Western Hills 4 Cinema

The address of the Western Hills 4 Cinema was well known to locals as it was previously the location of the Western Hills Hotel where movie star Esther Williams jumped into the heated swimming pool - the heated pool said to be the first of its kind in a hotel in the Southwest. The $2 million hotel had launched July 14, 1951. But a September 20, 1969 fire destroyed the business.

In its place was a shopping center which included a Bonanza Sirloin Pit restaurant and an automated, United General franchised theatre called the Western Hills 4 Cinema. It was one of several new mini-theater complexes that had affiliations with neighboring Bonanza steak houses to create a dinner and movie concept long before the dine-in movie theater concept of the 21st Century.

The theatre was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Sargent N. Hill. The cinema opened November 10, 1972 with the films, “Joe Kidd,” “Summer of ‘42,” “The War Between Men and Women,” and “Snoopy Come Home.” United General was similar to the Jerry Lewis Cinema Circuit in that it offered low-cost franchises for turnkey theatres that often used 16mm projection to keep costs low. But within a year, United General was imploding financially as did the Jerry Lewis Circuit and the Western Hills 4 theatre soldiered on as an independent without its circuit.

After independent operation, the theatre was taken over by Cinemark Theatres in 1978. In 1980, the Western Hills 4 was taken over by Plitt Southern Theatres Inc. Circuit. The theatre was still in business in 1984 but would fall victim to the combination of better equipped multiplexes and home video. The building was eventually converted for use as a storage facility.

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