Marquette Theaters I-II-III
430 Saint John Road,
Michigan City,
IN
46360
430 Saint John Road,
Michigan City,
IN
46360
4 people
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Cineplex Odeon, Kerasotes Theatres, Plitt Theatres
Previous Names: Marquette Mall Theater
Nearby Theaters
Plitt Theaters opened the Marquette Mall theater on Christmas Day, 1970 with “Love Story”. The theater is located behind the mall in the northwest corner. It became known for playing movies that were exclusive to Northwest Indiana and could be found only on one screen in Chicago, much like “Love Story”. “The Godfather” was another prime example.
On Christmas Day of 1973, a second screen opened with its premiere attraction being “Magnum Force”. The theater had a stronghold on the area until General Cinema opened a fourplex across the street in 1975. With films like “Jaws”, “Towering Inferno” and “Young Frankenstein” playing at Marquette, the crowds were still huge. In 1977 screen one was closed and cut in half to create two smaller screens. This left screen 2 as the prime auditorium.
When Plitt sold out, Cineplex Odeon took over and then Kerasotes purchased the Marquette in 1989. The theater was closed in June of 2006.
Contributed by
John
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
I’m from Michigan City, Indiana. I graduated from Elston High School in 1982. I remember the MM Theatre as one of the classiest movie houses I have ever been in. The Lido, downtown, closed before I was old enough to attend movies on my own. The first movie I saw at MM was “The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams.” It was a dumb movie played in a Theatre that was too nice for it. I fell in love with the bulding. The Dunes Cinema I-II-III-IV across US 20 was definitely a step down. If Kerasotes behaves in MC the way they behave in Bloomington, Indiana, then you should expect that the MM Theatre will never screen another movie again. Can anyone tell me when the marquette mall itself opened? Please e-mail me at
The Marquette is no longer listed on Kerasotes website so I would guess they have closed the theater. It’s no surprise since they recently opened another multiplex just a few miles away. What surprises me is that they chose to close this theater and keep the Dunes Plaza still open as this was, by far, the nicer of the two theaters with its screen covered curtains and brown brick exterior. Another nice building gone. Though I lived a good 40 minute drive away I managed (with my parents) to make it out to the Marquette to see some films that hadn’t opened locally in my area. This was the theater where I saw “Jaws” for the very first time. Other films I remember seeing there include “Breakout” with Charles Bronson; “Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo”; “Heroes” with Henry Winkler, and “Halloween.” Perhaps some movie lover out there will buy it and do something with it before it gets demolished, which is what I expect will happen.
A drive by the Marquette confirmed that the theater is closed. I took a look through the front windows and everything appears to be intact. Hopefully some movie lover will come in and perhaps turn it into an art house theater or something before it get demolished. It’s a beautiful building that should be spared. Chances are it will end up being gutted and made into another electronics store or a fitness center.
The Marquette Theater is now closed. Karasotas has recently built a new “Showplace” Cinema. This Theater and another theater in Michigan City Closed their doors shortly after. My Wife and I saw the Exorcist in this theater. Scared the ba-Jesus out of us! Down-town Michigan City had the Lido. Theater. It was an “oldie” Saw American Graffiti there.
My mom saw “Jaws” at MM. She said she loved that theater. While I have never been inside the building it does look nice. Dunes doesn’t look as nice, but I’ve never been in there either. The new MC theater I guess its now like 3 years old is cool and I like it. My mom says its not the same as MM, but its still good and its staff very friendly. The management while young seems to be knowledgeable and eager to help.
This theater is tucked into the back lot of the Marquette Mall. Structurally it appears to be in good shape, but I’m not surprised it closed.
Marquette Mall itself isn’t doing well except for maybe the Carson’s, Sears, & Penney’s stores and Applebees. The Dunes Theater is across the street in another dead strip mall.
The building is still sitting empty. I just uploaded a photo from this past weekend.
I worked here too, briefly, after Kerasotes bought it. Marquette always felt more like a real theater than the Dunes.
In 1991, I was driving to work at the Dunes and noticed that someone changed the letters on the marquee on Franklin Street from ‘City Slickers’ to ’St L**s'. I could not believe my eyes!
Still there as of 2019. Reportedly the nearby mall interior is completely closed. All the main anchors are gone. Couple exterior stores are apparently all that is left. Sears, Carson’s, JCP Penny all closed. Sears was the last open, closing in Jan 2019.