Theatre #4 opened in March 1977. This structure was demolished during the summer of 1989 with the present building with four screens opening that November.
Theatre became an indie in 1950, long before the corporate existence of Arthur (Enterprises). Shift to an art house policy occurred in 1959; a short-lived one with the theatre closing in May 1960.
Let’s just say that was (another) mistake in the Wehrenberg book. My research has shown it was advertised as a Mid-America house from when they took over operation in 1959 (and renamed it the Plaza) until closing night on September 5, 1983.
The architect was George Berg. Seating capacity was listed as 1200 with 2 auditoriums seating 350; the remaining two seating 250.
The venue became a dollar house in July 1987 when Wehrenberg opened the nearby St. Charles 10. Theatre held on briefly with this policy before closing August 30, 1987 with bills of Adventures in Baby Sitting, Spaceballs, Ernest Goes to Camp and Predator.
The Cave Springs Cinema opened as a twin with 444 seats in each auditorium…888 seats total. The facility opened in September 1979.
Located at 4080 Mexico Road (at Cave Springs Road) the venue was opened by Mid-America Theatres, which was taken over by RKO (RKO Mid-America) in May 1984, and finally AMC in December 1985. The complex closed in November 1986 with the Regency Square 8 in St. Charles opening the following day.
This was an airdome operation. It opened in June 1912 and operated as the Bonita Park or Bonita until the summer of 1915 when the Skouras Brothers took over operation and renamed it the Lyric Skydome. It took this name as it was the summer outdoor venue operated in conjunction with the nearby West End Lyric Theatre.
The last summer of operation was 1928.
The address was 4501 Delmar, the northwest corner of Delmar and Taylor. Being an airdome, it had a large capacity, in this instance 3000.
And if Percepto is used, it will be the first time since it was used at the Fox in February 1960.
In a story about the auction address given as: 401 S. 18th Street.
Does anyone know when the vertical was removed?
The grand reopening of the theatre will be April 12.
The website has been listed as: www.wildeytheatre.com
aka: Clarkson Square 6 Cine.
And today it reappeared. Go figure….
Theatre has disappeared from AMC website listings.
My sources are contemporary (meaning 1924) St. Louis newspapers which are available at local libraries.
It should be “E” Street, not “East Street” in the header.
Not so in St. Louis! Only one of the three JL cinemas had two screens, and this wasn’t the one.
Disappointing to see how soon the switch from “single” to “twin” screen was made in the header.
Address in header should be 12158 Natural Bridge Road.
Theatre #4 opened in March 1977. This structure was demolished during the summer of 1989 with the present building with four screens opening that November.
Theatre became an indie in 1950, long before the corporate existence of Arthur (Enterprises). Shift to an art house policy occurred in 1959; a short-lived one with the theatre closing in May 1960.
The reduction of seating capacity to the current level took place in 1960 while the theatre was still operating as a movie house.
The years of operation long predate the circuits mentioned in the introduction.
Yes, Mid-America operated this theatre from 1962 to 1979.
Discount operation began in mid-December 1989, a month and a half after Wehrenberg bought the General Cinema operations in Missouri.
Let’s just say that was (another) mistake in the Wehrenberg book. My research has shown it was advertised as a Mid-America house from when they took over operation in 1959 (and renamed it the Plaza) until closing night on September 5, 1983.
The architect was George Berg. Seating capacity was listed as 1200 with 2 auditoriums seating 350; the remaining two seating 250.
The venue became a dollar house in July 1987 when Wehrenberg opened the nearby St. Charles 10. Theatre held on briefly with this policy before closing August 30, 1987 with bills of Adventures in Baby Sitting, Spaceballs, Ernest Goes to Camp and Predator.
The Cave Springs Cinema opened as a twin with 444 seats in each auditorium…888 seats total. The facility opened in September 1979.
Located at 4080 Mexico Road (at Cave Springs Road) the venue was opened by Mid-America Theatres, which was taken over by RKO (RKO Mid-America) in May 1984, and finally AMC in December 1985. The complex closed in November 1986 with the Regency Square 8 in St. Charles opening the following day.
The correct address is 4706 Maffitt. The structure is on the South side of the street.
The last ad for the house appeared in the St. Louis Argus in May 1951.
This was an airdome operation. It opened in June 1912 and operated as the Bonita Park or Bonita until the summer of 1915 when the Skouras Brothers took over operation and renamed it the Lyric Skydome. It took this name as it was the summer outdoor venue operated in conjunction with the nearby West End Lyric Theatre.
The last summer of operation was 1928.
The address was 4501 Delmar, the northwest corner of Delmar and Taylor. Being an airdome, it had a large capacity, in this instance 3000.
A nice article appeared in today’s Post-Dispatch about the Hi-Pointe:
View link
It should be noted, however, that Warner Brothers only operated the house in 1934-1936 and that the original seating capacity was 756.
AMC website now calls operation the AMC Jerseyville 2.
The architect was the firm of Kennerly & Stiegemeyer.