Muvico Peabody Place 14 & IMAX
150 Peabody Place,
Memphis,
TN
38103
150 Peabody Place,
Memphis,
TN
38103
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Opened on June 15th, 2001 as America’s Most Beautiful Movie Theater. Grand opening ad (full-page) posted.
Seems that all the late 1990s to early 2000’s downtown megaplex cinemas failed unless it is near a metro system (Montreal, Toronto, Boston, New York, Washington, Chicago, etc.)
This cinema was reduced to 14 cinemas in 2006 and closed in 2008. It closed due to bad patron behavior and the jacked-up parking rates for the FexEx forum events.
This new photo (from the Muvico files) also shows one of the charming model trains which traveled all over the theatre. It was always a treat to catch it going by.
The Muvico Peabody Place 22 had a railway station theme. The box office was on the ground level, the entry on the second story (to allow for a passage to the hotel on the ground floor) and the theatre itself on the third floor. The large-format auditorium took up two stories. It was the building of the FedEx Forum that did the worst damage to the theatre’s business. Parking is impossible, despite the arena’s garage, during peak evening times when the arena is open. Business basically dwindles to nothing in the surrounding area until the arena lets out. Got this from the former manager.
Here is an article on the history of the theater: commercialappeal.com
I was in Memphis when this theatre was under construction. Thought it was exciting that a new modern multiplex was being built right downtown. It’s interesting that some downtown locations can’t even support a multiplex with stadium seating and all the bells and whistles.
I guessing this theatre is now the second-largest (in terms of screens) to close behind the North Versallies 24 in 2001.
This theater closed yesterday (July 6) and is no longer listed on the Muvico web site.