Hoover Square 6

JLMovieBuff on August 23, 2017 at 10:14 am

I was a young kid when this 6 screen multiplex opened in the 1983 opened as a first-run theater in what was then known as the Hoover Square shopping center facing US Highway 31 (Montgomery Highway). Other tenants included a hair salon, TCBY and the still-in-business TJ Maxx which expanded its own footprint in the late 80’s.
As a five-year old, I remember first seeing Return of the Jedi here. I recall seeing numerous movies such as The Last Starfighter, The Never-Ending Story, Rocky IV, and the then 35th anniversary rerelease of 101 Dalmatians.

Hoover Square 6 through its entirety, was the standard 6 screen single-hallway structure with box office & concession stand at the front entrance.

Some general features about this theater: -it displayed the typical Cobb Theaters (later Regal) decorum (carpets, wallpaper etc) for the era. -The auditoriums were all more or less the same size, seating approximately 100-150 in single or double isle configurations. -The screens were the typical size for the era.
Overall the theater was unimpressive in its design, built for function rather than aesthetics. -Circa 1988-1990, the theater was downgraded to second run status up until its shuttering with cheaper ticket prices…$1, later increased to $1.50. I distinctly recall seeing more movies here than the first run theaters elsewhere in the Hoover area, mostly because the movies were either none-to-my-liking or I wanted to see them again before the movies were released on home video: Late for Dinner (1991), Aspen Extreme, Forrest Gump, Mortal Kombat, Jurassic Park (the only time I actually paid to see it again). The last movie I recall seeing in this theater before I left Hoover for good was The Fifth Element in late 1997. Alas, in all cases, the picture/sound quality of films had degraded. -One quirky feature I remember was there was only one set of Restrooms for the theater, but the men’s room required passing through a short corridor passing a series of anonymous doors that led to the theater’s management office, supply closets, and a stairway up to the projection booths.

Originally, in an adjacent storefront (left/south side) was a separate and spacious videogame arcade attached to the theater lobby via a double glass doors directly across from the concession stand. The arcade was shuttered in the late 80’s-early 90’s and a few videogame machines were installed in the main lobby.

At the time of its closure, Regal Cinemas had assumed control over the Cobb Theaters theater circuit, and had been gradually closing older/smaller cinemaplexs, in favor of newer and larger theaters. Sadly this theater was included in those closures.