Thank you Marcel!!! I wonder how many other theaters had you buy your tickets downstairs and then take an escalator upstairs to see the movie. I guess Wehrenberg (or mall management) thought that would make the theater unique…don’t think it worked…
UPDATE: Not only is the Melvin operating as a concert venue, it appears they will start showing movies again in the fall. Keep in mind, my only source for this is a posting in one of the photo albums in the Melvin’s Facebook page, but it sounds legit. Here’s the link:
I believe I read somewhere (sorry…forgot the source) that Wehrenberg wanted to keep and expand this theater, but the management company of the center would not allow them to purchase or lease extra space to do it…which is why Wehrenberg dropped this theater. Can anyone confirm this?
Can’t help but include this: The date of that newspaper ad was August 11, 1982…which was a Wednesday (source: http://www.timeanddate.com). It was also the year I graduated high school…and that date was about two weeks before I started my first semester of college at UMSL…where do the good times go?
@Chris: I know what you mean…I’ve been sneaking peaks at it all day long!!! That was the peak of the Wehrenberg drive-in dynasty, which was right after Arthur Theaters went bankrupt. However, about four years later, only two of those drive-ins (North Twin and 66) would still be open…
Check out this posting to drive-ins.com that shows an ad from August of 1982 listing all Wehrenberg drive-ins at that time, including the 66:
http://www.drive-ins.com/pictures/motairw015.jpg
The name of the poster is Tim Haye. Does anyone know if he posts on this site? If so, could someone tell him to post that ad on Cinema Treasures as well…along with any other old ads he might have scanned?
Found this on drive-ins.com. It’s a newspaper listing from August 1982 with all Wehrenberg Drive-Ins at that time. The poster’s name is Tim Haye. Does he post on here? If so, I wonder if he could post this on this site…and maybe other newspaper clippings he’s scanned.
Anyway, here’s the link:
http://www.drive-ins.com/pictures/motairw015.jpg
Based on an old advertisement I saw in the “St. Louis Flashback: Movie and Drive-In Theaters” page on Facebook, it appears the I-70 opened with only 1 screen. Is that true? If so, when was the second screen added? Paging JAlex…Paging JAlex…
By the way, couldn’t help but notice that great big transmission tower in the middle of Kenrick Plaza, near the movie theater. Who’s tower is that? I’m assuming it has to be a TV station, but some radio stations have big towers, too. Anyone know?
I know the Melvin was independent, but I believe I read in Wehrenberg’s 100th Anniversary book that they ran the Melvin for a while. Is that true? Or did they make another mistake?
It appears the Melvin Theater is now operating not only as a church, but also as a Christian concert venue!! They’ve even got their own page on Facebook…which has pictures of the interior in the Photos section!!! Check it out:
I’ll make this even more confusing…Central City eventually went to Wehrenberg, and the Bridgeton Cinema, if memory servers, went to Mid-America, who changed its name to the Bridgewood…OK, I need to get out of the house now :)
I’m almost certain Wehrenberg Theaters ran this place for a while in the 70s, as I remember a Central City Cine in their newspaper listings for a brief period of time.
Anyway, here’s a link to the church’s website: http://catcchurch.org/Home_Page.html If you go to the site, there’s music playing on every page, so be ready to turn your volume down. But if you look at pictures you can tell that their auditorium still looks very much like a movie theater.
Personal note here: Although I went to this theater a few times in the two years before left St. Louis (1989-90), I never liked this theater nearly as much as the old 4-screen outlot theater. I’ve told this story on different sites, but the last time I went here was to see “Ghost” on a rainy Sunday evening. When I got home and turned on the 10 o'clock news, I found out there had been a shooting in the food court while my friends and I were watching the movie. Needless to say, I never went back to this theater after that…
After reading the articles posted by CinemaJunkie, sounds to me like Wallace was forced out of the Union Station 10, rather than just deciding to cancel their lease. Do I have that right?…actually, not surprised this theater didn’t make it…
Would Wehrenberg consider taking this place back? My gut feeling is they wouldn’t, but they could still operate it as a discount house, I guess…I know, just wishful thinking on my part, but hey, it’s fun to speculate!!!
OK, I’m looking at Google Maps and the layout of the Plaza and Shoppes at Sunset Hills. I’m guessing the theater was where the Longhorn Steak House is now. Keep in mind I said I was “guessing”, since the theater was an outlot. Can anyone confirm/correct on this?
I only saw one movie here…“Fantasia”, when it was re-released in 1990. I remember driving by it many, many times when parents and I would visit the Science and Natural History Museums, which were in a park in Clayton at that time. When I last visited that neighborhood, it was really dead…hardly any activity at all on a weekday summer night. That’s not how it used to be…
My wife and I went to this theater to see How To Train Your Dragon in June of 2010. Glad to see it’s still operating, but it’s showing its age even more now. It was a hot day when we went and there was a fan running in the front of the theater. This was in the biggest of the 3 screening rooms. Ticket prices are back to $1 now. Love the memories of this place, but I think it might not be too much longer before age catches up to it.
Thank you Marcel!!! I wonder how many other theaters had you buy your tickets downstairs and then take an escalator upstairs to see the movie. I guess Wehrenberg (or mall management) thought that would make the theater unique…don’t think it worked…
Thank you for the picture! I don’t care if it’s a little grainy…THAT is the Northwest Plaza Cinema I remember!!
UPDATE: Not only is the Melvin operating as a concert venue, it appears they will start showing movies again in the fall. Keep in mind, my only source for this is a posting in one of the photo albums in the Melvin’s Facebook page, but it sounds legit. Here’s the link:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=184056031650216&set=a.184056004983552.61090.172459656143187&type=1&theater
I believe I read somewhere (sorry…forgot the source) that Wehrenberg wanted to keep and expand this theater, but the management company of the center would not allow them to purchase or lease extra space to do it…which is why Wehrenberg dropped this theater. Can anyone confirm this?
Can’t help but include this: The date of that newspaper ad was August 11, 1982…which was a Wednesday (source: http://www.timeanddate.com). It was also the year I graduated high school…and that date was about two weeks before I started my first semester of college at UMSL…where do the good times go?
@Chris: I know what you mean…I’ve been sneaking peaks at it all day long!!! That was the peak of the Wehrenberg drive-in dynasty, which was right after Arthur Theaters went bankrupt. However, about four years later, only two of those drive-ins (North Twin and 66) would still be open…
Check out this posting to drive-ins.com that shows an ad from August of 1982 listing all Wehrenberg drive-ins at that time, including the 66:
http://www.drive-ins.com/pictures/motairw015.jpg
The name of the poster is Tim Haye. Does anyone know if he posts on this site? If so, could someone tell him to post that ad on Cinema Treasures as well…along with any other old ads he might have scanned?
Found this on drive-ins.com. It’s a newspaper listing from August 1982 with all Wehrenberg Drive-Ins at that time. The poster’s name is Tim Haye. Does he post on here? If so, I wonder if he could post this on this site…and maybe other newspaper clippings he’s scanned.
Anyway, here’s the link: http://www.drive-ins.com/pictures/motairw015.jpg
Based on an old advertisement I saw in the “St. Louis Flashback: Movie and Drive-In Theaters” page on Facebook, it appears the I-70 opened with only 1 screen. Is that true? If so, when was the second screen added? Paging JAlex…Paging JAlex…
By the way, couldn’t help but notice that great big transmission tower in the middle of Kenrick Plaza, near the movie theater. Who’s tower is that? I’m assuming it has to be a TV station, but some radio stations have big towers, too. Anyone know?
Since the Mid Rivers 6 opened in December of 1988, would that make it the last General Cinema theater that opened in St. Louis?
I know the Melvin was independent, but I believe I read in Wehrenberg’s 100th Anniversary book that they ran the Melvin for a while. Is that true? Or did they make another mistake?
It appears the Melvin Theater is now operating not only as a church, but also as a Christian concert venue!! They’ve even got their own page on Facebook…which has pictures of the interior in the Photos section!!! Check it out:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Melvin-Theater/172459656143187
It also means that Jerry Lewis Cinemas bailed on St. Louis after barely a year in business.
I’ll make this even more confusing…Central City eventually went to Wehrenberg, and the Bridgeton Cinema, if memory servers, went to Mid-America, who changed its name to the Bridgewood…OK, I need to get out of the house now :)
I’m almost certain Wehrenberg Theaters ran this place for a while in the 70s, as I remember a Central City Cine in their newspaper listings for a brief period of time.
Anyway, here’s a link to the church’s website: http://catcchurch.org/Home_Page.html
If you go to the site, there’s music playing on every page, so be ready to turn your volume down. But if you look at pictures you can tell that their auditorium still looks very much like a movie theater.
Personal note here: Although I went to this theater a few times in the two years before left St. Louis (1989-90), I never liked this theater nearly as much as the old 4-screen outlot theater. I’ve told this story on different sites, but the last time I went here was to see “Ghost” on a rainy Sunday evening. When I got home and turned on the 10 o'clock news, I found out there had been a shooting in the food court while my friends and I were watching the movie. Needless to say, I never went back to this theater after that…
After reading the articles posted by CinemaJunkie, sounds to me like Wallace was forced out of the Union Station 10, rather than just deciding to cancel their lease. Do I have that right?…actually, not surprised this theater didn’t make it…
Just out of curiosity, what is now on the site of where the Creve Coeur Cine used to be?
Where exactly was the Four Seasons Shopping Center located?
Would Wehrenberg consider taking this place back? My gut feeling is they wouldn’t, but they could still operate it as a discount house, I guess…I know, just wishful thinking on my part, but hey, it’s fun to speculate!!!
Well, I was close :)
OK, I’m looking at Google Maps and the layout of the Plaza and Shoppes at Sunset Hills. I’m guessing the theater was where the Longhorn Steak House is now. Keep in mind I said I was “guessing”, since the theater was an outlot. Can anyone confirm/correct on this?
I only saw one movie here…“Fantasia”, when it was re-released in 1990. I remember driving by it many, many times when parents and I would visit the Science and Natural History Museums, which were in a park in Clayton at that time. When I last visited that neighborhood, it was really dead…hardly any activity at all on a weekday summer night. That’s not how it used to be…
My wife and I went to this theater to see How To Train Your Dragon in June of 2010. Glad to see it’s still operating, but it’s showing its age even more now. It was a hot day when we went and there was a fan running in the front of the theater. This was in the biggest of the 3 screening rooms. Ticket prices are back to $1 now. Love the memories of this place, but I think it might not be too much longer before age catches up to it.