River Oaks Theatre
130 River Oaks Center Drive,
Calumet City,
IL
60409
130 River Oaks Center Drive,
Calumet City,
IL
60409
13 people
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Showing 226 - 243 of 243 comments
I say we nuke the site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
I thought this was all being demolished, which was why they dug up the time capsule ahead of schedule. Am I totally confused?
Will the Village Theaters reopen 1-6 only or will they also reopen 7-8 and 9-10? I know they are doing a facelift on the North Riverside Theater but will they do the same for the River Oaks and the Lincoln Village 1-6?
The theatre is being re-opened by Village Theatres. They are currently looking for staff.
That’s okay, the Lansing just down the road will benefit from the closure of the River Oaks. If big behemoths like AMC don’t want your money, then by all means give it to the little guys like Jenco (which owns the Lansing).
From The Daily Southtown:
My movie, my theatre
Final credits roll at River Oaks Theatre
From the Northwest Indiana Times:
River Oaks theaters to close
A soggy view of the past
Unfortunately it appears that water leaked into the time capsule, ruining its contents.
Both River Oaks 1-6 and 9-10 are now closed. 9-10 is headed for the wrecking ball. Calumet City residents can only hope that someone will buy 1-6. Hell, I’d like to buy 1-6 and/or build a new set of theatres nearby with a huge curved screen. Say, was 9-10 the only theatres equipped with 70MM projection in the 80’s? and, does anyone know the opening date for 1-6?
I’ll miss you 1-6 and 9-10, RIP.
I had posted the opening at http://movie-theatre.org/usa/il/chicago/
This theatre opened on May 30,1969, the grand opening ad says Ahead of its time, Ahead of then all
The Showplace of the 1970’s
the ad will soon be posted at movie-theatre.org
Today, January 26, 2006, they were scheduled to open the time capsule at the theatre according to the newspaper. Demolition of the theatre to follow soon. What a pity.
AMC and Loews will finally merge on January 27, 2006.. By January 26, 2006, both 1-6 by Sears and the original built in 1969 will close its doors.
Sorry, typo… I meant to type 29 weeks.
Yes, a far cry from the 25-week River Oaks run of the original “Star Wars.”
Sad how things have changed. “Revenge of the Sith” opened on this big screen and a week later the theater felt the need to move it so they could play “The Honeymooners” on the big screen. And after 3 weeks “Sith” was gone from any of the River Oaks screens.
I believe “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” was the first movie to play at River Oaks in 70mm & six-track Dolby. I think the Dolby CP100 was installed in the fall of ‘77 just before that engagement.
I find it surprising that the Chicago area did not run a 70mm version of “Star Wars” until around Christmas ‘77 when the film moved to the Oakbrook.
This was THE theater to see a movie at when I was young. With its giant screen, movies like King Kong and Logans Run seemed to pull you in. I started working there in 1977 when Star Wars was playing. What a great time that was. I don’t know what it looks like today, and I don’t want to know. In the 70s it had grace and class and that’s how I want to remember it.
The theatre was designed by the firm of Loebl, Schlossman, Bennett and Dart (they also did River Oaks Shopping Center which opened in 1966) and the movie shown at the charity premiere was “Romeo and Juliet,” a benefit for the Calumet City Council of the Mentally Retarded that my parents attended. River Oaks 2 opened with a benefit showing of “Fiddler on the Roof” which I attended with my parents.
This is the theater that I grew up in. I started going there in
the early 1970’s and saw all the great films there, many of them were
70mm blow-ups but they still looked and sounded great. The theater had a huge deeply curved Dimension 150 screen and big red rocking chair seats. I remember seeing “Logan’s Run” there in 70mm and before the film started they ran a short D-150 preview and as it played the screen masking opened until the full screen was exposed. I also remember being in a huge line around the theater to see the opening of “Star Wars”. The theater is still open but I haven’t been in it for many years. It a shame to hear that its run down but at least it is still open. For more info on this theater and pictures
go to Steve Kraus' website at:
www.govst.edu/users/gaskrau.com