Landmark Glendale 12 Theatre

Landmark Theatres was best known as circuit of boutique art theaters, many of which were decades old. The Landmark Glendale, however, was the chain’s mainstream megaplex located in Indianapolis originally built by Kerasotes Theatres in 2000. The Glendale’s service to cinema-goers dated back to the 1960s continuing for some 60 years.

Glendale Shopping Center was conceptualized in 1954. It started theatre-less as an open-air shopping center to be known as the Glendale Shopping Center. A second iteration and expansion made it a fully air conditioned, enclosed mall, the Glendale Mall, which featured two twin turned triplex outparcel theaters. The Mall was eventually reduced in size and then demolished returning to an open-air center as the Glendale Town Center, featuring a modern megaplex in 2000.

The very first iteration of the Glendale Shopping Center was designed by Pereira & Luckman who were handling the Block’s anchor store but quickly taken over by Victor Gruen who had also designed Landau & Heyman’s Woodmar Mall in Hammond, Indiana. Anchored by Indianapolis-based department stores, L.S. Ayres and William H. Block, the Glendale Shopping Center launched August 14, 1958 as a regional center.

As the center neared its 10-year anniversary, two major developments took place. An expansion brought about the General Cinema Corporation’s (GCC) Glendale Cinema I & II which had opened for business on July 26, 1967. The Center became the fully air conditioned Glendale Mall in April of 1970 and was considered more of a super regional mall. That move came with second GCC, the Glendale Cinema III & IV, that opened across the street from the Mall also in 1970. Both theatres were triplexed becoming the Glendale Cinemas' I•II•III and IV•V•VI.

Nearing its 30th year of operation, the Mall was shedding retailers due to mall overgrowth. Plans were afoot to return the Mall to a hybrid, open air and mall facility called the Glendale Center by new owner, Kite Realty. The pair of twins turned triplexes had gone past their lease periods and were badly out of date in a multiplex turned megaplex realm. GCC drew up plans for a 12-screen megaplex in the same vein as the General Cinema Clearwater Crossing 12 and likely using the very same plans.

GCC, however, was not able to finance its ambitious megaplex strategy failing to stay commercially viable as it was being decimated by the likes of competitors Cinemark, AMC Theatres, and Regal all over the country. GCC closed its the 4-6 triplex in 1995 and - like a chess player hesitating with fingers clutching a single piece - briefly reconsidered its Glendale ‘plex plans in early summer 1998 now conceding defeat and closing the original Glendale (1-3) location. Instead, GCC redirected its dwindling resources toward a new Greenwood Mall megaplex. Kerasotes circuit swooped in taking on the plans in June of 1998. While that planning was going on, MCCI operated the General Cinema 1-3 hoping to keep it until 1999 when the 12-screen megaplex would be opened. That plan fell well behind schedule and - with no customers interested in the MCCI three-plex - it closed after just five months of operation.

Kerasotes was able to open its Southwest Center ShowPlace 16-screen facility in 1999 on schedule; its Kerasotes ShowPlace 12 Glendale debuted behind schedule on May 19, 2000. The improved center retained its aged “Glendale Mall” moniker but quick departures of new anchors Stein Mart and Old Navy pushed Kite to evict all the remaining interior mall retailers in 2007 - coinciding with the 40th Anniversary of cinema for the plaza - and move completely away from an interior mall format.

The remainder of the mall’s interior was bulldozed, leaving Kerasotes, the Ayers turned Macy’s (as of September 9, 2006), and a Lowe’s store with just three outparcels in place. Target entered the open air concept as part of the renamed Glendale Town Center launch on July 27, 2008. But Kerasotes was bought out two years later when AMC took on the 101 year old circuit on May 25, 2010. Per terms of the deal, AMC was forced to divest itself of the Glendale property due to competitive concerns before inking the deal and had already off loaded the GCC turned AMC Greenwood Mall cinema property to Regal Circuit.

Not finding a buyer instantly, the venue became the AMC ShowPlace 12 on June 11, 2010. That didn’t last long. Landmark Theatres - operators of the Keystone Art Cinema locally - took on the venue as the Landmark Glendale 12 Theatre on November 2010. It was a rare mainstream megaplex - the only for Landmark Theatres Circuit - until it acquired Arclight’s Glenview Cinema in Illinois becoming Arclight at the Glen on November 18, 2022.

As the Glendale approached its 70th year of operation in the 2020’s, the Landmark Glendale 12 was still chugging along. However, the last remaining link to the Glendale Center’s initial planning in 1954 and its opening in 1958 was lost when Ayers turned Macy’s closed after 60 years of continuous operation on March 30, 2019.

Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.