Southbend Silver Screens Cinemas
8781 S. Lewis Avenue,
Tulsa,
OK
74137
8781 S. Lewis Avenue,
Tulsa,
OK
74137
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First ad as Riverlanes Twin appeared on March 15th, 1975. It reopened on November 4th, 1977, as the New South Side Cinema I & II. Grand opening ad posted.
The Riverlanes Twin Cinema appears to have opened in the Riverlanes Shopping Center on March 17, 1975 with “Herbie Rides Again” and “Pardon My Blooper.” The Riverlanes closed on October 17, 1976, a dismal failure for GCE.
Entertainment Management Corporation of Dallas took on the venue and renamed it the Southside Cinema Twin in November of 1977 as a second-run discount house. Oddly, the venue became the first theater in Tulsa to convert a screen to Dolby optical sound at a cost of some $25,000 where patrons could see a remastered “Pete’s Dragon” and “Saturday Night Fever.” Seat count was reduced to two identical 254-seat auditoriums for a total of 508 seats.
The venue eked out ten years of leasing but faded on October 3, 1985 with “Mad Max” and “E.T.” on discount sub-run pricing of just a dollar for show and seat. It resurfaced under a new operator in 1986 as the (two words) South Side Cinema closing on March 27, 1987 with live entertainment.
The shopping plaza was renamed the Southbend Shopping Center and the venue was relit one last time as the Southbend Silver Screens Cinemas operating from December 4, 1987 through final closure on January 12, 1989. In 1990, it became a live nightclub called Guts. In 1991, it became a house of worship under the banner of the Harmony Church.