Eastgate 1 & 2 Theatres
1550 E. Euclid Avenue,
Des Moines,
IA
50313
1550 E. Euclid Avenue,
Des Moines,
IA
50313
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Davis Theatres, Dubinsky Brothers, General Cinema Corp.
Previous Names: Cinemas I & II
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The Cinemas I & II was a twin-screen theater located in the Eastgate Shopping Center in Des Moines, Iowa. The actual legal address was 1558 E. Euclid Avenue.
Davis Theatres opened it on October 27 1966 with Don O'Kelly in “The Hostage” playing on both screens. As the Cinemas I & II it was billed as "Iowa’s only Twin Theatre" (On November 26, 1969 a third theatre was added in the mall named Eastgate Cinema III which operated as an adult movie theatre and has its own page on Cinema Treasures).
The Eastgate I & II was closed on August 4, 1988 (the Eastgate III continued to operate as an adult theatre and closed in November 2004). The building was demolished circa 2005 and it appears that hardly a trace of the theatre can be found on the site - an empty lot behind the Iowa Health Physicians & Clinics Walk-In Urgent Care Clinic - as of June 2009.
Contributed by
Edward Cook
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
The Eastgate I & II was owned by Dubinsky Bros during the 80s and was a second-run theatre. Eastgate III was a separate theatre (located in the same strip mall) which showed adult movies.
This was opened by General Cinemas* on October 26th, 1966. Dubinsky must has taken it over shortly after.
Also uploaded the Cinema III grand opening ad from November 26th, 1969. It had separate management from the other two screens.
I worked there in 1969 as an usher during high school. The Davis family that owned the place were very nice people & treated their employees well.
Troy Young here. Best job ever for a teen. We had so much fun! Worked there 88-89. Graduated East Highschool same time. Anyone out there remember our group. Tyler was the Leader!
Both Eastgate I & II and Eastgate III were separated theaters.
General Cinema opened the Eastgate Cinemas I & II on October 27, 1966 with Don O'Kelly in “The Hostage” (with short subjects added) shown in both screens.
On November 26, 1969, Eastgate III opened its gates as an adult theater, with it being located separately away from the I & II.
During the afternoon hours on May 5, 1982, a male teenager entered the Eastgate III, approached to one of the theater’s employees and pointed a gun in front of his face. He then stole $200 out of the cashier and ran. The suspect was identified as 18-year-old Thomas C. Bell of Des Moines.
The Eastgate I & II closed for the final time in late 1989, leaving the Eastgate III running, and yes, still as an adult theater. This lasted for a decade-and-a-half, but there were incidents in its last couple years of operation. Developers sued the owners of the Eastgate III in November 2001 over its activities stymie efforts to lure big stores at the site. Its terms and leases have been filed at previous days beforehand in Polk County court.
In October 2003, an overman blamed owners of the Eastgate III, saying that he wants to shut the theater down. But exactly a year and a month later, the theater finally had its chance to close for the final time in late November 2004.
This venue was built by Richard L. Davis' Davis Theatres under the Eastgate Cinemas, Inc. (one word) moniker and designed by Winkler-Goewey Architects. (General Cinema would have used its own architect had they developed this venue; but they didn’t.) The $350,000 complex had 770 seats at launch - 462 in the large house and 308 in the smaller auditorium. R.L. Davis Theatres' Eastgate Cinemas I & II had a World Premiere of “The Hostage” at launch on Oct. 26, 1966. It was controlled by 1,600 stockholders. There is little doubt that the booking and marketing of the venue was being handled by General Cinema for its first two years before moving solely under Davis Theatres' aegis. Davis added a third screen and all of the Davis Theatres locally were marketed internally by that point in 1969.
In the porno chic era, adult theaters were commonplace. Davis built a Cinema III to handle adult titles in late 1969. Like many shopping centers of its era, Eastgate toyed with being a Mall but it was developed theatre-lessly in 1963 as the Eastgate Shopping Center. The first 20 years were good for all with lessees in place and under contract. The next 20 years weren’t good and a number of local critics blamed the adult cinema for the lack of re-ups. And they may have been right as Eastgate scuffled in its second leasing cycle and didn’t really make it to its third potential leasing cycle.
From a cinematic perspective, the Des Moines' East-side was supportive of the adult Cinema III and Cinema 1536 but not so much any others. In 1976, Davis Theatres cited an impossible environment to operate to its stockholders and sold its portfolio to the competing Dubinsky Bros. Circuit including the Eastgate twin. Under Dubinsky, the twin was renamed as the Eastgate Cinema 1 & 2 closing permanently as a 99 cent, sub-run discount house. Its final advertised shows were August 4, 1988 with “Willow” and “Red Heat.” Cinema III would continue 16 more years going down with the Eastgate Shopping Center in demolition in late 2004.