I totally agree with Chris about the infamous Fine Arts. I never went to or even drove past this theater, but based on the movie ads I read in the newspaper in the 70s, it wasn’t hard to figure out what kind of movies they were showing.
At some point, it was discovered either the building or the land for the Fine Arts was owned, at least in part, by…get this…the St. Louis Archdiocese!! That’s right, the Catholic church owned a porno movie house!! Granted, the Archdiocese was not involved in booking films or managing the theater, but that discovery created quite the buzz for a while! If anyone has any more information on that, please feel free to post…and correct if I got part of that wrong.
Based on the comments from Chris and the pic from American Classics, it seems the Fine Arts tried to go mainstream in its final years. As a single-screen dollar show in the mid-80s, that idea was destined to be short-lived. However, one personal observation: It seems to me that, once a theater went porno, it was very difficult to shed that reputation. The Plaza Drive-In in St. Charles is another example. It showed a lot of soft-core porn in the 70s, then tried to go more mainstream in its final years of operation, but it just didn’t work. Guess once you get the reputation of showing porno-type films, that reputation sticks with you and is very, very difficult to change. Granted, both the Fine Arts and the Plaza Drive-in were very old theaters that were well past their prime anyway, but I still believe people’s memories of the movies they used to show played a part in their eventual closing down for good.
Needy: I believe this theater was located in the open-air shopping center (Sunset Hills Plaza? Plaza at Sunset Hills? Can anyone help with the name) at South Lindbergh and Watson Road (Route 66). The theater was torn down a long time ago. Don’t know what’s there now.
As I recall, Sunset Hills and Northwest Plaza were the strongest performers for GCC.
JAlex, does this mean the Holiday Drive-In in Overland and the I-70 closed at the same time. These were the two major drive-ins in the Mid-America chain (in fact, M-A’s headquarters were at the Holiday Drive-In), so it would make sense if they both closed together. Any ideas?
I better rephrase the first part of my previous post…
JAlex, what I meant to say was it sounded like you said the 4-screen theater at Northwest Plaza closed just after Wehrenberg took it over from General Cinema. The point I was trying to make was that the 4-screener stayed open for a while after Wehrenberg took it over. I’m pretty sure of that, but willing to listen to other facts and/or opinions on this.
My apologies for any confusion I might have caused.
For the record, the I-70 did not have an interstate symbol on the back of one of the screens. It was actually on top of the marquee. The Dodge dealership that was built in its place has changed from Zeiser Dodge to Mid Rivers Dodge. Still miss that place after all this time…
Did Wehrenberg change the type of movies shown at the Olympic/Rock Road when they operated it? Wehrenberg usually didn’t show those types of pictures at their theaters (Mid-America did) and they probably changed the name to Rock Road to avoid the stigma of being associated with the Olympic.
My wife and I went past what’s left of this place when we took the Metrolink to a Cardinals game in late June. It’s just a junk yard now. But the stories I bet some of the cars now on that lot could tell…
Actually, I thought Wehrenberg kept the 4-screen outlot theater open for a while until the 9-screen theater inside the mall opened. I distinctly remember going to movies (one was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) at the 4-screen outlot and hearing the all-too-familiar Wehrenberg jingle. The 4-screener did close just before the 9-screener opened, but I don’t believe it was that soon.
Anyways, just saw a story today on the Post-Dispatch’s website saying Northwest Plaza will go into foreclosure on Sept 1:
Another problem with the site: Their “Contact Us” link lets you fill out a message, but the Submit button doesn’t seem to work. This must still be a work in progress.
Needy: I did look at Wehrenberg’s site. That’s how I knew something was up.
JAlex: Thanks for posting the link. Funny thing…the site says the theater has the lowest ticket prices in town, but I couldn’t find any prices on the site! I wonder if the mall owners have any experience running a movie theater. We’ll see how this works out.
Does anyone have a link to something saying this took place? Not doubting anything…it’s just that I started a thread on this on cinematour.com when I saw Jamestown wasn’t listed on Wehrehnberg’s website. I knew the mall had been really struggling for years. Don’t really see how the mall running the theater is going to make things better.
I recall Westport showing the “100 Greatest Films” (according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). I believe that was sometime around 2000 or so. I was in St. Louis around Christmas just before the Westport Cine closed and drove by it on Christmas Eve. I noticed they had art films playing but were going to show a series of “Classic” movies for New Year’s, one of which was Ferris Bueller. Sadly, I had arrived after the last movie had started and could not get in. By February of the next year, the theater had closed.
Also, when I heard Westport was getting Rocky Horror, I knew it was going to close soon. Any Wehrenberg theater that gets Rocky Horror seems to close not long after.
As far as I know, Chris, it’s true…but a more accurate statement would be that Cinema 4 Center was the first multi-screen INDOOR theater in the St. Louis area. The St. Ann 4-Screen Drive-In was around long before Cinema 4 opened. Of course, I really wonder if this place really was the first multi-screen indoor in STL.
I believe this theater actually opened in 1989 or 1990. Also, it’s not in the St. Louis City limits but it’s close. It’s actually in Shrewsbury, on Watson Road, between Laclede Station Road and MacKenzie Road, before you cross the River Des Peres.
This theater opened much later than 1962. More like the late 70s. I remember seeing ads for a movie on Channel 11 sometime around there and the announcer saying “Starts Friday at Mid-America’s new Woods Mill”. I believe this and the Cave Spring I & II were the last theaters built by Mid-America.
Actually, the building that used to house the Westport Cine now houses a restaurant called Mageurita Mama’s…like I really care…I’d rather have the theater back. Saw Star Wars there. Great place! :)
Several facts wrong here…I don’t claim to know everything, but I’ll share what I’m positive about:
Village Square did not open in 1984. I don’t know exactly when it opened, but I remember seeing ads for it in the newspapers in the 1970s. It was a 3-screener as early as 1976, and possibly even before that. I don’t know exactly when it went to 6 screens, but it was never run by Wehrenberg. When Mid-America went under, the theater became part of RKO-MidAmerica around 1984. A short time later (1986, I believe), whatever RKO theaters were left were bought by AMC. Village Square became a dollar show somewhere around this time and flourished. I went there with my friends many times on a Saturday night and that place was jumping!! The line would go all the way around the theater. AMC tried to have Village Square show first run movies at a first run price around 1990, but changed it back to a dollar show after only a few months. I believe Village Square stayed as a discount house until it was closed in 2001 and demolished in 2002 (source: cinematour.com)
And in case anyone is wondering, the Village Square Shopping Center is at Lindbergh and I-270, not far from Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas, where I used to work).
Actually, the St. Charles 18 originally opened as the St. Charles 10, which was not the largest multiplex in St. Louis at that time, as the Halls Ferry 14 was still open. I’m afraid I don’t know the exact date the theater expanded from 10 to 18 screens, but that would still be smaller than the Ronnie’s 20.
The North Twin did not close in 1998. It showed its last movies in 2001 and was sold and torn down in 2002. Although its sale may have been related to Wehrenberg’s filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it didn’t close right after the company filed. See the following page to confirm: http://www.drive-ins.com/theater/motnort
Although this theater was located in the Mark Twain Shopping Center, I don’t recall it ever being called Mark Twain Cinema 4. It’s name was always “Cinema 4 Center”. I also don’t recall it ever operating as a discount house, although I could be wrong on that. This was THE place to see movies in St. Charles during the 70s and early 80s. Went there many, many times.
Actually, the St. Andrews is located in St. Charles, MO (my hometown). I remember seeing many movies there when it was a first-run single screener (including Fiddler On The Roof). But this place really seemed to hit its stride when it became a discount house. The place was packed every Friday night and they had a guy playing an organ. On top of that, everyone in the house was really into the movie, and in a good way, not an obnoxious way. I wish they could have kept it a single screener, but I really hope the St. Andrews keeps going.
I totally agree with Chris about the infamous Fine Arts. I never went to or even drove past this theater, but based on the movie ads I read in the newspaper in the 70s, it wasn’t hard to figure out what kind of movies they were showing.
At some point, it was discovered either the building or the land for the Fine Arts was owned, at least in part, by…get this…the St. Louis Archdiocese!! That’s right, the Catholic church owned a porno movie house!! Granted, the Archdiocese was not involved in booking films or managing the theater, but that discovery created quite the buzz for a while! If anyone has any more information on that, please feel free to post…and correct if I got part of that wrong.
Based on the comments from Chris and the pic from American Classics, it seems the Fine Arts tried to go mainstream in its final years. As a single-screen dollar show in the mid-80s, that idea was destined to be short-lived. However, one personal observation: It seems to me that, once a theater went porno, it was very difficult to shed that reputation. The Plaza Drive-In in St. Charles is another example. It showed a lot of soft-core porn in the 70s, then tried to go more mainstream in its final years of operation, but it just didn’t work. Guess once you get the reputation of showing porno-type films, that reputation sticks with you and is very, very difficult to change. Granted, both the Fine Arts and the Plaza Drive-in were very old theaters that were well past their prime anyway, but I still believe people’s memories of the movies they used to show played a part in their eventual closing down for good.
Just my observation…feel free to comment…
Needy: I believe this theater was located in the open-air shopping center (Sunset Hills Plaza? Plaza at Sunset Hills? Can anyone help with the name) at South Lindbergh and Watson Road (Route 66). The theater was torn down a long time ago. Don’t know what’s there now.
As I recall, Sunset Hills and Northwest Plaza were the strongest performers for GCC.
JAlex, does this mean the Holiday Drive-In in Overland and the I-70 closed at the same time. These were the two major drive-ins in the Mid-America chain (in fact, M-A’s headquarters were at the Holiday Drive-In), so it would make sense if they both closed together. Any ideas?
I better rephrase the first part of my previous post…
JAlex, what I meant to say was it sounded like you said the 4-screen theater at Northwest Plaza closed just after Wehrenberg took it over from General Cinema. The point I was trying to make was that the 4-screener stayed open for a while after Wehrenberg took it over. I’m pretty sure of that, but willing to listen to other facts and/or opinions on this.
My apologies for any confusion I might have caused.
For the record, the I-70 did not have an interstate symbol on the back of one of the screens. It was actually on top of the marquee. The Dodge dealership that was built in its place has changed from Zeiser Dodge to Mid Rivers Dodge. Still miss that place after all this time…
Did Wehrenberg change the type of movies shown at the Olympic/Rock Road when they operated it? Wehrenberg usually didn’t show those types of pictures at their theaters (Mid-America did) and they probably changed the name to Rock Road to avoid the stigma of being associated with the Olympic.
My wife and I went past what’s left of this place when we took the Metrolink to a Cardinals game in late June. It’s just a junk yard now. But the stories I bet some of the cars now on that lot could tell…
Actually, I thought Wehrenberg kept the 4-screen outlot theater open for a while until the 9-screen theater inside the mall opened. I distinctly remember going to movies (one was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) at the 4-screen outlot and hearing the all-too-familiar Wehrenberg jingle. The 4-screener did close just before the 9-screener opened, but I don’t believe it was that soon.
Anyways, just saw a story today on the Post-Dispatch’s website saying Northwest Plaza will go into foreclosure on Sept 1:
http://tinyurl.com/n6ywjz
The demise of North St. Louis county continues…
For the record, the North Twin was the last remaining drive-in theater in St. Louis County when it closed in 2001.
Another problem with the site: Their “Contact Us” link lets you fill out a message, but the Submit button doesn’t seem to work. This must still be a work in progress.
Needy: I did look at Wehrenberg’s site. That’s how I knew something was up.
JAlex: Thanks for posting the link. Funny thing…the site says the theater has the lowest ticket prices in town, but I couldn’t find any prices on the site! I wonder if the mall owners have any experience running a movie theater. We’ll see how this works out.
Does anyone have a link to something saying this took place? Not doubting anything…it’s just that I started a thread on this on cinematour.com when I saw Jamestown wasn’t listed on Wehrehnberg’s website. I knew the mall had been really struggling for years. Don’t really see how the mall running the theater is going to make things better.
JAlex, did Sunset Hills open as a twin or as a single-screen and then covert to a twin? And when did the Esquire go to 3 screens?
Not trying to start an argument…hey, if I got it wrong, I got it wrong (and so did Wehrenberg), but just curious.
Thanks for the info!
I recall Westport showing the “100 Greatest Films” (according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). I believe that was sometime around 2000 or so. I was in St. Louis around Christmas just before the Westport Cine closed and drove by it on Christmas Eve. I noticed they had art films playing but were going to show a series of “Classic” movies for New Year’s, one of which was Ferris Bueller. Sadly, I had arrived after the last movie had started and could not get in. By February of the next year, the theater had closed.
Also, when I heard Westport was getting Rocky Horror, I knew it was going to close soon. Any Wehrenberg theater that gets Rocky Horror seems to close not long after.
As far as I know, Chris, it’s true…but a more accurate statement would be that Cinema 4 Center was the first multi-screen INDOOR theater in the St. Louis area. The St. Ann 4-Screen Drive-In was around long before Cinema 4 opened. Of course, I really wonder if this place really was the first multi-screen indoor in STL.
I believe this theater actually opened in 1989 or 1990. Also, it’s not in the St. Louis City limits but it’s close. It’s actually in Shrewsbury, on Watson Road, between Laclede Station Road and MacKenzie Road, before you cross the River Des Peres.
This theater opened much later than 1962. More like the late 70s. I remember seeing ads for a movie on Channel 11 sometime around there and the announcer saying “Starts Friday at Mid-America’s new Woods Mill”. I believe this and the Cave Spring I & II were the last theaters built by Mid-America.
Actually, the building that used to house the Westport Cine now houses a restaurant called Mageurita Mama’s…like I really care…I’d rather have the theater back. Saw Star Wars there. Great place! :)
Several facts wrong here…I don’t claim to know everything, but I’ll share what I’m positive about:
Village Square did not open in 1984. I don’t know exactly when it opened, but I remember seeing ads for it in the newspapers in the 1970s. It was a 3-screener as early as 1976, and possibly even before that. I don’t know exactly when it went to 6 screens, but it was never run by Wehrenberg. When Mid-America went under, the theater became part of RKO-MidAmerica around 1984. A short time later (1986, I believe), whatever RKO theaters were left were bought by AMC. Village Square became a dollar show somewhere around this time and flourished. I went there with my friends many times on a Saturday night and that place was jumping!! The line would go all the way around the theater. AMC tried to have Village Square show first run movies at a first run price around 1990, but changed it back to a dollar show after only a few months. I believe Village Square stayed as a discount house until it was closed in 2001 and demolished in 2002 (source: cinematour.com)
And in case anyone is wondering, the Village Square Shopping Center is at Lindbergh and I-270, not far from Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas, where I used to work).
Actually, the St. Charles 18 originally opened as the St. Charles 10, which was not the largest multiplex in St. Louis at that time, as the Halls Ferry 14 was still open. I’m afraid I don’t know the exact date the theater expanded from 10 to 18 screens, but that would still be smaller than the Ronnie’s 20.
There is now nothing left of the Plaza Drive-In. Lindenwood College purchased the property and has razed everything so they can add more buildings.
The North Twin did not close in 1998. It showed its last movies in 2001 and was sold and torn down in 2002. Although its sale may have been related to Wehrenberg’s filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it didn’t close right after the company filed. See the following page to confirm: http://www.drive-ins.com/theater/motnort
Although this theater was located in the Mark Twain Shopping Center, I don’t recall it ever being called Mark Twain Cinema 4. It’s name was always “Cinema 4 Center”. I also don’t recall it ever operating as a discount house, although I could be wrong on that. This was THE place to see movies in St. Charles during the 70s and early 80s. Went there many, many times.
Actually, the St. Andrews is located in St. Charles, MO (my hometown). I remember seeing many movies there when it was a first-run single screener (including Fiddler On The Roof). But this place really seemed to hit its stride when it became a discount house. The place was packed every Friday night and they had a guy playing an organ. On top of that, everyone in the house was really into the movie, and in a good way, not an obnoxious way. I wish they could have kept it a single screener, but I really hope the St. Andrews keeps going.