The Midway Drive-In Theater was built in 1955 between Turkey and Quitaque, Texas, on Highway 86 when over 300 drive-ins were operating in Texas. [1]
This theatre was like the other Midway drive-ins that were built midway between two towns or cities. It closed down in the 1980s during a time that few drive-ins were surviving across America. [2] Then, it was purchased, restored, and reopened to play current movies by a local citizen in 2000. The Midway was noted in episode 818 of Texas Country Reporter that aired May 3, 2003. [3] The drive-in ran for over five years until it closed again. The property was rented, and opened intermittently until 2009, when it was purchased by another family, who started a second restoration and reopened the theater. [4] It has been listed as one of 545 known permanently constructed and commercially operated drive-ins in the world that still operated in 2011. [5] Other Midway Drive-Ins are located around the US, but this theater is the only known one still in operation in Texas until 2011. [6] The Midway Drive-In closed down and did not open in 2012 because of the lack of available 35-mm film prints. Supply slowed down because of the Hollywood transition to digital distribution only. [7]
Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146-degrees of arc. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporation. It was the first of several novel processes introduced during the 1950s when the movie industry was reacting to competition from television. Cinerama was presented to the public as a theatrical event, with reserved seating and printed programs, and audience members often dressed in their best attire for the evening.
A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars. Some drive-ins have small playgrounds for children and a few picnic tables or benches.
Century Theatres is a movie theater chain that operates many multiplexes in the western United States, primarily in California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. In its later years, it had expanded into the inter-mountain states, the Pacific Northwest, Texas, Alaska and parts of the Midwestern United States. Founded in 1941, the chain was headquartered in San Rafael, California until it was acquired by Cinemark Theatres from Plano, Texas in 2006. Many now-Cinemark-owned theaters continue to operate under the Century brand.
Fox Theatres was a large chain of movie theaters in the United States dating from the 1920s either built by Fox Film studio owner William Fox, or subsequently merged in 1929 by Fox with the West Coast Theatres chain, to form the Fox West Coast Theatres chain. Fox West Coast went into bankruptcy and was sold to The National Theatres Corporation, led by Charles Skouras, on November 20, 1933, for $17,000,000.00. Eugene V. Klein later became CEO of National, and turned it into the conglomerate National General. Mann Theatres bought National General's theatres in 1973.
Stinson Theatres was a movie theatre chain in Central Ontario and the Georgian Triangle in Canada.
A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens within a single complex. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into smaller ones, or more auditoriums are added in an extension or expansion of the building. The largest of these complexes can sit thousands of people and are sometimes referred to as a megaplex.
Douglas Theatre Company was an American movie theater chain in based in Nebraska, operating in both Lincoln and Omaha. It was the 38th largest cinema chain in North America.
Lakehurst Cinemas was a multiplex movie theatre located in Waukegan, Illinois, United States, that operated from 1974 until 2007.
The Downtown Independent is a one screen theater and cinema located at 251 S. Main Street in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles, California. It is operated by the Downtown Independent and owned by Orange County, California's Cinema Properties Group. The venue is slightly less than 10,000 square feet (930 m2) and has stadium seating for 222.
Pacific Theatres was an American chain of movie theaters in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of California. Pacific Theatres was owned by The Decurion Corporation which also owned and operated ArcLight Cinemas. In 2008, it sold its store locations in San Diego to Reading Cinemas. In April 2021, Pacific Theatres announced they would not be reopening any of their theater locations after being closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2021, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
The Belcourt Theatre is a nonprofit film center located in Nashville's Hillsboro Village district.
The Alhambra Theatre is a Moorish Revival movie theater building at 2330 Polk Street in San Francisco, California, that opened on November 5, 1926. The theater was designed by Miller & Pflueger.
The Orpheum Theatre is a music venue located at 1 Hamilton Place in Boston, Massachusetts. One of the oldest theaters in the United States as designed by Snell and Gregerson, it was built in 1852 and was originally known as the Boston Music Hall. It was the founding location of the New England Conservatory of Music in 1867 and it was the original home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from its founding in 1880. The concert hall was converted for use as a vaudeville theater in 1900. It was renamed the Orpheum Theatre in 1906. In 1915, the Orpheum was acquired by Loew's Theatres and substantially rebuilt. It operates as a mixed-use hall, primarily for live music concerts.
The Pussycat Theaters were a chain of adult movie theaters, operating between the 1960s and the 1980s. Pussycat Theaters had 30 locations in California and were known for their cat-girl logo. To date, only one exists.
In 1898 William Morton's Theatre Royal showed a 'Veriscope' film, probably the first time any film was shown in a Hull theatre. The Prince's Hall was the first purpose-built cinema in Kingston upon Hull, and was opened in George Street by Morton in 1910. As Hull embraced the new age of public entertainment, attendances at traditional theatre declined. Luxurious cinemas, taking their inspiration from theatres and music halls, were built to accommodate audiences in almost every neighbourhood in the city. By 1914, there were 29 cinemas, theatres and halls showing films in the city. The London and Provincial Cinema Company owned the Hippodrome; the National Electric Picture Theatres owned the Theatre de Luxe, but Morton's was the largest and most influential cinema chain in Hull.
The Hayworth Theatre is a theater and performing arts venue at 2511 Wilshire Boulevard located in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
The Picfair Theater was a neighborhood film house in the West Los Angeles neighborhood of Picfair, on West Pico Boulevard at Fairfax Avenue.