Regarding the “Time Capsule”…yes, I was the opening manager of the Stonemont Twin. When the theatre opened we dedicated the capsule to the Dekalb County Library. It was to be opened June 25,2000, the theatre opened June 25,1976. And as usual my friend Stan was correct… we had children and parents bring poloroid pictures of themselves with social on the back so they could be located for a ceremony when it was opened.
Also in the capsule was a video of Nixon’s resignation, the winner of the Atlanta Golf Classic putting the winning stroke, a letter from then Governor Jimmy Carter, to the Governor of the year 2000, MARTA’s predictions for 2000, various letters from civic leaders, a letter from myself to the manager, and Chamber of Commerce predictions for 2000.
I went by the theatre in 1999 when it was BollyWood, or whatever, I tried to talk to the manager who was….foriegn, didn’t have a clue to what I was talking about. We originally had a marble face placed on top of the capsule, which upon inspection had been broken. I asked the manager if I could dig and inspect to see if it was still there, and to no surprise it was gone.
I have a copy of the newspaper with me and my staff standing in front of the theatre – dated June 24,1976 – standing next to me was Toni Towers, a beautiful young lady, but the one who stole my heart was Sherri Ogle, who was not available for the photo.
Probably only fitting for the theatre to be demolished… she was a fine movie house where many people had a good time, and then would grab a bite to eat at Provino’s. I know at one point, when we were still owned by ABC Southeastern Theatres, their was discussion about building a smaller third auditorium – in the adjoining parking lot – seating about 300. The thought was to move the longer running movies to the smaller screen, and get newer releases.
When we opened with “Superman” the Stonemont out-grossed every theatre in Atlanta in the 2nd weekend of release. The theatre did great business, and was a big money maker for ABC.
It would have been neat in a wierd sense to be there when it was demolished…to see it raise and fall. The wall seperating the two auditoiums had to be filled with sand, because of the sound bleeding over to each theatre. The installation used during construction proved to be inadequate.
Funny, when stonemont opened the closet first run theatre was at Northlake Mall(3), owned by General Cinemas Corp. The crop of theatres, which were built along Memorial Drive showed how much the area had grown, and the support the people gave Stonemont when she was at her glorious best. Because without the numbers or profit the theatre produced, it is doubtfull if other chains would have wanted to penetrate a lazy market.
Brannon Square was “never” under ABC, I was the city manager for them until Plitt came into the picture. I was also the opening manager of Stonemont, how awesome it was to find this site. And Stan, I appreciate you starting this forum about the theatres. It brings back some good memories. The Dolby instalation at Stonemont was correct for “Close Encounters”. Wil-Kin installed it and it took Tom Paris 2 days and no sleep to get it working properly. When Animal House opened we did so much business that Universal Exec called me from Cal. to see if the figures I was turning in was correct. I suppose with all the crazyness there, it was appropiate that we won the bid to show it. I also opened the Penthouse Theatre as well, with of course “The Exorist”. It was wild to watch everyone freak out during certain scenes. We would stand in the back and laugh. Stan, who was the city manager for Georgia Theatres when you were at Lenox? And do you remember the “continental” seating at phipps it was awesome. You could literally strecth out your legs and barely touch the seat in front of you.
Regarding the “Time Capsule”…yes, I was the opening manager of the Stonemont Twin. When the theatre opened we dedicated the capsule to the Dekalb County Library. It was to be opened June 25,2000, the theatre opened June 25,1976. And as usual my friend Stan was correct… we had children and parents bring poloroid pictures of themselves with social on the back so they could be located for a ceremony when it was opened.
Also in the capsule was a video of Nixon’s resignation, the winner of the Atlanta Golf Classic putting the winning stroke, a letter from then Governor Jimmy Carter, to the Governor of the year 2000, MARTA’s predictions for 2000, various letters from civic leaders, a letter from myself to the manager, and Chamber of Commerce predictions for 2000.
I went by the theatre in 1999 when it was BollyWood, or whatever, I tried to talk to the manager who was….foriegn, didn’t have a clue to what I was talking about. We originally had a marble face placed on top of the capsule, which upon inspection had been broken. I asked the manager if I could dig and inspect to see if it was still there, and to no surprise it was gone.
I have a copy of the newspaper with me and my staff standing in front of the theatre – dated June 24,1976 – standing next to me was Toni Towers, a beautiful young lady, but the one who stole my heart was Sherri Ogle, who was not available for the photo.
Probably only fitting for the theatre to be demolished… she was a fine movie house where many people had a good time, and then would grab a bite to eat at Provino’s. I know at one point, when we were still owned by ABC Southeastern Theatres, their was discussion about building a smaller third auditorium – in the adjoining parking lot – seating about 300. The thought was to move the longer running movies to the smaller screen, and get newer releases.
When we opened with “Superman” the Stonemont out-grossed every theatre in Atlanta in the 2nd weekend of release. The theatre did great business, and was a big money maker for ABC.
It would have been neat in a wierd sense to be there when it was demolished…to see it raise and fall. The wall seperating the two auditoiums had to be filled with sand, because of the sound bleeding over to each theatre. The installation used during construction proved to be inadequate.
Funny, when stonemont opened the closet first run theatre was at Northlake Mall(3), owned by General Cinemas Corp. The crop of theatres, which were built along Memorial Drive showed how much the area had grown, and the support the people gave Stonemont when she was at her glorious best. Because without the numbers or profit the theatre produced, it is doubtfull if other chains would have wanted to penetrate a lazy market.
Brannon Square was “never” under ABC, I was the city manager for them until Plitt came into the picture. I was also the opening manager of Stonemont, how awesome it was to find this site. And Stan, I appreciate you starting this forum about the theatres. It brings back some good memories. The Dolby instalation at Stonemont was correct for “Close Encounters”. Wil-Kin installed it and it took Tom Paris 2 days and no sleep to get it working properly. When Animal House opened we did so much business that Universal Exec called me from Cal. to see if the figures I was turning in was correct. I suppose with all the crazyness there, it was appropiate that we won the bid to show it. I also opened the Penthouse Theatre as well, with of course “The Exorist”. It was wild to watch everyone freak out during certain scenes. We would stand in the back and laugh. Stan, who was the city manager for Georgia Theatres when you were at Lenox? And do you remember the “continental” seating at phipps it was awesome. You could literally strecth out your legs and barely touch the seat in front of you.