Plaza Theatre
2601 Cross Country Drive,
Columbus,
GA
31906
2601 Cross Country Drive,
Columbus,
GA
31906
4 people
favorited this theater
Opened July 3, 1970 with Robert Morse in “Boatniks”. If my finite memory serves me well, this is where I first saw “My Fair Lady” as a child back in the early-1970’s.
Based on a view of a recent aerial photograph, it appears that the other two auditoriums were built from the ground up as opposed to splitting up the main one. It was demolished in February 2014.
Contributed by
Jack Coursey
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Recent comments (view all 29 comments)
ABC’s Ultravision Theatres were shaped like this theatre. If there are any of the Ultravision theatres still in operation or in existence they might be worth photographing.
I miss this theatre
Beautiful architecture here and curved design is lovely. Some of the Dimension 150 theatres used this similar design. Did not know My Fair Lady was done in cinerama. Thought it was filmed in the 1960’s. Saw it in extreme 70mil. Music Box Theatre in Seattle. A small place with a huge wide screen. Torn down now. It was elaborate too.
My Fair Lady was not a Cinerama film. It was filmed in the Super Panavision 70 process, and released in both 70mm and 35mm (anamorphic) formats. The Plaza was a 70mm house.
I remember seeing Robocop and missing in action 3 at the plaza it was a nice theatre the seats were great.
I erroneously reported that an auditorium was built from the ground up in 1977. It was built in 1975 or 1976, still researching when.
This opened on July 3rd, 1970. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
I found out that the second auditorium at the Plaza opened on Christmas Day, 1975. I’ve added a “coming soon” and a “opening” photo to the photo section. I still think the main Ultra-Vision theater was split in 1978.
Looking at the Grand Opening ad I noticed that The Plaza was proclaimed the first Ultravision theater in Georgia. Since this theater was built by ABC Southeastern, you would think that they would know better. The previous Christmas, ABC had opened the Phipps Plaza Theater in Atlanta. That one might have been the first in Georgia, the first I am aware of anyway. The Plaza may have been only the third since Georgia Theater Company had opened an Ultravision twin in the South DeKalb mall in Decatur in late spring of 1970.
No matter. These Ultravision theaters had the best presentation of anything built during that era.
I remember back in 1971 when I had visited my grandparents who now lived up there. I originally wanted to go to the downtown Rialto theater, which cinema treasurers and Georgia has forgotten a downtown theater very small that normally showed x rated movies were showing Die Frankenstine die, normally when I visited my Grandparents I and my dad would go to the Bradley up the street. I was curious about the Rialto cause it was showing x rated movies. By the time I came back, it was showing GP rated horror film. I wanted to see it, but, my cousin wanted to go to the plaza theater to see walt disney’s scandalous john. She won. Well, I was surprised that this theater was exactly like the Montgomery mall theater in Mont ala,alao an Ultravision theater . The same type of 146-degree screen, like Cinerama and stereophonic sound, in fact, the same movie that premiered in Georgia premiered at the one where I lived in august 70. The Brian Kieth film was projected onto the curved screen. My guess was a blown-up from 35mm Panavision and at the end of the film had auditorium audio effects, simulated stereo audio music.