Skyway Theatre
711 Hennepin Avenue,
Minneapolis,
MN
55403
711 Hennepin Avenue,
Minneapolis,
MN
55403
7 people
favorited this theater
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There is another reason for the unusual design of the Skyway Theater. ABC Theaters built the main theater on the second floor because they did not own one-half of the land over which the structure was built. About one half of the land housed the old ABC Lyric Theater, which was a first fun theater operated by ABC for showcase first runs in the 1960’s. That theater was demolished by ABC and the Skyway was its replacement. About one-third of the site was owned by the Dayton-Hudson Corporation, which was an old time, department stote and shopping center developer. They were acquring downtown land for parking expansion in the 1950’s and 60’s. ABC used their land for a surface parking lot in the new building. The smallest lot piece housed Danny’s Bar, which later reopened on the first floor as the Skyway Lounge. The bar building was also demolished for the new building. The theater was designed by a New York City architectual firm; however, I don’t know if their original design is what was actually built there, or not. The Screen One’s interior seats, draperies, carpeting, and color scheme almost identically matched the interior of the Astor Plaza Theater in New York City in 1978. The years 1972-1976 were incredibly difficult years for the cinema exhibition industry with very little good product coming out of Hollywood studios. The local offices of Plitt North Central were on the fourth floor of the building, along with a standalone screening room with large white rocking highback chairs that was rented by all of the big studios' film exchanges. It was built with the intent to lure the four film exchanges across the street on the 2nd floor of the aged Mann Theater building over to the new ABC building. There were two additiional floors of office space above the fourth floor. After four years, the white chairs were slipcovered. The Skyway held a few sneak previews in the 1970’s and comment cards were given out to the audience. Also, the local acid rock radio station sponsored midnight movies on Friday and Saturday nights at the Skyway. One of Mr. Plitt’s sons was briefly a manager at the Skyway in 1975, but was soon transferred to a large single Plitt theatre in Phoenix, AZ.
They turned it into a dance club called Barfly. The marquee is still there, though.
The whole theatre is still sitting there intact?
I worked at the Skyway, late 70s early 80s. Correction: The box office was on ground level. An escalator took you to the second level where Skyway 1 was. Another escalator took you up to a third level where Skyway 2 was. Skyway 3 was a smaller theater on the same level as Skyway 1. The theater that was added on the ground level was Skyway 4. (I was working there when they opened Skyway 4, around 1980). I believed they split Skyway 2 right down the middle, and they turned balcony of Skyway 1 into a separate theater.
I remember working there for a couple of years. The months of midnight features featuring “The Hills have Eyes” and a few others. I had allot of fun in that area during the early eighties and saw many movies there.
I agree this theater was nothing too special. I remember seeing “Heavy Metal” there.
And this is ignoring the greatest ad for the Catholic Church;
THE ECORCIST………..
Opened/Played there in the ‘70’s, and had us all running to Confession!
That was a better trip than Alien….
And speaking of memories, I saw the opening of
ALIEN
there; on a date, no less. It scared me into bed! (But it was the ‘70’s!!)
The introduction to me LOUD MOVIES!!!!!!!!!! Some things have only gotten worse.
They are now discussing placing a nightclub in the Skyway. This would certainly liven up this stretch of Hennepin. Perhaps it will also push out the rather seedy skyway lounge, one of the last strip bars on Hennepin Avenue. I personally see razing the theater building as a good option. It is poorly designed and does nothing for the asthetic value of the street. Perhaps a new building could bring life back to the block with restaurants, a hotel, retail etc. As the building currently stands it is a fortress to anyone walking on the street level and exudes the poor architectural practices of the 1970s. Unfortuanly there is little of much value here other than the memories.