Cinema 1 & 2
1305 E. Broad Street,
Rockingham,
NC
28379
1305 E. Broad Street,
Rockingham,
NC
28379
1 person
favorited this theater
Showing 4 comments
Carmike Cinemas acquired this theatre in 1994 after its acquisition of Eastern Federal Corporation. It closed in 1998.
CORRECTION: It was known as the CINEMA upon its opening in 1967. The theatre was next door to a record store. The Richmond Plaza opened in 1966 with a Penney’s Department Store as its primary anchor. On the other end was a Big Star/Colonial Stores grocer,and later on a Bi-Lo. There was a Roses Department Store, a Macks Department Store, a neighborhood pharmacy, Baxter’s Men Shop,Kinney Shoes,Lerner Shops and other specialty stores. And speaking of Belk’s,it didn’t open in Richmond Plaza until 1978 when the Belk’s located in Downtown Rockingham closed and moved there. As of this writing…the Penney’s is still there,as well as Belk’s and Roses. The building that was the CINEMA is vacant that closed in 1998 by Carmike Cinemas.
By the late 1960’s,and throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s,and into the 1990’s,there were only three movie theatres in Rockingham:
-The Strand Theatre(Downtown on East Washington Street-closed in the late-1960’s or early 1970’s,and was reopened as the Richmond Community Theatre
-Cinema 1 & 2(Richmond Plaza Shopping Center)
-Plaza Twin(Broad Street Shopping Center-Closed/Demolished)
-Rockingham Drive-In Theatre(aka The Highway 74 Drive-In Theatre)which is not listed on cinema treasures,but it was very popular during the 1950’s through the 1970’s,before it was closed forever in the early 1980’s,which has been demolished and clear in the mid-80’s for a car dealership and a seafood restaurant where the Rockingham drive-in theatre once stood.
The cinema was next to a record store in the Richmond Plaza which was at the time anchored by a major grocery store chain(Big Star/Colonial and later on Bi-Lo),and two major department stores(JC Penney and Belk)
and specialty stores and shops. When it opened to the public in 1966,it was one long strip of shopping centers in the entire county.