Crest Theatre
4825 E. Douglas Avenue,
Wichita,
KS
67218
4825 E. Douglas Avenue,
Wichita,
KS
67218
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This opened on January 18th, 1950. Grand opening ad posted.
The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum has threads of memories about the Crest here, here, and here.
There are some ads for the Crest playing 3-D revivals in 1958 in this article: http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/golden-age-3-d
I’m not sure about “Commonwealth” being on the floor, but it was definitely in the center of the marquee. It also had a giant “S” ( for Sullivan Theatres) in the middle of the terrazzo floor in the lobby. This was my favorite theatre of them all. I saw my first movie there, “Smoky” about a horse, in 1967. What I remember most was the sunken lounge area behind the concession stand. The restrooms and the offices were located there also. I also remember the murals depicting Wichita history inside the auditorium. I did some microfilm research and found that the Wichita Beacon on January 15, 1950 included a special commemorative program heralding the new theatre. The first movie shown there was “The Heiress” starring Olivia de Havilland and Montgomery Clift on January 17, 1950.
Went to the Crest in ‘50s and early '60s. Did it have a terrazzo logo on the floor with a shock of wheat with the word “Commonwealth”?
May 15 1974 has “BUSTING” playing at 7;30 and 9;30.
I officed in this theatre during part of my tenure as City Manager for the Commonwealth and later United Artists Theatres. As mentioned above, United Artists closed the theatre and turned off all utilities. That made ever reopening the theatre impossible as it had an artesian spring in the the office area which soon flooded the lower area of the theatre when the sump pump ceased to function. The main floor was reseated in the early 80’s to provide more comfortable seating but the theatre was not able to compete once the multiplex operations entered the scene.
Linkrot repair: Here is the October 7, 1950, Boxoffice page with the Heywood-Wakefield ad featuring two photos of the Crest Theatre.
Bonus link: The architect’s rendering of the Crest, as featured in Boxoffice of December 4, 1948.
In the 1950s there was an usher’s dressing room down front at the left side of the screen. It could be reached from a tunnel that went under the theater from the front to the back. The uniforms were cleaned weekly and very smart
A view of the auditorium is one of two photos of the Crest featured in an ad for Heywood-Wakefield theater seats in Boxoffice of October 7, 1950.
I was an usher at the Crest, 1953-1955. When a patron, like a doctor, wanted to be paged if they had a call, they filled out a little card and we noted where they were sitting. If they got a call we went and got them (usuall a good tip followed). The Crest showed a couple of 3D movies while I was working there. Because, they had to use both projectors for 3D, they had an intermission to change the film.
Construction had not yet begun on the Crest when the December 4, 1948, issue of Boxoffice published Robert Boller’s rendering of the front. The firm name was not Boller Brothers, though. Carl Boller had died in 1946, and by the time the Crest was built Robert Boller was associated with Dietz Lusk in the Kansas City firm of Boller & Lusk.
Chuck, you must be correct. I started working for United Artists in 1989, right after they purchased the Commonwealth chain. They went on a closing spree, and I’m sure this single-screen house was easy to walk away from. Too bad it couldn’t hang on!
Not the greatest photos, but here’s the Crest in 1989 – with a hit on their hands!
View link
View link
The last show was 12/31/89:
http://tinyurl.com/2nk8l6
End of the road, 1997:
http://tinyurl.com/y7wksw
I worked at the Crest Theater while in highschool, 1952-1955. The manager was Mr. Hunt. The Crest was a Sullivan theater. I made fifty cents and hour. Wow!