Fargo Cinema Grill
630 1st Avenue N,
Fargo,
ND
58102
630 1st Avenue N,
Fargo,
ND
58102
No one has favorited this theater yet
Additional Info
Previously operated by: ABC Theatres, Cinema Grill Systems Circuit of Georgia, Plitt Theatres
Architects: Henry George Greene
Previous Names: Lark Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Lark Theatre was opened by ABC Theatres on November 19, 1970 with Frank Sinatra in “Dirty Dingus Magee”. It was closed by Plitt Theatres on November 10, 1983.
Fargo Cinema Grill opened in the former Lark Theatre building in April 24, 1997 and closed on May 31, 2001. It was demolished in 2008 and an apartment & retail building named CityScapes Plaza now stands on the site.
Contributed by
Lost Memory
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
Great ad—although I wish the scan was a little bigger! The image shows reasonably well the unique “on stilts” construction of the theatre, with parking underneath. This feature is even incorporated into the advertising—ride the escalator up to the theatre! Interesting also is the use of Xenon bulb projection in advertising, which was still relatively rare at the time (especially, apparently, in Fargo), and which I’ve not before seen used as an advertising appeal. (Did contemporary audiences really care or know the difference I wonder?)
If you go on that site the ad might be posted in a larger size. I don’t recall offhand.
If you click on the link at the bottom of that blog post, there is another link to a nice, big, high-res version of the image.
The Lark Theatre opened on November 19, 1970, according to the November 23 issue of Boxoffice. It was built for the North Central Theatres division of ABC Theatres. The August 24 issue of Boxoffice had said that the new house was intended to replace the circuit’s Grand Theatre, which was located adjacent to the new theater.
The May 18, 1970, issue of Boxoffice ran an item about the groundbreaking for the project. This item said that the new theater was designed by New York City architect George Henry Greene, who designed many theaters for ABC during this period. The seating capacity given in the Boxoffice item was 688. It also said that the old Grand Theatre was scheduled for demolition following the opening of the new house.
I just noticed that the number of screens listed here for this theater is three. I can’t say 100% for sure, but I am pretty sure that this theater never had more than a single screen. If it did have three, it was subdivided from one very late in its life. But I don’t think it was anything other than a single screen.
When it operated as the Cinema Grill it was configured with 3 screens one on the ground floor and two upstairs with kitchen on the second floor and some lobby area on each. I don’t recall the Lark configuration.
The Cinema Grill configuration had all the traditional theater seating taken out in favor of dining tables and chairs.
This theatre was demolished in 2008.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjEyYfXudLM
The Lark Theatre opened in 1970, cannot find its opening date though.
Opened by ABC on November 19th, 1970.
ABC Lark theatre opening 19 Nov 1970, Thu The Forum (Fargo, North Dakota) Newspapers.com
Closed by Plitt on November 10th, 1983 and reopened on April 24th, 1997 as the Fargo Cinema Grill. Ad posted.