This theater switched to FM sound during the late 1980s or early 1990s. The theatre sat in a depression somewhat lower than the surrounding businesses – you could park in the neighboring Burger King’s back parking lot, tune your radio to the proper station, and get a free movie! The last manager told me that many times they went up to the BK parking lot to ask for admission money.
Here are some pics of the North Star Drive-In on demolition day – the history above says 1993, but I had marked these photos as December 1994: View link View link View link View link View link
The America in 1994. I heard that three years later they held a special regional premiere screening of “Starship Troopers” here – parts of that film were shot in nearby Powder River. View link
Chuck, you must be correct. I started working for United Artists in 1989, right after they purchased the Commonwealth chain. They went on a closing spree, and I’m sure this single-screen house was easy to walk away from. Too bad it couldn’t hang on!
Norman OK is also a college town – home of the University of Oklahoma. So when 10,000-15,000 students leave town for three weeks in December, it could put a crimp into business. Plus, it’s cold in the winter at night in Oklahoma!
I believe this is where I caught my favorite rock band’s motion picture debut – The Ramones in “Rock And Roll High School.” The film “premiered” in drive-ins across the south and midwest USA, and I know I saw it the first night it played in Norman in 1979 (where I was a student).
Interesting comments on the recent additions to the Continental – I haven’t been since they were completed. I was working for United Artists corporate in Denver when the theatre was first remodeled and added auditoriums in 1996.
At that point, the Continental could still draw a big crowd for a big film, but it often went many weeks without a hit, and that enormous room was expensive to heat/cool/maintain etc. UA had a good relationship with the landlord and the decision was made to completely revamp the entire area – new theatre, new restaurants, new retail, etc.
Unlike most remodels, there didn’t seem to be any question that the big room would remain intact – distributors liked putting their film in what was by that time the last remaining deluxe auditorium in town.
Here are a dozen views of the 1996 remodel – the link takes you to the first shot, and hopefully the remaining 11 are in chronological order. View link
A couple of not-so-great shots of the exterior of the late Cooper Twin in Denver, circa 1993. The main auditorium was something to see… View link View link
Okay, retract my earlier comment – I had the Drexel North of Columbus confused with the Drexel of Bexley – so I posted the photo link there as well. Apologies!
Here’s the State in 2008 – in it’s second life as a law firm office:
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Here’s the State in 2008:
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This theater switched to FM sound during the late 1980s or early 1990s. The theatre sat in a depression somewhat lower than the surrounding businesses – you could park in the neighboring Burger King’s back parking lot, tune your radio to the proper station, and get a free movie! The last manager told me that many times they went up to the BK parking lot to ask for admission money.
Here are some pics of the North Star Drive-In on demolition day – the history above says 1993, but I had marked these photos as December 1994:
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Many apologies – Here is the correct link for the Tower in OKC:
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A lot can happen in ten years – check out the 1986 pic above, and then see the Malco in 1996:
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And here’s the Malco and it’s nearly next door neighbor, the Paramount:
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Wow, that night shot of the Paramount makes it look alive! Which is not how it looked in 1996:
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And here’s the Paramount and its neighbor, the Malco:
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Does anyone know what’s become of these two venues?
The Luez has not altered much over the years…here it is in 1996:
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The Murphy in summer 1996:
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Here’s a view of the Royal from March 1996 – too bad there wasn’t a different film playing…
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Here’s the Emery Bay in 1996 – looks like it had a different color scheme compared to the more current pics:
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Here’s the Princess in June 1996:
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The America in 1994. I heard that three years later they held a special regional premiere screening of “Starship Troopers” here – parts of that film were shot in nearby Powder River.
View link
Here’s a shot from the summer of 1996:
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The Fox as it looked in 1997:
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Chuck, you must be correct. I started working for United Artists in 1989, right after they purchased the Commonwealth chain. They went on a closing spree, and I’m sure this single-screen house was easy to walk away from. Too bad it couldn’t hang on!
Norman OK is also a college town – home of the University of Oklahoma. So when 10,000-15,000 students leave town for three weeks in December, it could put a crimp into business. Plus, it’s cold in the winter at night in Oklahoma!
I believe this is where I caught my favorite rock band’s motion picture debut – The Ramones in “Rock And Roll High School.” The film “premiered” in drive-ins across the south and midwest USA, and I know I saw it the first night it played in Norman in 1979 (where I was a student).
Interesting comments on the recent additions to the Continental – I haven’t been since they were completed. I was working for United Artists corporate in Denver when the theatre was first remodeled and added auditoriums in 1996.
At that point, the Continental could still draw a big crowd for a big film, but it often went many weeks without a hit, and that enormous room was expensive to heat/cool/maintain etc. UA had a good relationship with the landlord and the decision was made to completely revamp the entire area – new theatre, new restaurants, new retail, etc.
Unlike most remodels, there didn’t seem to be any question that the big room would remain intact – distributors liked putting their film in what was by that time the last remaining deluxe auditorium in town.
Here are a dozen views of the 1996 remodel – the link takes you to the first shot, and hopefully the remaining 11 are in chronological order.
View link
A couple of not-so-great shots of the exterior of the late Cooper Twin in Denver, circa 1993. The main auditorium was something to see…
View link
View link
The Esquire as it appeared in August 1996 (looks like the trees are now gone):
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Okay, retract my earlier comment – I had the Drexel North of Columbus confused with the Drexel of Bexley – so I posted the photo link there as well. Apologies!
The Drexel in 1996 – the manager/owner can be seen in the lower right corner in the hat and white shirt:
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Wow, this was a nice little theater when I visited in 1996 – sorry to hear it’s defunct.
The theater:
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The concession stand:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34152329@N06/?saved=1
A 1996 shot of the Cine – doesn’t appear any different in the decade passing since the posted 1986 view:
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A photo of the Esquire from 1988 – showing the then-controversial “Last Temptation Of Christ”:
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Haven’t visited that neighborhood in a long time, but here’s a view of the marquee – all that was left of the theater – in 1997:
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