Northpark West 1 & 2
1100 Northpark Center,
Dallas,
TX
75225
1100 Northpark Center,
Dallas,
TX
75225
17 people
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Showing 1 - 25 of 77 comments
another great THX cinema gone to the dogs what was the total sound system spec THX install and the testing how long did all the install take , is any pictures or video, i mean nasa has bundles of video , so THX is historic any video ?
projector cinema processor
amplifiers speakers
how was each part of the stage of the install actually tested and speakers installed and retested for the THX install ?
was there any test audience tested with THX wings trailer ? or was it only tested on Tom Holman or other engineers ?
i like how this THX cinema is 2,100 seats how many kw was each amp and max acoustical watts in the THX auditorium ?
Greetings everyone, my name is Dan Gable and I was the North Park Cinema Projection and sound technician from 1980 to 1995. This was the time frame when the theatre really stood out as a premire Theatre. Ron Beardmore was the chief projections during those years that made North Park 1 & II stand out above the rest for it’s top notch presentation in a very competitive time for Theatres. Most of those years Anna Carros was the theater manager who made the rest of the operation top notch. Ron was a perfectionist and so was I, we worked well together and had many all-nighters making sure everything was perfect for the next big movie. I am the technician that also worked with Tomlinson Holman, Clyde McKinney, and Anthony Grimani during the installation of the THX Sound System. Contrary to something said in another comment here, North Park 1 was the 3rd in the country and first in Texas. The first THX installation was the University of Southern California’s Eileen L. Norris Cinema, part of the film school. The second and third (North Park Cinema 1) installations were going in almost at the same time. But even prior to it becoming THX, the theatre already had great sound for that time. I had bi-amped the cinema with active crossovers and Ashley FET amplifiers, I also rebuilt the Altec Voice of the Theatre A2/4 VOTT loudspeakers and reinstalled the wings on them (much the same effect as THX modifications) and at the same time ran monster cable all the way back to the speakers and moved the low frequency amplifiers back of the screen at the speakers to improve the bass sound even further. This was done a couple years before THX was installed. It was Ron that made all this possible getting Jeff Lynn, The GCC GM, to spend the money to allow us to go the extra mile and make the unprecedented improvements prior to THX. It was a remarkable time and North Park Cinema 1 & 2 was a remarkable Theatre. It is greatly missed as are the great people behind it’s success.
Hopefully Benji’s pawprints in the cement were not lost in demolition of the cinema building!?
Opened on 22/9/1965 with on screen 1 with “The sandpiper” and on screen 2 with “The greatest show on Earth”.
Here’s a video about the “Butterfly design” cinemas built by General Cinema.
moviebuff82: The UA Prestoncreek 5 was also THX certified for the “Return of the Jedi” release. (Plus one more venue in L.A.) The THX details (and lots more) can be found in my recent “Jedi” 35th anniversary retrospective article.
35 years ago today THX debuted at this theater with return of the Jedi.
DIVISION MANAGER OFFICE WAS HERE, UNTIL LATER WHEN NEW TWIN OPEN 3 & 4, THEN HE AND FILM BUYERS OFFICE ON SECOND FLOOR OF NEW TWIN
A pencil rendering of the Cinema I & II by architect William Riseman is one of the illustrations on this page of NorthPark Center’s web site.
“The Graduate” opened here fifty years ago today. The film ran a super successful six months (one of the longest in the history of this theater). And to commemorate the classic film’s golden anniversary, here’s a new retrospective article which includes some exhibition history (and other) details.
How many people here favorite theaters they’ve never been? In this case I’m guilty.
The Northpark (“West” / I & II) was among just eleven theaters in the United States that installed the then-new Dolby Digital sound system for their engagement of “Batman Returns” which opened twenty-five years ago today. And here’s the link to a retrospective article that commemorates the occasion.
Forty years ago today, “Star Wars” opened at the Northpark (and at nine other cinemas, bringing to 43 the number of opening-weekend bookings). The now-classic movie would go on to play the Northpark for 54 weeks and wound up the 9th top-grossing engagement in the country. And, to celebrate the occasion, here’s the link to a new retrospective article which details the cinemas in which the movie played and many other tidbits about the movie before it became a franchise and merchandising behemoth.
BTW the first film I saw at NorthPark I&II was Warner Bros. Finian’s Rainbow in 70mm 6 Track – sure sounded lush! Way back in 1968!
Captain Rob – lets get real on the cost of a 70mm print – I knew some of your ‘peoples’ at UA and we ALL KNOW UA Prestonwood was THE UA house – I ran a custom made 70mm print of Star Trek III and knew YOUR Fred Fisher- he had been my boss in HS when I was a projectionist at ABC Interstate in College Station, Texas – a 70mm print runs round $30K NOT $100K. Puuuleezzz!
To say that North Park I and II never had a flawed showing is utter BS! I was there on opening day of Superman The Motion Picture in 70mm and they were having major sound problems – I complained and they KNEW it – and were having someone flown in that night to fix the issue with there Dolby CP 100! Back before there was a Dolby CP200!
Just wanted to add: Jeff Lynn was one of those people that I wished I had never met. He had a core group of manager friends that he let get away with murder. And the rest of the GMs and Assistants were on his hit list. Which I landed on after complaining about the remodel at Galleria. None of the employees were given any overtime and I was straight salary and got virtually nothing extra. I normally worked 40 to 45 hours per week. And during the remodel I worked 84 hours one week and 87 the other week. All I got was a stupid company reward of $100 before taxes four months later. Another story was that Lynn and his boss the local Regional VP, Steve Colson, (a moron by the way) conspired to set up the first GM of the Collin Creek and fire him. Colson came in late one night to the theater as a casual visit since he lived nearby. And had someone load up a large box full of candy from the stand. And he took it home with him. Lynn showed up the next day when Moore was there and did a surprise audit. Found him short and fired him for it. And they also fired the Assistant that had been working the night before. I knew her. I had replaced her at Galleria. Colson’s only qualification was tha this wife was the daughter of one of the executives in Boston. And he spent a week or so in a theater to learn how it worked. By the way, Lynn’s office was at Northpark 3 & 4 on the East side of the freeway. And the GM there was Mickey Lang. His sister Robin was the GM at the GCC Prestonwood. And their brother Stuart I had worked with all of my time at the UA Prestonwood. Stuart’s last day was actually my last day as well. When I later worked at UA Northstar in Garland. Mickey was the GM of the Richardson 6 across the street from Richardson Square Mall. I always let him and his employees in for free. Sometimes Robin would come along too. After GCC closed down, we hired his Assistant and several of his employees. They were all very good. As for the old DM for UA. That would have been Bob Kirby. Any time he came to visit Prestonwood Creek. He had a key to the back door and snuck in and snuck out. Oh, a story about Kevin Moore from Teddy Ford was that the Christmas after he had been set up and fired. He showed up at the unofficial GM Christmas party and got drunk. Went over to Colson’s house and trenched his front yard with his pickup truck.
My GM at UA Prestonwood was John Atchley. I first started in May 1983 was Assistant Manager there from January 85 until August 87. I went back to UA in January 94 at UA Northstar 8 in Garland. Was Tony the GM that got arrested in the lobby of the UA Prestonwood? Around 96 or 97 I was in a training seminar for UA management and got teamed with the Regional VP, Chris Taylor. Nicest guy you’d ever want to meet. He said that he had been the GM of the UA Prestonwood before Atchley. I’m not sure if he was right before Atchley or not. And he told me the story f the GM there getting arrested for embezzling. he said that one day while the GM was in the Conc stand they called all of the employees into the storeroom and the cops were hiding around the corner in the hallway. And they swooped out and nabbed him. I worked for Teddy Ford at the GCC Valley View from Spring 90 to about Spring 91. Maybe a little less. Teddy was a nice guy. But he was a lunatic. And never should have been a GM. I was told by one of our projectionists that Teddy had been an assistant for so long that the higher ups felt sorry for him. And they made him GM of all of the local theaters that would soon be closing. He was the last GM at Lochwood, Richardson Sq, officially Valley View but not really, and Caruth Plaza. He was the lat GM AT Valley View. And when he left they made me ‘in charge’ but I reported to the GM of Galleria, Greg Attaway. I did all of the paperwork and stayed at a Assistant Manager title and pay. I later ran across Teddy ten years later when he was working at the Barnes and Noble bookstore at Richardson Square Mall. Which has since been torn down. Teddy was a character and did alot of things that should have gotten him fired. He constantly told this story of when he was at the old Redbird 6 as either the GM or Assistant. And about these male employees he had that would go up on the roof on Thursday nights and smoke pot before they all screened the new movies. And this was while some of them were changing the marquee on the front of the building. And one night one of these high employees decided to try to jump to the marquee from the roof. The guy missed and landed head first in front of the box office. Killing him. And that people would come by for weeks to see where the guy died and hit the sidewalk. We asked Teddy fora few details. Like the employees were all on the clock and he was the manager on duty. These guys were all breaking the law and he knew about it. And one of them died on his watch. It just didn’t register with him. Some of our employees once asked Teddy if he had ever been in a mental hospital or said that he belonged in one. And he volunteered that he had spent a year out at the state mental hospital in Terrell. Go figure.
Captainrob Jeff Linn was District Manager for GCC and had an office inside Northpark He was in that position after Lange passed it in early 1979 and was manager of Valley View theater until he had a heart attack at home in 1987 Linn was district manager until the early 1990s when they closed. you are correct about the Prestonwood they opened with 9 to 5 and supported THX however I believe the system was installed at Wallnut Hill 6 first I remember the technicians being there as I was there working for GCC and UA corp. The district manager of UA at the time was sleeping in his office all through the 1980s as his wife caught him cheating with his secretary. what a looser he was . The manger was David Tillery he had legs 10 inches long and a body of normal height. odd looking fellow. when you worked at the Prestonwood Tony was the manager his wife always cheated on him and he eventually got fired for embezzling company funds. I worked in all of the theaters in Dallas Fort Worth from 1980 to 1989 when I retired. I had all the contracts. was in every theater every week knew them all. oddly enough the nicest guy I ever met was a theater manager at GCC Richardson Square mall named Teddy Ford I wonder what happened to him? I really Miss the Cine the Playboy club was in the parking lot as well as Don the Beach Comber. Little know face in the very back of the lot was a natural spring between the US postal and theater.
Thanks for the info on the layout and the exaggerating GM’s
This theater’s layout was that there was a lobby between the two auditoriums. The huge auditorium was on the left and the smaller 750 seat one was on the right. I remember going there as a little kid and it was always a twin. In regards to the cost figure of the “Indiana Jones” print. My former GM was known to exaggerate. Any GCC/UA manager from the DFW area in that era would probably agree with me.
Guess it would have helped to see the grand opening ad see it was built as a twin.
I was curious if this was a split down the middle theatre or twinned as an add on. Also to CaptainRob, I think your old UA GM had inflated the price of that print back in 84. I just ran the Hateful 8 over Christmas in 70MM in New York City. I had been in contact with Weinstein Pictures directly and was told the entire 3 hour and 7 min print cost was just over $25,000.00. And my print ran 2 weeks with zero issues.
I worked at Northpark I&II part-time while in high school in the early 1970’s, working mostly evenings and weekends. Looking back, I really enjoyed my time there, even though the wages were a bit lacking, shall we say. I remember one of the biggest movies we had was ‘What’s Up Doc’, the Barbra Streisand-Ryan O'Neal classic, in the spring of 1972….it ran for around 6 months, and was still drawing good crowds even at the end. I worked at the theater for around 2 years, made some good friends there, and always looked forward to going to work. I was truly saddened to see the place close down in 1998. It kind of felt like part of my youth had been taken from me…..PR
While working for GCC in the late 80’s early 90’s I had an ongoing nit to pick with the GM of Northpark 1 and 2, Anna Carros. She also served as the City Manager for Dallas. She had claimed that her theater was the first commercial installation of THX Sound. It wasn’t. she said that the equipment tags had April of 1983 dates on them. She wasn’t GM there back then. She knew that I had previously worked at the UA Prestonwood. And I told her that their equipment had March of 83 dates on them. Also I had an old issue of Box Office magazine with a Lucasfilm THX two page ad that listed all of the installations around the country and their dates. The first installation was the THX mixing stage in California. And the first commercial installation was House #1 at the UA Prestonwood Creek 5. Ass for the Northpark’s perfect presentation record. I was working for GCC when “Die Hard” came out. And over a course of a few days, they had destroyed an entire reel of the movie. And I believe it was a 70 MM reel. I wonder if they had the same problem with their soundhead that UA Prestonwood had when we ran “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”? We had lost about ten minutes of a reel due to a manufacturing defect in the 70 MM soundhead that constantly caused the film to chip an break at the same place. I was told by my GM that the print cost over $100,000 to replace. And that was in 1984.