I grew up about two miles away, within walking distance.
I remember ~1975 one Saturday they had a Planet of the Apes marathon and we hung out at the theater the whole afternoon. Another memory was seeing the original Carrie
film in a packed house on a Saturday night, with the whole audience jumping in reaction to the dream sequence
at the very end. I miss that kind of communal movie experience (along with the grandeur, huge screen and sound of the old theatre). The bathrooms were upstairs; you walked up the Art Deco steps that split to separate staircases; the bathrooms had one of those old scales with the mirror that “told you your fortune.”
I actually worked there when I was 18 (1981), taking tickets and watching the parking lot across the street sometimes. The original theatre was intact then; I was told the seating was 1400 but that may be incorrect based on other postings here. I visited the video store in the early 90’s and the public space of that store only encompassed the front ‘ramp’ and lobby space, blocking off the actual theatre space. I know they auctioned off seats and such before then but I never saw the theatre space after it closed. Probably just as well!
I grew up about two miles away, within walking distance. I remember ~1975 one Saturday they had a Planet of the Apes marathon and we hung out at the theater the whole afternoon. Another memory was seeing the original Carrie film in a packed house on a Saturday night, with the whole audience jumping in reaction to the dream sequence at the very end. I miss that kind of communal movie experience (along with the grandeur, huge screen and sound of the old theatre). The bathrooms were upstairs; you walked up the Art Deco steps that split to separate staircases; the bathrooms had one of those old scales with the mirror that “told you your fortune.”
I actually worked there when I was 18 (1981), taking tickets and watching the parking lot across the street sometimes. The original theatre was intact then; I was told the seating was 1400 but that may be incorrect based on other postings here. I visited the video store in the early 90’s and the public space of that store only encompassed the front ‘ramp’ and lobby space, blocking off the actual theatre space. I know they auctioned off seats and such before then but I never saw the theatre space after it closed. Probably just as well!