The first movie I ever saw in Alabama was at this theater: our grandmother took us to see Superman II in 1980 when we were visiting. One and Two screen theaters were still viable before the multiplexes started going up. This facility set empty for years before Faulkner University, which is right across the street, bought it and turned it into a dinner theater for students, family, and alums.
Saw Raiders of the Lost Ark there in 81, along with several of John Carpenter’s flicks in the time period. My friends and I were all within walking distance. As beautiful as the place was, it just couldn’t compete with the multiplex market.
The K-Mart he’s talking about here is the OLD K-Mart location, not the attempt at a Superstore that is now the gym. It closed back in the 90’s after K-Mart attempted to ape Wal Mart’s “Supercenter” concept. I still remember shopping in the old one. After K-Mart left, the structure sat empty until it became a flea market. It’s now being redeveloped into a Rural King store, with lots of construction ongoing.
I saw several movies at this particular theater. It was very run down, but still fairly active until the big 12 screen complex was built on Cobbs Ford Rd. I don’t recall it becoming a discount chain until later in the 90’s. When I saw Terminator 2 in 1991, it was still a first run theater at regular pricing. Same for when I saw Sleepwalkers there in 1992.
The structure has since been heavily remodeled, and subdivided into three businesses. There’s no indication there was ever a theater there in the front, but in the rear of the facility you can see it used to be movies.
I don’t think a restaurant took its place. It was in the middle of what is essentially a strip mall (Twin Oaks Shopping Center), and when the theater was gutted, it was converted into a single retail space, where tenants came and went. The last two were a Party City, and now a Five Below. It was a nice theater (saw Dracula there in 1992), but it simply couldn’t compete with the slew of 8+ screen multiplexes popping up across town at the time. If you look at rooftop photos of the complex, you can see where this space has a higher roofline than all the others, because of the extra height needed for screens when it was a theater.
Went to this theater all the time as a boy. Saw Star Trek the Motion Picture there several times during its 1979 run. Moved away but got to see it one more time during a visit to see family in the area. Saw Shrek there in 2001. I was amazed at how nothing had changed. It looked exactly as it did in 1979, as if I’d stepped through a wormhole into the past. It was still very clean and well kept and comfortable. I’m sorry to see that it’s gone now.
The first movie I ever saw in Alabama was at this theater: our grandmother took us to see Superman II in 1980 when we were visiting. One and Two screen theaters were still viable before the multiplexes started going up. This facility set empty for years before Faulkner University, which is right across the street, bought it and turned it into a dinner theater for students, family, and alums.
Saw Raiders of the Lost Ark there in 81, along with several of John Carpenter’s flicks in the time period. My friends and I were all within walking distance. As beautiful as the place was, it just couldn’t compete with the multiplex market.
The K-Mart he’s talking about here is the OLD K-Mart location, not the attempt at a Superstore that is now the gym. It closed back in the 90’s after K-Mart attempted to ape Wal Mart’s “Supercenter” concept. I still remember shopping in the old one. After K-Mart left, the structure sat empty until it became a flea market. It’s now being redeveloped into a Rural King store, with lots of construction ongoing.
I saw several movies at this particular theater. It was very run down, but still fairly active until the big 12 screen complex was built on Cobbs Ford Rd. I don’t recall it becoming a discount chain until later in the 90’s. When I saw Terminator 2 in 1991, it was still a first run theater at regular pricing. Same for when I saw Sleepwalkers there in 1992.
The structure has since been heavily remodeled, and subdivided into three businesses. There’s no indication there was ever a theater there in the front, but in the rear of the facility you can see it used to be movies.
I don’t think a restaurant took its place. It was in the middle of what is essentially a strip mall (Twin Oaks Shopping Center), and when the theater was gutted, it was converted into a single retail space, where tenants came and went. The last two were a Party City, and now a Five Below. It was a nice theater (saw Dracula there in 1992), but it simply couldn’t compete with the slew of 8+ screen multiplexes popping up across town at the time. If you look at rooftop photos of the complex, you can see where this space has a higher roofline than all the others, because of the extra height needed for screens when it was a theater.
Went to this theater all the time as a boy. Saw Star Trek the Motion Picture there several times during its 1979 run. Moved away but got to see it one more time during a visit to see family in the area. Saw Shrek there in 2001. I was amazed at how nothing had changed. It looked exactly as it did in 1979, as if I’d stepped through a wormhole into the past. It was still very clean and well kept and comfortable. I’m sorry to see that it’s gone now.