Brookdale Theatre

2501 County Road 10,
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430

Unfavorite No one has favorited this theater yet

Showing 1 - 25 of 29 comments

DanaQualley
DanaQualley on July 10, 2020 at 4:02 am

inside it was very similar to the Cooper at least in the way they laid out the seats. I don’t know when it closed,but I saw Star Trek the motion picture and Revenge of the Jedi.

TallMovieGuy
TallMovieGuy on July 9, 2020 at 5:16 pm

Yes, the KOHLS is a brand new building, the original building was torn down. It was one of the most visible theaters in the Twin Cities metro, very distinguishable from Highway 100.

rivest266
rivest266 on January 15, 2017 at 5:15 pm

This opened on June 10th, 1970. Grand opening ad in the photo section.

kjb2012
kjb2012 on October 2, 2011 at 4:39 pm

I don’t think it had any resemblance to the Cooper theatre at all. Although it was a classy house, it wasn’t on the same level as the Cooper.

Coate
Coate on May 2, 2010 at 7:52 pm

<<< It was run by ABC North Central Theaters and by Plitt from 1980-1984. >>>

The transition to Plitt ownership happened before 1980.

(What’s your source that the transition took place in 1980? Movie-Theatre.org?)

DanaQualley
DanaQualley on May 2, 2010 at 7:19 pm

The Kohl’s is new. They flattened the theater before building the Kohl’s.I saw a picture in the paper. Can anyone tell me why this theater bears a resemblance to the Cooper theater?

Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois
Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois on May 2, 2010 at 5:25 pm

I THINK it opened in 1969 and closed in 1984.

It was run by ABC North Central Theaters and by Plitt from 1980-1984.

I kinda think Kohl’s is in a brand new building and not in the theater, can anyone tell us for sure?

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on April 23, 2010 at 5:42 pm

tlsloews: I did find some additional information about this; you can email me at golgafrinchan48 at att dot net. This discussion is, as you noted, not really on topic.

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on April 23, 2010 at 5:24 pm

Thanks CWalczac,Thats what I have read too,but I thought the government would not allow it,I may be wrong though.

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on April 23, 2010 at 4:32 pm

Just a little from some books I have read; my understanding is that after Marcus Loew died, William Fox wanted to buy Loew’s and the deal was actually announced. But Louis B. Mayer opposed it (remember that at that time Loew’s controlled MGM), and used his influence to press for an anti-trust investigation. Then Fox was injured in an automobile accident, the stock market crashed in 1929, Fox lost control of his holdings, and the deal came to nothing.

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on April 23, 2010 at 4:01 pm

CWalczak,this might be off-topic but do you know anything about the LOEWS-FOX merger that never happen,just interested.

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on April 23, 2010 at 3:56 pm

Actually, that’s a rather simplified version of the story! The whole version would fill books (and has). UPC originally was a maze of sub-companies because the Paramount-owned theaters were operated through a bunch of subsidiaries including former independent circuits such as Balaban & Katz, United Detroit Theaters, etc. In addition, the UPC-ABC merger had a rough time in the courts before it was approved.

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on April 23, 2010 at 3:03 pm

Wow now thats complicated.

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on April 23, 2010 at 2:53 pm

d.qualley: Yes, for awhile, the ABC Broadcasting Companies did operate theaters. The story is rooted in the aftermath of the 1949 Paramount Consent Decree and the early struggles of ABC to gain a secure foothold in television in the early 1950s. A company called United Paramount Theaters (UPC) was formed to manage the former Paramount-owned theaters. UPC then acquired ABC, which was having difficulty in firmly establishing its TV network. UPC saw possibilities in the company, renaming UPC as American Broadcasting Company-Paramount Theaters, Inc. This was later shortened to the American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. In the 1970s, the Midwestern group of theaters was sold to a new company headed by Henry Plitt, who had been an executive within the ABC theaters division. About a decade later, Plitt sold the Midwestern group of theaters (which, at least at one time would have included the Brookdale) to Cineplex-Odeon (which in turn was acquired by Sony/Loew’s, which in turn became part of AMC; in the process a number of theaters were closed or sold to other operators). All of this occurred well before the Disney acquisition of ABC or the more recent Paramount TV network.

DanaQualley
DanaQualley on April 22, 2010 at 2:40 am

I saw the first Superman and Empire Strikes Back here. This theater, looked like it was architecturally related to the Cooper theaters.They seemed to have similar lay outs. What is the deal with abc were they connected in any way to the network?

Coate
Coate on April 21, 2010 at 12:00 pm

<<< * ABC Plit >>>
<<<
Also known as ABC* >>>

All of the photos, newspaper ads and other web resources I’ve seen for this place list its name as the “Brookdale.”

Ownership was ABC in its initial years and Plitt in its latter years. I doubt the place was ever called (officially, anyway) “ABC” or “ABC Plit” (sic). If anything, it would’ve been called the owner name followed by the actual name (i.e. “ABC Brookdale” and, later, “Plitt Brookdale”).

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on April 20, 2010 at 11:32 pm

Guys, I hate to be a party pooper, but these comments are way off topic.

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on April 20, 2010 at 9:39 pm

Okay, Robin came on.She got me on one of our Plitt theatres here in Augusta. SHE"SSSSSSSSS BBBBBBBBBack,never played that movie. Think I was out of business.

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on April 20, 2010 at 9:18 pm

Do I have to get Robin to make you do it for a homework assignment.

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on April 20, 2010 at 9:17 pm

Oh come on. you gotta be kidding. I know you have list of movies you enjoy. If not make up a list of movies that were a pain the butt to run.

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on April 20, 2010 at 9:06 pm

And i noticed you don’t have your favorite movies listed. EVEN I DID THAT.

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on April 20, 2010 at 9:04 pm

Yes, a goog theatre ASSistant Manager should always know how to shoot a line of B.S. especially,if you can blame it on the guy in the booth.