Tacoma West Cinemas 1-3

dallasmovietheaters on July 9, 2025 at 8:38 pm

The L-shaped, $5 million James Center plaza was announced in 1977. Sterling Recreational Organization (SRO) launched a cinema as an original tenant as architected by Brewer/Westberg Architects of Bellevue with additional features of the James Center’s Robert N. Lynch of Tacoma. Huber & Antilla Construction built the three-plex. It opened with one 200-seat auditoriums and two, larger 400-seat auditoriums for 1,000 seat capacity on March 24, 1978 with “Straight Time,” “Julia” and “The Goodbye Girl.”

Business warranted more screens so SRO added a twin to the complex in 1983. On December 13, 1986, SRO sold its 110 screen operation to Cineplex Odeon for $45 million. But the forthcoming megaplex era wiped out most of the twin and doubles. In 1992, all five screens were downgraded to discount, $1 sub-run status and marketed together as the Tacoma West Cinemas.

The 15-screen Act III was ready to steamroll everyone in the area as it was being built about eight miles away in 1998. Cineplex Odeon moved on here from the 1-3 on August 27, 1998 with “Titanic,” “Godzilla,” and “X:Files” likely at a negotiated end of a 20-year leasing period. The two-screen venue, which has its own entry, continued to its closure a month later with Cineplex Odeon leaving at a leasing opt out on September 27, 1998 with “The Avengers” and “Dr. Dolittle.”

rivest266 on July 9, 2021 at 5:10 pm

Opened in Mid-March 1978.