1985, I was 15 years old! It was a quad at that point. Claude Mulchi and Keith Mixon were the managers. Jack Gallant was an usher and Charles was the projectionist. At that time, most of the employees went to the nearby Mount Carmel Christian School. There was Joe Whittaker, Tracy Dobbs, her boyfriend Bif Washburn, Gretchen Krauss, Sam Tingle, Mike Carraher…
I worked there about 2 years. I had a blast for the most part, but that place was a complete zoo. I mostly did concessions, but also did the ticket booth. It was usually an utter mob scene.
If it was from Canon pictures, had Chuck Norris or Stallone or Eddie Murphy or Jason in it, it would definitely open at South Dekalb.
Mr. Malone made mention of the forehead butts to the curved glass at the ticket counter. That was true hilarity.
I remember carrying those film cans from the parking lot entrance down the slope and up to the booth. I thought my fingers would snap off.
The marquee on Candler Road was freaking 50 feet up easy, if not more. It jutted out of a steep hill. I was never afraid of heights until I had to stand on that 1 and a half foot wide grate way way up in the freezing wind changing letters!!
What harness? I can’t believe I didn’t fall off.
I remember one Saturday morning, a patron came up to complain about the sound. Upon inspection, it was discovered that one of the huge main speakers in Theatre 1 had been taken out of the back door.
That back door was the source of much villainy. Many people would sneak into the open door during a show. During a showing of “Aliens”, that back door slammed with such force that is sounded like a gunshot. The crowd poured out of the two tiny doors into that circular lobby room, screaming and trampling.
One new girl had a crush on Bif. She called him Mr. Spock, which was dead on. Upon being rebuffed, she locked herself in the ticket booth and squatted under the counter, while the crowd waited. -fun-
I was once working alone in the concession area, 15 people waiting on either side.
I pushed the oil feed on the popcorn machine, and a bare wire lit the oil and flames licked from the pan. Being the teenaged rocket scientist that I was, I filled a cup with water from the soda machine. Carbonated water. When I threw it onto the flame, the air bubbles fed the fire and an explosion blew out the top of the machine. It looked and sounded like a rock concert. The line emptied fairly quickly after that. I don’t remember the fire department showing up. I’m surprised the sprinklers didn’t go off.
Mulchi and Charles would show whatever was new after closing on Thursday or Friday nights. Claude had a stereo system in his office next to Theatre 4 that was truly deafening.
Most of the employees went to Lenox with Mulchi, and I hear some serious drama erupted between him and employees there. I stayed to work under a manager that transfered from Starlite. Not long after I was almost beat up in the mall exit for closing the locked door, preventing two gang thugs from entering.
During a showing of “Jason Lives” the crowd laughed as I tried to send out the 5 guys hiding behind the curtain. Not fun. The mall and area was changing. I left pretty soon after that.
I wanted to thank Mr. Coursey for his photos of the local theatres. (I wish there were more of Northlake2 and Southlake 2.) Great site!
My first job was at this theatre!
1985, I was 15 years old! It was a quad at that point. Claude Mulchi and Keith Mixon were the managers. Jack Gallant was an usher and Charles was the projectionist. At that time, most of the employees went to the nearby Mount Carmel Christian School. There was Joe Whittaker, Tracy Dobbs, her boyfriend Bif Washburn, Gretchen Krauss, Sam Tingle, Mike Carraher…
I worked there about 2 years. I had a blast for the most part, but that place was a complete zoo. I mostly did concessions, but also did the ticket booth. It was usually an utter mob scene.
If it was from Canon pictures, had Chuck Norris or Stallone or Eddie Murphy or Jason in it, it would definitely open at South Dekalb.
Mr. Malone made mention of the forehead butts to the curved glass at the ticket counter. That was true hilarity.
I remember carrying those film cans from the parking lot entrance down the slope and up to the booth. I thought my fingers would snap off.
The marquee on Candler Road was freaking 50 feet up easy, if not more. It jutted out of a steep hill. I was never afraid of heights until I had to stand on that 1 and a half foot wide grate way way up in the freezing wind changing letters!!
What harness? I can’t believe I didn’t fall off.
I remember one Saturday morning, a patron came up to complain about the sound. Upon inspection, it was discovered that one of the huge main speakers in Theatre 1 had been taken out of the back door.
That back door was the source of much villainy. Many people would sneak into the open door during a show. During a showing of “Aliens”, that back door slammed with such force that is sounded like a gunshot. The crowd poured out of the two tiny doors into that circular lobby room, screaming and trampling.
One new girl had a crush on Bif. She called him Mr. Spock, which was dead on. Upon being rebuffed, she locked herself in the ticket booth and squatted under the counter, while the crowd waited. -fun-
I was once working alone in the concession area, 15 people waiting on either side.
I pushed the oil feed on the popcorn machine, and a bare wire lit the oil and flames licked from the pan. Being the teenaged rocket scientist that I was, I filled a cup with water from the soda machine. Carbonated water. When I threw it onto the flame, the air bubbles fed the fire and an explosion blew out the top of the machine. It looked and sounded like a rock concert. The line emptied fairly quickly after that. I don’t remember the fire department showing up. I’m surprised the sprinklers didn’t go off.
Mulchi and Charles would show whatever was new after closing on Thursday or Friday nights. Claude had a stereo system in his office next to Theatre 4 that was truly deafening.
Most of the employees went to Lenox with Mulchi, and I hear some serious drama erupted between him and employees there. I stayed to work under a manager that transfered from Starlite. Not long after I was almost beat up in the mall exit for closing the locked door, preventing two gang thugs from entering.
During a showing of “Jason Lives” the crowd laughed as I tried to send out the 5 guys hiding behind the curtain. Not fun. The mall and area was changing. I left pretty soon after that.
I wanted to thank Mr. Coursey for his photos of the local theatres. (I wish there were more of Northlake2 and Southlake 2.) Great site!