Lately there have been a number of online features about all the crumbling old movie theaters that have long since closed (like this one). It has got me to thinking about all the places in the Triangle that used to be movie theaters. Many of them I attended as a kid so it's sad to see a restaurant or empty lot and remember that I saw "Star Wars" or some other classic there once.
In the accompanying slide-show you can see pictures of the places that used to contain movie theaters in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill.
The picture on the left is of Bonefish Grill on Six Forks Road in Raleigh. The Cardinal Theater used to be at the same location from 1967 to 1990. It had one of the biggest screens in the state, and was equiped with 70mm projection.
I saw "The Empire Strikes Back" there as a kid in 1980. The Cardinal was one of five theatres in North Carolina that showed it in 70MM-6 Track Dobly Stereo. Incidentally there is a time capsule buried under the pavement there due to be opened in 2017.
Another sad sight is the lot on Elliot Road in Chapel Hill that used to be the Village Plaza Theatre from 1969-2003. There were plans to build a 10 screen multiplex there, but those plans were abandoned years ago. The fenced in weedy lot is an eyesore, but I still get nostalgic when I think of all the movies I saw there as it was not a long bike ride from my house.
Another empty lot is in Durham where the Yorktowne Theatre used to be. It was open from 1968-1996. It was a church for a time after that, then closed again. It was demolished in 2008.
I remember going there in the late '80s when it was a bargain theater showing second run movies. A strong memory is going to see "The Naked Gun" there and somebody lit off smoke bombs during the end credits. Ah, good times.
Please check out the slide-show to see photos of these and other former theater sites, and stay tuned for Part 2.
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