Maplewood Theatre
7180 Manchester Road,
Maplewood,
MO
63143
7180 Manchester Road,
Maplewood,
MO
63143
No one has favorited this theater yet
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Arthur Enterprises Inc.
Functions: Retail
Styles: Art Deco
Nearby Theaters
There was originally a Maplewood Theatre located at 7320 Manchester Road. This later Maplewood Theatre opened on April 4, 1925 with James Kirkwood in “Broken Barriers”. Seating was provided for 1,079-seats and it was operated as part of the Fanchon & Marco chain, later taken over by the Arthur Enterprises Inc. The Maplewood Theatre was unique in that the lobby of the theatre was located in Maplewood and the auditorium because of the way it was situated was in the City of St. Louis. The entrance and lobby were on Manchester Road facing north but when you got into the theatre is was like a semi circle with the auditorium facing the east.
The Maplewood Theatre had a Art Deco style front and had apartments built above and along side the entrance (a rather common thing in neighborhood theatres when it was built.) The auditorium was extremely wide with four aisles, two along the walls and two down the middle of the theatre. It had a rather large stage for a neighborhood theatre and occasionally had stars appear to promote movies. The proscenium was draped with velvet drapes and the side walls were divided into squares with a tapestry material inside each square. Sconce lighting adorned each side all square.
The Maplewood Theatre closed on May 8, 1971 with Walt Disney’s animated feature “The Aristocats”. It reopened on May 20, 1972, but this was short lived as it closed as a movie theatre on October 7, 1972 with a triple-bill program: Lori Saunders in “So Sad About Gloria”, Rod Sterling in “Encounter with the Unknown” & Vincent Price in “Scream and Scream Again”. The theatre sat vacant until 1988 when it was demolished, and the site of the auditorium was made into a parking lot for the apartment building. The entrance and lobby were converted into retail.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
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 7 comments)
Theatre opened in March 1925.
The last film exhibited in March 1979.
I remember visiting a theatre called the Maplewood in 1988 as it was being torn down. It was quite a large structure as I recall.
Based on what I remember from newspaper ads, the Maplewood was showing only foreign films in its final years. Never saw a movie there, but remember going car shopping with my Dad in that area one weekend and seeing the marquee, which read “Fine Foreign Films”.
I grew up in Maplewood and watched many movies in the old Maplewood Theatre. The movies were current, the popcorn and snacks were the best. I have a lot of good memories from here!
Address is 7180 Manchester Avenue, not 7170.
Current street view confirms such.
Opened April 4, 1925 with “Broke Barriers.” It closed at the end of lease in June of 1968 and got new operators reopening in August of 1968. On May 8, 1971, it played “The Aristocats” before closing. It reopened under new operators a year later on May 20, 1972 running through to Oct. 7, 1972 when it closed with a triple feature at 90 cents admission with “So Sad About Gloria,” “Encounter with the Unknown,” and “Scream and Scream Again.”
In 1976, the Maplewood Film Festival Theatre Company got permission to reopen the venue. They play repertory films beginning June 4, 1976 weekends only. In December of 1977, that closed. Richardson Theatres Co. reopened it as a discount dollar house on June 14, 1978 The Manchester closed for films on Feb. 15, 1979 gong “Up in Smoke” with Cheech and Chong. It had sporadic live events later in the year. It was listed in the real estate marketplace through 1986. In 1988, the Maplewood Theatre Apartments were offered for lease.
Address still needs updating to 7180 Manchester Avenue, not 7170. Current street view confirms such. The former entrance is today a gated tunnel, but no driveway to such.