Kapiolani Theatre

Architects of the $500,000 Toho Theatre were Osaka-based Takenaka Associates using their affiliates in San Francisco. Just nine days into its run in July of 1964, taggers vandalized the theater’s exterior with anti-Japanese graffiti. The theatre lasted almost 12 years closing on March 31, 1976 with “Lone Wolf With a Child.”

Consolidated renamed it as the Kapiolani Theatre. It completed a 20-year leasing agreement in 1996 to open a 25-screen megaplex in Kakako. The space was converted for a new Blockbuster Music Store with the majority of the stores closing or rebranding in 1998. This location was soon converted to a Blockbuster Video Store.

Last day of operation was September 2, 1996, with a double bill of “Solo” and “Carpool.” An article in the previous day’s Honolulu Advertiser said that this house was built on the site of Hawaii’s first drive-in theatre, imaginatively named The Drive-In Theatre and opened in 1950.

April 14th, 1976 grand opening ad as Kapiolani can be found in the photo section

I remember waiting in line for the premier of “Star Wars” here at the Kapiolani Theatre and across the street was another old memory of “Holiday Mart”.