Phoenix Theatres Union Station 9

I found out that the space has been turned into a Walgreen’s with that store’s entrance on the other end of the area from the theater’s entrance. The theater entrance area is a Wendy’s and a boarded up space. I found out from this video: https://youtu.be/IN0ohdR3Rss?t=1609

Being stuck at home due to the corona virus and feeling a touch nostalgic, I’ve been virtually revisiting some of my favorite venues of the past on CT. I’ve discovered yet again, some of my comments from the site are gone like here.

After buying tickets, one gets the feeling of walking gradually on a decline to the theaters. The restrooms were awful, although not as bad as the ones in the food court.

I believe I started visiting this place on occasion since the late 80s. I know I saw Star Trek VI (1991), with a co-worker in the Grand because it was the best/largest place to see the Star Trek movie in the DC area, and the first one aside from the first one, that wasn’t in 70mm ..but at least it was in THX. I distinctly remember an intro by, presumably, the Manager who was bald and made the often stated but incorrect belief (imho) that the even numbered films are better than the odd ones.

I saw the Eddie Murphy remake of The Nutty Professor (1996) not in the Grand but in one of the auditoriums further down, but in the same row on the left. The memory that sticks in my mind was a sell out with a racially diverse crowd. When they talk about movies being communal and should be experienced with others, this movie is a great example. The club scene with Jada Pinkett Smith’s character and Buddy brought the house down with collective laughter and enjoyment.

LA Confidential (1997) I remember seeing this here because I had a date that went bad. LOL. We enjoyed the movie but couldn’t agree on what to eat. So we ended up just eating separate meals purchased from two different vendors. I paid for both. :P I remember walking around and around the food court undecided what to buy and coming back, I saw my date’s neck stretched, looking for me, as if I had left the place. :)

Can’t remember if I saw anything here in the 00s, prior to its closure. My movie stub collection is partly faded due to the cheap ink used to print them back in the day so that is no help now. :(

I was there about a month ago having a meal in the downstairs food court and all I saw was the original entrance still boarded up.

As I recall about the theater this was the only in-town AMC theater to feature 8-channel SDDS sound on the Ave. Grand screen. I saw ‘Lost in Space’ and ‘Heavy Metal’ (reissue/SDDS-8) and they sounded amazing!

Have these theatres been converted to retail, or are they sitting empty waiting for another chain to reopen them?

Anytime a theatre closes it’s a shame. This is a particular shame because of the failure of a theatre in a mixed use facility where going to the movies was part of a travel, shopping, dining, after work experience. And the theatres were an above average of their time multiplex.

I ran restaurants in Union Station 10 or so years ago and the theatres were business drivers and part of the lifeblood of the complex. We ran some classic movie nights together – Citizen Kane, Casablanca and Some Like It Hot. I took over a theatre one night for the team – Robert de Niro in The Fan – ok great idea not so great movie. And took a break for myself to see such classics and non classics alike as Usual Suspects, Leaving Las Vegas, Cable Guy, White Squall, Mission Impossible, Species, The Quick and the Dead, Extreme Measures, Ace Ventura 2 and The Quest. The AMC management at the time was positive and proactive and much as we could joke about the level of the movies sometimes, there was a theatre there.

I remember taking calls the day of the blizzard asking if the theatre was open and sure enough with a skeleton crew they opened for a couple of shows.

RIP Union Square 9

Why is it closing?

from Washington Post:
Editorial Review
Although it’s basically like a multiplex in a mall, the AMC Union Station is not your cookie-cutter theater. The place has character. Built inside catacombs that were once used for storage, its ceilings are two-stories high. Each house has a different name taken from a long-gone Washington movie palace, which is displayed on an old-fashioned facade. This theater on Capitol Hill is the prime movie stop for most people in Northeast, Southeast and even Southwest Washington. And with shops, restaurants, a parking garage, the Metro and MARC trains right here, it’s easy to see why. The largest theater is the Avenue Grand with 364 seats, a large screen and DTS sound, which led to THX certification. All nine are equipped with SDDS. Two other theaters have big screens, two more have medium-size screens, and the rest have small ones. The capacity of the smallest house is 148.

— Matt Slovick
Theater Office: 202-842-3757
Modified for Hearing Impaired: Yes
Disabled Access: All theaters and restrooms are wheelchair-accessible.

Here’s the link to theater operator website with photos of the theater’s interior!
http://www.phoenixtheatres.com/unionpictures.htm

I’m a big fan of using the curtain, so I agree.

Howard, at least in the DC/Baltimore metro area, AMC has not named their auditoriums (in multiplexes) after former palaces.

As far as Phoenix Theatres improving on this multiplex, it would be nice if they installed sliding curtains, improved projection and sound. The Grand is probably the best, largest and the only THX-certified auditorium in this plex.

The Penn, Tivoli, Loew’s Capitol, and Loew’s Palace are already listed on this site. It may be that some names were generic, because reviewing Robert Headley’s excellent book: Motion Picture Exhibition in Washington, D.C., there doesn’t seem to have been a Roxy, Paradise, or State in the District. There was more than one Orpheum, but I’m not sure one fits. There was an Avenue Grand- which is the biggest auditorium in Union Station, and I can add it later.

Does anybody know if AMC named auditoriums in other theaters?

Many of those nine old theatres don’t yet have a page here at CinemaTreasures. Anyone know enough about them to add them?