The 859-seat UTE 70 Theatre opened May 30, 1967 with “War Wagon.“ Even though it wasn’t called this at the time, Glatz’s architectural style based on his interviews is definitely that of Indigenous Architecture as it was designed to be a modern teepee with Native American flourishes throughout.
Answering the question above, the entry is brief but not terribly accurate. The opening did not take place on the date mentioned or with the star in attendance due to the Kennedy assassination. Also, the venue didn’t open as the Cooper 70. (It opened as the Cooper Theatre and its name changed some two years later in 1965 to the Cooper 70 Theatre. The official grand opening date for the “70” moniker was December 24, 1965. But the Norelco 70mm projection, sound system, and new, wider screen were all installed in November of 1965 so the theater had a full month of, essentially, a soft launch rebranding as the Cinema 70 Theatre.)
Also, the name change on December 25, 1970 was not to the Cooper 1-2-3 Cinemas but to the Cooper 1-2-3 Theatres - not particularly earth shattering but for the record.
Frances K. Scott and A. Francis took on an existing commercial building and transformed it into The Flick, an art and repertory cinema that had its official opening on December 13, 1964 with “Bandits of Orgosolo.” The programming clicked with Colorado College just three blocks away and the theater immediately found its audience. It was said that Colorado College provided 75% of The Flick’s revenue. The programming was taken on by the Cooper Foundation from 1967 to 1978.
The landlord decided not to renew the Foundation’s lease at the end of a two-month long Hitchock festival saying that the films weren’t good for the entire family. Cooper closed with the disgusting and vile, “North by Northwest” on April 18, 1978.
This was a 500-seat venue designed by local architect Mowry C. Gilbert in the height of the luxury suburban period of cinema exhibition. Rich blue and gold color scheme venue was designed for Salt Lake City exhibitor D.K. Edwards & Associates circuit. They held an invitational screening on November 18, 1970. Regular screening began November 19, 1970 with “Airport” (ad in photos).
The Grand Electric Theater opened on March 20, 1908 showing movies. According the news reports of the day, it looks like it moved to new digs in 1911/2. This third location was its first new build and was created to the plans of Lang, Raugland, & Lewis of Minneapolis (plans in photos).
The New Grand was built at a cost of $45,000 opening on October 5, 1925 with “California Straight Ahead.” It was equipped with a Smith Unit organ Grand “#3” (aka New Grand) converted to sound to remain commercially viable. Katherine Greenman was brought in from Minneapolis for the first week due to her familiarity with the console and afterwards was played by regular house organist, Mrs. L.O. Patterson.
The theater kept its name as the New Grand for almost 16 years from 1925 to 1941. It then closed as the Grand Theatre on April 25, 1954 with “The Seige at Red River.” It was the new home of a Gamble’s Variety Store in September of 1954.
The concept for Northland Mall dated back to the Worthington City Council’s approval for the infrastructure needed for a major shopping center and suburban growth. The architectural plans were eventually shown in 1973 by Bureau Investment calling for a twin-screen theater as part of a hybrid strip center and mall with Kmart signed on as the primary anchor along with a 100-unit motel. The cinema would be a straight up replacement for the downtown State Theatre facility.
The Northland Mall opened in 1977 with the cinema going online on October 5, 1977 (its opening ad as the Northland Twin Cinema - an interior mall venue – is in photos). Located between Bostwick’s and Checkmate’s, the twin had identical 235-seat auditoriums. A third refresh at the center enclosed the old shopping center unifying the space as an interior, fully-enclosed mall. At that time, the cinema took over Checkmate to add a 180-seat theater transitioning to the Northland Cinema 3 (aka Northland Cinema 1, 2 & 3) with 685-seats on June 29, 1984. Dolby Digital sound and improved seating were features.
Excellence Theatres took on the venue in 1988. In late 1995, Lakes & Rivers Cinemas Circuit took on the venue with architectural plans for a never-built, 1,000 seat modern five-plex external to the Mall. Instead, Lakes & Rivers took over the JoAnn’s Fabric Store to expand one final time adding two screens with those screens launching of the Northland Cinema 5 on May 15, 1997 as the only two ready screens showing “Liar, Liar” and “Father’s Day.” And just a few days later, on July 25 (1997), the other three screens were opened. The final seat count reached 990 seats for the five-plex.
Lakes and Rivers appears to have left the venue in 2006 and was replaced by Evergreen Entertainment. The theater reached the end of its 20-year leasing but Evergreen’s parent TCMCI was in bankruptcy so there was no extension by mall owner Diversified Developers Reality (DDR) with the theater closing under TCMCI/Evergreen on October 28, 2007.
DDR signed a month to month agreement with West Mall Theatres circuit while it worked on details for a longer term lease in December of 2007. They figured how the ownership of the theater’s seating and projection worked by the signing of a 10-year leasing agreement in June of 2008 with West Mall Theatres having the opt out clause at the five year mark. Northland Mall went into descent while undergoing several ownership changes. The KMart anchor was long gone as was a Hy-Vee grocery store.
By 2014, the Northland roof had gone south. Mold issues were obviously right behind that. But the cinema chugged along making a digital conversion to remain commercially viable. Some days, you had to play a form of “Frogger” to reach the auditorium of choice. The cinema and the Venetian Steakhouse faced very challenging situations continuing operations into 2016 when they were told to scram as the “Shops” were going to be demolished in favor of something else. The Steakhouse closed September 20, 2016 and the Cinema on September 27, 2016. And the whole thing was gone via demolition in 2017.
Mention Cinema Treasures and you can get that leasing down to $17.5k no problem. The Noland Fashion Square Mall was announced in 1985. White Castle was among the first to sign on here - sort of unique. Maxfield Simon & Diehl were the architects of the facility for Block & Co. in what was an amazing overbuild of retail facilities in the greater Kansas City metro area. Dickinson Theatres signed on to the project along with Bob’s IGA, TJ Maxx and some others. Dickinson went fancy when it held employee interviews at the posh Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge nearby in November of 1986.
The venue opened in the peak of the multiplex era of cinema exhibition with 2,070 seats (Two largest auditoriums - 435 seats; Two medium auditoriums - 350 seats and two smaller 250 seat auditoriums.) By 2000, Dickinson was suffering along with all of the other major cinema exhibitors who had gone into severe economic hardship in the overbuilding a new breed of megaplexes. The easiest way to make up for bad decisions was to declare bankruptcy and get out of long-term leases. A judge ok’d Dickinson’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan and the very first Dickinson location shuttered was right here on October 4, 2020 cutting bait with “The Watcher,” “The Cell,” “Scary Movie,” “Space Cowboys,” and “Bait.”
Globe Cinemas - who had the I-70 Drive-in, Crown Center and Red Bridge locations - decided to pick up the location repositioning it as a $1, sub-run discount house. The 2000s were a flux period for fading and faded ‘plexes. Globe, itself, had parted ways with the Crown Center on August 2, 2007 and the Red Bridge on August 30, 2008 and they had picked up and dropped Metro North on Nov 13, 2008. Why the Noland continued? Likely a combination of low leasing obligations as the venue approached Dickinson’s broken 30-year agreement and just enough folks turning out to hit their nut.
By 2013, however, the cinema industry had converted from analog film to DCCP digital films. Globe Cinemas was in no mood to entertain such thoughts at a strip shopping center clearly out of fashion. It closed on June 22, 2014 after dropping advertising support dollars. The theater was put on the market in 2014 where it remained an active listing into the mid-2020s as an optimistic realtor hoped for a rebirth. Unfortunately, and as documented by urban explorers, drug-addled interlopers smashed everything inside leaving behind mounds of evidence of their disservice to the former cinema. But nobody really seemed to care as the only question for the building’s future was natural disaster or human demolition - neither of which appeared to be particularly likely.
The Hamilton Hills Shopping Center (HHSC) had opened theater-less in 1969 anchored by a Gibson’s discount store. Earl Bankston, a projectionist at Malco, decided to patent a new concept for watching movies. Its home was at the Northern most point of HHSC. Ed Weaver, Jr. - one of three partners on the project - was the official architect although Bankston’s input is fairly easy to spot.
This odd complex was a three-level approach that mixed the best worlds of the drive-in and the traditional theater. Sofa-styled seatings in the two upper level floors provided individual viewing rooms with private sound controls and temperature control. For many, the movie was the second-tier attraction. Well ahead of its time was the ability to order from your seat and the food would be delivered to your private “cabana.” To top of this early 1970s concept, shag carpeting. Your read correctly, authentic era shag carpeting. The cabanas ranged from the Grande Cabana (8 people) to Double (6 cap) and Regular Cabanas (2-3 cap). In-advance reserved seating was available - another feature ahead of its time.
The lower level provided more traditional, communal seating but arranged differently with six seats in a row for group viewing in the Gold Room, the Green Room, and the Red Room. 308 seats on the main level and 92 on the upper two levels made up 400 seat capacity in the $150,000 theater. The experience was so unique that the local newspaper columnist said it was the most important exhibition development since sound in the “Jazz Singer.” Wow! And as a projectionist, Bankston designed a 100 feet area for pure blackness and more realistic projection on the city’s largest screen. Finally, single-button projection controlled the pre-show, the show, and the post-show. The patented pre-fab design would allow for easy replication all over the globe. This is one of the more interesting 1970s-era theaters in the database.
Signing a 20-year leasing agreement with HHSC but the idea of making a lot more of these theaters - as was the case with the talkies in the “Jazz Singer” era - was tamped down. Malco announced a new twin theater in 1975 and, ever the competitor, Bankston decided to add a second viewing option to the Cabana. “Phase II” was the twinning of the venue first advertised on August 29, 1975 and was (would be) the first twin indoor theater in Jackson’s history beating the Malco Twin by a bit. That date of opening for Phase II and its twin was March 5, 1976 (resulting in over six month’s of “opening soon” ads). The relaunch occurred with “Lucky Lady (Cabana)” and “Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (Phase II).” Tickets were replaced with tokens leading to no need for ticket takers. The 240 extra seats in Phase II apparently made capacity 640 for the building.
The Malco Twin opened that same Fall and the two duked it out for the best films. And to the eyeball, the Cabana overspent on advertising and marketing often not landing the mega hits and getting burned on blind bidding of movie contracts common in competitive situations like this. Further, no franchisees signed up to provide Cabanas in their communities so the lack of franchise fees had to have stung financially. As money eroded and losses mounted, Bankston finally sold out to his old employer on April 18, 1979. Malco now owned all seven cinematic properties in Jackson.
The Cabana initially closed after Labor Day 1990 shows while Phase II was downgraded to a discount subrun about a month later in October of 1990. With more product that screens, however, Malco relit the Cabana for its final first-run hit with “Predator 2” But Malco downgraded both in January of 1991 likely ending with the 20-year leasing agreement’s expiry closing on January 13, 1991 with “Quigley Down Under” being your last chance to be in the Cabana while “Ghost” played the Phase II - either for $1.50. The building was sold an demolished in short order in 1991 for O'Charley’s Restaurant & Lounge.
It might be pointed out that this was a totally unusual and patented proof of concept design that really didn’t connect with the traditional cinema exhibitors. It times out, however, with an entrepreneurial era of cinema in which inventors and dreamers like Bankston were trying to shake up the cinema exhibition world.
Ajay Theatres took on the 1,440-seat Regal 10 on November 18, 2000 as the Jackson 10 Cinema along with the Malco Cinema 8 on the same date. Ajay quickly steered the Cinema 8 to closure eight months later. The Jackson 10 went for more than 11 years until its website was discontinued on March 1, 2012.
Subsequently, a tiny ad in the legal notices on March 9, 2012 said that Ajay Theatres LLC had been dissolved and would wind down and liquidate all remaining operations. The Jackson 10 appears to have been shuttered on February 29, 2012. It sat vacant until February of 2024 when it was demolished.
Malco’s Twin Cinema opened on October 15th, 1976. It became the Malco Quartet Cinema on June 28th, 1985. On November 9, 1990 it reached its final count of 8 screens with 1,248 total seats and the building doubled in size.
Ajay Theatres took on the Cinema 8 8-plex on November 18, 2000 along with the Regal Jackson 10. They steered to closure completing the 25th year of the lease after showtimes of July 26, 2001 with “Fast & Furious” being the final of eight movie showtimes that night. As the building reached its 30th anniversary, the building was demolished likely to get it off of the tax rosters in July of 2006.
This venue opened - and closed - as Mall Theatre, a single-screen 585-seat venue by Malco Theatres circuit. The Old Hickory Mall (OHM) was announced in 1964 by William P. Engel’s Engel Companies of Birmingham with a groundbreaking in November of 1964. As the project grew conceptually, Hewitt Pegues Tomlin, Jr., Frances Tigrett and John Burton Tigrett joined as co-developers.
Like a number of malls of that era, OHM was designed as a strip shopping center that allowed for the potential of a covered mall to be developed over time. On October 27, 1965 a free-standing Sears held its massively successful grand opening as the first and only business at the venue. Thousands showed up as a signal to central retail and theater stalwarts that the times were changing. For theaters, this was the era of suburban luxury theaters which took advantage of large parking areas and comfy seating to dethrone aging downtown venues.
The first tenants were all signed on by the Mall’s July 26, 1966 main phase of construction to last one year. The OHM was constructed connecting the Sears anchor tenants to other eager original anchors of JCPenney’s, Kisber’s, and A&P. Malco signed on as the theater provider in 1966 on what appears to be a 25-year leasing agreement. A month prior to OHM’s grand opening, Malco Theatres opened here on June 29, 1967 with “The War Wagon” playing on its 35-foot screen.
A month later, OHM held its grand opening on July 27, 1967 and Malco offered free matinees films to children. The theater was a success but landlocked by a Baskin Robbins which prevented the theater from expansion. To diversify as much as possible during the onset of the multiplex and home video eras, Malco added a video store to the lobby beginning March 22, 1985 that lasted a few years.
As the Mall was approaching its 20-year anniversary, it wanted to expand foot traffic to encourage leasing renewals. They went big finally moving forward with a mall enclosure plan that would more than double vendors from 26 to 54 and eventually create a space for a new anchor (which would be Goldsmith’s); but Malco decided not to re-up in a potentially larger spot in OHM.
By 1991, 25 years after Malco had signed on to be in the Mall, it had already dropped its downtown Malco and Paramount, a twin and supplanted them with a quad turned 8-screen, free-standing venue about four miles away. Malco closed up here April 29, 1991 after a long run with “New Jack City.” Blockbuster Video decided to carry on the cinematic tradition moving into the space after a retrofit.
Name - Mall Theatre (never Old Hickory Mall Cinemas… though I like it better)
The Hi-Land closed for the season on Oct 26, 1985 with “Race with the Devil” and “The Terminal Man.” The drive lost that race becoming terminal as George Rhone demolished the Hi-Land D-I less than two months later in December of 1975. The ozoner appears to have ended after a 25-year lease expiry with “Terror at the Wax Museum” and “Now the Screaming Starts”
The Richland Theatre closed on March 13, 1960 with “Damn Yankees” and “The Pajama Game.” That coincided with the opening the Hi-Land Drive-In Theater’s season. Instead of a Fall relaunch, the Richland became a live venue that Fall using the moniker, the Richland Players Theater.
The venue became the Island View Drive-In on May 30, 1969 with a new name for the season. This entry should be Island View Drive-In (no hypen between Island and View).
Regal closed the Metro 4 as a sub-run discount house on October 29, 2000 with “The Perfect Storm,” “Nutty Professor II,” “Coyote Ugly,” and “Duets” splitting with “Hollow Man.” It was offered for lease or sale as a fully functional theater. With no offers, it was converted to the New Vintage Church likely to reduce its taxing obligations.
“And the Angels Sing” opens the venue on Sept. 28, 1944. The final continuous movie ad was on July 30, 1963 with “Corridors of Blood” and “Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory.” The Liberty Theatre was given a refresh in 1968 and the Pasco was utilized all of that summer. It reopens on December 25, 1971.
In 1972, it switches from Hollywood mainstream to Spanish films and porno chic era X-rated films before primarily showing Spanish language films. Its last ad is September 16, 1984 with a double feature of Héctor Bonilla in “Un Adorable Sinverguenza” and Armando Silvestre in “Matar por Matar.”
It returns at the Pasco Family Theatre at a grand reopening on June 3, 1986 with “Return to Snowy River” and “Fox and Hound.” That ended in March of 1994. Two local teachers took on the venue converting it back to Spanish language film in May of 1994. Ruben Peeralta and Jorge Serrano closed the operation on January 22, 1995. That appears to be it for cinematic endeavors.
Fay Honey won the bid to provide a theater for the atomic workers of North Richland. Midstate Amusement actually arranged all of the bookings and the in-theater promotions for Honey’s North Start Theater. It had a July 3, 1948 grand opening with “Tarzan and the Mermaids” and that ad is in photos.
The North Richland then was closed in 1955 and this was one of the last two businesses still present when it closed May 14, 1955 with “New Orleans Uncensored” and “The Racers.” The farewell ad is also in photos. The building was demolished in the 1970s.
The Richland Uptown Shopping Center was a visionary “atomic age” shopping center concept delivered on December 6, 1949 with most of the businesses opening that day. Midstate Amusement was on hand and decided they would add a theater at the right side of the complex. Originally on the drafting table with the working title of the Strand by architect H. Brandt Gessell & Associates, the company took the moniker of the shopping center. The Uptown would be constructed in 1950 costing $250,000 and it seated 1,200 patrons at launch.
Regal closed here as the Regal Uptown 3 Theatres on January 29, 2006 at the end of lease with “Chronicles of Narnia,” “Underworld Evolution,” and “Walk the Line.” The building was offered for sale the next day for $550,000.
The 859-seat UTE 70 Theatre opened May 30, 1967 with “War Wagon.“ Even though it wasn’t called this at the time, Glatz’s architectural style based on his interviews is definitely that of Indigenous Architecture as it was designed to be a modern teepee with Native American flourishes throughout.
Answering the question above, the entry is brief but not terribly accurate. The opening did not take place on the date mentioned or with the star in attendance due to the Kennedy assassination. Also, the venue didn’t open as the Cooper 70. (It opened as the Cooper Theatre and its name changed some two years later in 1965 to the Cooper 70 Theatre. The official grand opening date for the “70” moniker was December 24, 1965. But the Norelco 70mm projection, sound system, and new, wider screen were all installed in November of 1965 so the theater had a full month of, essentially, a soft launch rebranding as the Cinema 70 Theatre.)
Also, the name change on December 25, 1970 was not to the Cooper 1-2-3 Cinemas but to the Cooper 1-2-3 Theatres - not particularly earth shattering but for the record.
Frances K. Scott and A. Francis took on an existing commercial building and transformed it into The Flick, an art and repertory cinema that had its official opening on December 13, 1964 with “Bandits of Orgosolo.” The programming clicked with Colorado College just three blocks away and the theater immediately found its audience. It was said that Colorado College provided 75% of The Flick’s revenue. The programming was taken on by the Cooper Foundation from 1967 to 1978.
The landlord decided not to renew the Foundation’s lease at the end of a two-month long Hitchock festival saying that the films weren’t good for the entire family. Cooper closed with the disgusting and vile, “North by Northwest” on April 18, 1978.
This was a 500-seat venue designed by local architect Mowry C. Gilbert in the height of the luxury suburban period of cinema exhibition. Rich blue and gold color scheme venue was designed for Salt Lake City exhibitor D.K. Edwards & Associates circuit. They held an invitational screening on November 18, 1970. Regular screening began November 19, 1970 with “Airport” (ad in photos).
3,000 seat capacity.
The Grand Electric Theater opened on March 20, 1908 showing movies. According the news reports of the day, it looks like it moved to new digs in 1911/2. This third location was its first new build and was created to the plans of Lang, Raugland, & Lewis of Minneapolis (plans in photos).
The New Grand was built at a cost of $45,000 opening on October 5, 1925 with “California Straight Ahead.” It was equipped with a Smith Unit organ Grand “#3” (aka New Grand) converted to sound to remain commercially viable. Katherine Greenman was brought in from Minneapolis for the first week due to her familiarity with the console and afterwards was played by regular house organist, Mrs. L.O. Patterson.
The theater kept its name as the New Grand for almost 16 years from 1925 to 1941. It then closed as the Grand Theatre on April 25, 1954 with “The Seige at Red River.” It was the new home of a Gamble’s Variety Store in September of 1954.
The concept for Northland Mall dated back to the Worthington City Council’s approval for the infrastructure needed for a major shopping center and suburban growth. The architectural plans were eventually shown in 1973 by Bureau Investment calling for a twin-screen theater as part of a hybrid strip center and mall with Kmart signed on as the primary anchor along with a 100-unit motel. The cinema would be a straight up replacement for the downtown State Theatre facility.
The Northland Mall opened in 1977 with the cinema going online on October 5, 1977 (its opening ad as the Northland Twin Cinema - an interior mall venue – is in photos). Located between Bostwick’s and Checkmate’s, the twin had identical 235-seat auditoriums. A third refresh at the center enclosed the old shopping center unifying the space as an interior, fully-enclosed mall. At that time, the cinema took over Checkmate to add a 180-seat theater transitioning to the Northland Cinema 3 (aka Northland Cinema 1, 2 & 3) with 685-seats on June 29, 1984. Dolby Digital sound and improved seating were features.
Excellence Theatres took on the venue in 1988. In late 1995, Lakes & Rivers Cinemas Circuit took on the venue with architectural plans for a never-built, 1,000 seat modern five-plex external to the Mall. Instead, Lakes & Rivers took over the JoAnn’s Fabric Store to expand one final time adding two screens with those screens launching of the Northland Cinema 5 on May 15, 1997 as the only two ready screens showing “Liar, Liar” and “Father’s Day.” And just a few days later, on July 25 (1997), the other three screens were opened. The final seat count reached 990 seats for the five-plex.
Lakes and Rivers appears to have left the venue in 2006 and was replaced by Evergreen Entertainment. The theater reached the end of its 20-year leasing but Evergreen’s parent TCMCI was in bankruptcy so there was no extension by mall owner Diversified Developers Reality (DDR) with the theater closing under TCMCI/Evergreen on October 28, 2007.
DDR signed a month to month agreement with West Mall Theatres circuit while it worked on details for a longer term lease in December of 2007. They figured how the ownership of the theater’s seating and projection worked by the signing of a 10-year leasing agreement in June of 2008 with West Mall Theatres having the opt out clause at the five year mark. Northland Mall went into descent while undergoing several ownership changes. The KMart anchor was long gone as was a Hy-Vee grocery store.
By 2014, the Northland roof had gone south. Mold issues were obviously right behind that. But the cinema chugged along making a digital conversion to remain commercially viable. Some days, you had to play a form of “Frogger” to reach the auditorium of choice. The cinema and the Venetian Steakhouse faced very challenging situations continuing operations into 2016 when they were told to scram as the “Shops” were going to be demolished in favor of something else. The Steakhouse closed September 20, 2016 and the Cinema on September 27, 2016. And the whole thing was gone via demolition in 2017.
Closed September 3, 1984 with “Vacation” and “Police Academy.” Torn down July 29, 1985.
May 28, 1936 ad for the grand opening of the streamline State Theatre with “Sons o' Guns” in photos
July 2, 1980 grand opening ad in photos.
Mention Cinema Treasures and you can get that leasing down to $17.5k no problem. The Noland Fashion Square Mall was announced in 1985. White Castle was among the first to sign on here - sort of unique. Maxfield Simon & Diehl were the architects of the facility for Block & Co. in what was an amazing overbuild of retail facilities in the greater Kansas City metro area. Dickinson Theatres signed on to the project along with Bob’s IGA, TJ Maxx and some others. Dickinson went fancy when it held employee interviews at the posh Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge nearby in November of 1986.
The venue opened in the peak of the multiplex era of cinema exhibition with 2,070 seats (Two largest auditoriums - 435 seats; Two medium auditoriums - 350 seats and two smaller 250 seat auditoriums.) By 2000, Dickinson was suffering along with all of the other major cinema exhibitors who had gone into severe economic hardship in the overbuilding a new breed of megaplexes. The easiest way to make up for bad decisions was to declare bankruptcy and get out of long-term leases. A judge ok’d Dickinson’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan and the very first Dickinson location shuttered was right here on October 4, 2020 cutting bait with “The Watcher,” “The Cell,” “Scary Movie,” “Space Cowboys,” and “Bait.”
Globe Cinemas - who had the I-70 Drive-in, Crown Center and Red Bridge locations - decided to pick up the location repositioning it as a $1, sub-run discount house. The 2000s were a flux period for fading and faded ‘plexes. Globe, itself, had parted ways with the Crown Center on August 2, 2007 and the Red Bridge on August 30, 2008 and they had picked up and dropped Metro North on Nov 13, 2008. Why the Noland continued? Likely a combination of low leasing obligations as the venue approached Dickinson’s broken 30-year agreement and just enough folks turning out to hit their nut.
By 2013, however, the cinema industry had converted from analog film to DCCP digital films. Globe Cinemas was in no mood to entertain such thoughts at a strip shopping center clearly out of fashion. It closed on June 22, 2014 after dropping advertising support dollars. The theater was put on the market in 2014 where it remained an active listing into the mid-2020s as an optimistic realtor hoped for a rebirth. Unfortunately, and as documented by urban explorers, drug-addled interlopers smashed everything inside leaving behind mounds of evidence of their disservice to the former cinema. But nobody really seemed to care as the only question for the building’s future was natural disaster or human demolition - neither of which appeared to be particularly likely.
The Hamilton Hills Shopping Center (HHSC) had opened theater-less in 1969 anchored by a Gibson’s discount store. Earl Bankston, a projectionist at Malco, decided to patent a new concept for watching movies. Its home was at the Northern most point of HHSC. Ed Weaver, Jr. - one of three partners on the project - was the official architect although Bankston’s input is fairly easy to spot.
This odd complex was a three-level approach that mixed the best worlds of the drive-in and the traditional theater. Sofa-styled seatings in the two upper level floors provided individual viewing rooms with private sound controls and temperature control. For many, the movie was the second-tier attraction. Well ahead of its time was the ability to order from your seat and the food would be delivered to your private “cabana.” To top of this early 1970s concept, shag carpeting. Your read correctly, authentic era shag carpeting. The cabanas ranged from the Grande Cabana (8 people) to Double (6 cap) and Regular Cabanas (2-3 cap). In-advance reserved seating was available - another feature ahead of its time.
The lower level provided more traditional, communal seating but arranged differently with six seats in a row for group viewing in the Gold Room, the Green Room, and the Red Room. 308 seats on the main level and 92 on the upper two levels made up 400 seat capacity in the $150,000 theater. The experience was so unique that the local newspaper columnist said it was the most important exhibition development since sound in the “Jazz Singer.” Wow! And as a projectionist, Bankston designed a 100 feet area for pure blackness and more realistic projection on the city’s largest screen. Finally, single-button projection controlled the pre-show, the show, and the post-show. The patented pre-fab design would allow for easy replication all over the globe. This is one of the more interesting 1970s-era theaters in the database.
Signing a 20-year leasing agreement with HHSC but the idea of making a lot more of these theaters - as was the case with the talkies in the “Jazz Singer” era - was tamped down. Malco announced a new twin theater in 1975 and, ever the competitor, Bankston decided to add a second viewing option to the Cabana. “Phase II” was the twinning of the venue first advertised on August 29, 1975 and was (would be) the first twin indoor theater in Jackson’s history beating the Malco Twin by a bit. That date of opening for Phase II and its twin was March 5, 1976 (resulting in over six month’s of “opening soon” ads). The relaunch occurred with “Lucky Lady (Cabana)” and “Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (Phase II).” Tickets were replaced with tokens leading to no need for ticket takers. The 240 extra seats in Phase II apparently made capacity 640 for the building.
The Malco Twin opened that same Fall and the two duked it out for the best films. And to the eyeball, the Cabana overspent on advertising and marketing often not landing the mega hits and getting burned on blind bidding of movie contracts common in competitive situations like this. Further, no franchisees signed up to provide Cabanas in their communities so the lack of franchise fees had to have stung financially. As money eroded and losses mounted, Bankston finally sold out to his old employer on April 18, 1979. Malco now owned all seven cinematic properties in Jackson.
The Cabana initially closed after Labor Day 1990 shows while Phase II was downgraded to a discount subrun about a month later in October of 1990. With more product that screens, however, Malco relit the Cabana for its final first-run hit with “Predator 2” But Malco downgraded both in January of 1991 likely ending with the 20-year leasing agreement’s expiry closing on January 13, 1991 with “Quigley Down Under” being your last chance to be in the Cabana while “Ghost” played the Phase II - either for $1.50. The building was sold an demolished in short order in 1991 for O'Charley’s Restaurant & Lounge.
It might be pointed out that this was a totally unusual and patented proof of concept design that really didn’t connect with the traditional cinema exhibitors. It times out, however, with an entrepreneurial era of cinema in which inventors and dreamers like Bankston were trying to shake up the cinema exhibition world.
Ajay Theatres took on the 1,440-seat Regal 10 on November 18, 2000 as the Jackson 10 Cinema along with the Malco Cinema 8 on the same date. Ajay quickly steered the Cinema 8 to closure eight months later. The Jackson 10 went for more than 11 years until its website was discontinued on March 1, 2012.
Subsequently, a tiny ad in the legal notices on March 9, 2012 said that Ajay Theatres LLC had been dissolved and would wind down and liquidate all remaining operations. The Jackson 10 appears to have been shuttered on February 29, 2012. It sat vacant until February of 2024 when it was demolished.
Malco’s Twin Cinema opened on October 15th, 1976. It became the Malco Quartet Cinema on June 28th, 1985. On November 9, 1990 it reached its final count of 8 screens with 1,248 total seats and the building doubled in size.
Ajay Theatres took on the Cinema 8 8-plex on November 18, 2000 along with the Regal Jackson 10. They steered to closure completing the 25th year of the lease after showtimes of July 26, 2001 with “Fast & Furious” being the final of eight movie showtimes that night. As the building reached its 30th anniversary, the building was demolished likely to get it off of the tax rosters in July of 2006.
This venue opened - and closed - as Mall Theatre, a single-screen 585-seat venue by Malco Theatres circuit. The Old Hickory Mall (OHM) was announced in 1964 by William P. Engel’s Engel Companies of Birmingham with a groundbreaking in November of 1964. As the project grew conceptually, Hewitt Pegues Tomlin, Jr., Frances Tigrett and John Burton Tigrett joined as co-developers.
Like a number of malls of that era, OHM was designed as a strip shopping center that allowed for the potential of a covered mall to be developed over time. On October 27, 1965 a free-standing Sears held its massively successful grand opening as the first and only business at the venue. Thousands showed up as a signal to central retail and theater stalwarts that the times were changing. For theaters, this was the era of suburban luxury theaters which took advantage of large parking areas and comfy seating to dethrone aging downtown venues.
The first tenants were all signed on by the Mall’s July 26, 1966 main phase of construction to last one year. The OHM was constructed connecting the Sears anchor tenants to other eager original anchors of JCPenney’s, Kisber’s, and A&P. Malco signed on as the theater provider in 1966 on what appears to be a 25-year leasing agreement. A month prior to OHM’s grand opening, Malco Theatres opened here on June 29, 1967 with “The War Wagon” playing on its 35-foot screen.
A month later, OHM held its grand opening on July 27, 1967 and Malco offered free matinees films to children. The theater was a success but landlocked by a Baskin Robbins which prevented the theater from expansion. To diversify as much as possible during the onset of the multiplex and home video eras, Malco added a video store to the lobby beginning March 22, 1985 that lasted a few years.
As the Mall was approaching its 20-year anniversary, it wanted to expand foot traffic to encourage leasing renewals. They went big finally moving forward with a mall enclosure plan that would more than double vendors from 26 to 54 and eventually create a space for a new anchor (which would be Goldsmith’s); but Malco decided not to re-up in a potentially larger spot in OHM.
By 1991, 25 years after Malco had signed on to be in the Mall, it had already dropped its downtown Malco and Paramount, a twin and supplanted them with a quad turned 8-screen, free-standing venue about four miles away. Malco closed up here April 29, 1991 after a long run with “New Jack City.” Blockbuster Video decided to carry on the cinematic tradition moving into the space after a retrofit.
Name - Mall Theatre (never Old Hickory Mall Cinemas… though I like it better)
Demolished
George Rhone (sorry)
The Hi-Land closed for the season on Oct 26, 1985 with “Race with the Devil” and “The Terminal Man.” The drive lost that race becoming terminal as George Rhone demolished the Hi-Land D-I less than two months later in December of 1975. The ozoner appears to have ended after a 25-year lease expiry with “Terror at the Wax Museum” and “Now the Screaming Starts”
The Richland Theatre closed on March 13, 1960 with “Damn Yankees” and “The Pajama Game.” That coincided with the opening the Hi-Land Drive-In Theater’s season. Instead of a Fall relaunch, the Richland became a live venue that Fall using the moniker, the Richland Players Theater.
The venue became the Island View Drive-In on May 30, 1969 with a new name for the season. This entry should be Island View Drive-In (no hypen between Island and View).
Regal closed the Metro 4 as a sub-run discount house on October 29, 2000 with “The Perfect Storm,” “Nutty Professor II,” “Coyote Ugly,” and “Duets” splitting with “Hollow Man.” It was offered for lease or sale as a fully functional theater. With no offers, it was converted to the New Vintage Church likely to reduce its taxing obligations.
“And the Angels Sing” opens the venue on Sept. 28, 1944. The final continuous movie ad was on July 30, 1963 with “Corridors of Blood” and “Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory.” The Liberty Theatre was given a refresh in 1968 and the Pasco was utilized all of that summer. It reopens on December 25, 1971.
In 1972, it switches from Hollywood mainstream to Spanish films and porno chic era X-rated films before primarily showing Spanish language films. Its last ad is September 16, 1984 with a double feature of Héctor Bonilla in “Un Adorable Sinverguenza” and Armando Silvestre in “Matar por Matar.”
It returns at the Pasco Family Theatre at a grand reopening on June 3, 1986 with “Return to Snowy River” and “Fox and Hound.” That ended in March of 1994. Two local teachers took on the venue converting it back to Spanish language film in May of 1994. Ruben Peeralta and Jorge Serrano closed the operation on January 22, 1995. That appears to be it for cinematic endeavors.
Fay Honey won the bid to provide a theater for the atomic workers of North Richland. Midstate Amusement actually arranged all of the bookings and the in-theater promotions for Honey’s North Start Theater. It had a July 3, 1948 grand opening with “Tarzan and the Mermaids” and that ad is in photos.
The North Richland then was closed in 1955 and this was one of the last two businesses still present when it closed May 14, 1955 with “New Orleans Uncensored” and “The Racers.” The farewell ad is also in photos. The building was demolished in the 1970s.
It appears to have closed January 26, 1956 with “Sincerely Yours” and “Illegal.” The Richland Players began summer live stock in the Summer of 1956.
The Richland Uptown Shopping Center was a visionary “atomic age” shopping center concept delivered on December 6, 1949 with most of the businesses opening that day. Midstate Amusement was on hand and decided they would add a theater at the right side of the complex. Originally on the drafting table with the working title of the Strand by architect H. Brandt Gessell & Associates, the company took the moniker of the shopping center. The Uptown would be constructed in 1950 costing $250,000 and it seated 1,200 patrons at launch.
Regal closed here as the Regal Uptown 3 Theatres on January 29, 2006 at the end of lease with “Chronicles of Narnia,” “Underworld Evolution,” and “Walk the Line.” The building was offered for sale the next day for $550,000.