Parkway Cinemas
3768 S. Maryland Parkway,
Las Vegas,
NV
89119
3768 S. Maryland Parkway,
Las Vegas,
NV
89119
1 person
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99 Ranch Food Store now at that location. It looks like this nmight be a new building though.
3 screens on March 27th, 1975. Grand opening ad posted.
This opened on February 11th, 1970. Grand opening ad posted.
A message to KimF: INCORRECT on the Parkway’s original house being “divided up” – it wasn’t. When the theatre opened in 1970 (open feature: “Hello Dolly” with Babs Streisand & “Grumpy” Walter Matthau), the storefronts, next to it (on the left side), became a nightclub/bar/discotheque. It was unsuccessful – I believe the venture didn’t even last a year. Afterwards, that section sat idle for several years. The Parkway was originally owned & operated by ABC (yes, the TV network – they got into theatrical movie productions & running their own movie theatres, like the Parkway which was their only theatre here (Vegas) & probably their only one in the whole state of Nevada). ABC sold their theatres to Plitt sometime in either 1973 or 1974, and in ‘74 someone within the Plitt organization came up with the idea of turning those storefronts (spaces) into 2 dinky theatres (add-ons) to the Parkway’s “Big House”. The Parkway Theatre became “The Parkway 3” in early 1975, and the “grand opening” features were: Theatre 1 (a.k.a. “The Big House”): The Who’s “Tommy”, shown in Quintaphonic Sound. (I was there – went to the first matinee showing.)
Theatre 2 (a.k.a. “The Blue Dinky House”): “The Godfather II” – a “move-over” from “The Big House”, as the film (The Parkway’s big Xmas (1974) feature) was still doing business at the box office. This led to a postponement of Columbia Pictures' ‘X'rated (softcore) feature “Emmanuelle”. (Plitt’s newspaper ads for the “Parkway 3’s GRAND OPENING” originally announced that one, along with “Tommy”, were gonna be the opening features. This led to an “inside joke” – “Tommy”, in “the big house”, was promoted as “Your senses will never be the same!”, and “Emmanuelle”, in one of the dinky houses, going “You wanna make a bet on that, 'Thomas’?”)
Theatre 3 (a.k.a. “The Red Dinky House”): Richard Lester’s “The Four Musketeers” (a “sequel” / continuation of Lester’s “The Three Musketeers” which had its first run engagement at The Las Vegas Cinerama <– there’s your answer, Stunko.)
Ron, that is an awesome addition to this page… Love it!
When I research Las Vegas history on microfilm/finche, I’m always running across ads from movies at this location, Skyway, and MGM Grand’s old grindhouse.
There’s a thread on the Cinerama Theater, Stunko. The building is gone and the entire area is built-up now. The former location is on Paradise across from the Hughes Business Center – a massive complex of office buildings and restaurants.
Saw “Star Wars” here as well in 1977. It was easy to sneak into from one screen to another later on, after they “multiplex” was set up.
Unrelated to this one but nearby, what was the name of the huge Cinerama Dome theater on Paradise Road near East Flamingo? The 1977 Clint Eastwood actioner “The Gauntlet” had a car explosion scene filmed right front of that Cinerama Dome style theater on Paradise. After it stopped being a theater, it became a church. But I don’t see the bldg any more on Google.
LOL, Johnny! Little bits of William Castle’s goodies carried on into the ‘70s!
I saw “The Exorcist” there and I think there was an ambulance outside and they were handing out barf bags. Also, the line to get in was so long.
It was a single theater when it opened. The auditorium was definitely divided up. There was no room for expansion. The theater had other businesses attached on its left (as you faced it from the parking lot) and gov’t land (a flood control drain) to the right of a small parking lot on the other side.)
Theaters all over the country did the same thing to big, beautiful screens – it was all about the almighty dollar. Here in LV, the classic Huntridge Theater and the Boulevard received the same treatment (made into twins, though), along with at least one located on Fremont Street, as did my favorite theater in Torrance, CA – the Rolling Hills (another twin).
Sad, because they – at least the specific ones I mentioned – closed eventually anyway.
Was it a single or a twin when it opened? Because,again i can’t see why they would cut up that big auditorium. They could have been add-ons.
I want to say that the “butchering” took place around early 1976. I remember going to a midnight showings of “Tommy” and another featuring Beatles goodies (Shea Stadium, Magical Mystery Tour, etc.) in late 1974/early 1975 and it was still one large screen.
When my boyfriend and I went to see “Alice In Wonderland” with Kristine DeBell in late 1976 (the movie was released in December), it was in one of the divided theaters.
ETA:Which is kind of appropriate since “Lovers and Other Strangers” produced by ABC Pictures.
So,obviously,this was part of the ABC theatre chain that gave us the Century Plaza in Century City. Question:when were theatres 2&3 added? because i can’t imagine why they’d carve up that big,beautiful main screen they had.
I saw “The Black Stallion”,“Alien”,“The Muppet Movie” and “The Empire Strikes Back” here when i lived in Vegas btween spring ‘79 and fall '81.
I saw Star Wars at this theater. I remember seeing it up on the marquee. It was the right-most listing of the three. No idea what else was there. I also remember seeing The Black Stallion there.
This theatre operated as a Plitt theatre.
when Cineplex Odeon bought Plitt,the theatre was sold to Syufy.(Later Century Theatres,now a unit of Cinemark Theatres)