To see “big event” films (those that had intermissions), such as How the West was Won (1962) and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), we would drive into Cleveland. But if we were just going out for a night at the movies, we almost always went to Amherst Theatre, as opposed to any of the movie houses in Downtown Lorain.
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| One of the many movies we saw at Amherst Theatre |
We saw a lot of movies at Amherst Theatre, including all of John Wayne’s movies from the late 60s and early 70s, as well as whatever new Walt Disney movie was in release. I can still remember seeing The Jungle Book (1967), mainly because during the movie I looked over and saw my dad, fast asleep.
Anyway, it was sixty years ago this month that the new Amherst Theater opened on April 16, 1959. Above is the full page ad that ran in the Journal on the day before.
Happily, Amherst Theatre is still around today (although it is now known as Amherst Cinema).
Here’s a modern view of the theater, courtesy of the Lorain County Auditor website.
Growing up in the 1950s I remember attending Saturday matinee movies for kids in the old theater across the street. The movies were terrible B movies, but we enjoyed them anyway. If I remember correctly they charged a nickel, and since the seating was limited you were sometimes turned away. We got so that we could look at the line of kids and pretty accurately estimate our chances of getting a seat. If we didn't make the cut, we would stop on the way home at the drugstore and peruse the comic book rack. Couldn't let those nickels and dimes go to waste!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great theater!
ReplyDeleteProbably 1970,I was in kindergarden, my cousins and I were dropped off to those saturday matinees.Kim,the oldest at 8 was in charge.Places like Riviera,and the YMCA were also places,a parent could trust to leave their children,,,in the 70's.
ReplyDeleteIn the early Seventies, we saw a number of great films at the Amherst, primarily because the downtown Lorain theaters had gone over to mainly exploitation films ( not that I didn't see a lot of them, as well!)
ReplyDelete....The Amherst was our go-to after the downtown Lorain theaters gave up the ghost (although the horror/sci-fi double-features at the old Tower Drive-In were a family treat!). You aren't kidding though about the way the owners ran the place; when we saw the space adventure Marooned there, there was a moment where a rescue mission takes off against all odds, and the audience was cheering to beat the band....until the movie stopped and the Mrs. came out to let everyone know in no uncertain terms that there would be NO more disturbances like that again or they'd stop the movie for keeps and we'd be sent home without refunds.
ReplyDeletePlace was as silent as a church for the rest of the movie. :)
Mike
Having grown up in Amherst in the 80's I can't tell you how many movies I saw at that theater. All the 80's classics like Back to the Future, Short Circuit, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Karate Kid, The Dark Crystal, and tons more. I vividly remember going to see Return of the Jedi with my family. We arrived a little too late and every single seat was filled. The manager took pity on us and allowed us to sit on a bench against the back wall. Ended up being some of the best seats in the house.
ReplyDeleteWe used to go to the Amherst Theater on Sunday evenings in the mid 60’s - $5.00 ticket.
ReplyDeleteI attended that theater many times during my childhood but the memories of the old theater on the EAST side of the street were even more vivid. They had no bathroom so we made sure we "emptied out" before going there or it would mean going to the outhouse behind the theater. We also didn't go in the heat of the summer as there was no air conditioning.
ReplyDeleteNo Way that you paid $5 a ticket in the 60's at Amherst Theater. Their price was 50 cents through a great part of the early sixties. They did at some point raise the price to a whopping 75 Cents. At this time the theaters in Lorain were about twice that amount.
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