Joy's Panorama 6
3939 Airline Highway,
Metairie,
LA
70001
3939 Airline Highway,
Metairie,
LA
70001
1 person
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Joy's Theaters Inc.
Previous Names: Patio Theatre, Joy's Panorama Theatre I & II, Joy's Panorama 4
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Suburban movie theatre located on Airline Highway in Metairie LA, in Jefferson Parish. It was built and opened as the Patio Theatre in 1950. From 1960 to 1967 it was operating as a bowling alley. It reopened as Joy’s Panorama Theatre in August 1967 as a free standing twin screen cinema. In 1970 it was converted into four screens and became a six scrren cinema in 1985.
Owned and operated by the local Joy’s chain which also operated a few other theatres, notably the Joy’s Cinema City 6, which was really the very first large multi-plex cinema in New Orleans. Joy’s had no affiliation or relationship to the landmark downtown New Orleans Joy Theatre as many thought.
Joy’s Panorama was closed in 1996, and after a fire, was demolished in 1999.
Contributed by
craig trent
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Recent comments (view all 19 comments)
I can remember going too “Rollercoaster” with Timothy Bottoms there. The theatre was one of the few if not the only, to install the Sensesurround system the emphasized the bass notes and shook in your seats. They also played a movie called “Earthquake” that used that process.
I worked at the Panorama theater in 1990 as a ticket taker. By that time the theater was run down. This was the summer that the first run theaters stopped selling their movies to the “Dollar Theaters” thereby effectively putting them out of business. I remember seeing so many movies there. “Grease”, “It’s Alive”, “Roller Coaster”, “Phantom of the Paradise”. It was sad to see it’s decline before they closed down for good. The last movie I saw there was “People Under The Stairs”.
I can remember seeing one of the worst movies ever made at the Panorama. I think the name of it was “Candy”. That movie looked like they had swept up the cutting room floor, spliced it together and sent it out and called it a movie. There was no plot, no story, no nothing. You kept thinking that something was going to happen that would make all make sense. But nothing ever did. I talked to friend whoa had seen it, too. And he had the same impression.
Big, I have fond memories of the Joy. Saturday’s was kiddie day..matinees for .25 cents, then became a $1 cinema. Monster movies, cartoon movies. When I was in college it was the best place to go for entertainment. Toward the end of its tenure for me…1982…it was kinda grungy and smelled real bad.
I remember seeing plenty of movies at this theatre I also remember the women’s restroom is located upstairs and two sets of men’s restrooms were downstairs. One side of the theatre had two screens while the other side had lengthy hallway connecting four other screens.
By the mid 1990’s this theatre and the other two Joy’s theatres were owned by Movies Inc. Theatres later Silver Cinemas along with the Plazas Cinema 5 formerly 4 , La Place twin later expanded to seven screens like Chalmette Cinema originally had nine screens today it had six screens with stadium seating.
Opened as the Patio Theatre in 1950, then was a bowling alley from 1960-`67 before reopening as Joy’s Panorama.
https://www.cinematour.com/tour/us/289.html
Closed Oct. 27, 1996. They tried offering 55 cent matinees the last few months they were in business. I remember going there in 1993 or 1994 and the place was in pretty sorry shape and dirty - they hadn’t mopped the aisles in so long I remember my sneakers sticking and peeling off with each step…lol…
Opened January 26, 1950 as the Patio Theater, which operated at least through mid-1959. In July 1960 Joy Bowling Lanes was opened by Joy Houck and that operated until about January 1967. Reopened August 17, 1967 as the Joy’s Panorama I & II. The only illustration I was able to find of the Patio bore no resemblence whatsoever to The bowling lanes and Panorama theater - how accurate that was I don’t know, but I haven’t been able to find a photograph of the Patio thus far.
Grand opening ad and article with inferior quality pictures of the Patio theatre posted.