Cinema 4
Luis Vigoreaux Avenue,
Guaynabo
Luis Vigoreaux Avenue,
Guaynabo
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Caribbean Cinemas
Functions: Television Studio
Nearby Theaters
This single screen theater was built next to Channel 4’s tv studios and hence its name. Although owned by channel 4 it was run by Caribbean Cinemas. The Cinema 4 opened in November 1972.
It featured first run movies and was the neighborhood movie house for the ever growing Guaynabo (a city next to San Juan) population. For years it was a popular, prestigious theater, although the sound wasn’t that great.
In the 1980’s its main competition came from the Guaynabo duplex close by. By the mid 1980’s it lost a bit of its luster and was not up to par with the more modern Caribbean Cinemas movie houses.
Finally, with the completion of the San Patricio mall cinemas close by, the Cinema 4 closed down in March 1998.
It is now a studio for Channel 4 where many of its popular local live shows are filmed.
Contributed by
Jose Mendez
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
Notes on Cinema 4: In addition to first run movies, it screened some re-issues from time to time. For example, during the late 70’s to early 80’s it played “Woodstock” and “Ben-Hur”. This theater probably had 70 MM capability as well, but cannot confirm it. Other movies I saw there were “The Neptune Factor”, Disney’s “Island at the Top of the World” and “All of Me”.
JSA
The site is now named “Estudio Luis Vigoreaux”, named after the famous TV show host/producer/writer/actor who worked a WAPA-TV until his murder in January 1983. The number of seats were gretly reduced and a lot of high-tech production equipment was installed. Inaugurated in 2006.
Thanks for the info Eric.
Let’s see if I remember well. In the early 1980s, Cinema 4 doubled as a TV studio on Saturday evenings when Vigoreaux’s sons Luisito and Roberto hosted a game/variety show.
This was a large movie theater. I remember seeing many movies in Cinema 4: all of me, the jerk, fm, porky’s.
Other films that played at Cinema 4 were “Capricorn One”, “Buffalo Bill and the Indians”, and “Chosen Survivors”.
Cinema 4 opens on november 8, 1972 its have 1117 seats, later in 1985 the used to telecast a live show Sabado en Grande and its have 957 seats. Cinema 4 close on March 10 1998 with the film Titanic.
The last movie I saw there was Who Framed Roger Rabbit.. at that point in my life I was really, really down and hopeless, and WHAM! That cartoon made me smile and laugh! I didn’t realize Cinema 4 was so big! 1117 seats is huge!
Cinema 4 was also rented out for graduation ceremonies, such as the one for one of my sisters in 1975.