Comments from notthatold

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notthatold
notthatold commented about Blue Hen Mall Cinema on Nov 12, 2016 at 11:12 pm

Actually, there is a variety of chicken called the “blue hen”. The blue hen is Delaware’s official state bird.

When Earl Teat Music was at the mall, I believe they sponsored a few music concerts at the mall’s theater, including a few Cash family members in concert.

notthatold
notthatold commented about State Theatre on Nov 12, 2016 at 10:33 pm

The last manager of the State Theater would go on to own the chain of video rental stores called Video Americain. Newark had one of the locations with two more in the Baltimore area. Unfortunately, the chain closed in 2014.

notthatold
notthatold commented about Loews King & Queen Theatre on Nov 12, 2016 at 10:04 pm

This was the sister theater to the Triangle Mall Theaters.

A Food Lion grocery store and a small strip shopping center now sits at the theater’s location. A BJ’s Wholesale Club sits in the location of the KMart.

notthatold
notthatold commented about Loews Triangle Mall Cinema on Nov 12, 2016 at 9:51 pm

One other note, the mall’s name was eventually changed to the New Castle Square Mall, reflecting the actually shape of the mall, not the parking lot.

notthatold
notthatold commented about Loews Triangle Mall Cinema on Nov 12, 2016 at 9:49 pm

This theater was located inside the Triangle Mall. The mall was named after the triangular-shaped piece of land. The mall contained Grant’s(later becoming Jamesway) on its East entrance and an A&P on its West entrance.

The theater had a sister theater in Newark at the Castle Mall.

Both the Triangle Mall Theater and the Castle Mall Theater played second-run films for $1.00, the price for Friday and Saturday showings woule be $1.50, and then eventually raise all prices to $2.00 before closing up.

I know the 1972 ad states it was operated by “Nation Mini-Theatres”, but by 1978, the company was “Movie Makers”. The theater had a floor-to-ceiling mural that depicted a collage of Hollywood icons.

This was the go to place to see the latest films on the cheap.

notthatold
notthatold commented about AMC Christiana Mall Cinemas 5 on Nov 12, 2016 at 9:22 pm

As with many malls, Christiana Mall would become the hub of activity for teens. For this mall, the theater’s entrance/exit was located at the end of the food court, right next to one of the mall’s entrances. Unfortunately, groups of teens tended to congregate in this area.

The theater itself was starting to become run down near its closing. As SPOK has stated, the air conditioning was not working, only one snack bar was open, and there were issues with patrons after the last showings on Friday and Saturday. It appeared that the mall was not happy with its tenant. When the theater closed, I remember reading that the mall wanted to work with the theater’s new management to make sure any issues could be addressed. The theater never reopened and the glass windows were replaced with drywall/decals that advertised random nothingness.

With the mall’s major renovations and additions, the theater’s old location no longer exists. The old food court has been replaced by a much larger food court with a cathedral-like roof. A new 12(?) screen theater from Cinemark can be found on the other side of the parking lot in its own building.

notthatold
notthatold commented about AMC Christiana Mall Cinemas 5 on Nov 12, 2016 at 9:02 pm

Christiana Mall opened in 1978. It was a major opening in Delaware as it was the only major indoor shopping center between Wilmington 10 miles to the north and Dover 35 miles to the south. It would become the social hub of teens and young adults since its opening… more on that later.

The theater was an anticipated addition to the mall but it would take almost another year before it opened, just as rivest266 ad shows, in 1979. It was originally only three theaters with the ticket stand accessible from the mall.

Unfortunately, the theater had to keep Theater #3 closed. Adjacent to the theater was a restaurant/bar called Duke’s Pub. It was my understanding that the sounds from the live entertainment in the pub would bleed into Theater #3 causing movie patrons to hear a mix of movie and live music.

About a year later, in 1980, if I recall correctly, Duke’s Pub had a fire. I do not recall if the fire led to its closing or if there were other issues, but Duke’s Pub would close soon after. The theater would acquire Duke’s Pub space and create Theater #4, Theater #5, a second snack bar, and an exterior entrance to the theater.

This long story explains Rivest266’s ad in 1982 announcing the 5-plex, it originally started as a 3-plex.

notthatold
notthatold commented about Cinema 273 on Nov 12, 2016 at 8:34 pm

By 1978 this place was already playing adult movies. The local church groups were picketing the parking lot for a period of time. It was located in a remote corner of the shopping center but the center’s expansion eventually caused it to become connected to the rest of the stores. The theater tried switching back to PG and R films but apparently management found resistance to this business model. Marilyn Chambers once made an in-theater appearance to promote one of her films.