85 it had 3 fairly large viewing areas, in early '86 the 3 new additions were completed, 1 gigantic new auditorium and 2 very small postage stamp sized areas! Movies that had been playing for weeks or didn’t stand much of a chance at the box office were shown in the 2 very small auditoriums. My mother and father would drop me off at the Cinema 6 for 2 hours while I watched a movie and they shopped. Those were the days! I remember seeing “Aliens” in the summer of '86 on a Saturday and was so fascinated by it, went right back Sunday again! They were very lenient at the time on who they let in to view “R” rated movies, I was barely 15 at the time and could go see anything I wanted! My cousin was with me one time when “Fatal Attraction” was being shown, and the ticket girl asked him how old he was, he told her 12! Needless to say she sold him a ticket! I had meant to submit this theatre for a couple months as it was always one of my favorites growing up, but due to finding time Chuck beat me to it lol!
Chuck, Crossroads Cinema 3 opened in 1983 when Crossroads mall opened, then it was converted to Cinema 6 in early 1986. It was not closed until summer of 2008 after a run as a dollar house.
really nice pictures! thanks for sharing!!
what a shame!
cool, creepy pic!
Watching the you tube video was kinda sad, so many abandoned drive ins across america, a happy place for so many people decades ago, now they just sit there lonely, waiting for an audience that will never come.
approximately 1 mile from the crab orchard drive in, the moonlight drive in was another mile from southland and the beckley open air drive in was about ¼ mile from the moonlight!