Terrace Theatres at Catawba Mall
333 U.S. Highway 70 Southwest,
Hickory,
NC
28602
333 U.S. Highway 70 Southwest,
Hickory,
NC
28602
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: ABC Theatres, Cineplex Odeon, Plitt Theatres, Wilby-Kincey
Architects: William Bringhurst McGehee
Firms: Six Associates
Previous Names: Terrace Theatre, Terrace Theatres I & II, Cineplex Odeon Terrace 4
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The Terrace Theatre was Hickory’s first-ever Ultravision Theatre that officially opened to the public on July 26, 1968 with the premiere attraction of “The Odd Couple” starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Located on the opposite end of the Catawba Mall which was one of Hickory’s largest shopping centers that was part at one time of Wilby-Kincey/North Carolina Theatres and part of ABC Southeastern Theatres.
By 1975, a second auditorium was built adjacent to the original auditorium and was renamed the Terrace Theatres I & II under ABC Southeastern Theatres. By 1978, Plitt Southern Theatres took over the operations of the Terrace, and by the mid-1980’s, the original auditorium was split down the middle becoming a three-screen cinema. By the time Cineplex Odeon took over in the late-1980’s, the cinema’s second auditorium which opened in 1975, was also given the split down the middle technique becoming a four-screen quad with shoe box auditoriums and smaller screens and was renamed the Cineplex Odeon Terrace 4 under Cineplex Odeon.
By the time Carmike Cinemas took over this theatre, it was facing stiff competition for newer multiplexes that were popping up in Hickory when it was reduced from showing first-run films to becoming a second run discount house under Carmike Cinemas who closed this theater in 1995.
Contributed by
raysson
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THEATRE HISTORY:
1968-1971 Wilby-Kincey Theatres
1971-1978 ABC Southeastern Theatres
1978-1986 Plitt Southern Theatres
1986-1991 Cineplex Odeon/Plitt Southern Theatres
1991-1995 Carmike Cinemas
Seating capacity was 1,350 seats……..
It opened on July 26,1968 as the Terrace Theatre with a seating capacity of 750.
The second auditorium was built adjacent to the original auditorium that opened in 1975 with 600 seats and was renamed the Terrace I & II Theatres.
By the mid-1980’s the original auditorium was given the split down the middle technique added two shoebox size auditoriums seating 375 each it was renamed the Terrace 3 under Cineplex Odeon/Plitt. The second auditorium was also split down the middle by the early-1990’s seating 300 each and was renamed the Carmike Terrace 4 until its closing in 1995.
SEATING CAPACITY: 1,350
SCREEN ONE: 375
SCREEN TWO: 375
SCREEN THREE: 300
SCREEN FOUR: 300
Although their names escape me, I got to know a couple of the managers/projectionists there while I was working at the Carolina theater downtown during my college years. They invited me to come over on Thursday afternoons to preview the movies before they started on Friday. I remember seeing Hero with Dustin Hoffman and Matinee with John Goodman that way, just a tiny group of us in a closed theater.
Before that, my clearest memory of the place was of a not-so-great night when my roommate and I went to see The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. We had been shotgunning Schlitz Malt Liquor in the dorm and I ended up in the theater’s bathroom sick for almost the entire length of the movie.
Didn’t say it was a good story.
If the guys I knew working there at the time remember me and read this, drop me a line.
Another story… They referred another guy to me who had a huge personal collection of 35mm film trailers that they had spliced together into two large reels for him. This is right around the time (or right before) watching trailers alone as entertainment was becoming a thing on home video. Originally, they were going to let him watch them in their auditorium (the guy had never watched them – not many folks have 35mm projectors available for personal use). However, some of the trailers were for adult films, so management understandably wouldn’t allow it.
The Carolina was independently owned, so I got permission to run the trailers one afternoon while the theater was closed. Can’t recall if the Terrace guys were there or not, but I think there were more than just the collector and me there. This collection was well worth the watch for some of the stuff he had. He had a 1950’s re-issue of the Bela Lugosi Dracula that was really cool to see, and some obscure Burt Reynolds movie I never heard of – W.W. and the Dixie Dance Kings. However once it got to the adult films, which were of the 70’s “oh no, there’s a plot” variety, things got a little awkward, but over all it was a cool event.
Grand opening ad: