Wedgwood Theater

dallasmovietheaters on February 28, 2021 at 6:53 am

The Wedgwood Village shopping center was announced in 1956. It launched October 27, 1960 and was so successful that a one million dollar addition was announced in 1966 containing an Interstate Theatre. Both phases of the project were carried out by Kneer & Hamm Architects. The 966-seat Wedgwood Theatre opened April 6, 1967 with a three-day red carpet launch with “How to Succeed in Business Without Trying.” Director William Friedkin was in town promoting the World Premiere screenings of Sonny & Cher’s “Good Times” and made comments. It became the ABC Wedgwood Theatre 1&2 when ABC Theatres split the auditorium on February 25th, 1977. It became the Plitt Wedgwood 1&2 when Plitt took over the ABC circuit.

From 1983-1984, the viability of the Wedgwood was in severe jeopardy as a glut of multiplexes were being built just exits away as Loews opened the 6-screen 20 & 287 nearby in 1984 and already opened its Lincoln Square in 1983. UA opened the UA Bowen 8 in 1984 along with the Las Vegas Trail 8, UA South 8, and UA North Star 8. AMC had both Green Oaks and the nearby Hulen. It was the latter that rankled Plitt which had begun showing art films to good crowds, despite the competition, at the Wedgwood. AMC dedicated one of the Hulen screens to art cinema.

Plitt downgraded the Wedgwood to sub-run discount status in March of 1986 with $1 admission. Cinemark took on the venue in 1987 and would quadplex closing it four months beginning in April of 1988. It re-emerged as the Wedgwood 4 Theatre on August 5, 1988 and now had $1 movies and $1 movie rentals. Cinemark also created video rental locations in its Arlington and Belaire locations that it had also acquired from Plitt.

Cinemark dropped the theater at the end of a 30-year lease in March of 1997. The theatre would go independent under the banner of the Wedgwood Village 4 Theatre in April of 1997 under a 5-year leasing agreement. The theatre retained (or brought back) the video rentals. It closed as the Wedgwood Village 4 Theatre on March 31, 2002. It became an indy coffee house known as Artistic Blends Coffee House and Theater from 2004 to 2006 before closing. The space was then used by the Fountains Fellowship Church.

rivest266 on June 27, 2018 at 4:14 pm

The 2nd screen opened on February 25th, 1977 and four screens in 1988. 1977 grand opening ad in the photo section.

Moviefan007 on May 25, 2011 at 10:08 pm

Found old pics of the Wedgwood Theater

http://www.cinematour.com/tour/us/4809.html

Joe Vogel on June 7, 2010 at 7:04 pm

The Wedgwood was scheduled to open in March, 1967, according to a Boxoffice item published on the 20th of that month. It was the latest house in an expansion of the Interstate chain which had begun in 1965. The Wedgwood was originally a 900-seat single-screener.

The Boxoffice item listed the theaters that had already opened as part of the expansion: “…the Westwood, Richardson; Belaire, Hurst; Clear Lake, near Houston; Parkview, Pasadena; Northgate, El Paso; Westwood, Abilene; Lake Air Drive-In, Waco, and Wonder, San Antonio.” Projects slated to open later were the Ridgewood at Garland and the Northshore in Houston.

brett421 on October 30, 2008 at 2:34 am

I remember as a child in the mid-1970s, attending this theatre, which was, at that point, a split two-screen. I believe it was originally a single theatre (based on my memory of an awkwardly sub-divided marquee). Amongst many films, i saw the original “Benji” there, and the fire hydrant out front had a small sign saying it was reserved for the title character. But basically, this was a mid-to-late-century suburban strip-shopping-center movie theatre that got carved up over the years, and the structure can still be seen in Google Earth.