Glenwood Theatre
9100 Metcalf Avenue,
Overland Park,
KS
66212
9100 Metcalf Avenue,
Overland Park,
KS
66212
9 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 56 comments
Here’s the KC Star ad for Star Wars' opening on 5/26/77.
View link
I forgot to post this scan of a piece of the carpet my buddy and I ripped out after the last movie I saw there in 2000. I feel it’s a one little piece of my favorite theater. I also have a piece of rock from one of the rock gardens by screen #2. Sure it’s vandalism but we didn’t care.
View link
And here are some stubs from Superman The Movie which played at the Glenwood in December 1978.
View link
Here’s a scan of a bunch of Glenwood ticket stubs from Star Wars in 1977. They were stapled in a book I bought a few years ago.
View link
Here are a couple of ads for the Glenwood Manor motel complex, of which the theatre was part of when it first opened.
View link
View link
Reading Lost Memory’s post is the first thing that makes me glad this theatre got torn down. Putting stadium seating in that big auditorium would have been sacriledge and totally destroyed all the charm that auditorium had. Let’s face it, the Glenwood was killed by the fact that it was setting on an insanely valuable piece of property. Maybe the Fine Arts Group could have done something with it had they ben around then, but even with their skill at rehabbing old theatres they couldn’t have got around the fact that the Glenwood was sitting on frontage property at 91st and Metcalf.
The last manager of the Glenwood told me that Overland Park refused to grant Goodrich any further building permits and essentially forced them to sell. Overland Park wanted the $$$ a different business would generate.
I was also a huge Glenwood fan. I saw Star Wars there the night it opened in 1977 and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I was seven at the time and had never seen a movie in such grand surroundings. I became a fairly frequent visitor there in the early ‘90’s and it was still a great moviegoing experience. Granted, the place wasn’t maintained as well as in its glory days but it was still a very nice theater with great sound. My friends and I went there the last weekend it was open and I cut out a small piece of the carpet as a souvenier of my favorite theater. I posted some more thoughts on the theater on my friend’s blog in honor of Star Wars’ 30th Anniversary.
View link
It’s a real shame there aren’t any theaters like the Glenwood in Kansas City anymore.
The Glenwood Theatre was famous for it’s red coil spring rocket seats which were the most comfortable of any theatre seat. These seats were moved to the Englewood Theatre in 2003 and to the
Glenwood Arts Theatre along with many artifacts from the old Glenwood. The 40' street Marquee was re-designed and retro-fitted
and looks far better than it ever looked when it wa at the old site.
The Glenwood NEVER had cup holders, as far as I can recall. One thing that modern theaters do better. Like the arm rests that fold up, another plus. I get so tired of people bemoaning the old theaters going away and trashing the new megaplexes. Yet the big auditoriums in the new megaplexes offer plenty of legroom, great sound, and a view that isn’t blocked by the person in front of you. I saw “Star Wars” when it was re-released at the Glenwood in 1997 and it was sad how Goodrich had let the place deteriorate. Goodrich bought the Glenwood with the promise of renovating it and adding 10 modern stadium theaters to the complex, but never did. They also briefly operated the SouthGlen 12, another earlier experiment by Dickinson to build a “new” Glenwood, which is now a health club. Typical.
From what I read in the local papers, the chandalier was supposed to have been donated to the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection at 135th and Roe in Leawood, Kansas to be used in an arboretum on the church grounds.
I worked for the Dickinson Circuit in the 1970’s and managed a theatre for them in Salina,Kansas. That was when Norman Neilson and Paul Kelley were officers of the company. I always wanted to be the manager of the Glenwood, but it wasnt to be. It was my understanding that the huge chandelier in the lobby was a duplicate from the movie “Cansio Royale” and was stolen before it made it to Kansas City. Does anyone know if this story is true. And what finally became of this great chandelier?
Also the story concerning the print of “Return of the Jedi” being stolen at gun point is true. It was a 70mm print which the gunman made the projectionist dismantle from the platter and the doorman and the projectionist loaded it into the gunmans car. The gunman was a former employee of the theatre, {a “Star Wars” freek} and the print was later recovered from under the gunman’s bed. Needless to say no one in the Dickinson home office saw the humor in the incident.
It is good to read all of your memories of the Glenwood. I loved the Glenwood and am very sad that it is no longer there. It was such an integral part of the entire Kansas City metropolitan area for so long. For about 8 years I have lived in a neighborhood near where the Glenwood stood. Very often I find myself relating to people where I live. I always say, “Do you know where the Glenwood Theatre used to be?” and people ALWAYS know precisely where it was. I have not found one who didn’t know of it.
I have mixed feelings about the Palazo. I don’t understand why Dickinson needs to create what it had in the Glenwood but didn’t retain. I am sick of theatre owners thinking that the public wants all of these multiplexes over large theatres. I LOVED watching a movie along with about 500 other people. An important part of the experience for me was being a part of the crowd, laughing together, crying, and all being spellbound by the art of film TOGETHER. I hate these multiplex 16 and 30 screens. The Glenwood is still the standard by which I compare all others. They had those soft velvety seats in that rich claret color with cup holders. The seats had plenty of leg room and the theatre was graded so that you could easily see over a tall person. There was plenty of space between rows that you could move past a person without putting your behind in their face as you passed. And how about that carpet with the monogrammed G’s, the chandelier, and luxurious bathrooms. In the Glenwood’s dying days people said it failed because the public no longer wanted theatres like that. It failed because that last owners did not keep it up it was a dingy dirty experience in the end.
Here are some more links.
This one shows pictures of the Glenwood on it’s last day of operation.
View link
This one is the link to the Fine Arts Group, who bought many artifacts from the Glenwood and incorporated them into the Glenwood Arts Theatre. There is a picture of the renovated 43 ft tall sign/marquee. It’s my understanding that the neon “Glenwood” lettering that was used on the outside of the original building was installed on the sign.
http://www.fineartsgroup.com/
I ran across a link that ophusa has kindly provided in his ebay auction that was interesting reading. It also has a nice interior shot of the lobby and chandelier.
View link
It’s been some time since I researched this, and I threw away my notes years ago. My main research was conducted at the Johnson County and Olathe Libraries going through countless rolls of microfilm of local newspapers for several months, mainly the Kansas City Star.
I also did a brief internet search, but to this day there is still not much info out there about the Glenwood.
If my information is incorrect, it’s either because my tired eyes deceived me after hours of looking at microfilm, or a reporter got their info wrong. Either way, there is a possibility that my submission should read that Glenwood’s first run of the original Star Wars back in 1977 set a local “Kansas City” record at that time. It would make more sense that a theater in New York City would gross more with regards to Star Wars than a theater in Kansas.
I do remember that not many theaters originally played Star Wars because they thought it wouldn’t do well. So those that did snag it made a ton of money.
I do appreciate you bringing this up, as I want this submission to be as accurate as possible.
I would also be interested in reading the article about the 1983 incident you described, or any other info that you may have on the Glenwood.
Thanks Michael.
“The Glenwood quickly became the most popular theater in the Kansas City area, setting the world record for ‘Star Wars’ after making $1 million the first year of its release.” (Keith LeBrun)
May I ask your source for this information? I ask because the information I have is that the Astor Plaza in New York City had the world record gross for the original run of “Star Wars,” where in its 61-week engagement it sold nearly $4 million in tickets.
If the Coronet in San Francisco hadn’t been forced (no pun intended) to end its engagement early it might have held the top-gross record for “Star Wars” as it had the top U.S. gross as of Dec. 1977 when the run expired.
And speaking of the “Star Wars” series, the Glenwood made the news in 1983 when it was reported that their 70mm print of “Return Of The Jedi” was stolen at gunpoint. Any of you from the Kansas City area remember this? (I’ll try to locate the newspaper article about this incident if anyone desires more info.)
Hello all, we have listed some old theatre seats from the Glenwood in Overland Park, Kansas. Here is a link to them on eBay :
View link
Really enjoy your site, thank you.
When I was much younger – in the 1960s and 1970s – I would visit my grandparents in Kansas City and we would attend roadshows here. What a spectacular theater for seeing those event movies. I’ll never forget the huge curved screen and the beautiful draperies opening just as the overture ended and the house lights dimmed. I saw 70mm reserved seat engagements of “Gone with the Wind”, “Star!”, “Oliver!”, and “Hello, Dolly!” here. Later, when I was in college, I would drive my grandma to Overland Park to see “The Great Gatsby” and “Mame”. Even the second theater was beautiful, but not as spectacular as the first house. What a shame such theaters are gone. I have so many great memories of these houses!
It was the only good thing in all of Kansas City’s suburbs. That it is now a strip mall is just sad.
I wonder if this is a signal that developers might begin returning to elaborately-designed movie theaters?
Thanks for posting that article Claydoh. You’re right, Dickinson Theatres is comparing the Palazzo 16 with the Glenwood Theatre. I drove by yesterday and took a peek inside the Palazzo and it is very impressive. In my opinion, it is definately the most luxurious theatre in the Kansas City area since the Glenwood. Another article…
Posted on Thu, Dec. 02, 2004
Cinema Paradiso
Overland Park’s new movie megaplex is modeled after an Italian village
By ROBERT W. BUTLER
The Kansas City Star
M oviegoers will realize something is different the moment they step into Dickinson’s new Palazzo 16 megaplex in south Overland Park.
The lobby, for instance. Only it’s not called the lobby. It’s “The Village,†and it’s been designed to look like the town square of an Italian burg.
A fountain burbles in the middle of the terra-cotta plaza. The left- and right-hand walls look like the facades of two-story buildings with wrought-iron trim and red-tile roofs. In the windows are potted plants trailing vines. Two huge murals composed of hundreds of 4-inch ceramic tiles depict Italian scenes. A dome overhead is painted to look like a summer sky.
And what’s that sound …? Oh, yeah, it’s mandolin music. No screaming guitars or hip-hop shouting for the Palazzo. Here Vivaldi rules.
“We want to provide a calm, sedate experience,†Dickinson president John Hartley said during a recent walk-through of the new complex, which opens for business Friday.
“This is by far the most elaborate theater we’ve built. But we knew this is what we’d have to do to compete in Johnson County.â€
Set on the southeast corner of 135th and Antioch in the Village Pointe Shopping Center, the Palazzo (it’s pronounced pah-laht-zo) is now Johnson County’s southernmost movie house and Overland Park’s first megaplex since the closing of the famed Glenwood several years ago.
The Palazzo’s location is intended to attract residents of neighborhoods that every year creep closer to the Miami County line, while providing some competition for rival AMC’s Leawood Town Center 20 (119th and Nall) and Olathe Studio 30 (119th and I-35).
“This location is on the leading edge of growth in the city,†Hartley said. “Housing developments now stretch out to 179th Street. And the demographics are phenomenal … the average family income in this area is around $135,000.â€
So impressed is Hartley with the education and disposable incomes of the Palazzo’s target audience that he’s considering using a couple of his 16 screens to show popular art movies. The current hit “Sideways†is a good example.
Mediterranean motifs
The Italian theme was Hartley’s idea, inspired in part by visits to the Bellagio and Venice hotel/casinos in Las Vegas. Everywhere you look in the new building there are decorative columns, murals, inlaid tile, recessed lighting. The two long hallways that provide access to the auditoriums are topped off by vaulted ceilings.
The interior was designed by Justin Heigele.
“This Mediterranean design will stand the test of time,†Hartley said. “It’s been good for hundreds of years. It never looks dated.â€
In fact, the Palazzo’s interior is elaborate enough to compare favorably with that of the ultra-luxurious Warren theaters in Wichita. The same KC cinephiles who were heartbroken when Warren backed out of a plan to build a megaplex near the Kansas Speedway will no doubt find many of their movie-going dreams fulfilled by Dickinson’s latest effort.
Even from the outside you can tell that the Palazzo is different.
Many suburban megaplexes radiate institutional austerity with tall, unadorned brick walls that rise forebodingly from the parking lot. But the Palazzo’s designers have peppered the building’s façade with ornamentation, especially faux windows and doorways that seem to invite the passer-by rather than push him away.
Out in front, set in a wide cobblestone piazza, is a large fountain with marble stallions spewing water from their mouths. The fountain was custom-ordered in Italy and shipped in pieces to the United States.
“This was a great project to work on, to get to play with all these design elements,†said architect Darrin Ingram, vice president of design and construction for Midwest Cinema Group, a Dickinson subsidiary. Dickinson is a regional entertainment corporation with headquarters in Overland Park.
Ingram, who also designed AMC’s Town Center 20 complex, said his goal was “simple elegance.â€
Comfort and service
A few of the Palazzo’s amenities:
• Individual auditoriums seat 150 to 500 patrons. The two biggest feature the “Gem†design introduced a year ago at Dickinson’s NorthGlen theater. The Gem auditoriums divide their seating between the floor and a large balcony. To ensure perfect sound no matter where you sit, technicians have custom-designed a speaker system with separate tweeters for the floor and balcony areas.
All auditoriums feature rocker seats with cup-holder arm rests, 18-inch risers in the stadium seating areas and enough legroom that this 6-foot-2 reporter could stretch out in comfort.
• Concession workers are stationed in one of five “pods†designed so that they never have to take more than a few steps to fill a customer’s order. The result, Hartley said, will be faster service and shorter lines.
• On busy days the Palazzo will have a staff of 40, many of whom have been training since September.
Most employees will wear tuxedoes. Doormen will greet patrons. “Floor ambassadors†will be stationed inside auditoriums to check on projection and sound quality and to remove disruptive customers. Employees will be assigned to clean and restock each restroom four times an hour.
Creating a buzz
While not Dickinson’s biggest facility (the chain operates a 20-plex in Tulsa), the Palazzo is certainly its most elaborate and becomes the chain’s flagship theater. It’s already created a buzz in the national theater community.
Hartley said that after a walk-through of the Palazzo, an Arizona financier has agreed to back two similar theaters in the Phoenix area. They would be operated by Dickinson.
And plans are being drawn up for a Palazzo-type facility in Jacksonville, Fla.
Hartley said he wants to bring back some of the glamour of movie-going he recalled from the long-gone Glenwood Theatre.
“Back when we had the Glenwood, customers actually treated the facility better,†he said. “A date at the Glenwood wasn’t just going to see a movie. It was an event.
“And I believe the Palazzo, like the Glenwood, will become a destination location.â€
Recently, Dickinson has been advertising a new Theatre and are comparing it as being reminiscent of the Glenwood Theatre in their commercials. I am waiting to see if their advertising is true, it opens this Friday. Info & showtimes are at their website:
http://www.dtmovies.com/showtimes.aspx?tid=150
Here is the text from the press release about the groundbreaking.
5/3/04
Dickinson Theatres Breaks Ground on Johnson County’s Most Extravagant Movie Theatre
Overland Park, Kans. â€" Wednesday, March 3, 2004 â€" Dickinson Theatres, in cooperation with Midwest Cinema Group, broke ground on what is expected to be Johnson County’s most luxurious movie theatre… the Palazzo 16.
Dickinson cut ground early on March 3, 2004 at the SW corner of 135th and 69 Highway in the Village Pointe Shopping Center in Overland Park, Kans. for what will be the gem of Johnson County’s movie-going options.
A plush 16-screen theatre lavished in Italian villa decor, the Palazzo is expected to be Dickinson’s newest and most premiere movie venture. A concept in creation with Dickinson Theatres since the luxurious Glenwood theatre opening in the 1960’sâ€"the Palazzo hopes to exceed Johnson County movie-goers’ expectations for quality, comfort and experience.
The architectural plans include towering white columns, rich colors and greenery, Italian-imported working fountains and detailed marble furnishings.
“It’s been a dream of mine for a while now, to build a beautiful building that services our guests with quality presentations, above-quality service in an awe-inspiring environment,†says John Hartley, president and CEO of Dickinson Theatres. “We’ve taken the concerns of our customers from the last 40 years and we’ve applied them to the Palazzo. From bathrooms to parking, we plan on building a theatre that becomes more to the customer than just a movie-viewing, it’ll be a one of a kind movie-going experience…where elegance and fun meet the magic of movies.â€
The Palazzo â€" envisioned by Dickinson Theatres, concepted by Darrin Ingram of Gould Evans architectural design firm and constructed by Luke Draily â€" is expected to open to the public in November 2004.
Dickinson Theatres owns and operates 39 movie theatres in the Midwest with 357 screens in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. A privately owned organization, Dickinson Theatres is headquartered in Overland Park, Kans. and employs over 885 staff members including 22 full-time corporate office employees.
Thanks, klebrun, Claydoh77, sorry I didn’t respond earlier, as I’ve been out of town for the past few weeks. Feel free to send any pix you have of the Glenwood Theaters.. I’d love to re-live some of those old memories! My e-mail address is Thanks again for your help!
Thanks for the note Charles, I forgot that it wasn’t listed & have updated my profile.
klebrun, I’ll scan the postcard and send it to you.
Claydoh77, I would appreciate it if you could send me those postcard views you are talking about. I have plenty of pics of the Glenwood during it’s final days, but none of the theatre’s early days. My email is .com Thank you.