Mainstreet KC at the Power & Light District
1400 Main Street,
Kansas City,
MO
64105
1400 Main Street,
Kansas City,
MO
64105
14 people
favorited this theater
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B&B Theatres announced this weekend that it has closed its movie theater on Main Street. Its closure means one fewer first-run movie theater in Kansas City’s core.
Downtown Kansas City is now without a first-run movie theater, after B&B Theatres announced this weekend that it shut down its location in Power and Light, in the historic Main Street theater.
B&B, which is based in Liberty, operated the theater at 1400 Main St. since spring 2021, taking over shortly after the previous operator, Alamo Drafthouse, left the space that same year. As part of its acquisition of the historic theater, B&B Theatres renovated the six-screen theater to include heated recliners, a wall-to-wall screen and Johnnie’s Jazz Bar & Grill downstairs.
Still, it wasn’t enough to keep the business afloat.
In a statement, B&B said it “routinely reviews the theatres in our circuit and makes decisions based on what will best strengthen the Company going forward.”
“After thoughtful review, we have made the decision to exit this location,” B&B said, adding that the company is grateful to patrons for their loyalty and support.
The B&B’s closure follows the shuttering of other theaters in the city’s core over the past decade, including the Cinemark on the Country Club Plaza, which remains closed, and the Tivoli Cinemas in Westport.
Downtown resident Justin Short frequently saw movies at the B&B on Main Street, including big releases like “Wicked” and “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.” The theater was within walking distance for Short.
“Losing a popular downtown amenity like a movie theater, particularly one in a historic building, is always really frustrating to see,” Short said. “The convenience of being able to watch first-run films in such an iconic location is always so enticing to folks like myself.”
Short said the closure is also a loss for people who ride the Kansas City streetcar, since the theater is right off its Power and Light stop.
Short said the next operator of the building should understand the moviegoing experience that people who live downtown look for, including a full-service restaurant and bar. He also said the space needs improvement, citing out-of-order bathrooms as an example.
“It was just kind of dirty, and you can see that it was not well kept,” Short said. “And those are things that I hope that the next operator understands: that those things do return investment, they do bring people back to the theater.”
Originally built in 1921, the theater on Main Street was formerly known as the Empire Theater. Real estate developer The Cordish Companies, which still owns the building, renovated it as part of its plans to revive downtown Kansas City. National movie theater chain AMC Theatres, which has its headquarters in Leawood, reopened the theater in 2009 before Alamo Drafthouse took over in 2012.
Adam Roberts, who owns the Screenland Armour Theatre in North Kansas City, said it was difficult for a movie theater to succeed downtown.
“Prior to them, there was two other chain theaters in there, and they both closed for the same reasons, which is financial,” Roberts said. “It just didn’t make sense. The business wasn’t there.”
Roberts pointed out that three major theater chains — AMC, Alamo Drafthouse and now B&B Theatres — did not turn that location around.
“Seeing them close is just kind of the norm, unfortunately, for movie theaters these days,” he said. “More theaters every year close than open.”
Roberts said the closure of the B&B downtown could push moviegoers to other locations in the metro, including the Screenland Armour, which is a 9-minute drive away from 1400 Main St.
He said while major movie theater chains, like AMC, are struggling; the Screenland Armour’s business is on the upswing. He attributes that increase to more people looking for an analog experience. He said more people are looking to find “community over convenience.”
“The thing we hear the most from our audience is they come to the theaters to find their community and find like-minded people,” Roberts said. “That doesn’t mean talking or texting during a movie. People come here because they really love the movie experience.”
Kansas City, MO: AMC Mainstreet Opens to the Public May 1, 2009 [Apr 29, 2009]
Kansas City, MO: AMC Mainstreet 6 Closed, Will Reopen as Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet [Jun 27, 2012]
Kansas City, MO: B & B Mainstreet KC at the Power & Light District Closed [Mar 2, 2026]
Empire 1 reopening ad:
Durwood Empire 1 12 Mar 1967, Sun The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri) Newspapers.com
December 21st, 1960 reopening ad as Empire
Durwood’s Empire theatre opening 21 Dec 1960, Wed The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri) Newspapers.com
The original auditorium was so completely destroyed by water damage by the time they restored it, that there was no chance of actually restoring it. There were several tons of ruined ornamental plaster hauled out of there by guys with masks on before they could even begin to work in there.
The Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet closed along with the circuit’s other locations on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Alamo Drafthouse then declared bankruptcy and announced permanent closure of three locations on March 3, 2021. Seven months shy of its 100th Anniversary, the Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet joined the New Braunfels Alamo Drafthouse Market Place and one Austin location on that list.
JackCoursey, none of the original auditorium is visible to the general public. But when I was with AMC, the manager took us up to the old balcony section behind the new upper level theatres. That area still has the stadium tiers for the old upstairs theatre.
How much, if any, of the original auditorium is still in place?
This theater was shown during coverage of a royals game today and was featured in AMCs coming soon snipes in the late 2000s.
Upstairs Empire theatre renamed Royal on June 26th, 1968
Full page ad as Empire on December 21st, 1960 https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01110225224715029151525636527
Reopened as RKO Missouri on July 26th, 1949. Ad in photo section and at https://www.genealogybank.com/nbshare/AC01110225224715029151525560093.
Grand opening ad from October 30th, 1921 can be found in the photo section.
In the fall of 1968 I saw “2001 Space Odyssey” I suppose in the lower Empire 2. Possibly in that same time period I say “Around The World in 80 Days” in the upstairs theater, a reissue? Last film I saw in the upper small theater was “Flap” Anthony Quinn Release Date: November 1970 (USA). That was the last film I saw there as I returned to California.
Here is a bit of additional information about the period when the Empire was operated by Stan Durwood’s AMC Theatres. It is from the NRHP Registration Form (PDF here) for the Mainstreet Theatre, and the details differ somewhat from the original conversion plans noted in the 1966 Boxoffice article:
The Durwood circuit’s plans to convert the balcony of the Empire Theatre into a separate auditorium were reported in the October 24, 1966, issue of Boxoffice. Durwood had acquired the house from RKO in 1960 and subsequently remodeled and renamed it the Empire. An upstairs lounge had been converted into the 136-seat Academy Theatre prior to the twinning of the original auditorium.
Durwood’s plan was to continue operating the 900-seat ground floor theater as a Cinerama house called the Empire I, while the new, 1,200-seat theater in the former balcony and upper part of the auditorium, which was to extend to the top of the original proscenium, would be operated as a roadshow house called the Empire II.
The $300,000 conversion was designed by architects Hugh Hamlin and Charles Pike of the firm Northern & Hamlin.
Nothing but love for this theater. It was my first (three consecutive nights) visit to an Alamo Drafthouse and I was not disappointed (Flash Gordon!). Love to know that this old gal has some very cool history. Viva Cinerama!
Our parents took my sister and I here Christmas Day 1979 to see Superman. was a great theater and was glad to see it reopen
I can remember going to the Missouri and seeing a movie and sitting in the front row by the Orchestra pit to see a “Blackstone, the magician” show around 1950, I think. He made a canary in a small cage disappear and I got to check his coat sleeves to make sure he didn’t have it there.
This theater has reopened as the Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet; the seat counts in some of the theaters has been reduced is some of the screening rooms. View article
The Mainstreet is closing temporarily for conversion to the Alamo Drafthouse format; reopening is estimated to be around November 15, 2012. View article
Actually, I would say the Drafthouse company taking over is the best thing to happen to this theatre. This is a theatre that should be getting exclusives and indie fare (instead of playing the same movies as everyone else) and this company does just that. Also, you never read a bad thing about the Drafthouse chain and they know everything that is right about filmgoing.
Tinseltoes – I have enjoyed seeing the different changes of the RKO Missouri (Mainstreet Theater). Do you have a ref of the changes that were made to the Liberty to the Roxy theater that also appeared in Box Office. The Roxy was a beautiful little Durwood Theater (actually their 2nd theater in KC)
So what – the Marquee Lounge was pretty kool too. I do not remember any lounge called the Chesterfield unless it was the Lounge upstairs in the dome when the theater was called the RKO Missouri. The stairs going up to that lounge are gone. Also the 2nd floor ballroom that was also a dance studio. I worked there in 1965, 66 and early 67 and went thru every inch of that wonderful old theater. The lounge was pretty nice but had a lot of clutter in it just like all the store fronts became a catch all of old theater items like projectors speakers etc. I wish they would have left that 2nd floor ball room – it was beautiful and was one of a few areas of theater not destroyed by years of neglect. I wanted the old Academy and Studio marguee signs but they got thrown into the dumpster when the theater was beeing completely gutted. The old Empire signes with the crown was in there too.
Alamo Drafthouse plans to rename the lounge at the Mainstreet the Chesterfield to recall a piece of Kansas City history: View article