This was a good drive for us, living in Glen Burnie, but we did make the trek every now and then when it was still inside the mall. I think the screens were pretty big, if I remember correctly, but my only other memory of it is seeing Jaws 3D there and the General Cinemas intro with that theme that got stuck in your head (Harundale Cinema had this also). If we had our choice, we would go to Westview instead.
Saw Star Wars here at age 8 and The Black Hole a couple of years later. Truly two of the most memorable experiences of my life. The screens were so huge and the lobby was gorgeous. I’ll never forget standing in line for Star Wars and an usher opened the door to the theater for a moment to check something and I caught a glimpse of TIE fighters zooming down the trench of the Death Star. I almost threw up I was so excited. I really hope there’s a movie theater this memorable for my kids to go to when they’re old enough, it just isn’t the same anymore.
Theater #5 was definitely the big one and it always had a peculiar smell, like moldy bread. Never did find out why. Maybe it still does. I had completely forgotten about the Rocky Horror screenings.
I lived just around the corner from this theater on Furnace Branch Road and you could see the entire screen from my backyard. I can’t count the number of nights I sat on the hill in my yard and watched Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, The Incredible Melting Man and who knows how many others, all without sound of course. I think the only time I officially went there was to see the original Rocky with a friend and his mom. She wanted to beat the traffic out so we left 5 minutes before the movie ended and she told us, “Don’t worry, he wins”. At school the next day, everyone treated us like idiots because we thought he had won the fight. Man, what memories.
If I’m remembering correctly, one of the last movies they showed (or maybe THE last) was Return of the Jedi which would have been ‘83 into '84 since it ran for something like 6 months. We went to the very last showing and they weren’t going to screen it because it was just me and my dad there. They said it cost too much in electricity to run it for 2 people. Then another couple arrived and they were forced to show it :) Like refrost69 said, it’s a ghost town now. The only thing making money is Toys R Us. Really sad.
Had a couple friends in high school who worked there, I don’t think I ever paid to see a movie there as long as it was open :) And it was definitely open in ‘86. Saw Ferris Bueller and The Mosquito Coast there when they had discount Tuesdays.
Yeah, this one was there for a long time. Before Marley opened, this was THE place to go to the movies in the GB/Pasadena area. Saw Beverly Hills Cop, Aliens, Gremlins and a ton of others there. The biggest problem with the theaters is that they were really long instead of wide and the screens were pretty small. You had to sit in the first 15 rows or it seemed like you were watching a large TV…from really far away. When they switched to the discount cinema, the managers actually let me show my first feature there and it ran for two weeks!!
Yup, Empire Strikes back, Superman and all of the Disney movies my sister would take me to on Saturdays. Also saw Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter there and the audience (mostly high schoolers) talked and screamed during the whole thing. As much as that drives me crazy now, that was a really great communal experience.
Wow, this was probably my favorite theater growing up. Ghostbusters, Temple of Doom, Rocky III, we saw everything there. A friend and I were actually at the very last screening there, they were showing Night of the Creeps (called “Homecoming Night” when it screened there) and we were the only people there. The seat cushions were all ripped up and there was a hole in the ceiling where water was pouring down in front of the screen because it was raining. Ahhh, good times.
This was a good drive for us, living in Glen Burnie, but we did make the trek every now and then when it was still inside the mall. I think the screens were pretty big, if I remember correctly, but my only other memory of it is seeing Jaws 3D there and the General Cinemas intro with that theme that got stuck in your head (Harundale Cinema had this also). If we had our choice, we would go to Westview instead.
Saw Star Wars here at age 8 and The Black Hole a couple of years later. Truly two of the most memorable experiences of my life. The screens were so huge and the lobby was gorgeous. I’ll never forget standing in line for Star Wars and an usher opened the door to the theater for a moment to check something and I caught a glimpse of TIE fighters zooming down the trench of the Death Star. I almost threw up I was so excited. I really hope there’s a movie theater this memorable for my kids to go to when they’re old enough, it just isn’t the same anymore.
Theater #5 was definitely the big one and it always had a peculiar smell, like moldy bread. Never did find out why. Maybe it still does. I had completely forgotten about the Rocky Horror screenings.
By the way, it closed a week before Christmas in ‘83. Last double feature was An Officer and a Gentleman and 48 Hours.
I lived just around the corner from this theater on Furnace Branch Road and you could see the entire screen from my backyard. I can’t count the number of nights I sat on the hill in my yard and watched Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, The Incredible Melting Man and who knows how many others, all without sound of course. I think the only time I officially went there was to see the original Rocky with a friend and his mom. She wanted to beat the traffic out so we left 5 minutes before the movie ended and she told us, “Don’t worry, he wins”. At school the next day, everyone treated us like idiots because we thought he had won the fight. Man, what memories.
If I’m remembering correctly, one of the last movies they showed (or maybe THE last) was Return of the Jedi which would have been ‘83 into '84 since it ran for something like 6 months. We went to the very last showing and they weren’t going to screen it because it was just me and my dad there. They said it cost too much in electricity to run it for 2 people. Then another couple arrived and they were forced to show it :) Like refrost69 said, it’s a ghost town now. The only thing making money is Toys R Us. Really sad.
Had a couple friends in high school who worked there, I don’t think I ever paid to see a movie there as long as it was open :) And it was definitely open in ‘86. Saw Ferris Bueller and The Mosquito Coast there when they had discount Tuesdays.
Yeah, this one was there for a long time. Before Marley opened, this was THE place to go to the movies in the GB/Pasadena area. Saw Beverly Hills Cop, Aliens, Gremlins and a ton of others there. The biggest problem with the theaters is that they were really long instead of wide and the screens were pretty small. You had to sit in the first 15 rows or it seemed like you were watching a large TV…from really far away. When they switched to the discount cinema, the managers actually let me show my first feature there and it ran for two weeks!!
Yup, Empire Strikes back, Superman and all of the Disney movies my sister would take me to on Saturdays. Also saw Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter there and the audience (mostly high schoolers) talked and screamed during the whole thing. As much as that drives me crazy now, that was a really great communal experience.
Wow, this was probably my favorite theater growing up. Ghostbusters, Temple of Doom, Rocky III, we saw everything there. A friend and I were actually at the very last screening there, they were showing Night of the Creeps (called “Homecoming Night” when it screened there) and we were the only people there. The seat cushions were all ripped up and there was a hole in the ceiling where water was pouring down in front of the screen because it was raining. Ahhh, good times.