Movies 4
801 E. Pioneer Parkway,
Arlington,
TX
76010
801 E. Pioneer Parkway,
Arlington,
TX
76010
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Cinemark, Plitt Theatres
Functions: Church
Previous Names: Pioneer Cinema, Arlington Cinema IV, Cinema Arlington IV, Cinema Arlington
Nearby Theaters
This four screen opened as the Pioneer Cinema on March 28, 1975 and seated 1,000. A very plain beige colored building on one end of a strip shopping center. The most striking feature of this theatre was its lobby and concession area. It was done in a black and white checkerboard squares, almost resembling an old fashioned ice cream parlor. Not only were the floors done in this pattern but the concession area and walls around it were done in the same manner. It was very bright and striking. It had small 250-seat auditoriums with a slight slant to the floors. It was taken over by Cinemark on March 28, 1980. The theatre closed on December 23, 1999 and has since become a church called the Nations Worship Center.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
Oh boy, do I remember this theater. There was an emporium in the same shopping center and Tuesday night, was $1 night. I saw Superman there in late 1978, it was playing on two screens and they both were packed. I remember too, that it was a Plitt Cinema for a period of time. I moved from Arlington in 1986 and by then, many other theaters were open. I do wish someone would post pictures of this theater. And being in Arlington, someone should list the Six Flags Cinema. That’s famous too, and was a very cool place to hang around.
Doing some research, this was listed as a Plitt Cinema in 1980 and I went to this theater for at least a few years and it was Plitt during that time. Not sure when it changed, but the source was a 1980 Dallas newspaper.
I worked for ABC THEATRES then PLITT when they bought us out.This does not seem like your average Plitt theatre!
Just from newspaper articles and ads, this theater started out as a concept by Trans-World Enterprises called “The Carrousel,” a family entertainment strip at the northwest corner of Collins Avenue and Pioneer Parkway. The Carrousel’s restaurants would take up 12,500 square feet and at the end of the strip was a 10,800 square foot quad-plex with 250 seats each. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the million dollar facility on February 13, 1973 to open prior to year’s end. The lobby was unusual and the concept was a pre-cursor to the better-integrated notion of movies plus meal with the money staying in house that was a trend in the early 21st Century. The projection was supposedly designed to be automated so that personnel could be efficiently cross-trained for the entire operation. The Family Carrousel Entertainment complex concept — which was supposed to spread nationwide and most immediately to a planned Carrousel in Coffeyville, Kansas — doesn’t appear to have gained much traction.
Based on the ads, the theater has bookings listed as the Pioneer Cinema in 1976 and it appears that the theater transfers to the fledgling Charles Boren Circuit and it’s renamed the Arlington Cinema IV. The theater was then operated independently of the adjoining strip center businesses. This operator briefly moves the theater to an odd pricing structure where one screen is designated as the dollar screen, one is designated as the $2 screen for long-running hit films, and two have opening-week features at $2.50. Tuesdays were designated as bargain nights. In mid-March of 1978, the theater goes totally to sub-run, dollar house operation.
In 1980, the Plitt circuit takes on the theater. It flops the name to Cinema Arlington IV and then simply Cinema Arlington. It does try to return to first-run during its operation. As a circuit, Plitt Southern would succumb to newcomers within DFW to circuits including Cinemark before going out of operation. Not surprisingly, the Cinema Arlington would become part of the Cinemark family where it receives its final name of Movies 4. Cinemark tags the theater as a sub-run dollar house facility. Apparently, Titanic was quite the hit for the theater in 1998. The moviehouse may have ended as an independent as its theatrical era ended. One might surmise that the theater fulfilled an initial 15-year lease followed by a 10-year lease before eventually becoming a non-profit house of worship. The facility was still a house of worship as of the mid-2010s with its original attraction board still apparent on the Collins St. signage.
Again, this is based on the ads and some articles as this theater wasn’t on my frequently visited list.
This opened on March 28th, 1975. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
May 1st, 1987 reopening ad in the photo section.
The theatre closed December 23, 1999 as an independent by the operator of the Park Plaza Cinema with “Superstar,” “Deep Blue Sea,” “Inspector Gadget,” “Light It Up” and “The Fight Club.”
Just curious if this was the theater operated by Ricky Chambers in the mid to late 80s? He also operated a film delivery service that serviced my theater the UA Prestonwood Creek 5 in Dallas. And later he serviced my two Trans Texas theaters in 1992-93. I remember one night at the Prestonwood that Ricky showed us some pictures of storm damage at his theater. Probably 86 or 87.
Appears to have been, yes.
Taken over by Cinemark on March 28, 1980.