Wometco's 167th Theatre
295 NE 167th Street,
North Miami Beach,
FL
33162
295 NE 167th Street,
North Miami Beach,
FL
33162
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Loew's Inc., Wometco Theatres
Architects: Samuel M. Puder
Previous Names: Loew's 167th Street Twins
Nearby Theaters
At one time the busiest theatre south of Washington DC, this twin ran the same film with staggered showtimes for most of it’s lifespan. The Loew’s 167th Street Theatre was opened on June 18, 1969 with Richard Benjamin in “Goodbye Columbus” screening in both auditoriums. In the mid-1970’s, it ran “Love Story”, “The Godfather”, “Paper Moon”, “The Last Picture Show”, “The Way We Were”, and “The Godfather Part II” and never seemed to be aware there was a product shortage. The main screen had 800 seats making the second screen with 400-seats tiny by 1960’s standards, hence the booking policy.
This and the Bay Harbor had a co-owner hence they never became part of the General Cinema sale. It was closed on September 7, 1990 with Mel Gibson in “Air America” & Christian Slater in “Pump Up the Volume”. It was demolished in 1992 and a Pep Boys garage was built on the site.
Contributed by
Al Alvarez
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Recent comments (view all 24 comments)
Was there anything particularly unique about the design of this theater? I have only one memory of seeing anything there — “The Black Hole” in January 1980 (confirmed in the Miami News ads) — and in my mind’s eye there was something appealing about the interior…don’t ask me what…maybe nothing more than nice curtains or a particular color scheme.
I seem to recall a really modern sleek design with curtain wall coverings all around that made the screen area almost disappear when the curtains were closed.
The seats and leg room were nothing special and paled next to the high back ‘rocking chairs’ and leg space at the Bay Harbor and Sunny Isles.
The June 18th, 1969 grand opening ad has been uploaded here. I added the colours* after.
I take it those were the interiors; i.e., the curtains? Because I suspect the curtained wall coverings — especially if blue/green in theater #2 — might be what I’d remembered.
I saw “Star Trek The Motion Picture” (the really awful one that was 50% sweeping wide pans of the miniature Enterprise … gack that film BLEW) in this massive theatre when it was the Loew’s back in 1979. It was on par with the large screen at the mall theatre (NE 12th Avenue), but it was a lot newer and was superior as a facility. Yeah, the curtain opened and closed, but a lot of them still did that back in the day. I have to go to London to find a giant screen with proper exhibitor habits these days.
The Loew’s 167th St. Twin opened on June 18th, 1949 with “Goodbye Columbus” showing every hour.
One auditorium sat 800, the other 400. Closed on September 9th, 1990. 9/13/1990 Neighbors section of Miami Herald, NW edition on page 7 for info on closing.
Before Wometco took over from Loews it seems 167th, Kendall and Bay Harbor were running under a company called Gen-Star. This is around 1986. Anyone familiar with this company? Added pic in photos.
Samuel M. Puder of South Miami was the architect of the original Loew’s 167th project (sketch in photos.) The mural work and interior design were Rochester-based Patrick Casey and Joseph Schuler. It opened as the circuit’s 114th theater.
In 1985, Gen-Star took on the venue under the name of Gen-Star’s 167th Twin Theatre. Gen-Star also operated the Kendall, and Bay Harbor at that time. In February of 1986, Wometco took on the venue as its final operator under the name of Wometco’s 167th Twin Theatre. It closed with that name on September 7, 1990 with “Air America” and “Pump Up the Volume.” The theatre was said to have been demolished in 1992 for a new-build Pep Boys garage.
Added a color promo photo from the 1969 opening.