Garden City Cinema

151 Sockanosset Cross Road,
Cranston, RI 02920

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: General Cinema Corp.

Firms: William Riseman Associates

Nearby Theaters

Former Theater Marquee

The Garden City Cinema was opened on December 22, 1967 as part of the General Cinema chain. It opened as a single screen house but was twinned on November 17, 1973. It closed on April 13, 1986 to be replaced by a shopping center which is an extension of the shopping area in Garden City, a thriving district of the city of Cranston.

Contributed by Gerald A. DeLuca

Recent comments (view all 23 comments)

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on September 12, 2005 at 5:03 pm

The theatre was twinned in the fall of 1972 with auditoriums seating about 500 each.

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on September 12, 2005 at 5:11 pm

Here is a newspaper ad for the opening day of the Garden City Cinema on December 22, 1967. It includes a small photo of the theatre front.

hardbop
hardbop on April 27, 2006 at 5:14 am

I didn’t realize it was twinned as early as ‘72, but I seem to remember going here when it was a mammoth single-screen theatre so it must have been before that.

What I remember is that when it was twinned, it was a weird configuation. If memory serves me correctly they essentially cut the theatre in half, running a wall down the middle of the theatre, putting two screens up where the single-screen was. Someone likened watching a film in the twinned Garden City Cinema to being in a wind tunnel.

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on April 27, 2006 at 6:11 am

Yes, two bowling-alley style auditoriums resulted. Puny screens compared to the original. Demolished. Now a Shaw’s Market.

frankd
frankd on July 13, 2007 at 8:52 am

I worked at Garden City Cinema from August 1984 until it closed in April of 1986. General Cinema was losing to Showcase at the time, and all of the “blockbusters” used to go to Showcase. In the final year, attendance was extremely poor (mostly less than 5 patrons on weeknights) and sometimes less than 50 per showing on weekends. Talk was that the theater would become second-run, but it was decided just to close. The theater and neighboring bowling alley were destroyed, and Shaw’s and a mini stripmall were erected. The Shaw’s was demolished in 2007, and a Whole Foods was built on the site.

I do have a lot of memories of the Cinema. My e-mail is “”. I would love to hear from anyone interested, especially Gerald A. DeLuca! Please put “Garden City Cinema” in the subject line so I don’t delete is as spam!

Frank DeAngelis

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on June 24, 2010 at 3:04 pm

The theatre opened on December 22, 1967.

SCARSRayRay
SCARSRayRay on June 6, 2012 at 5:15 pm

I met Stephen King and George Romero at a screening of Creepshow there in 1982. My uncle Owen Haskell took me to these things on a regular basis and made me the movie buff I am today! Thank god for this page!!!!

ejones880
ejones880 on July 13, 2013 at 5:27 pm

I miss the General Cinemas Theme Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6uHhUKURYE

marcberm
marcberm on August 24, 2013 at 6:06 pm

The former marquee for the theater, by the intersection of New London Ave and Sockanosset Crossroad was later repurposed and refurbished for use as a marquee for Garden City Center itself.

rivest266
rivest266 on June 9, 2024 at 10:47 am

Two screens on November 17th, 1973, and closed on April 13th, 1986, as everyone went to Showcase instead. Article posted.

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