AMC Merritt 1-6 North
163 Merritt Square Mall,
Merritt Island,
FL
32952
163 Merritt Square Mall,
Merritt Island,
FL
32952
4 people
favorited this theater
Showing 6 comments
Please rename AMC Merritt 1-6 North and the address is 163 Merritt Square Mall which opened Octoberter 23, 1970 and closed on October 19, 2000 to make way for the new Cobb Multiplex. The AMC Merritt 7-12 south has it own page.
June 27th, 1986 grand opening ad for 7-12 in photo section. Screens 1-6 opened on October 23rd, 1970.
An 868-seat single-screen house called the Merritt Theatre was in operation at Merritt Island by late 1965. Here’s an article about it in Boxoffice of December 13 that year. There are two photos, but both are interior shots. Does anybody from the area remember this theater, or know how long it survived? I can’t find it mentioned in Boxoffice after 1967. I’m just wondering if this building might have been incorporated into the AMC project.
The earliest mention I can find of an AMC multiplex at Merritt Island is in Boxoffice of October 19, 1970, which mentioned the project briefly, though a September 15, 1969, item had said that a six-screen “American Royal Cinema complex” was being developed by the Alpert Investment Corp. of Jacksonville at the Merritt Island Shopping Center. The recent opening of the AMC six-plex was announced in Boxoffice of November 16, 1970.
Scott,
The first Merritt AMC cinema is located inside the mall. It should be on the side opposite of SR520. It is still there (as of the last time I went in 2007) but has been expanded into a 16-screen facility. For the longest time the styling was a holdover from the 1980’s with carpet and earth-tone brown/red tiles. At least that’s what stood out to me.
The second one was built outside the main mall complex on that same side and was located just off the road adjacent to the parking lots. I think the strip mall complex it was a part of still exists in part but it may have all been torn down when the auxiliary AMC was demolished. The exterior was raised off the ground by stairs (about 4-5 feet high) and also had a handicap access ramp. There were aluminum guardrails and bannisters and right next to the theater was the Jungle Jim’s restaurant which had (I think) bronze colored bannisters. The theater itself was six screens and was very nice inside. There was a little game arcade, a regular concession area and I think the layout was three screens on the right and three screens on the left. It was always very packed every time I went. My clearest memories of it are when I went to see “Robot Jox” and “Terminator 2”. Very popular spot back then.
The mall has expanded now but it’s a bit different. I remember there being something like a Burdines or JcPenny entrance closer towards the side of the AMC facing high rise condos which should still be there today.
Hope this helps.
Can anybody explain these theatres in greater detail? Where around the mall were the two complexes?
I have fond memories of visiting this theater and its auxiliary theater outside the Merritt Square Mall. I remember the auxiliary location being the one more frequented by my family and their friends. A now defunct but very unique burger restaurant called Jungle Jims was located right next to it and we would always eat there after the shows.
It was heartbreaking to see the additional theater closed down. The 16-screen Cobb theater is a very different presentation. I had no idea this was a showcase cinema for AMC.