AMC Holiday Six Theatres

Holiday 2 was not built as a Cinerama theatre, just a regular 70mm theatre. a 70mm version of “This is Cinerama” played on October 9th, 1973.

Cinerama return 09 Oct 1973, Tue Buffalo Evening News (Buffalo, New York) Newspapers.com

Holiday one and two had curved screens. Sometime in the ‘70s they showed cinnamarama which I didn’t see when it came out cuz I wasn’t born yet.

Closed on December 4th, 1980, and reopened on December 12th, 1980, by AMC theatres. Ad posted.

Holiday 3 4 5 6 opened on May 12th, 1972. Ad posted.

Holiday 3 4 5 6 opening 12 May 1972, Fri Buffalo Evening News (Buffalo, New York) Newspapers.com

If there was another operator between Holiday and AMC, it would’ve been brief. Holiday, I believe, operated the theater through at least 1980, and AMC took over no later than 1984. If anyone has a more precise ownership timeline, please post.

So, two paragraphs and one-hundred ninety-eight words later, I guess the answer to my question is: “Holiday Theatres Inc.” Thank you, Joe.

Oh, and I’m sorry if this comes off as snarky, but if some effort had been made to recognize my Remembering Cinerama series generously posted right here on Cinema Treasures instead of the all-too-common habit of referencing other, less reliable resources, you would’ve noted the Holiday had shown a Cinerama movie and that other Cinerama movies were shown in Buffalo in between How the West Was Won and Grand Prix.

What company ran this theater before AMC?

This article from Boxoffice of August 30, 1971, tells of plans for Holiday Theatres 3-6, and features a drawing of the proposed house. It says that the four-screen expansion had been planned by Denver theater designer Mel C. Glatz.

The 1972 article that Tinseltoes linked to earlier has two photos of the quad as it had been completed. That article also says that the multiplex was to be expanded again, with the addition of four more screens, but as it is still listed here as the Holiday Six I guess that second expansion was never carried out.

Yeah another theater I grew up with. Sooo many movies. I remember as a kid watching Poseidon Adventure here on a special midnight New Years Eve showing. Then there’s the Dino D remake of King Kong with folks sitting on the aisles. Same a couple years befoe with Towering inferno. Then the theaters in the back that I saw Smokey and the Bandit, Slapshot, Airport 77, Handle with Care etc. I remember the 4 back theaters had this cool vending machine that would sell little cheap mini-toys that I would beg my folks to buy me for 75 cents.

And I also noticed the glaring absence, as somebody has mentioned before, of the Plaza North on Niagara Falls Blvd and the Valu on Clinton. As good as this site is it isn’t exactly all inclusive.

Wow, the things that will come to mind out of the blue to search for on the net. Remember it vividly. Saw Star Wars there. Just watching Close Encounters on tv just now and saw it there too, I think. I remember we saw Jaws there and people were sitting on the floor in the aisles. The carpets were wet from people throwing up in previous showings. I remember being there and seeing the posters up for Tommy but I would have been too young to go to that one. I remember the Holiday Restaurant in the middle of the plaza too. Am I mis-remembering or did the restaurant rotate? Could be thinking of something else, so long ago. Nice to find it here :) -Karen Clark

I grew up in the apartment complexes adjacent to the Holidays from 1971 (when I was born) to 1988. My older sister and I, along with our neighborhood friends saw everything there (sometimes my Dad would take us, too)..I saw Star Wars 9 times, Grease 1 and 2, The Outsiders, Silverado,The Rocky Horror picture Show (as I got older),the list goes on and on…We would hang out there and play the video games in the lobby, because most of us weren’t allowed to cross Union Road to go to Putt Putt Golf & Games across the street…A bunch of us neighborhood kids would go talk to Al the manager, and he would give us garbage bags. We would then go around the HUGE parking lot and pick up papers and debris. For every full bag of trash we brought back, he would give us a free movie pass. The lot was huge, because before the theaters were built, the property was the 3 screen Aero Drive in. In the middle of the lot was a restaurant called the Aerohead Inn, which was the original projection booth / concession stand for the drive in. Closer to the road was (and still is) The Holiday Showcase Restaurant ( the round rstaurant alknobloch refers to), which was an incredibly cool 50’s style place, with Salmon and Turquois booths, 50’s style light fixtures, a long carport on the back for carhops. Unfortunately, it was hit by a tornado-“On July 31, 1987, an F1 tornado touched down in the Union Road and George Urban Boulevard area. It grew to an F2 before dissipating.[3] Homes and business suffered serious damage, but there were no fatalities or severe injuries. This tornado is locally memorable as the one which ripped the roof off the Holiday Showcase Restaurant.” I remember it well, having lived about 500 yards away. They remodeled it, and in my opinion, completely screwed it up. As kids we would dumpster dive, and would get all sorts of movie related items. I WISH my Mom and Dad hadn’t thrown it all away.. especially my Star Wars lobby package still in the box! They would apparently get more displays than we could use, and toss the rest. Anyway, those are MY fond memories of the Holiday Shows….

Here ya go telliott – it’s the only photo I have of the 1 & 2 theaters, taken during the old car rally promo for “Grease 2” (that’s my ‘58 Caddy Limo hogging up the parking lot!). As you can see, the buildings were ultra 60’s bland – just huge boxes connected by a popcorn lobby, but once inside you were in giant curved-screen heaven………..