Skyline 12

Did the cinema move somewhere else?

My friend and I saw Star Trek: The Motion Picture here on a Wed on one of AMC’s Dollar movie 11am shows. In fact, it was a popular $1 booking at the Academy 6, too. I don’t recall the mall so much but the auditorium was the typical shoe box-size theater. I’m thinking it was the Summer of ‘80. We had to take the Metro since it was in VA and I didn’t have a driver’s license, yet. The auditorium was so packed that they oversold the movie. The audience was quite diverse, young and old, parents with young kids, with a good number were sitting on the floor! Thinking back, I don’t think the Fire Marshall would’ve allowed this to take place.

Being Summer, watching a movie in an air conditioned theater was a great way to escape the heat.

The McDonald’s is closed but nothing has taken its place yet. If you peep through the doors, you can still see the decorations with the fake “Godzilla” movie theater marquee!

I used to work at this mall . My FIRST job was there at Scoops IceCream, then my second job at Waxie Maxie (record store), and my last was at Pure Impulse (next to Merle Norman-a card/novelty shop) I miss this mall. My friends used to let me into theater for free. I don’t remember ever paying for a movie as a teen. I remember the Greek restaurant had really good pizza and I fell in love with Greek salad there. They also had a cute son that worked there but he got cold feet about going out with me since I was JailBait. Oh the memories. I remember my friends (no me, ;–)) throwing chewing gum and chewed up jujubees from the rooftop above mall at people coming out. As an adult this definitely doesn’t sound like such a good idea. I no longer live in area but hate the idea that it turned into a TARGET.

The McDonald’s has actually been there at least since the 90’s, when the theater was still open. Easy to mistake given the marquis inside the McDonald’s, but that was just part of the design they gave it. Had a few meals over there before movies in that neat 50’s styles place.

Essentially the Target used to be a mall, with a number of stores in it, including an Arcade, Rite Aid, Walden (or B. Dalton can’t quite remember), florist, shoe store, Dress Barn, a couple or restaurants among a few other things. Skyline 1-6 was towards the side the McDonald’s is on, and 7-12 was on the opposite end. The McDonald’s was disconnected from the rest of the mall, via that long hallway, just as it is disconnected from Target now. There was a little breakfast/lunch shop over in that hall space with McD’s as well as a bank. Not sure if they are both still there are not, but they did outlast the rest of the mall. The health club/gym, which is upstairs, also remains from the Skyline Mall days. It used to be accessible via an elevator in the middle of the mall. Anyway, it’s cool that they’ve kept the McDonald’s around. It’s a nice looking one.

The cinema with the 5141 Leesburg Pike address is now a McDonald’s Restaurant which not only retained but improved on many of the cinema’s lobby features.

Saw many, many a movie in this complex; the original screens (1-6) were decorated in that trendy brown/orange/yellow combo of the ‘70’s and the seats were very comfortable.

The 7-12 screens came later, when a Safeway supermarket located in the mall closed down, and AMC took over the space.

A very eclectic little mall; so sorry it’s gone.