Cine
1170 Central Avenue,
Dunkirk,
NY
14048
1170 Central Avenue,
Dunkirk,
NY
14048
3 people
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Does anyone have a photo of this theater?
This theater opened on December 25, 1970 by the Dipson chain. It was a “new” style of intimate cinemas that was “sweeping the country” called a “mini”. It seated 350.
Oh, Yes! I went to SUNY Fredonia too, and saw so many movies at the Cine – “Animal House”, “Halloween”, “Empire Strikes Back” (that one was there for many weeks that summer!), and SO many others…I went to the Cine, to the Cinema 1 (now the Opera House), and the Regent in Dunkirk. These were all run by Mr. Burgett, I believe! Sometimes the woman at the Cinema One box office would let me in at the kiddie price! What memories!
This is a (?!) case where, even if the theater was still standing, you couldn’t see it from the street view photos. While its address was 1170 central (The whole D&F Plaza shares the address), you be better able to see it from Millard Fillmore Drive or Main Street. Well, you would have been, had it still existed.
I did my undergrad at Fredonia, and we lived in Porter Manor; a decent walk for a five year old boy and his father to walk up and see Star Wars on a Friday evening. My son is a writier in Hollywood now, but he still remembers that star cruise streaking overhead in the opening shots!
Martin – I was at the Monnies a couple of weeks ago, and the bartender made reference to to Mickey Flicks. I thought of this conversation. (By the way, I think we sort of know each other. You were class of ‘82 or '83, right? And took computer classes from Will @ DHS?)
The D & F Plaza, where the Cine one stood was sold last fall to another concern. There is new construction occurring on the property, where no other business has stood before. Not that this means anything for a building already demolished, but perhaps some enterprising person/group could bring in a new theater. Seeing as the only competition in town leaves a lot to be desired, and with the minigolf place all but abandoned, there is room for a decent tri or quad here.
Hey, I’m get old a couple of years ahead of you.
Paul, it was Mickey Flicks. Thanks for remembering. I guess I’m getting old.
Martin – That video place (I think it was called something else, but brain fade is occurring right now) was short lived. I don’t think it lasted more than 18 months, including the time after it changed to a regular video rental store. Through the 80’s the Cine was fairly busy for average to good movies. (I left in January 1990.) [After thought, Mickey’s Flicks, maybe?]
Patsy – I think the Cine arose out of the loss of the Capitol, and the need for a theater between Dunkirk and Fredonia. It had a Dipson logo on the side of it for as long as I remember. (I lived closer to the Regent, so went there more often than the Cine. That changed with the summer of ‘77. :)
I suspect the Cine closed due to a lack of business. When they got greedy and divided it into two screens, they killed it. The Cine was a small theater to begin with, seemed like it was half the size of the Regent, but probably 2/3 its size. In 90/91, an old Ames store was converted into a multi-cinema, and provided the viewers with more choices, even if the viewing experience was of similar (low) quality. The last movie I saw at the Cine was “Blown Away”, released in the summer of 1994. I think I saw it late in the summer, perhaps suggesting it was second run by that time, but I don’t know for sure. My friend and I were the only ones in the screening room at the time, don’t remember what was showing in the other room, or how many other paying customers were in the building at the time.
Patsy, sorry but I don’t know a lot of the details about the Cine other than as a patron. I went away to college in Rochester in 1983 (back only on breaks until graduation in November of 1987). By 1988, I had moved down south to NC and only came back on occasion at holidays and for class reunions. The last time I saw a movie in the Cine was probably during a college break in the 80’s – back when it was still a single screen. Around that time, just a few hundred yards away in the rest of the D/F Plaza, a place called Central Video opened up. It was kind of something new – they had these small screening rooms (a half dozen to a dozen I think) that had TV screens and VCRs in them. You would go and pick out a video in the main part and then go see it in one of the rooms. I remember going there at least once with a few of the girls I went to high school with (six people could be comfortable in the single viewing room). They also sold candy, popcorn and drinks. So, it was like a personal theatre thing. I don’t know who ran the place or how long it lasted. But, the presence of something like that could have had some effect on the Cine attendance (as it gave folks another alternative for a movie out – albeit these would not be first run flicks being seen here).
Martin: The Mr. Burgett you speak of has a son who is an attorney in Jamestown. I had the opportunity to meet him last summer in Bemus Point while attending a popular chair auction (Save A Seat). He didn’t seem to have the theatre interest so our conversation was short, but polite. Do you know why The Cine closed? And where the originate from?
I remember when the Cine opened in the 70’s – given that I lived nearby on East Green Street. The D/F Plaza was a quick bike ride away. One of the first films I can remember seeing there was Logan’s Run (which was 1975 or 1976) and Disney’s Robin Hood. I remember going to see Superman II there with my father and Mr. Burgett was arriving (as he did every night) to get the box office receipts as soon as the show started. My father must have known him enough to talk to him – and I think he managed to convince Mr. Burgett to let us have the Superman II movie poster after the run completed (I being a huge comic book fan).
It was sometime between May 1988 and May 1989 that the Cine was divided into two screens.
1170 Central Ave. is the address for the entire D&F Plaza. So, yes, there is a big parking lot there. Most of the store fronts are open, but Putt-a-Bit mini golf is in disrepair and for sale.
The Regent and the Capitol were also in Dunkirk, NY.
What is at 1170 Central Avenue now? Probably a parking lot!
The Cine was demolished in December, 2004.