AMC Showplace Village Crossing 18
7000 Carpenter Road,
Skokie,
IL
60077
7000 Carpenter Road,
Skokie,
IL
60077
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Okay, I’ve found the connection (I didn’t look long enough before.) This house was indeed opened by Crown Theatres, LLC, based in South Norwalk, Connecticut. Here is their Bloomberg data page.
Crown Cinema Corporation, as I noted in my earlier comment, was a different company, based in Missouri and headed by Richard Durwood. It was absorbed by Dallas-based Hollywood Theaters in 1996.
The “Crown Cinemas Corporation” page linked from the “Previously operated by” field on this page lists the theaters in Connecticut as having been run by the same corporation that had this house, but I believe it is mistaken.
It’s often difficult to track the various companies that have owned and operated theaters, but I don’t believe that the Crown Cinemas that opened this house in the early 2000s was related to the Crown Theaters, based in Norwalk, Connecticut, which was operating theaters in that state at least as far back as the 1990s.
I’ve also been unable to discover if the Crown Cinemas that opened this theater was a successor firm to the Crown Cinema Corporation that was operating theaters in Missouri, Kansas and Ohio in the 1990s. That company was controlled by Richard Durwood, younger brother of Stan Durwood, then chairman of AMC.
According to this 1996 article) the company that owned some of the theaters Crown Cinema Management was operating (and in which Crown Cinema Corporation was a partner) was forced into bankruptcy. Crown Cinema Corporation was then sold to a Dallas-based theater company called Hollywood Theaters Inc. I don’t know if the name continued to be used after that or not. It’s possible that the company that opened this house in Skokie in 2001 had just picked up the dead company’s name.
It’s all very confusing, except for the fact that I can find no connection between Crown Theaters of Norwalk and Richard Durwood’s Crown Cinemas Corporation of Missouri, nor any connection between the Norwalk company and this theater in Skokie. Theater companies really ought to exercise more originality when choosing their names.
Is that the same Crown that owns a few theaters in Connecticut?
I forget, were they THX certified when Crown owned them? I think I remember that being one of their selling points…
The Village Crossing 18 was designed for Crown Cinemas by architect James Thomas Martino.
The website should now be www.amctheatres.com
AMC Theatres has taken over this theater since May 25, 2010.
I’m with Ken: I’ve been visiting this theatre for years, and it’s always seemed just fine. Some recent pics are here:
http://www.mekong.net/random/theatre-preview28.htm
The seating capacity for Village Crossing 18 is as follows: Auditorium #1- 512 seats, #2-170, #3-NA, but I suspect 170, #4-224, #5-224, #6-271, #7-NA, but may be 271, #8- 271, #9-271, #10-147, #11-147, #12-147, #13-147, #14-217, #15-217, #16-170, #17-NA, but I’m guessing 170, and #18- 512. Approximately 4,258 seats. I’m impressed by the Crown(still use that name): plenty of parking, more clean than not(including the washrooms),and really friendly employees. Picture and sound quality is fine. Would recommend this place to everyone- Monday through Thursday, anyway. But beware Friday and Saturday nights. I’ve been told it gets really crowded- and noisy- and the clean washrooms can get filthy.
This theatre is horrible. Its always dirty. From what i heard from someone that works there they passed their health inspection by only a couple points. AND they were on the news for one of the worst public basthrooms in the chicagoland area. Plus the picture and sound quality is horrible there. I’m glad they opened the new Muvico theater in Rosemont. They know what movies are all about.
Interesting that Kerasotes took it over. Most everybody I know calls this place “The Crown.”
If everyone starts calling it “Village Crossing”, it’ll sound too much like the infamous Village Theatres!
It is a nice place. Lacks 1920’s glory of course. I don’t like some of the color schemes either. But it is a good building.
As of March 2, 2007, it is now part of Kerasotes Theaters along with the Crown Glen 10 theaters.
My parents, senior citizens, come to this place often. One would think that people in their 70s would prefer older theatres. However, my father who has great difficulty seeing in the dark, likes places like this which have wider aisles and track lighting in the aisles and good sightlines.