Brian,
Great post. You are correct, but those of us that worked there in the early days, are also correct. When the theater opened as an Essaness Theater the concession counter was centered in the lobby. Two “holding pens” were often created for the theaters that held the most amount of people. Those were theaters 1 & 2 located straight in from the lobby. They had a capacity of approximately 300-400 people. In those days, these theaters seemed quite small compared to the Big Brother theaters at Woodfield which held 1000 and 800 people. Back then it was not uncommon to have lines of people snaked into the mall waiting to see the big show that was premiering that weekend. On a weekend night, the only things that were open in the mall were the Theater, the game room and of course Swensons Ice Cream counter.
This was a favorite location of all the theater employees.
The theater also had four other theaters. Two of the theaters were located in the hallway to the left along with the men’s bathroom. These were known as theaters 3 and 4. Theaters 5 and 6 were located in the hallway to the right, along with the womens bathroom. At the top of the landing there was an area for approximately 3 video games.
Around the time Cineplex Odeon was entering the Chicago market, they had purchased Plitt Theaters, then Essaness theaters. Town & Country theaters did not fit into the “design” that Cineplex Odeon had made famous in other parts of the country. Thus Town & Country was closed for renovations.
One of the most significant renovations that was done was the move of the concession stand to the side wall of the lobby, as indicated by Brian’s memory.
The theaters did not recieve significant renovation to attact people away from the Multi-Million Theater – Ridge Cinemas, that was the jewel of the northwest suburbs. It had old school theater seating with uncomfortable chairs. No rocking, and not much padding.
Hey Anna Banana….. I remember you, thanks for bringing back some of the great times of High School Life. Those late night parties were a blast. As an usher that worked there I was up to date on every movie that came out for many years. Even though you see portions of movies while working, the free movies made it possible to see at least one movie a week. Going to the movies is still one of my favorite things to do.
Part of the demise of TNC was also the opening of Ridge Cinemas under the parent company of Cineplex Odeon. A true palace when it opened. But as with all things, that theater as beautiful as it was, suffered from an overpopulation of movie screens in the Chicago area. Trying to monopolize the market place, Garth Drabinski (former CEO of Cineplex Odeon) over extended himself and the company was eventually bought by Lowes Movie Theaters, at which time the less pretty theaters such as TNC, became extinct.
For those of you reminiscing the concession counter had five sides to it. When you walked in past the box office you were greeted with the point of the concession stand. This was centered approx. ten feet from the box office. Which by the way has a swinging door on it (no locks or cages back then). The point extended approx. ten feet to the portion of the stand that was parallel with the sides of the lobby. It was probably another twenty feet long. The inside employee area of the concession stand was maybe eight to ten feet wide. The end of the concession stand ended at the hallway where the four minor theaters had their access.
As Anna said earlier, more than one person (including myself) landed on that inclined tile floor of the concession stand.
Just past the hallway was the access for the two major theaters, where the first run popular movies saw life. Down each hallway sat two minor theaters that were smaller in size maybe 80 – 100 people could fit in each of those.
The best time that a guy could have is being a teenager theater usher, you had the power to confiscate the beer that patrons would bring in and of course drink the full unopened ones later, not to mention having the authority to kick out movie hoppers. It was easier back then. The theaters were smaller.
The brown polyester was not fun to wear, definitely hot in the summertime.
It was sad to see it go. I think I still have my nametag from the Essaness days.
I loved working there, and I loved going to movies there.
Marbel lined floors and columns. Large concession stands. Spacious lobby. Comfortable seats. A true palace.
Sue P. we had a great time working side by side. I have lots of pictures from the construction stages of the theater.
I remember while the theater was still under construction, going to lunch with the contactors at Portillo’s.
Asst Mgr 1986-1988
Port Richey, Fl
Brian,
Great post. You are correct, but those of us that worked there in the early days, are also correct. When the theater opened as an Essaness Theater the concession counter was centered in the lobby. Two “holding pens” were often created for the theaters that held the most amount of people. Those were theaters 1 & 2 located straight in from the lobby. They had a capacity of approximately 300-400 people. In those days, these theaters seemed quite small compared to the Big Brother theaters at Woodfield which held 1000 and 800 people. Back then it was not uncommon to have lines of people snaked into the mall waiting to see the big show that was premiering that weekend. On a weekend night, the only things that were open in the mall were the Theater, the game room and of course Swensons Ice Cream counter.
This was a favorite location of all the theater employees.
The theater also had four other theaters. Two of the theaters were located in the hallway to the left along with the men’s bathroom. These were known as theaters 3 and 4. Theaters 5 and 6 were located in the hallway to the right, along with the womens bathroom. At the top of the landing there was an area for approximately 3 video games.
Around the time Cineplex Odeon was entering the Chicago market, they had purchased Plitt Theaters, then Essaness theaters. Town & Country theaters did not fit into the “design” that Cineplex Odeon had made famous in other parts of the country. Thus Town & Country was closed for renovations.
One of the most significant renovations that was done was the move of the concession stand to the side wall of the lobby, as indicated by Brian’s memory.
The theaters did not recieve significant renovation to attact people away from the Multi-Million Theater – Ridge Cinemas, that was the jewel of the northwest suburbs. It had old school theater seating with uncomfortable chairs. No rocking, and not much padding.
It was reopened as a Cineplex Odeon Theater.
-Gary Howorka
Hey Anna Banana….. I remember you, thanks for bringing back some of the great times of High School Life. Those late night parties were a blast. As an usher that worked there I was up to date on every movie that came out for many years. Even though you see portions of movies while working, the free movies made it possible to see at least one movie a week. Going to the movies is still one of my favorite things to do.
Part of the demise of TNC was also the opening of Ridge Cinemas under the parent company of Cineplex Odeon. A true palace when it opened. But as with all things, that theater as beautiful as it was, suffered from an overpopulation of movie screens in the Chicago area. Trying to monopolize the market place, Garth Drabinski (former CEO of Cineplex Odeon) over extended himself and the company was eventually bought by Lowes Movie Theaters, at which time the less pretty theaters such as TNC, became extinct.
For those of you reminiscing the concession counter had five sides to it. When you walked in past the box office you were greeted with the point of the concession stand. This was centered approx. ten feet from the box office. Which by the way has a swinging door on it (no locks or cages back then). The point extended approx. ten feet to the portion of the stand that was parallel with the sides of the lobby. It was probably another twenty feet long. The inside employee area of the concession stand was maybe eight to ten feet wide. The end of the concession stand ended at the hallway where the four minor theaters had their access.
As Anna said earlier, more than one person (including myself) landed on that inclined tile floor of the concession stand.
Just past the hallway was the access for the two major theaters, where the first run popular movies saw life. Down each hallway sat two minor theaters that were smaller in size maybe 80 – 100 people could fit in each of those.
The best time that a guy could have is being a teenager theater usher, you had the power to confiscate the beer that patrons would bring in and of course drink the full unopened ones later, not to mention having the authority to kick out movie hoppers. It was easier back then. The theaters were smaller.
The brown polyester was not fun to wear, definitely hot in the summertime.
It was sad to see it go. I think I still have my nametag from the Essaness days.
Take care of the memories!!
Gary Howorka
Port Richey, FL
TNC employee ‘84-'90