Twin Lakes Theatres 1 & 2

2030 N. Amidon Street,
Wichita, KS 67203

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Previously operated by: Commonwealth Amusement Corp., Crown Cinema Corporation

Firms: Feagins & Kirsch

Functions: Office Space

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Twin Lakes Theatres 1 & 2

The Twin Lakes Theatres 1 & 2 was a twin theatre in Wichita which opened June 12, 1968 with Jack Lemmon in “The Odd Couple” playing on both screens. It was a Commonwealth Theatre. Taken over by United Artists in 1988, in November 1990 it was taken over by Crown Cinema Corporation.

It was closed on January 21, 1993 with Eddie Murphy in “The Distinguished Gentleman” & Richard Prior in “The Toy”.

Contributed by Mike Rogers

Recent comments (view all 8 comments)

Keith Wondra
Keith Wondra on August 4, 2012 at 10:18 pm

The Twin Lakes Theaters were never demolished as they were part of the Twin Lakes Mall. The part of the mall where the theater was is still there. It is now offices.

kwilkin1962
kwilkin1962 on January 13, 2013 at 12:30 pm

Twin Lakes is where I saw “Lawrence of Arabia” in 70mm when it was re-released in 1989 I believe. At the time, I believe it was the only theatre in Wichita that had the capability of showing a 70mm print. The other memory of Twin Lakes I have is that one of the “twins” had a huge window where you could look at the lake outside. It had a curtain that was drawn before the movie started of course.

kwilkin1962
kwilkin1962 on September 11, 2013 at 8:59 pm

Twin Lakes opened on June 12, 1968. It’s first showing was “The Odd Couple”.

OKCdoorman
OKCdoorman on September 26, 2015 at 4:40 pm

Following info courtesy the Wichita Eagle, advance opening story, Sunday, June 9, 1968, pp 1F.

-Owned by Commonwealth Frontier (later Commonwealth).

-Theater opened Wednesday, June 12, 1968 with THE ODD COUPLE (as noted above) in Theater 1, and the 1968 Best Foreign Language Academy Award winner, Jiri Menzel’s CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS (1966, released in the US by Sigma III Corp.) in Theater 2. Miss America Debra Dene Barnes (later Snodgrass) of Moran, KS, attended.

-Seating Capacities: 630 seats in Theater 1, 306 in Theater 2.

-Cinemeccanica projectors (both 70mm capable) and six-track stereo systems in both auditoriums.

-Single box office for both theaters capable of handling either regular or reserved seating.

-Architects: Feagins & Kirsch. Contractor: Law Construction Co.

Lyndon
Lyndon on September 4, 2016 at 5:01 am

The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum has a thread of memories about the Twin Lakes Theaters.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on November 5, 2022 at 6:32 am

Commonwealth made news by opening Wichita’s first hardtop theater since 1952 and did so with the city’s first twin-screen indoor venue. Opening as the Twin Lakes Theaters 1 & 2, Commonwealth featured “The Odd Couple” on June 12, 1968 with Miss America Debra Barnes in attendance.

In 1988, United Artists acquired Commonwealth. But in the multiplex era, UA was trying to rid itself of aging singles, doubles, and triples. It dropped the venue on October 24, 1990. Richard Durwood’s Crown Cinema Corporation took on the venue the next month as the Twin Lakes Cinema. Crown and Durwood closed it as the Twin Lakes Cinema with Eddie Murphy in “The Distinguished Gentleman” and Richard Pryor in “The Toy” on January 21, 1993 citing low attendance and reaching the end of its 25-year lease.

darrenb5
darrenb5 on January 15, 2023 at 5:21 pm

I was a doorman at Twin Lakes Theatres from 1981-1983. It was a fun job - even with the orange Commonwealth uniforms! The number 2 theatre was smaller (350 seats) but had a lake view with a long curtain that closed when the lights dimmed. The number 1 theatre was much larger (600+ seats) and had an amazing sound system. We played Stripes, ET, Evil Under the Sun, Reds, Tootsie, and On Golden Pond while I was there. We also did a special showing of Ben Hur - very cool to see it on the big screen. Good times!

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