Also…the night before the Regal officially opened, on Thursday, August 26, 1999, they gave away free tickets to see a free second-run movie, courtesy of the Springfield News-Sun and Dayton Daily News(You had to win a drawing to win 3 free passes). I saw “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and was impressed by the audio and video presentation. Some other movies that were shown that night were “The Mummy” and “Doug’s First Movie”. The following day was the official opening and saw movies such as “The Astronaut’s Wife” and “The 13th Warrior” open at the theater.
Once saw “Minority Report” there in the Summer of 2002…the film broke two or three times and eventually they ended up giving everyone free passes to come to another showing at a later date.
If I remember correctly it was possible to easily see the screen from US Route 40. Also the screen stood for a year or so after the drive-in closed. The ticket booth and concession stand stood for many years and were torn down around 2005 I believe. For many years it was advertised on the sign that it was “Hidden Valley Archers” with a Dayton phone number listed below that. Also an historic house used to sit on the actual property where the Showboat was, but was either moved or torn down around 2005 at the same time the concession stand and ticket booth were removed. The land is currently vacant and weeds have taken over the property.
Cinema 7 opened in March, 1990, and Cinema 10 opened in October, 1996…First movies screened in the new three-screen area were “The Chamber”, “The Glimmer Man”, and “That Thing You Do!”.
Also…the old Showboat Drive-In isn’t across the street from Cinema 10 but the land where the Showboat sat until its closing in 1986 is about a mile or two away from Cinema 10 and diagonally located from the Melody Cruise-In 1 &2. The land where the Showboat sat is still vacant.
The Regent Twin Cinemas, as they had become known at the time, actually closed on January 31, 1992, following the 9:30 PM showing of “Love Crimes” starring Sean Young, and the 10 PM showing of “Juice” starring Tupac Shakur. I still have the Springfield News-Sun article on the closing of the Regent. At current the Regent has sat vacant and in bad disrepair since the January, 1992 closing. A News-Sun article in 2003 said that the building would cost millions to rehab it, and Chakeres commented that “They’re not in the theater restoration business”. Sad.
Also to note: Yes, in fact the Chakeres Theatres home office WAS in the balcony until the State closed down. It’s now located inside the Lobby Shoppes about two miles away from the State. Following its closure, the State was occupied by “Arms of Love Bingo” for many years. It then sat vacant and was briefly a Mexican-themed nightclub in the Summer of 2008 when a fatal shooting took place in the basement, after which the nightclub shut down. Sometime in 2009 the building was taken over by Springfield Stage Works, which runs productions inside the building from time to time.
Some stats for the State Theatre/Cinema:
Final movie shown as a first run theatre in August, 1990 was “Darkman” starring Liam Neeson. That same month the State was “Closed For Remodeling” and reopened in early September, 1990 with a new policy-that they would show only second-run movies for $1.50 always. Not sure what the first movie shown under the new policy was. Some movies that were shown during this time included: “Problem Child”, “Narrow Margin”, “Taking Care of Business”, and “Pretty Woman”. The final movie shown at the State was “Jacob’s Ladder” starring Tim Robbins, which closed down the State following its 9:45 PM showing on December 3, 1990.
Also…the night before the Regal officially opened, on Thursday, August 26, 1999, they gave away free tickets to see a free second-run movie, courtesy of the Springfield News-Sun and Dayton Daily News(You had to win a drawing to win 3 free passes). I saw “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and was impressed by the audio and video presentation. Some other movies that were shown that night were “The Mummy” and “Doug’s First Movie”. The following day was the official opening and saw movies such as “The Astronaut’s Wife” and “The 13th Warrior” open at the theater.
Once saw “Minority Report” there in the Summer of 2002…the film broke two or three times and eventually they ended up giving everyone free passes to come to another showing at a later date.
If I remember correctly it was possible to easily see the screen from US Route 40. Also the screen stood for a year or so after the drive-in closed. The ticket booth and concession stand stood for many years and were torn down around 2005 I believe. For many years it was advertised on the sign that it was “Hidden Valley Archers” with a Dayton phone number listed below that. Also an historic house used to sit on the actual property where the Showboat was, but was either moved or torn down around 2005 at the same time the concession stand and ticket booth were removed. The land is currently vacant and weeds have taken over the property.
Cinema 7 opened in March, 1990, and Cinema 10 opened in October, 1996…First movies screened in the new three-screen area were “The Chamber”, “The Glimmer Man”, and “That Thing You Do!”.
Also…the old Showboat Drive-In isn’t across the street from Cinema 10 but the land where the Showboat sat until its closing in 1986 is about a mile or two away from Cinema 10 and diagonally located from the Melody Cruise-In 1 &2. The land where the Showboat sat is still vacant.
The Regent Twin Cinemas, as they had become known at the time, actually closed on January 31, 1992, following the 9:30 PM showing of “Love Crimes” starring Sean Young, and the 10 PM showing of “Juice” starring Tupac Shakur. I still have the Springfield News-Sun article on the closing of the Regent. At current the Regent has sat vacant and in bad disrepair since the January, 1992 closing. A News-Sun article in 2003 said that the building would cost millions to rehab it, and Chakeres commented that “They’re not in the theater restoration business”. Sad.
Also to note: Yes, in fact the Chakeres Theatres home office WAS in the balcony until the State closed down. It’s now located inside the Lobby Shoppes about two miles away from the State. Following its closure, the State was occupied by “Arms of Love Bingo” for many years. It then sat vacant and was briefly a Mexican-themed nightclub in the Summer of 2008 when a fatal shooting took place in the basement, after which the nightclub shut down. Sometime in 2009 the building was taken over by Springfield Stage Works, which runs productions inside the building from time to time.
Some stats for the State Theatre/Cinema:
Final movie shown as a first run theatre in August, 1990 was “Darkman” starring Liam Neeson. That same month the State was “Closed For Remodeling” and reopened in early September, 1990 with a new policy-that they would show only second-run movies for $1.50 always. Not sure what the first movie shown under the new policy was. Some movies that were shown during this time included: “Problem Child”, “Narrow Margin”, “Taking Care of Business”, and “Pretty Woman”. The final movie shown at the State was “Jacob’s Ladder” starring Tim Robbins, which closed down the State following its 9:45 PM showing on December 3, 1990.