Sierra III Theatre
1618 22nd Street,
West Des Moines,
IA
50266
1618 22nd Street,
West Des Moines,
IA
50266
No one has favorited this theater yet
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Carmike Cinemas, Dubinsky Brothers, Excellence Theatres, Fridley Theatres
Functions: Retail
Nearby Theaters
Located in the Westown Shopping Center, the Sierra III Theatre opened on April 13, 1973 by Dubinsky Brothers/Fridley Theatres. On December 1, 1989 it was taken over by Excellence Theatres. Carmike Cinemas took over in September 1991. It was closed on September 4, 2000. It was reopened by Fridley Theatres on December 14, 2000. It was closed on November 11, 2007.
The Des Moines Register stated that the Sierra III was closed due to too many screens in the metro area, particularly competition from the 20 screen multi-plex built at Jordan Creek Mall in West Des Moines.
Contributed by
Lon Peterson
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
Nice theatre. Had a balcony, which was rare for modern theatres in the area in the 1970s-1980s.
The Sierra Three was opened by Fridley Theatres in 1973, according to the April 30 issue of Boxoffice that year. By 1977, the house was being operated by Dubinsky Theatres.
Polk County tax records list the building the Sierra 3 was in as being built in 1972. The theatre closed in November 2007:
View link
The building where the Sierra Three was now holds a Gold’s Gym franchise. It opened in the fall of 2008
As of June 2009 the space is actually occupied by a “Dollar Tree” variety store. Gold’s Gym occupies the unit that was once a (state operated) liquor store just to the south of the Sierra 3 site.
The theatre was usually advertised as the “Sierra III” and was located in the “Westown Shopping Center”.
This opened on April 13th, 1973. Grand opening ad uploaded here.
Taken over from Carmike Cinemas and reopened by Fridley Theatres on December 15th, 2000. Grand opening ad posted.
This theater seemed to show things that may not end up at the local multiplex. While recovering from homelessness I worked at the Half-Price Store in the same shopping center as this theater, to pay my rent at the Riverfront YMCA. I wrote about it in my book, The Homeless Man’s Journal. After work sometimes a coworker and I would catch a movie at the theater. I saw 1994’s Cemetery Man there in 1996, as well as 1995’s Rumpelstiltskin.
The Westown Shopping Center was announced in 1971 with Woolworth’s big box store, Woolco, signed on as the primary anchor tenant and opening in 1972. Fridley inked a deal to be the cinema provider but in October 1972, Dubinksy and Robert Fridley became partners in six cinemas locally and the others were taken on solely by Dubinsky. So this venue was officially a Dubinsky Bros./Fridley cinema, the Sierra 3 Theatres launching April 13, 1973.
Excellence Theatres took over here effective on December 1, 1989 after buying out Dubinksy Bros. In 1991, Carmike and Excellence created a joint operating agreement in February and, that same year, essentially buying out the Excellence side by September. This moved the venue to Carmike ownership.
Carmike declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August of 2000 and shedded a number of low-performing venues nationwide to escape bad leases realted to aged triples, quads and cookie cutter late multiplex-era houses as they were over-extended in the build out of megaplexes of the late 1990s. In Des Moines, alone, Carmike fresh under bankruptcy protection moved on from the Fleur 4 and Valley 3 on August 24, 2000; the River Hills-Riviera on September 7, 2000; the Westwood 6 and here at the Sierra 3 after September 14, 2000 and at the Carmike 11 on September 21, 2000.
In November, Fridley Theatres decided to revisit the venue after preliminary discussions with Parkway Asset Management of Hackensack, NJ - operators of the center. Fridley Luxury Theatres relit the Sierra 3 with “The Yards,” “Dude, Where’s My Car,” and “Meet the Parents” on December 14, 2000. The venue lasted until November 11, 2007 closing with “The Nanny Diaries,” “Resurrecting the Champ” and “The Bourne Ultimatum.”