Southland Cinema
12615 W. Dixie Highway,
North Miami,
FL
33161
12615 W. Dixie Highway,
North Miami,
FL
33161
3 people
favorited this theater
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Actor Phillip Michael Thomas (Miami Vice)had it as an Actor’s Theatre after the show’s run ended.
It stopped showing movies in 1986 but I don’t know how long it operated as the Miami Way.
Any idea as to when this theatre closed? The interior has been gutted and transformed into a medical clinic. A little bit of the exterior remains intact, just enough to reveal it was once a theatre.
The May 14, 1949 Boxoffice article about the opening of E.E. Branscome’s North Miami Theatre said that the event, a benefit for the Optimist’s Club, consisted of five acts of vaudeville and the feature film “The Untamed Breed.” This must have been before the beginning of regular operations on May 5, 1949, but Boxoffice doesn’t give the date of the event. It was likely on May 4.
The off-center projection booth noted by some earlier commenters was probably the result of the inclusion of a small balcony that served as a smoking loge on one side of the house. Despite the vaudeville acts at the opening, the North Miami was a new build, not an old legitimate theater converted for movies.
Boxoffice gave the name of the architect as M. Ungaro. After poking around the Internet I’ve concluded that this must have been Manfred Mancusi-Ungaro, a fairly well known Miami modernist in his time, best known for designing many single family houses and small apartment buildings. I’ve found no other theaters among his works.
Reopened on November 6th, 1970 as the Southland Cinema. Admission: $1. Grand opening ad posted.
The North Miami theatre opened on May 5th, 1949 with “3 Godfathers” with John Wayne. Grand opening ad posted.
Relaunch shown here on February 21, 1963 as the North Miami Theatre to the plans by E. Abraben & Associates firm with “A Girl Named Tamiko.
It started showing movies in May 1949 and was operated by E. Bramscombe, who owned the Coral Way Auto Drive-In. The opening night was sponsored by the Optimists Club. Was it a live theatre before then? The awkward location of the projection booth suggests that it was.
Does Anybody know the date it was constructed?
I remember going to this theater with my cousin and sister to watch Saturday Night Fever and Grease.
Thanks for that answer, Next question can we get the address corected? with the error in address it makes it look like there is another theater a block away.
It was the Southland in 1972.
the theater pictured is located at 12615 Dixe Highway, Sixth ave is a good block away. I remeber seeing the last picture show here in 1972. I would like to know the correct name of the theater at that time if anyone knows.
Even though the sign says “Miami Way” and now it’s referred to as the"North Miami,“ this theater will always be the "Southland” Theater to me as it was for so long during my youth. I was 6 years old in 1958 and attended often, probably from then to 1968. The best memories of it were after Actor Phillip Michael Thomas took it over while “Miami Vice” was shooting in the early 80’s. Mr. Thomas has a big heart and helped a lot of fellow thespians to pursue their dreams on the stage with this facility.
Al… thanks for jogging my memory… those two names escaped me!
Jeff, the two theatres you mention are the Biscayne Twin and the Holiday. The Holiday was a successful dollar house for many years.
Even though the City of North Miami never did acquire the theater from Phillip Michael Thomas, I disagree with Harvey. Stage plays “and other crap” are still a better thing than having an empty building, which it’s been for years.
As far as I know, it’s always been a movie theater. Perhaps the intent was to have stage plays, but that never happened. In it’s early years, there were two retail storefronts to the left and right of the box office/entrance.
If I recall from an old photo, one was a TV-Radio repair and the other was “Camerucci the Tailor” (in the 1950’s)…
Amazingly, this was the ONLY theater in North Miami until the 1980’s, when a dollar theater was constructed inside the former St. Clair’s/Polly Davis/David’s Cafeteria in the 127th Street Shopping Center on Biscayne Blvd. It didn’t last.
Neither did the budget movie house built by Jack Knapp behind his West Dixie Lanes (formerly Interama/Pinerama Lanes) on West Dixie Hwy. near 159th Street in North Miami Beach.
Operating in 1969 as the Under-Ground.
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Thanks to Mike Rivest for finding the Miami News online.
You are welcome, Harvey.
As you probably already know, a search for NORTH MIAMI THEATRE will yield two photos.
I’ve been out of the loop for a bit but WOW! This is all new North Miami stuff that wasn’t on that site when I linked the theatre to it.
Thanks, Al! As usual, you rule!
1962 ad for the remodeled North Miami.
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If you go to Google Maps, type in 12662 West Dixie Highway, then click on street view and spin the image around, there you have The North Miami/Southland/MiamiWay Theater.
Well, shoot. That’s a dead link. I don’t know what happened to that site on North Miami history but it looks like a goner. I even tried the Wayback Machine on archive.org and couldn’t find it. I can’t believe I didn’t save the picture either!
I can’t get that like to work, Harvey.
Here is a new link to the August 14, 2007 photo.
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Apparently, if this website is correct, the City of North Miami is going to buy the theatre and re-open it for the community. Meaning no movies, just plays and other crap.
But if they let it exist, I’ll take it. There’s also a picture from 1954 here.
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