As stated earlier, Northpark opened in 1965; the large screen Cinema I had 35MM mono, the smaller screen Cinema II had 70MM 6-track stereo for select roadshows. Didn’t really start attending until 1970 when I started at SMU; saw many a film there although very little 70MM (Nicholas And Alexandra and Young Winston not in 70!) Later became a projectionist and started work there in 1978. The theater had not changed appreciably except for the addition of automation in 1970. When it opened, both theaters had shadowboxed screens-what General Cinema called windowboxing (a window to the world!). This was the type of screen built into every GCC house until the early 70’s when they went to regular masked screens. Later after I left in 1985, they masked the shadowbox-probably didn’t want to have to keep it clean and pristine!
After starting there, we ran all first run-sometimes exclusively. When Star Wars opened in ‘77. it played on the big screen but in mono-Dolby Stereo was just catching on and this movie catapulted it into more theatres. It played exclusively all summer and then added more neighborhood theatres later. At Christmas '77, it finally arrived with a brand new 70MM print which was still playing when I arrived.
More local Star Wars trivia:(1)Northpark was the home of Sensurround having played Earthquake and Midway. Since before Star Wars opened, 20th Century-Fox and the exhibitors didn’t know what they had so GC booked the Sensurround run Of Rollercoaster in the big screen-Star Wars was moved to the small screen despite the fact it had been selling out consistently! While Star Wars kept selling out, Rollercoaster, needless to say, did barely half the business if that much. So, after two weeks, they switched sides-Sensurround equipment and all! (2)When Star Wars opened, there were so many people that the lines most times snaked around the theater-TWICE! The demand was so great that opening night, they had to schedule an unannounced Midnight show-and continued it for at least a month!
Also, the former Ho-Jo (later The University Inn) was torn down in the early 2000’s to make way for a gas/convenience store/McDonald’s. The University Inn had been deteriorating during the 90’s and was probably ready for the wrecking ball. At one time, visiting teams in the old Texas League stayed here when they came to town to play the Travelers. I believe the Asher DI closed in the late 80’s due to the decline of the drive-in and expansion plans from either the Coleman dairy on one side and the shopping center on the other-neither came to be.
I was one of the many who came from out-of-state (Texas and Louisiana) to see 70MM features here (Alien, The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, Young Sherlock Holmes, Willow). In August of ‘92, came to see Unforgiven (not in 70 unfortunately) after the theatre had been remodeled. Much to my dismay, it seems that the screen had been slightly shrunk; the widesceen didn’t seem so wide! Never made it back after that.
The last time I passed by the site in May 2009, it was still a parking lot. I didn’t see many pictures here during the 60’s as they mostly played dramas. One interesting fact about this theatre: because it was built as an opera house, it was fairly easy to turn into a movie theater in the 20’s, a true palace! However, in the 50’s with the advent of Cinemascope, they were not able to widen the proscenium (possibly due to the way the opera house was built). Any Cinemascope,Panavision,etc. feature was shown letterboxed on the flat screen much like some movies shown on HDTV and cable TV are today! Saw In Harm’s Way like this in early June 1965.
The last time I passed by the Center in May 2009, the theater was still there. The buildings immediately across the street had just been demolished and might have been confused for the Center. During my formative years in the 60’s, I saw a number of Elvis and Disney movies there; they also played the Bond films there.
The Capitol Theatre at the Main Street address was the first Capitol Theater in Little Rock, opened in the late 1920’s. The trifecta of the consent degree, the post-war drop in movie attendance and the advent of television doomed the Capitol as it did many a movie theater in the fifties. But someone at Rowley Theatres must have decided that the state capital Of Arkansas needed a Capitol Theater so they changed the name of the Pulaski Theater at 324 West Capitol to the Capitol Theater in the mid-50’s; that is the theater in the pictured mentioned above. At the same time, they upgraded the theater to 70MM Todd-AO and made it the roadshow theater for Little Rock. In the early-to-mid 70’s, this Capitol Theater bit the dust during the long goodbye to the downtown movie palaces and was replaced by a high-rise bank building.
As stated earlier, Northpark opened in 1965; the large screen Cinema I had 35MM mono, the smaller screen Cinema II had 70MM 6-track stereo for select roadshows. Didn’t really start attending until 1970 when I started at SMU; saw many a film there although very little 70MM (Nicholas And Alexandra and Young Winston not in 70!) Later became a projectionist and started work there in 1978. The theater had not changed appreciably except for the addition of automation in 1970. When it opened, both theaters had shadowboxed screens-what General Cinema called windowboxing (a window to the world!). This was the type of screen built into every GCC house until the early 70’s when they went to regular masked screens. Later after I left in 1985, they masked the shadowbox-probably didn’t want to have to keep it clean and pristine!
After starting there, we ran all first run-sometimes exclusively. When Star Wars opened in ‘77. it played on the big screen but in mono-Dolby Stereo was just catching on and this movie catapulted it into more theatres. It played exclusively all summer and then added more neighborhood theatres later. At Christmas '77, it finally arrived with a brand new 70MM print which was still playing when I arrived.
More local Star Wars trivia:(1)Northpark was the home of Sensurround having played Earthquake and Midway. Since before Star Wars opened, 20th Century-Fox and the exhibitors didn’t know what they had so GC booked the Sensurround run Of Rollercoaster in the big screen-Star Wars was moved to the small screen despite the fact it had been selling out consistently! While Star Wars kept selling out, Rollercoaster, needless to say, did barely half the business if that much. So, after two weeks, they switched sides-Sensurround equipment and all! (2)When Star Wars opened, there were so many people that the lines most times snaked around the theater-TWICE! The demand was so great that opening night, they had to schedule an unannounced Midnight show-and continued it for at least a month!
Also, the former Ho-Jo (later The University Inn) was torn down in the early 2000’s to make way for a gas/convenience store/McDonald’s. The University Inn had been deteriorating during the 90’s and was probably ready for the wrecking ball. At one time, visiting teams in the old Texas League stayed here when they came to town to play the Travelers. I believe the Asher DI closed in the late 80’s due to the decline of the drive-in and expansion plans from either the Coleman dairy on one side and the shopping center on the other-neither came to be.
I was one of the many who came from out-of-state (Texas and Louisiana) to see 70MM features here (Alien, The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, Young Sherlock Holmes, Willow). In August of ‘92, came to see Unforgiven (not in 70 unfortunately) after the theatre had been remodeled. Much to my dismay, it seems that the screen had been slightly shrunk; the widesceen didn’t seem so wide! Never made it back after that.
The last time I passed by the site in May 2009, it was still a parking lot. I didn’t see many pictures here during the 60’s as they mostly played dramas. One interesting fact about this theatre: because it was built as an opera house, it was fairly easy to turn into a movie theater in the 20’s, a true palace! However, in the 50’s with the advent of Cinemascope, they were not able to widen the proscenium (possibly due to the way the opera house was built). Any Cinemascope,Panavision,etc. feature was shown letterboxed on the flat screen much like some movies shown on HDTV and cable TV are today! Saw In Harm’s Way like this in early June 1965.
The last time I passed by the Center in May 2009, the theater was still there. The buildings immediately across the street had just been demolished and might have been confused for the Center. During my formative years in the 60’s, I saw a number of Elvis and Disney movies there; they also played the Bond films there.
The Pulaski Theater became the Capitol Theater in the mid-50’s. See the Capitol Theater listing for more details.
The Capitol Theatre at the Main Street address was the first Capitol Theater in Little Rock, opened in the late 1920’s. The trifecta of the consent degree, the post-war drop in movie attendance and the advent of television doomed the Capitol as it did many a movie theater in the fifties. But someone at Rowley Theatres must have decided that the state capital Of Arkansas needed a Capitol Theater so they changed the name of the Pulaski Theater at 324 West Capitol to the Capitol Theater in the mid-50’s; that is the theater in the pictured mentioned above. At the same time, they upgraded the theater to 70MM Todd-AO and made it the roadshow theater for Little Rock. In the early-to-mid 70’s, this Capitol Theater bit the dust during the long goodbye to the downtown movie palaces and was replaced by a high-rise bank building.