Picture Show At Merchants Exchange

https://www.ajc.com/news/local/cobb-movie-theater-reopens-after-million-renovation/wdZHM4Hby2yUSe8mbtZhhL/

Closed in 2000 and reopened in June 2002 and closed in October 2002.

This opened on August 21st, 1987 by Cineplex Odeon. I posted the grand opening ad in the photo section, which has an similar design as the Place Charest cinemas in Quebec City and Le Faubourg in Montréal.

I was working there as a projectionist in 1988. So I think the opening date was more like 1987. Man, I could tell some stories about that place. I was working for Septum at the Holcomb Woods 6 in Roswell in 1986. Septum was bought by Plitt and soon after that Cineplex Odeon was in charge. As long as my check arrived I really didn’t care who owned the place. Septum started building and then stopped for a year or so. I lived in Marietta and wanted to work at Merchants Exchange when it opened. It seemed like it took forever. I transfered over from Holcomb Woods and worked there some before the place was open. Garth Drabinski(CEO of Cineplex Odeon) was there on opening day. We did pretty well at the box, I remember that we split all the product with the General Cinema theater at Merchant’s Walk about a half mile away. The lobby at Merchants Exchange was awesome. Yes, the original 6 plex design was scrapped for a 5 plex, but the sixth auditorium was turned into the lobby!(Septum loved those tiny lobbies). The lobby was truly great. The management kept changing, I was always bringing some new manager up to speed. The booth was also impressive. All 5 projectors where in the same room, one big room. It got pretty loud in there. I could go on and on….. I think many of us high schoolers had some real good times in that place. As I recall, at one after hours party, we drove a small car through the front door, up the handicap ramp and into the lobby. Crazy kids.

Greatly Appreciated! Yes your are. It’s been some 20 years or so, when I use to attend a theater like this here in Cobb County GA. It was located in Smyrna, which is now a “Best Buy”. I use to take my 4 daughters to the moves back in the early 80’s. And as a single parent the $1.00 movie was all I could afford. Now I have 6 grand Children and “THERE YOU ARE”! Now I can enjoy some of the same fun with them. It’s a beautiful thang! Thank you PICTURE SHOW!

Nanna

Here are a couple of photos of the Merchants Exchange from December 2005.