Delco Plaza 5
1125 Carlisle Road,
York,
PA
17404
1125 Carlisle Road,
York,
PA
17404
3 people
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Closed July 27, 1999. The last film to play was “American Pie”
This opened as UA Cinemas 1-2-3 on January 23rd, 1974 and renamed Delco Plaza Mall cinemas and expanded to 5 screens on December 22nd, 1978. Closed 2004.
Grand opening ads posted.
UA Cinemas 1-2-3 opening Wed, Jan 23, 1974 – 29 · York Daily Record (York, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com
I worked at UA Delco from Jan 1988 – Jan 1998. The first three theatres were , 209 and 213 and the last two were around 152 and 154 after ADA modifications in 1991. I left after going from usher to being the manager. That theatre was just about the only thing keeping that mall going in the later years. I don’t think there was any “deal” at the end when it closed and changed hands, as UA took only what it really wanted and sold off the old equipment in the projection booth. Unfortunately, UA did not want to put any real money into the place, which, if it did, could have a gold mine again, as it was in its first 15+ years. It was a decent small theatre with few amenities, but, at least when I ran the place, we tried to keep a good staff and operate as well as we could. I was there from the time it was packed Fri night through Sun eve with sold out shows through the time that Queensgate Cinemas first opened, almost taking us down, and my staff took care of business from Toy Story through the Star Wars re-release to the first month of Titanic. Great memories!
I knew people who worked there and I believe they told me 2 of the auditoriums were about 150 seats, 2 were around 200, and the other one was 250. When Regal opened a theater at West Manchester in 1998, this theater’s days were numbered. I went on my first date here – Happy Gilmore. I remember seeing Clueless, Congo, Scream 2, There’s Something About Mary here among others. Good times!
I don’t know when the UA Cinemas opened originally but I would guess around 1972 or 73, when UA was opening other theaters in the South Central PA area. This was a 3-screen until 1975 or 76 when two screens were added perpendicular to the others. UA closed it around 2000, as 57thst indicated, and began dismantling it. One or two days into the process a bargain theater owner from the Reading PA area heard about the closing and made a deal with UA for what was left, then re-equipped it as a 5-screen bargain house. It operated this way until the Delco Plaza Mall (which had become a ghost mall by that point) was entirely demolished. That may have been around 2006.
There was nothing remarkable about these theaters even when they were new. The auditoriums were about 250 or 300 seats. Not uncomfortable or unattractive, just typical of shoebox theaters of the time. Enjoyed many films there over the years.
It was a UA theater as long as i remember. The last original run movie i saw here was American Pie in 1999, that same year or possibly in 2000 it became a cheap theater until it was demolished in 2005.
I am pretty sure in its short life it was a UA Movies operation.