Loews Cinemas 20 & 287
4930 Little Road,
Arlington,
TX
76016
4930 Little Road,
Arlington,
TX
76016
5 people
favorited this theater
Opened December 7, 1984. One of the nicer Loews theatres in the Texas market with eight screens. A dark red brick building with the large white Loews Theatres sign lining the front of the building. The entire front of the building was lined with windows.
The large and spacious lobby had a white 2' band running around the top of the lobby with photo copies of movie stars in a sepia color tone. There was a drop canopy over the center concession area with a gold underside and decorative lighting. They had a game room off the center lobby. The auditoriums were confortable and the site lines were good.
The Loews was still in operation when I was there in January 2004, but it was closed by October 2004. It was demolished in September 2010.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
Sure wish someone in DFW would pick up this gem – maybe Landmark as an art house for the mid cities. High volume traffic of I-20 and 287 as it splits in a “V” just behind the center. Strippling Cox just went out of there as its being remodled into something else (probably more strip center smaller storefronts). A Cheddars in the parking lot, a No Frills Grill nearby, a gourmet pizza place, health food store, and several other restaurants near by.
Movie Tavern has an 8 screen on the other side of 20 and Studio Movie Grill is building 5 miles to the east at Matlock and 20 with a 10 plex. The Bowen 8 at Bowen and 20 is gone – turnend into a storage unit (sad). The GCC on Arbrook is owned by the AISD as a multi-purpose center and the mega monster AMC 18 is on the 2nd and 3rd stories of the Parks Mall – a very hard theater to reach and nightmarish parking in the fall – well most of the time with that busy mall.
The area is upscale and educated in SW to S Arlington – and Mansfield along 287. A huge Super Wal Mart is slated for Little Road and 287 just at the 20 split and the traffic alone would be a boom for an art house chain. Would take little to rehab it – with the extensive wide front lobby, huge glass windows looking in, would make a great restaurant/bar area (where the concessions used to be located). I believe it was a 6 screen-plex and could be rennovated into tavern style as a bistro, bar, coffee house, (all the above) with ample parking front and back. Even a traffic light at the sw entrance. Some kind of neon marquee and/or spotlights (on top of the building) would draw attention from both I-20, Hwy 287 and Little Road. Upscale homes in Kennedale (200k to 500k) and in Mansfield (240k – 1 million or more) as a bedroom community.
The Inwood, Angelika, and Magnolia are great but like 50 miles away – and hard to enjoy once there knowing there’s a 50 minute to 1.5 hour commute back through several cities and police departments. Can’t think of another art type house upscale around. And digital projection and/or video on the screens as an upscale venue would draw business meetings. There really are no south Arlington, East Fort Worth, Mansfield, or Kennedale meeting facilities.
I wonder if Landmark would take a look at it and consider granting us educated mid cities folks a quality film house for quality and indy film? Sure would be a perfect place for it.
Movie Tavern was in talks with the landlord on the building and that actually lead to it being shut down. Loew’s closed both of the stores because they couldn’t afford to pay for the GM that ran both of the Arlington location on a one store budget. The the talks fell through when the landlord wanted an outragous amount of money for the building lease. Movie Tavern did however buy everything in both of the buildings that Loew’s put in. When the talks soured, they took what they wanted and then demolished everything else to make it expensive for a remodel and also so that the landlord wouldn’t try to sell what was left for some one else to open a movie theater there. It was the better of the two Arlington locations. Also becareful if you want to use the building two or three nights in the week there is bingo at the lodge in the center and they all parking and make it hard for your customers.
Studio Movie Grill has opened the I-20 and Matlock property giving Movie Tavern a run for the customers in a nicer setting. Suspect if what Arron says is true NOBODY will rehab the Lowes 287/20/Little Property and it will come down (or be rennovated for something else). The Graham Brothers out of Odessa ought to take a look at it. They run Multi-Club concepts and since this has been gutted it would serve them better. At least it won’t wind up like the UA Bowen 8 as a storage unit…though that area is redevloped and quite nicely. With few exceptions (studio movie grill & Landmark) the exhibit industry sure has gone down hill with the cookie cutter AMCs, Movie Taverns and even Cinemark’s as main stream fare. I don’t patronize them – now even more since Arron’s post on MT.
Any Photos?
As I write this today, the Loew’s 20 & 287 is falling to the wrecker’s ball! It will be replaced by a Quik Trip mega-gas/convenience store. The demolition started at the rear of the building with the auditoriums eventually working its way to the front lobby. It should be gone totally in a couple of days!
It’s totally down! All that’s left is to pick up the debris.
This opened on December 7th, 1984. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
I wouldn’t have minded going to this theater.