Loew's Fairfax Circle
9488 Arlington Boulevard,
Fairfax Circle,
VA
22031
9488 Arlington Boulevard,
Fairfax Circle,
VA
22031
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The Fairfax Circle Theatre building has finally been torn down in Spring 2018for a new commercial/residential use area. No theatre planned for the new construction.
I’m not sure but I think this theater was the one that had a very wide screen and was featured in a local news feature(Channel 9?), in 1983, on the opening of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. I’m thinking the feature had stated this was the largest screen in Virginia that was showing the movie but was NOT in 70mm.
I worked there for 11 years,1972-1983. All the First run movies were shown there. A fun place to work!! Made some life long friends there.
In ‘79 or '80 (still in middle school) I was invited to play in my first ever band. The band consisted of two of this theatre’s late night projectionists and some others. After the night’s last showing, we would drag the gear out from behind the curtains and play Neil Young songs for hours and hours through the “sens-around” system. Except for my drumming; it sounded and felt AWSOME! I also was able to learn how to splice film, run the projectors and mix every kind of fountain soda together. I would love to do it all over now. Thanks Lowes and Charlie and John.
The last safety patrol movie was shown in Dec 1984/Jan 1985. It was “Dune”. I worked here for a few weeks until an opening came up at Bradlick Theatre (also in the Circle/Showcase company). Officially, Fairfax Circle had 1,169 seats.
My sister and I saw “Back to the Future” here. Didnt realize that it was the last movie to play there.
Another theatre thats a sore now.
Loew’s Fairfax Circle opened on 12/23/65. It’s initial attaction was the first-run engagement of THAT DARN CAT with Hayley Mills. The film also opened at several other D.C. area theaters. Like almost all Disney films released in the mid-to-late 1960’s, it did not play in downtown D.C. The most notable exceptions to that were A TIGER WALKS, MARY POPPINS, and THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE.
Here is the 1965 sketch of the Loew’s Fairfax Circle and this is a March 2008 photo of the building in its current incarnation. The interior has been completely gutted.
I have an address listing the Fairfax Circle at 9488 Arlington Blvd, Fairfax, VA and had a seating capacity of 1,200.
It closed in the summer of 1985. The last movie that ever played there was “Back to the Future”. :–(
I grew up in Fairfax, Virginia and saw many films at the Fairfax Circle Loews. I remember seeing “The Last Starfighter” with 1,000 other safety patrol kids. There was “ET” with grandma, “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” and many other early to mid 80’s classics. The theatre was HUGE to my little eyes and the concession stands were always packed. It was the largest theatre I had ever seen. The screen was gigantic and it seemed like there were 10,000 seats. (Granted I was a little kid).
LOEW’S opened this huge 1,500 seat single screen theater in 1965. It was big, comfortable and popular —– but was NOT a grand Loew’s theatre, simply sleek and modern. They charged a 50% premium over competing theaters' prices, but were popular anyway. Showcase Theaters took it over and continued playing the best pictures, at competitive prices. It closed over a decade ago and was converted into a big store.
Here’s a link to that 1965 annual report. See pages 7 and 8. You will need to wait for the images to load.
I do not know the theatre’s address or whether it is still operating. Any further information would be appreciated.