The theater was stand alone on the north side of a large lot. I don’t recall when it closed, but for a long time after it was a huge piano store with the same plain white exterior. A few years ago the shabby Jewel further east on Central Ave. in Highland Park closed and moved to the location where the theater once stood. I believe they leveled the former building.
This was a great spot for kids movies in the 70s. I’m not sure if it was exclusively family films, but this is where all the Disney live-action movies like Witch Mountain, Gus, and the ilk played. Across the lot was Bargain Town, which was the precursor to Toys R Us (old school HPers still call the still in business Toys R Us, Bargain Town). There was also an awesome candy and ice cream emporium across the lot with an old time decor and a huge sundae called the Kitchen Sink, which was delivered with all sorts of fanfare.
The coolest part about the theater, at least in its later years, was the fact that it had real airplane seats in the middle of each row. And not the chincy coach seats of today, but the old comfy reclining seats.
As a kid on the North Shore there was only one place to go to see a “big” movie—the Edens. I remember waiting in line as a kid to see Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark there. It truly was an amazing experience. The futuristic Edens I had a balcony where you could go sit when you went with your parents but did not want to sit with them.
The last movie I saw there was the remake of Cape Fear and the place was really run-down. I was on a date and there were like three other people in the whole theater. A sad goodbye to what was the classic theater for North Shore kids of the 70s and 80s.
The theater was stand alone on the north side of a large lot. I don’t recall when it closed, but for a long time after it was a huge piano store with the same plain white exterior. A few years ago the shabby Jewel further east on Central Ave. in Highland Park closed and moved to the location where the theater once stood. I believe they leveled the former building.
This was a great spot for kids movies in the 70s. I’m not sure if it was exclusively family films, but this is where all the Disney live-action movies like Witch Mountain, Gus, and the ilk played. Across the lot was Bargain Town, which was the precursor to Toys R Us (old school HPers still call the still in business Toys R Us, Bargain Town). There was also an awesome candy and ice cream emporium across the lot with an old time decor and a huge sundae called the Kitchen Sink, which was delivered with all sorts of fanfare.
The coolest part about the theater, at least in its later years, was the fact that it had real airplane seats in the middle of each row. And not the chincy coach seats of today, but the old comfy reclining seats.
As a kid on the North Shore there was only one place to go to see a “big” movie—the Edens. I remember waiting in line as a kid to see Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark there. It truly was an amazing experience. The futuristic Edens I had a balcony where you could go sit when you went with your parents but did not want to sit with them.
The last movie I saw there was the remake of Cape Fear and the place was really run-down. I was on a date and there were like three other people in the whole theater. A sad goodbye to what was the classic theater for North Shore kids of the 70s and 80s.