Cinema West
4349 19th Street,
Lubbock,
TX
79401
4349 19th Street,
Lubbock,
TX
79401
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Was this where “Back to the Future” opened?
The site was turned into a playa lake when the Marsha Sharp Freeway was built.
The narrative says it opened in 1975, but this is off quite a bit. Tinseltoes posted Boxoffice article states it opened in NOV 67, which is correct. I worked there as usher then doorman in 1968 time frame, then my last job with Video Independent Theaters was as projectionist there in 68-69.
The projectors were old (but functional) and came from older theater that had been torn down. I think from the Tower (could be wrong on that), but definitely from older theater. The four track stereo heads were obviously much newer. The DC power source for the carbon arcs was rectifiers.
It was torn down and there is no trace. Marsha Sharp Freeway US 82/62 Brownfield Highway, goes over the south side of the lot.
Oh…the movies I saw there. The last decently sized screen in Lubbock. Ladyhawke, Goonies, Titanic and the special edition re-relase of Star Wars IV are the ones that come to mind.
I, too, have fond memories of the Cinema West. The first movie I saw there at Christmas 1967 was “The Happiest Millionaire,” and the theater actually had uniformed ushers in red coats! I was there for the last time when it had its final feature, “Titanic.” A good friend of mine was a projectionist there, and he used to bring in a bunch of us “after hours” to show us films when the place was supposed to be closed! He took a tape recorder up to the booth and hooked it up so he could make recordings of the music from “Camelot” when it played there. Those were the days!
This was the only Video Independent Theater I didn’t work in the early 70’s. My older brother was the projectionist there in 1971-1972. I worked as a projectionist at the Arnett Benson, the Village and the State 1970-1972. Started at the Winchester as a Usher and Doorman in 1969. Very fond memories……too bad all these are gone.
My first great movie experience was at Cinema West when I saw “Jaws” in 1975. I was seven years old. I went back to see it nine more times. That theater will always be a warm memory from my childhood. I moved from Lubbock in 1990. I wish I could have seen one more movie before it was demolished. Rest in Peace Cinema West!
Some of my best moviegoing memories were in the Cinema West, including my first date (“Goonies,” so I was just a pup!), and yes I was there for the ‘90 debut of Dick Tracy… SO many memories… too many to list. I can affirm it was a single screen theater.
All the great old theaters in Lubbock are gone… The Fox Theater (where I saw “Empire Strikes Back,” “E.T.” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” for the first time), and the Winchester Twin on 50th and Slide (where “Return of the Jedi” debuted in '83) are long gone. (Winchester was the twin-screen facility.) The Fox got gobbled by the Marsha Sharp right down from the Cinema West, the Winchester by an expanding grocery store. (ouch!) Didn’t the Winchester “weather” a pretty big tornado once upon a time?!?!
Anybody remember the Backstage Theater? Little tiny thing behind the Copper Caboose? That’s where I saw “Star Wars” for the first time, in 2/1979, on my 6th birthday. That theater barely made it out of the 70’s…
(Ulp!) A moment for all the great old theaters in Lubbock!!
The freeway is still under construction. Status should be changed to closed/demolished.
My wife and I had our first date at the Cinema West in the fall of 1968 when we saw Clint Eastwood in “Hang ‘Em High”. Pratt is correct, it was not a twin. A theater on an adjacent lot to the east was the Fox Twin which was built at a later date.
It was never a twin. It was a single screen and hosted the Lubbock debut of Dick Tracy with Warren Beatty & Madonna in 1990. We had a great time with a big group that night.
Yes, it is now gone and the new Marsha Sharp Freeway is being constructed.
I just wanted to let everyone know i worked at the cinema west as the theatre manager in 1995 and it was a single screen theatre. The last i knew it was to be demolished to make way for the new highway. Does anyone know if it has been demolished yet?