Eastern Hills Cinema I-II-III

4545 Transit Road,
Williamsville, NY 14221

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: General Cinema Corp.

Architects: William C. Riseman

Firms: William Riseman Associates

Previous Names: Eastern Hills Cinema I -II

Nearby Theaters

Eastern Hills Cinema I-II-III

The Eastern Hills Cinema I-II opened on May 24, 1972. It had a standard William Riseman style treatment - white candy stand, red carpet and the white and red Griggs seats and Alpro paneling and the front display (as GCC called it - the white walls and ceiling surrounding the screen). It was triplexed by dividing one of the screens on October 24, 1980.

It closed when the lease was voided with GCC’s bankruptcy in 2001, but taken over and operated by the Dipson chain showing a mix of independent and foreign films. It was closed on October 2, 2022.

Contributed by dave-bronx

Recent comments (view all 12 comments)

kbrand
kbrand on September 13, 2005 at 9:28 am

I was wondering if this theater ever showed japanese animation movies, or older flicks, like classic sci-fi, horror, or maybe kung-fu movies. Is there any site i can go to that may have its now playing list? Thanks for any and all help.

crunchocky
crunchocky on October 23, 2006 at 5:39 pm

www.dipsontheatres.com has showtime information for this theatre

ras1968
ras1968 on February 19, 2008 at 4:09 pm

I remember this theatre well having been part of the management for GCC in 1989. A very small space in which to open the first ‘Batman’. The biggest house had (and still has) what we called the “shadowbox”, a fixture in 70’s GCC large screens, that is like a large, beveled picture frame surronding the screen and looks great with a scope film. The booth was a trip to learn in; all Century projectors with two reel to reels in the largest house and the twinned opposite sides had a five tier Christie Autowind platter slapped between the two projectors. The managers shared time with the union which was a big deal back then. Dipson has put new seats in which are actually quite comfortable – I can’t imagine where you’d find parts for all metal Griggs pushbacks now but I’m sure someone reading this knows.

buildersent
buildersent on July 13, 2009 at 8:09 am

Since Dispon has a thing about only showing some films in specific theaters while the southtowns dipson shows common dribble, I am forced to go to the Eastern Hills cinema for certain films.

  1. This is one of the worse theaters around for comfort. As bad as the Dipson Amherst. The aisles are cramped, the seats cheap and hard. Why would Dipson not rip out every third row when they bought new seats? They certainly never fill the place up.

Projection and sound are average, comfort below average, all around a dated movie house that is being used the only way it can be – showing niche films and charging too much for what is offerd.

WNYPilot
WNYPilot on November 19, 2009 at 7:22 pm

I go to this theater often as it features indie films not to be seen in most movie houses. The seats were uncomfortable, back in the 1990’s. Today they are fine. Also, I am over six foot tall and have no problem with legroom. Not sure where the above post is coming from. The Dipson chain offers a choice of movies that most metro areas the size of Buffalo do not have. They do a great job here.

John Fink
John Fink on October 11, 2014 at 4:01 pm

Recently installed very comfortable new leather rocker seating.

rivest266
rivest266 on September 21, 2022 at 10:44 pm

The Eastern Hill Cinema I-II opened on May 24th, 1972. Grand opening ad posted.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on October 6, 2022 at 8:33 am

The theatre had a great 50-year run until closing after October 2, 2022 showtimes.

rivest266
rivest266 on October 6, 2022 at 10:28 am

The third screen opened by subdivision on October 24th, 1980, and taken over by Dipson theatres in 1993.

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