The Chickasha Theatre launched on February 20, 1926 with Monte Blue in “The Limited Mail" at 206 West Chickasha Street, 73018. C.B. Hudson took on the venue in January of 1932 and gave it a major refresh. It reopened on June 1, 1932 as the New Midwest Theatre with William Haines in “Are You Listening?”
Southern Theatres closed here moving a block away to the former Kozy Theatre as the New, New Midwest Theatre. Unfortunately, it suffered a major fire on April 2, 1936. So the former location was opened for a short period as the Ismo Theatre beginning on April 19, 1936. The Ismo Theatre continued, however, even when the New, New, New Midwest relaunched post-fire. Then Southern Theatres acquired the Ritz Theatre from Consolidated Theatres. When Southern took on the Ritz, they closed the Ismo. The Ismo Theatre was shuttered here permanently on December 4, 1937 with a local talent amateur night show. The building has been demolished and replaced.
The Kozy Theatre was opened by W.C. Blackstone. Blackstone had previously operated the Star Theatre beginning with its launch on September 23, 1909. The first Kozy opened in an existing retail location on Third Street in downtown Chickasha opening September 26, 1911. Business for five cent films was brisk. When the Prince Pool Hall burned down on West Chickasha Avenue, Blackstone built a new Kozy Theatre at this address.
The New Kozy Theatre launched Ocotber 5, 1912. One of its first ads stated, “The only theater that is safe from fire. All our wires are in conduits.” Opening films were “Honeybugg’s First Quarrel,” “Foreman’s Cousin,” and “The Price of Art” with music from the Humphries Orchestra. In 1914, J.D. Sugg of the Sugg Theatre acquired the venue and it was simply called, Kozy Theatre dropping “New.” Sugg died in 1925. The theater closed in 1930. Fred P. Hoenscheidt, operator of the Sugg and Rialto, reopened the Kozy with a new sound system in 1932. In 1935, he remodeled the It closed in 1935 the day the Rialto opened with its remodeled, streamlined look. The Kozy Theatre was closed the day that the new-look Rialto closed.
The first Midwest Theatre had opened on June 1, 1932 as the New Midwest Theatre in the former Chickasha Theatre location at 206 Chickasha Street. The venue reopened on February 14, 1933. The theatre moved here to 316 Chickasha only to suffer a major fire April 2, 1936. Then in 1936, Southwestern Theatres Circuit, Inc. decided to rebuild the fire-damaged venue. In the interim, it relit on old venue as the Ismo. They then relaunched the Midwest Theatre and, though there is some doubt on this, it’s extremely likely that it was here in the former Kozy location. Merging with Griffith Amusement, the Midwest was in the Griffith Southwestern portfolio which also included the Washita, Ritz and Rialto. Griffith closed the Midwest on June 14, 1949 after showings of John Wayne in “Seven Sinners.” That closure turned out to be permanent.
The circuit moved the Midwest’s summer bookings to the new outdoor Chief Drive-In. It promised that the Midwest would return in the Fall. But when the Chief closed for the season late in 1949, the town only had its Washita, Ritz and Rialto theaters to choose from.
The facility was retrofitted for other retail purposes, including a snooker parlor. Because the Kozy Theatre had replaced the burned down Prince Pool Hall, it seemed highly appropriate that the Midwest Theatre was replaced with the Men’s Club’s Snooker Parlor. Bottom line, this can be listed as previously the New Kozy Theatre and the Kozy Theatre with fairly high confidence
The multiplex era had arrived in Chickasha in the form of the Valleyview Theaters 6. Built in 1999, the venue was operated by Robert Goerge who had previously been associated with the Heritage Park Theatres in Altus and Elk City. It launched on August 27, 1999. The theater was then listed as two words - the Valley View Theaters. On July 12, 2006, it became attached to the Heritage Park family of theaters and renamed as the Heritage Park Valley View Theaters 6. At the end of 2006, it became the Heritage Park Theatres (formerly - and dropping - the Valley View). Today it goes by the name Heritage Park Theater 6.
The Southland Shopping Center opened theatre-lessly in 1965. 15 years later, an outparcel building was constructed becoming the Southland Twin Theatre launched on September 25, 1981 with John Travolta in “Blow Out” and a Walt Disney double-feature with “Swiss Family Robinson” and “Herbie Rides Again.” After consistently advertising in the local paper, it stopped advertising in 1997 which may - or may not - be indicative of its closing date.
Pat R. on November 29, 2014 at 2:56 am wrote the following:
Lived in Hollywood and started driving in ‘77. Saw Cannonball, Texas Chainsaw Massacre(!), Scanners and a few more at the Southland Twin! Though Texas C.M. was released in ‘74, I believe, it was apparently re-released a few years later! Great place! Not huge, but never too crowded and very lenient in admitting under 17 year old kids to R rated films! Yaaaay! haha!
Groundbreaking for the $3 million Tarpon Mall took place in February of 1969. An original destination in the mall was Floyd Theatre’s Tarpon Mall Theatre, a 430-seat single screen venture. The first store, an Eckerd Drug Store opened first in the center on June 26, 1969. Judy Limoseth was the opening manager of the Tarpon Mall Theatre that launched on December 9, 1969 with “Winning” starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. It was the Floyd Circuit’s 45th theater and likely was operating on a 30-year leasing agreement.
The venue was twinned into two, 230-seat auditoriums on March 16, 1978 with “Saturday Night Fever” and “Greek Show” becoming the Tarpon Mall Twin Cinema I & II. An oddity occurred at the Tarpon Mall Twin on June 22, 1987. The assistant manager spoke about a frequent ghost in the cinema named George. He invited two men into one of the auditoriums as he put together a print of “The Devil’s Own” to test it. He then put together another print in auditorium on audi 2 of “Volcano.” One of the two invited transients went into see “Volcano.” The assistant manager thinking the house was empty heard noises attributing them to ghost, “George.” He picked up a wrench and clubbed the ghost injuring the guest and landing the assistant manager in jail.
As the theater’s lease was getting close to its expiry, the days of twin screen theater’s viability was long since past. Tarpon Mall Twin was closed on October 15, 1998 with Kirsten Dunst in “Small Soldiers” & Bruce Willis in “Armageddon”. It was demolished around 2004 to make way for a new strip center.
Closed on October 8, 1978 with Charles Bronson in “From Noon Till Three” and Peter Sellers in “Revenge of the Pink Panther.” Wometco then sold the Coral Way to investors for a proposed shopping center. The C.W.-D.I. was razed in 1979.
Located in the Midway Mall, the Midway Theatre had a 16-year run and was ostensibly replaced by a multiplex when the Mall was rebranded in 1987. The Midway Mall project was announced at the end of 1966 and would be designed by architect Donald Reiff with some drawings by Carlos Roman (Roman’s sketch in photos). The sensibilities of the Midway Mall may have had some commonalities with the Lauderhill Mall as both malls were by the same developers and had two anchors in common as well as the movie theater on the backside.
The Midway Mall inked three anchors in 1967 with Woolworth’s big box Woolco and Richard’s Department Store (also in the Lauderhill) and J.B. Hunter’s. It would also scoop up 70 interior retailers including a movie theater. The theatre was built during the latter stages of the luxury suburban cinema movement in film exhibition. Like most suburban theaters that were locatd in or near retail strips or malls, the Midway Theatre would offer a large screen (this one offered “Dimension depth”), comfy seats,“ acres of free parking,” an art gallery, and quality sound (here they had the non-patented, “Ultra-fidelity”).The groundbreaking ceremony for the Midway Mall took place on March 13, 1969.
The Mall opened unevenly beginning with Woolco in September of 1970. That was followed by the Richard’s and Hunters on October 14, 1970. One week later, on October 21, 1970, Holiday Theatres launched the Midway Theatre with a sub-run George C. Scott in “Patton” for a buck (ad in photos). The theatre operated at its mall address of 7793 West Flagler. And the opening date and address furnished in the entry above are certainly close enough. The Midway Mall’s official grand opening took place on February 3, 1971 and in the mall grand opening ad, the Midway Theatre was on top.
Even prior to the 20-year leases coming due, it was clear that the Mall’s concept didn’t match the trajectory of the population shift within the area. The theatre also had arrived as the twins and triple cinema was more in vogue. By the time the third operator came into the flagging cinema, the Mall’s fortunes were fading. Midway Mall had reached “greyscale status” – a term akin to a dead mall in which vacancies outpace functional retailers. The Midway Theatre operator tried to connect with the Latin and Hispanic audiences with heavier programming of Spanish language films. However, the theater closed permanently on November 2, 1986 with the Argenitanian film “la historia oficial” starring Norma Aleandro.
The mall would be repositioned as the Mall of the Americas in 1987. Now film exhibition was a multiplex world and a single-screener just wouldn’t cut it. MOA added an eight-screen venue for AMC Theatres in 1988 that then expanded to 14 screens in 1992 just as the megaplex era was about to open. The AMC closed in 2015. The original mall theatre space appears to have been demolished in one of the remodeling efforts and the AMC theatre was demolished in 2018. With the Mall of Americas concept reaching its 25th year and the departure of those lessees, the Mall was again rebranded. This time it was named the Midway Crossings. That 2022 refresh came with exterior entries afforded to more retailers for easier access and closer parking for individual stores. It was the first of the three iterations of the mall not to have a movie theater.
Update on the status of the 20 venues whose leases that Regal can now bail on are:
California:
Regal Edwards Anaheim Hills 14 - 8030 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road - Anaheim Hills (closed 9/14/22)
Regal UA Broadway Faire Stadium 10 - 3351 W. Shaw Ave. in Fresno (closed 9/14/22);
Regal Edwards Grand Palace Stadium 6 - 4767 Commons Way in Calabasas (closed 9/15/22);
Regal Crow Canyon - 2525 San Ramon Valley Blvd. in San Ramon (closed 9/14/22);
Regal Edwards Westpark - 3735 Alton Parkway in Irvine (closed 9/14/22);
Connecticut:
Regal Brass Mill 495 Union St. in Waterbury (open past 9/14) but closed September 25, 2022
Regal Stonington 10 85 Voluntown Road in Pawcatuck (open past 9/14) but closed September 25, 2022;
Florida:
Regal Cypress Creek Station 16, 6415 N. Andrews Ave. in Fort Lauderdale (open past 9/14) though temporarily closed by Hurricane Ian on September 27th
Regal River City Marketplace Stadium 14 12884 City Center Blvd. in Jacksonville (closed 8/25/22)
Michigan:
Regal Lansing Mall Stadium 12 & RPX - 5330 West Saginaw Highway in Lansing (open past 9/14)
Missouri:
Regal Gravois Bluffs Stadium 12 - 754 Gravois Bluffs Blvd. in Fenton (open past 9/14) but closed September 25, 2022
Nevada:
Regal Colonnade Stadium 14 - 8880 South Eastern Ave. in Las Vegas (closed 9/14/22);
North Carolina:
Regal Greenville Grande Stadium 14 - 750 SW Greenville Blvd. in Greenville (closed 9/14/22);
Ohio:
Regal Middleburg Town Square Stadium 16 - 18348 Bagley Road in Cleveland (closed 9/14/22);
Pennsylvania:
Regal Richland Crossing 12 - 185 North West End Blvd. in Quakertown (closed 9/14/22);
Texas:
Regal UA Amarillo Star Stadium 14 - 8275 Amarillo Blvd. W in Amarillo (closed 9/14/22);
Regal Arbor @ Great Hills 9828 Great Hills Trail in Austin (open past 9/14) but closed Friday, 9/23/22 (!)
Regal Edwards West Oaks Mall 700 West Oaks Mall in Houston (open past 9/14) but closed September 25, 2022
Washington (State):
Regal Parkway Plaza 5910 South 180th St. in Tukwila (closed 9/14/22)
The locations that opened past 9/14 would likely be closed permanently on September 25 or September 28/29th and presumably had leases cleared for the month. There is little to no chance of any further operations at these locations. And only two remain as operational - Regal Lansing in Michigan and the temporarily closed Regal Cypress Creek in Florida
The Brooksville Twin Theater opened to the public on May 20, 1977 after an invitation-only screening the previous night. “Airport ‘77” and “Silverstreak” opened the venue for Floyd Enterprises Theaters. During a refresh, the 2-200 seat auditoriums were reduced to 160 seats for a toal of 320 at closure. On September 10, 2000, Carmike closed its Brooksville Twin with Jennifer Lopez in “The Cell” and Eddie Murphy in “The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.” It was retrofitted by Always Gymnastics as a gym followed by a house of worship for Landmark Baptist.
This venue was never called the “Gaslight.” The Gaslite Plaza shopping center was built and opened in 1973 just north of downtown Tyler. The four-plex Gaslite Cinemas 4 was added later opening on April 9, 1976 with a grand opening speech by Tyler Mayor “Bob” Robert E. Layton, actor Chill Wills and Miss Tyler - Holly Walker. Guy-Con Enterprise Richard Conley and T&S Theatres Ted Conley also took part in the festivities with the theater opening on a 20-year lease. Cinemark took over the theaters in 1979.
On March 27, 1980, Plitt took over the Gaslite Cinemas 4 and the Cinema 4 from Cinemark. In November of 1985, Cineplex Odeon bought the Plitt Theatres and inherited the Gaslite. The theatres remained with the Plitt nameplate until 1988 when they became the Cineplex Odeon Gaslite Four Cinemas. In 1991, Cineplex Odeon sold its Tyler theatres (Times Square, Gaslite, South Loop) to Carmike. As the lease was coming due, Carmike dropped the venue to a sub-run, discount house with all seats and all shows for $1.25 admission. Carmike closed as the Carmike Gaslite Four Cinemas on March 14, 1996 at the end of a 20-year lease. This entry would best be labeled as the Gaslite Four Cinemas formerly the Gaslite 4 Cinemas.
Austin-based EVO Entertainment Group acquired the Times Square Grand Slam on September 23, 2022 which then had seven screens, a virtual reality attraction, arcade, 22 bowling alleys, and a bar. (Cinema V was dropped from the title years earlier.)
Adult Cinema, Inc. opened the Lakeland Cinema (adult not in its moniker) on January 22, 1972 with Cheri Rostand in “Penthouse Party Girl” and James Brand in “Harvey Swings.” The local authorities would shut down the short-lived venue in May and Adult Cinema, Inc. would soon decide to give up the fight. And just checking the listings, the fare presented at the Lakeland Cinema consisted of X-Rated films of the porno chic era and not the unrated and even more controversial XXX film titles.
The Lake Parker Mall’s grand opening was held on May 31, 1971. The Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema 1 & 2 opened March 1, 1972 with “Dollars” and “Song of Norway” in Lake Parker Mall (it was renamed the Lakeland Mall in July of 1974 and the theater was renamed after the mall in August of 1974).
If those dates work in the entry above by Andy, that’s probably close enough. If I were writing the entry based on my research, it might be a bit closer to the venue’s history to say that:
The Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema 1 & 2 opened March 1, 1972 with “Dollars” and “Song of Norway” in Lake Parker Mall (it was not called Lakeland Mall in 1972). The venue was supposed to have opened in December of 1971 and the three month delay was very likely due to the impending failure of Network Cinemas and Jerry Lewis Cinemas Circuit. Other operators were delayed similarly at the same time period when Network Cinemas was unable to provide all of the parts needed to make their one-button systems function.
Lake Parker Mall’s roots dated back to 1963 when the shopping center was announced and opened with a Montgomery Ward store as its first retailer in 1964. An expansion with a Woolco anchor store and an enclosed shopping mall, called the Lake Parker Mall, occurred in 1971 and included this Jerry Lewis Twin project.
The Lake Parker Mall’s grand opening was held on May 31, 1971. As noted, the Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema 1 & 2 opened about nine months later. The in-mall cinema got to watch the implosion in 1972 and bankruptcy of Network Cinemas and Jerry Lewis' departure from the project in 1973. But the venue kept the Jerry Lewis name until 1974. A Michigan-based firm acquired the Lake Parker Mall in 1974 and it was renamed as the Lakeland Mall on July 17, 1974. A month later, on August 23, 1974, the theater was renamed as the Lakeland Twin Cinema at Lakeland Mall which was quickly renamed as the simplified, Lakeland Mall Twin Cinema. It ran under multiple independent operators until its closure.
The Lakeland Mall Cinema’s greatest hit by far was 1982’s “E.T.” that played for some 25 weeks and moved a lot of concessions, as well. It was a true “popcorn film” hit for the theater. The viability of the entire mall teetered, however, when Lakeland Square / Lakeland Square Mall opened nearby in 1988. Within a year of that opening, the mall downtrended to “greyscale status” - a term akin to a dead mall with vacancies above 50 percent.
There was no correction for the Lakeland Mall’s death spiral. But like many mall cinemas - such as the Woodland Mall Fox in Toledo or the Festival / Forum Theatre in Arlington, Texas - the cinema just kept rolling out films for a cadre of patrons even as fewer people came to the dead / dying mall. 1990 was the Lakeland Mall Cinema’s low point as the mall was considered closed for the most part. And for many weeks of its operation in 1990, only one feature is listed and from November 2, 1990 to November 8, 1990, the feature listed is “Arachnophobia” with the explanation: “one screen only this week”.
There were no screens listed the next week or from that point further. And no ads or mentions are made of the theatre from that point forward. November 8, 1990 appears to be the date of permanent closure. The interior mall was was officially closed in 1994 and the exterior anchors had all gone by 1995 ending the Lake Parker Mall turned Lakeland Mall. In 1999, the First Baptist Church At The Mall was a project that converted a former retail anchor for its main facility and used the former Lakeland Mall Cinema Twin’s spot for youth gatherings and programming. That facility was still in use in the 2020s.
The Winston-Muss Palm Coast Shopping Center Plaza was the largest project ever in West Palm Beach at $2 million when it was announced in 1959. During an expansion, Orange State Theatres, Inc. built and opened the Cinema 70 to the plans of architects Ernest Schroeder and Jack Willson. It was located at 7923 South Dixie HighwayThe venue opened June 27, 1966 with Alfred Hitchcock’s “Torn Curtain.” S&S Cafeteria was another added business and was the Cinema’s neighbor.
On December 16, 1967, Loews Theatres acquired both the Cinema 70 and the Boynton Beach Cinema owned by Florida State. The venue’s name changed to the slightly redundant Loews Cinema 70 Theatre. In 1971, the shopping plaza added an indoor mall connector in yet another expansion doubling the number of stores since its original opening.
In a major business development announced on May 30, 1972, Loews sold all of its theatres in Florida to its rival, General Cinema Corp. (GCC), effective June 14, 1972. The Loews Cinema 70 Theatre became the GCC Cinema 70. Michael E. Stinson would be the venue’s manager for some 17 years.
On October 13th, 1977, the Venue became the General Cinema 70 I, II, III as it was triplexed. The theatre closed at the end of a leasing period on April 30, 1989 with “Fletch Lives,” “Tropical Snow” and “Dangerous Liaisons.” The venue was razed but the Palm Coast Plaza was still vibrant after more than 60 years in the 2020s.
The Regal Arbor @ Great Hills theatre was one of 20 theaters approved for lease relief in a bankruptcy maneuver with Regal’s parent in bankruptcy protection. Most closed September 14, 2022 while others - like the Austin Regal Arbor @ Great Hills location - continued into the month hoping for a few more patrons. They were few and far between with the venue closing permanently on a Friday - September 23, 2022.
Just to add some improved, more specific information to the above, Loews created its 170th Street Cinema as part of a strategy to reinvent movie theaters as luxury suburban destinations. Loews 170th could present virtually any format of film other than Cinerama. Its 60' screen could present 35mm and 70mm shows and was compatible with Cinemiracle, Todd-AO, VistaVision, and CinemaScope. It also provided free parking to set itself apart from aging downtown theaters often hampered by parking limitations and costs. Following an invitational opening event screening on August 6, 1958 with Brigitte Bardot in “La Parisienne,“ that same film was used for the opening to the general public the next day.
In a major business development announced on May 30, 1972, Loews sold all of its theatres in Florida to its rival, General Cinema Corp. (GCC), effective June 14, 1972. The Loews 170th Street Theatre became the GCC 170th Street Cinema. The 170th Street Cinema and the former Loews turned GCC Lauderhill Cinema were both closed by GCC after successful runs of “Jaws” on September 28, 1975 to be twinned. The move was made to keep the venue viable but defeated the original architectural intent of the theater. It became the 170th Street Cinema I and II beginning on November 7, 1975 with John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn in “Rooster Cogburn” and Michael Caine in “Peeper".
In October of 1987, the venue was downgraded to a discount, sub-run house offering all seats and showtimes for $1.50. The theater was subtly retitled briefly as the GCC 170th Street Cinema 2 used for the venue’s waning GCC days. General Cinema closed on March 19, 1989 with “Things Change” and “The Land Before Time” coinciding with the 10-screen Miracle Center that had just opened that weekend. GCC’s Westchester 2 discount venue also closed that night.
Unlike the Westchester, a new operator took over the theatre beginning on March 23, 1989 through November 11, 1993 operating as the RK (formerly RD Theatres) 170th Street Cinema. Under Mitchell Knohl, the theater did have an embarrassing moment sponsoring a $10 a ticket, Barney, the Dinosaur, event in February of 1993 that was neither super-dee-duper nor tee-rific. The theater hired a Barney that reportedly had - ostensibly - the wrong costume and not all that ready to delight the youthful patrons. This led to kids likely shouting, “We don’t love you… you don’t love us, and we want refunds for all.” And they got their way. The theatre closed under RK Theatres in November 11, 1993.
The venue had one last chance closing for a major refresh under SunVista next became the SunVista Sunny Isles Beach Cinema 6 opening on October 7, 1994. The company also had the former Loews Inverrary Cinema in its operational portfolio. Unfortunately, just prior to its third weekend of operation, a fire at a neighboring print shop on October 26, 1994 ended the very short-lived SunVista Sunny Isles Beach Cinema 6 permanently.
Landmark has temporarily closed the Golden Triangle location as of September 26, 2022
The Chickasha Theatre launched on February 20, 1926 with Monte Blue in “The Limited Mail" at 206 West Chickasha Street, 73018. C.B. Hudson took on the venue in January of 1932 and gave it a major refresh. It reopened on June 1, 1932 as the New Midwest Theatre with William Haines in “Are You Listening?”
Southern Theatres closed here moving a block away to the former Kozy Theatre as the New, New Midwest Theatre. Unfortunately, it suffered a major fire on April 2, 1936. So the former location was opened for a short period as the Ismo Theatre beginning on April 19, 1936. The Ismo Theatre continued, however, even when the New, New, New Midwest relaunched post-fire. Then Southern Theatres acquired the Ritz Theatre from Consolidated Theatres. When Southern took on the Ritz, they closed the Ismo. The Ismo Theatre was shuttered here permanently on December 4, 1937 with a local talent amateur night show. The building has been demolished and replaced.
The Kozy Theatre was opened by W.C. Blackstone. Blackstone had previously operated the Star Theatre beginning with its launch on September 23, 1909. The first Kozy opened in an existing retail location on Third Street in downtown Chickasha opening September 26, 1911. Business for five cent films was brisk. When the Prince Pool Hall burned down on West Chickasha Avenue, Blackstone built a new Kozy Theatre at this address.
The New Kozy Theatre launched Ocotber 5, 1912. One of its first ads stated, “The only theater that is safe from fire. All our wires are in conduits.” Opening films were “Honeybugg’s First Quarrel,” “Foreman’s Cousin,” and “The Price of Art” with music from the Humphries Orchestra. In 1914, J.D. Sugg of the Sugg Theatre acquired the venue and it was simply called, Kozy Theatre dropping “New.” Sugg died in 1925. The theater closed in 1930. Fred P. Hoenscheidt, operator of the Sugg and Rialto, reopened the Kozy with a new sound system in 1932. In 1935, he remodeled the It closed in 1935 the day the Rialto opened with its remodeled, streamlined look. The Kozy Theatre was closed the day that the new-look Rialto closed.
The first Midwest Theatre had opened on June 1, 1932 as the New Midwest Theatre in the former Chickasha Theatre location at 206 Chickasha Street. The venue reopened on February 14, 1933. The theatre moved here to 316 Chickasha only to suffer a major fire April 2, 1936. Then in 1936, Southwestern Theatres Circuit, Inc. decided to rebuild the fire-damaged venue. In the interim, it relit on old venue as the Ismo. They then relaunched the Midwest Theatre and, though there is some doubt on this, it’s extremely likely that it was here in the former Kozy location. Merging with Griffith Amusement, the Midwest was in the Griffith Southwestern portfolio which also included the Washita, Ritz and Rialto. Griffith closed the Midwest on June 14, 1949 after showings of John Wayne in “Seven Sinners.” That closure turned out to be permanent.
The circuit moved the Midwest’s summer bookings to the new outdoor Chief Drive-In. It promised that the Midwest would return in the Fall. But when the Chief closed for the season late in 1949, the town only had its Washita, Ritz and Rialto theaters to choose from.
The facility was retrofitted for other retail purposes, including a snooker parlor. Because the Kozy Theatre had replaced the burned down Prince Pool Hall, it seemed highly appropriate that the Midwest Theatre was replaced with the Men’s Club’s Snooker Parlor. Bottom line, this can be listed as previously the New Kozy Theatre and the Kozy Theatre with fairly high confidence
The multiplex era had arrived in Chickasha in the form of the Valleyview Theaters 6. Built in 1999, the venue was operated by Robert Goerge who had previously been associated with the Heritage Park Theatres in Altus and Elk City. It launched on August 27, 1999. The theater was then listed as two words - the Valley View Theaters. On July 12, 2006, it became attached to the Heritage Park family of theaters and renamed as the Heritage Park Valley View Theaters 6. At the end of 2006, it became the Heritage Park Theatres (formerly - and dropping - the Valley View). Today it goes by the name Heritage Park Theater 6.
The Southland Shopping Center opened theatre-lessly in 1965. 15 years later, an outparcel building was constructed becoming the Southland Twin Theatre launched on September 25, 1981 with John Travolta in “Blow Out” and a Walt Disney double-feature with “Swiss Family Robinson” and “Herbie Rides Again.” After consistently advertising in the local paper, it stopped advertising in 1997 which may - or may not - be indicative of its closing date.
Pat R. on November 29, 2014 at 2:56 am wrote the following:
Lived in Hollywood and started driving in ‘77. Saw Cannonball, Texas Chainsaw Massacre(!), Scanners and a few more at the Southland Twin! Though Texas C.M. was released in ‘74, I believe, it was apparently re-released a few years later! Great place! Not huge, but never too crowded and very lenient in admitting under 17 year old kids to R rated films! Yaaaay! haha!
Closed December 27, 1987 with “Stakeout.”
Groundbreaking for the $3 million Tarpon Mall took place in February of 1969. An original destination in the mall was Floyd Theatre’s Tarpon Mall Theatre, a 430-seat single screen venture. The first store, an Eckerd Drug Store opened first in the center on June 26, 1969. Judy Limoseth was the opening manager of the Tarpon Mall Theatre that launched on December 9, 1969 with “Winning” starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. It was the Floyd Circuit’s 45th theater and likely was operating on a 30-year leasing agreement.
The venue was twinned into two, 230-seat auditoriums on March 16, 1978 with “Saturday Night Fever” and “Greek Show” becoming the Tarpon Mall Twin Cinema I & II. An oddity occurred at the Tarpon Mall Twin on June 22, 1987. The assistant manager spoke about a frequent ghost in the cinema named George. He invited two men into one of the auditoriums as he put together a print of “The Devil’s Own” to test it. He then put together another print in auditorium on audi 2 of “Volcano.” One of the two invited transients went into see “Volcano.” The assistant manager thinking the house was empty heard noises attributing them to ghost, “George.” He picked up a wrench and clubbed the ghost injuring the guest and landing the assistant manager in jail.
As the theater’s lease was getting close to its expiry, the days of twin screen theater’s viability was long since past. Tarpon Mall Twin was closed on October 15, 1998 with Kirsten Dunst in “Small Soldiers” & Bruce Willis in “Armageddon”. It was demolished around 2004 to make way for a new strip center.
Closed on October 8, 1978 with Charles Bronson in “From Noon Till Three” and Peter Sellers in “Revenge of the Pink Panther.” Wometco then sold the Coral Way to investors for a proposed shopping center. The C.W.-D.I. was razed in 1979.
Located in the Midway Mall, the Midway Theatre had a 16-year run and was ostensibly replaced by a multiplex when the Mall was rebranded in 1987. The Midway Mall project was announced at the end of 1966 and would be designed by architect Donald Reiff with some drawings by Carlos Roman (Roman’s sketch in photos). The sensibilities of the Midway Mall may have had some commonalities with the Lauderhill Mall as both malls were by the same developers and had two anchors in common as well as the movie theater on the backside.
The Midway Mall inked three anchors in 1967 with Woolworth’s big box Woolco and Richard’s Department Store (also in the Lauderhill) and J.B. Hunter’s. It would also scoop up 70 interior retailers including a movie theater. The theatre was built during the latter stages of the luxury suburban cinema movement in film exhibition. Like most suburban theaters that were locatd in or near retail strips or malls, the Midway Theatre would offer a large screen (this one offered “Dimension depth”), comfy seats,“ acres of free parking,” an art gallery, and quality sound (here they had the non-patented, “Ultra-fidelity”).The groundbreaking ceremony for the Midway Mall took place on March 13, 1969.
The Mall opened unevenly beginning with Woolco in September of 1970. That was followed by the Richard’s and Hunters on October 14, 1970. One week later, on October 21, 1970, Holiday Theatres launched the Midway Theatre with a sub-run George C. Scott in “Patton” for a buck (ad in photos). The theatre operated at its mall address of 7793 West Flagler. And the opening date and address furnished in the entry above are certainly close enough. The Midway Mall’s official grand opening took place on February 3, 1971 and in the mall grand opening ad, the Midway Theatre was on top.
Even prior to the 20-year leases coming due, it was clear that the Mall’s concept didn’t match the trajectory of the population shift within the area. The theatre also had arrived as the twins and triple cinema was more in vogue. By the time the third operator came into the flagging cinema, the Mall’s fortunes were fading. Midway Mall had reached “greyscale status” – a term akin to a dead mall in which vacancies outpace functional retailers. The Midway Theatre operator tried to connect with the Latin and Hispanic audiences with heavier programming of Spanish language films. However, the theater closed permanently on November 2, 1986 with the Argenitanian film “la historia oficial” starring Norma Aleandro.
The mall would be repositioned as the Mall of the Americas in 1987. Now film exhibition was a multiplex world and a single-screener just wouldn’t cut it. MOA added an eight-screen venue for AMC Theatres in 1988 that then expanded to 14 screens in 1992 just as the megaplex era was about to open. The AMC closed in 2015. The original mall theatre space appears to have been demolished in one of the remodeling efforts and the AMC theatre was demolished in 2018. With the Mall of Americas concept reaching its 25th year and the departure of those lessees, the Mall was again rebranded. This time it was named the Midway Crossings. That 2022 refresh came with exterior entries afforded to more retailers for easier access and closer parking for individual stores. It was the first of the three iterations of the mall not to have a movie theater.
From the Regal Cypress Creek website, “Due to Hurricane Ian, this theatre will be temporarily closing after 4pm September 27”
Update on the status of the 20 venues whose leases that Regal can now bail on are:
California:
Regal Edwards Anaheim Hills 14 - 8030 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road - Anaheim Hills (closed 9/14/22)
Regal UA Broadway Faire Stadium 10 - 3351 W. Shaw Ave. in Fresno (closed 9/14/22);
Regal Edwards Grand Palace Stadium 6 - 4767 Commons Way in Calabasas (closed 9/15/22);
Regal Crow Canyon - 2525 San Ramon Valley Blvd. in San Ramon (closed 9/14/22);
Regal Edwards Westpark - 3735 Alton Parkway in Irvine (closed 9/14/22);
Connecticut:
Regal Brass Mill 495 Union St. in Waterbury (open past 9/14) but closed September 25, 2022
Regal Stonington 10 85 Voluntown Road in Pawcatuck (open past 9/14) but closed September 25, 2022;
Florida:
Regal Cypress Creek Station 16, 6415 N. Andrews Ave. in Fort Lauderdale (open past 9/14) though temporarily closed by Hurricane Ian on September 27th
Regal River City Marketplace Stadium 14 12884 City Center Blvd. in Jacksonville (closed 8/25/22)
Michigan:
Regal Lansing Mall Stadium 12 & RPX - 5330 West Saginaw Highway in Lansing (open past 9/14)
Missouri:
Regal Gravois Bluffs Stadium 12 - 754 Gravois Bluffs Blvd. in Fenton (open past 9/14) but closed September 25, 2022
Nevada:
Regal Colonnade Stadium 14 - 8880 South Eastern Ave. in Las Vegas (closed 9/14/22);
North Carolina:
Regal Greenville Grande Stadium 14 - 750 SW Greenville Blvd. in Greenville (closed 9/14/22);
Ohio:
Regal Middleburg Town Square Stadium 16 - 18348 Bagley Road in Cleveland (closed 9/14/22);
Oregon:
Regal Sherwood Stadium 10 - 15995 SW Tualatin Sherwood Road in Sherwood (closed 9/14/22);
Pennsylvania:
Regal Richland Crossing 12 - 185 North West End Blvd. in Quakertown (closed 9/14/22);
Texas:
Regal UA Amarillo Star Stadium 14 - 8275 Amarillo Blvd. W in Amarillo (closed 9/14/22);
Regal Arbor @ Great Hills 9828 Great Hills Trail in Austin (open past 9/14) but closed Friday, 9/23/22 (!)
Regal Edwards West Oaks Mall 700 West Oaks Mall in Houston (open past 9/14) but closed September 25, 2022
Washington (State):
Regal Parkway Plaza 5910 South 180th St. in Tukwila (closed 9/14/22)
The locations that opened past 9/14 would likely be closed permanently on September 25 or September 28/29th and presumably had leases cleared for the month. There is little to no chance of any further operations at these locations. And only two remain as operational - Regal Lansing in Michigan and the temporarily closed Regal Cypress Creek in Florida
Closed September 25, 2022. (Note: Closing as the Regal Edwards West Oaks Mall Stadium 14 & RPX)
Closed September 25, 2022
Closed September 25, 2022
Closed September 25, 2022
The Brooksville Twin Theater opened to the public on May 20, 1977 after an invitation-only screening the previous night. “Airport ‘77” and “Silverstreak” opened the venue for Floyd Enterprises Theaters. During a refresh, the 2-200 seat auditoriums were reduced to 160 seats for a toal of 320 at closure. On September 10, 2000, Carmike closed its Brooksville Twin with Jennifer Lopez in “The Cell” and Eddie Murphy in “The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.” It was retrofitted by Always Gymnastics as a gym followed by a house of worship for Landmark Baptist.
This venue was never called the “Gaslight.” The Gaslite Plaza shopping center was built and opened in 1973 just north of downtown Tyler. The four-plex Gaslite Cinemas 4 was added later opening on April 9, 1976 with a grand opening speech by Tyler Mayor “Bob” Robert E. Layton, actor Chill Wills and Miss Tyler - Holly Walker. Guy-Con Enterprise Richard Conley and T&S Theatres Ted Conley also took part in the festivities with the theater opening on a 20-year lease. Cinemark took over the theaters in 1979.
On March 27, 1980, Plitt took over the Gaslite Cinemas 4 and the Cinema 4 from Cinemark. In November of 1985, Cineplex Odeon bought the Plitt Theatres and inherited the Gaslite. The theatres remained with the Plitt nameplate until 1988 when they became the Cineplex Odeon Gaslite Four Cinemas. In 1991, Cineplex Odeon sold its Tyler theatres (Times Square, Gaslite, South Loop) to Carmike. As the lease was coming due, Carmike dropped the venue to a sub-run, discount house with all seats and all shows for $1.25 admission. Carmike closed as the Carmike Gaslite Four Cinemas on March 14, 1996 at the end of a 20-year lease. This entry would best be labeled as the Gaslite Four Cinemas formerly the Gaslite 4 Cinemas.
Austin-based EVO Entertainment Group acquired the Times Square Grand Slam on September 23, 2022 which then had seven screens, a virtual reality attraction, arcade, 22 bowling alleys, and a bar. (Cinema V was dropped from the title years earlier.)
Adult Cinema, Inc. opened the Lakeland Cinema (adult not in its moniker) on January 22, 1972 with Cheri Rostand in “Penthouse Party Girl” and James Brand in “Harvey Swings.” The local authorities would shut down the short-lived venue in May and Adult Cinema, Inc. would soon decide to give up the fight. And just checking the listings, the fare presented at the Lakeland Cinema consisted of X-Rated films of the porno chic era and not the unrated and even more controversial XXX film titles.
The Lake Parker Mall’s grand opening was held on May 31, 1971. The Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema 1 & 2 opened March 1, 1972 with “Dollars” and “Song of Norway” in Lake Parker Mall (it was renamed the Lakeland Mall in July of 1974 and the theater was renamed after the mall in August of 1974).
If those dates work in the entry above by Andy, that’s probably close enough. If I were writing the entry based on my research, it might be a bit closer to the venue’s history to say that:
The Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema 1 & 2 opened March 1, 1972 with “Dollars” and “Song of Norway” in Lake Parker Mall (it was not called Lakeland Mall in 1972). The venue was supposed to have opened in December of 1971 and the three month delay was very likely due to the impending failure of Network Cinemas and Jerry Lewis Cinemas Circuit. Other operators were delayed similarly at the same time period when Network Cinemas was unable to provide all of the parts needed to make their one-button systems function.
Lake Parker Mall’s roots dated back to 1963 when the shopping center was announced and opened with a Montgomery Ward store as its first retailer in 1964. An expansion with a Woolco anchor store and an enclosed shopping mall, called the Lake Parker Mall, occurred in 1971 and included this Jerry Lewis Twin project.
The Lake Parker Mall’s grand opening was held on May 31, 1971. As noted, the Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema 1 & 2 opened about nine months later. The in-mall cinema got to watch the implosion in 1972 and bankruptcy of Network Cinemas and Jerry Lewis' departure from the project in 1973. But the venue kept the Jerry Lewis name until 1974. A Michigan-based firm acquired the Lake Parker Mall in 1974 and it was renamed as the Lakeland Mall on July 17, 1974. A month later, on August 23, 1974, the theater was renamed as the Lakeland Twin Cinema at Lakeland Mall which was quickly renamed as the simplified, Lakeland Mall Twin Cinema. It ran under multiple independent operators until its closure.
The Lakeland Mall Cinema’s greatest hit by far was 1982’s “E.T.” that played for some 25 weeks and moved a lot of concessions, as well. It was a true “popcorn film” hit for the theater. The viability of the entire mall teetered, however, when Lakeland Square / Lakeland Square Mall opened nearby in 1988. Within a year of that opening, the mall downtrended to “greyscale status” - a term akin to a dead mall with vacancies above 50 percent.
There was no correction for the Lakeland Mall’s death spiral. But like many mall cinemas - such as the Woodland Mall Fox in Toledo or the Festival / Forum Theatre in Arlington, Texas - the cinema just kept rolling out films for a cadre of patrons even as fewer people came to the dead / dying mall. 1990 was the Lakeland Mall Cinema’s low point as the mall was considered closed for the most part. And for many weeks of its operation in 1990, only one feature is listed and from November 2, 1990 to November 8, 1990, the feature listed is “Arachnophobia” with the explanation: “one screen only this week”.
There were no screens listed the next week or from that point further. And no ads or mentions are made of the theatre from that point forward. November 8, 1990 appears to be the date of permanent closure. The interior mall was was officially closed in 1994 and the exterior anchors had all gone by 1995 ending the Lake Parker Mall turned Lakeland Mall. In 1999, the First Baptist Church At The Mall was a project that converted a former retail anchor for its main facility and used the former Lakeland Mall Cinema Twin’s spot for youth gatherings and programming. That facility was still in use in the 2020s.
The Winston-Muss Palm Coast Shopping Center Plaza was the largest project ever in West Palm Beach at $2 million when it was announced in 1959. During an expansion, Orange State Theatres, Inc. built and opened the Cinema 70 to the plans of architects Ernest Schroeder and Jack Willson. It was located at 7923 South Dixie HighwayThe venue opened June 27, 1966 with Alfred Hitchcock’s “Torn Curtain.” S&S Cafeteria was another added business and was the Cinema’s neighbor.
On December 16, 1967, Loews Theatres acquired both the Cinema 70 and the Boynton Beach Cinema owned by Florida State. The venue’s name changed to the slightly redundant Loews Cinema 70 Theatre. In 1971, the shopping plaza added an indoor mall connector in yet another expansion doubling the number of stores since its original opening.
In a major business development announced on May 30, 1972, Loews sold all of its theatres in Florida to its rival, General Cinema Corp. (GCC), effective June 14, 1972. The Loews Cinema 70 Theatre became the GCC Cinema 70. Michael E. Stinson would be the venue’s manager for some 17 years.
On October 13th, 1977, the Venue became the General Cinema 70 I, II, III as it was triplexed. The theatre closed at the end of a leasing period on April 30, 1989 with “Fletch Lives,” “Tropical Snow” and “Dangerous Liaisons.” The venue was razed but the Palm Coast Plaza was still vibrant after more than 60 years in the 2020s.
The Regal Arbor @ Great Hills theatre was one of 20 theaters approved for lease relief in a bankruptcy maneuver with Regal’s parent in bankruptcy protection. Most closed September 14, 2022 while others - like the Austin Regal Arbor @ Great Hills location - continued into the month hoping for a few more patrons. They were few and far between with the venue closing permanently on a Friday - September 23, 2022.
Just to add some improved, more specific information to the above, Loews created its 170th Street Cinema as part of a strategy to reinvent movie theaters as luxury suburban destinations. Loews 170th could present virtually any format of film other than Cinerama. Its 60' screen could present 35mm and 70mm shows and was compatible with Cinemiracle, Todd-AO, VistaVision, and CinemaScope. It also provided free parking to set itself apart from aging downtown theaters often hampered by parking limitations and costs. Following an invitational opening event screening on August 6, 1958 with Brigitte Bardot in “La Parisienne,“ that same film was used for the opening to the general public the next day.
In a major business development announced on May 30, 1972, Loews sold all of its theatres in Florida to its rival, General Cinema Corp. (GCC), effective June 14, 1972. The Loews 170th Street Theatre became the GCC 170th Street Cinema. The 170th Street Cinema and the former Loews turned GCC Lauderhill Cinema were both closed by GCC after successful runs of “Jaws” on September 28, 1975 to be twinned. The move was made to keep the venue viable but defeated the original architectural intent of the theater. It became the 170th Street Cinema I and II beginning on November 7, 1975 with John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn in “Rooster Cogburn” and Michael Caine in “Peeper".
In October of 1987, the venue was downgraded to a discount, sub-run house offering all seats and showtimes for $1.50. The theater was subtly retitled briefly as the GCC 170th Street Cinema 2 used for the venue’s waning GCC days. General Cinema closed on March 19, 1989 with “Things Change” and “The Land Before Time” coinciding with the 10-screen Miracle Center that had just opened that weekend. GCC’s Westchester 2 discount venue also closed that night.
Unlike the Westchester, a new operator took over the theatre beginning on March 23, 1989 through November 11, 1993 operating as the RK (formerly RD Theatres) 170th Street Cinema. Under Mitchell Knohl, the theater did have an embarrassing moment sponsoring a $10 a ticket, Barney, the Dinosaur, event in February of 1993 that was neither super-dee-duper nor tee-rific. The theater hired a Barney that reportedly had - ostensibly - the wrong costume and not all that ready to delight the youthful patrons. This led to kids likely shouting, “We don’t love you… you don’t love us, and we want refunds for all.” And they got their way. The theatre closed under RK Theatres in November 11, 1993.
The venue had one last chance closing for a major refresh under SunVista next became the SunVista Sunny Isles Beach Cinema 6 opening on October 7, 1994. The company also had the former Loews Inverrary Cinema in its operational portfolio. Unfortunately, just prior to its third weekend of operation, a fire at a neighboring print shop on October 26, 1994 ended the very short-lived SunVista Sunny Isles Beach Cinema 6 permanently.