Stockton Holiday Cinema 8

I never heard of a chain called Cinerama. I notice that the style is listed as Cinerama which is OK if the theatre is old enough, but an 8 plex? Was the Cinerama theatre divided up and/or had additional theatres added to it?

My understanding is that the first full length public Cinerama film for the general audience was “Cinerama Holiday,” which I, as a school child in my home town of Stockton, was taken by arrangement through the school on a train field trip to see in San Francisco (I don’t remember which theater there) probably in 1955 or ‘54. I have a faint recollection of hearing of such a theater planned for Stockton, but it is very faint.

Being older and wiser now, and knowing how many theaters were located in Stockton on the main strip in the ‘50s (a tiny version of a Broadway of picture shows, to a child’s eyes), I suspect now many were constructed by Los Angeles studios, to preview their own films. I am also wondering if there was a link from the field trip for the students (which came up rather suddenly, out of the blue) to any number of promotional ideas — accustom the children to Cinerama; build a Cinerama theater in Stockton, and base it on a population accustomed to patronizing the many already established “picture shows.” I have a faint remembrance that was what this was about. My recollection was in 1956 the population was about 80-90,000. It was considered then to be the third largest city in the San Joaquin or larger valley.

I don’t remember this theater, although it was not in my part of town, from which I would have walked downtown with others, or taken the bus to see movies downtown, or occasionally attend a drive-in.

That second one is a typo, it should be
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047939/
Sorry.

“Gee Dad, it was a Wurlitzer!”

This opened on October 13th, 1995 with 8 THX screens.
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