Movies
 

The famous Hollywood mural at The Ridgeway Four
 
Our goal is to create a separate page for every movie theater in the city's history, complete with photos, years of operation, and films shown. 
Send us your memories and photos by clicking here.

 

Memphis Indoor Movie Theaters

[Theaters still in operation have a green asterisk * ]

 
Bristol Theater
3425 Summer Avenue, now a Scooters Plus store
 
Lowe's Palace Theater
81 Union Avenue, downtown
Next door at the time to Britling's Cafeteria
 
Malco/Orpheum Theater
203 S. Main St, downtown
 
 
Memphian Theater
51 South Cooper Street near Overton Square,
Now Playhouse on the Square
 
Paramount Theater
Eastgate Shopping Center, now a Stein Mart
 
Peabody Theater
878 S. Cooper, now the Memphis Drum Shop
 
Plaza Theater
Poplar Plaza Shopping Center, now a Bookstar
 
Warner Theater
Main Street
 
Airways Airways Boulevard between Park & Lamar, where S. Trezevant splits off from Airways.
Bartlett Cinema 10* 2809 Bartlett Boulevard, Bartlett. 10 screens.
Capital 926 East McLemore Avenue. In 1959, the Capital was converted into the Stax Records Studios. The building was demolished in 1989, then rebuilt in 2000 was the Stax Museum.
Collierville* Market Street north of Poplar. 14 screens, stadium seating.
Cordova* Germantown Parkway at Macon. 14 screens, stadium seating.
Crosstown 400 N. Cleveland Avenue across from Sears Crosstown; the last of the big undivided auditoriums.  Now a Jehovah's Witness meeting hall.
Fare Four* Summer Avenue at I-240 (still in operation, now called the Palace Cinema)
Forest Hill Cinema* Poplar Avenue at Forest Hill-Irene Road, Germantown.  8 screens.
Frayser Three Next to J.B. Hunter at Frayser Boulevard and Range Line, opened around 1969.
Guild 1705 Poplar at Evergreen (also once called the Ritz, now the Circuit Playhouse)
Highland Quartet Poplar at Highland, closed a couple of years ago.
Hollywood 20 Cinema* 6711 Stage Road in Bartlett.  20 screens, stadium seating.
Idlewild 1819 Madison at Idlewild  (now a private reception hall)
Lamar 1716 Lamar Avenue between Airways and Prescott
Linden Circle Linden Circle
Loew's Palace Downtown at 81 Union between Main and Front next door to Britling's Cafeteria
Loew's State Downtown at 152 South Main
Luciann 2434 Summer just west of Hollywood.  Now the Paris Adult Theater.  Reportedly is was a small bowling alley for a short period in the 60s.
Malco Downtown at 203 S. Main (now the Orpheum)
Mall of Memphis Cinema General Cinema (closed when the Mall of Memphis was demolished in 2003)
Majestic Winchester at Riverdale. 16 screens, stadium seating.
Normal 535 South Highland in the Highland strip.  Later called the Studio.
Northgate Highway 51 in the Northgate Shopping Center in Frayser
Palace Cinema* Old Summer Road off Summer Avenue. 10 screens, stadium seating.
Paradiso* Black Road off Mendenhall & Poplar behind White Station Tower.  Where Service Merchandise used to be.  14 screens, stadium seating.
Park 3527 Park Avenue at South Highland
Peabody Place 22 * Peabody Place downtown. 22 screens.
Princess 169 S. Main, similar to the Strand
Raleigh Mall* Raleigh-Springs Mall on Austin Peay in Raleigh.  The original 2-screen theater was located to the left of the main mall entrance.  That theater was later closed and replaced with a new 12-screen theater with stadium seating in the north end of the mall.
Ridgeway Four* Poplar and Ridgeway.  Still in operation, still four screens.
Ritz 1705 Poplar at Evergreen (also once called the Guild, now the Circuit Playhouse)
Rosemary 1396 Jackson at Watkins (later a bank)
Rosewood South Lauderdale
Ruby 129 North Main, opened in 1907 by the Huddleston Brothers. 320 seats, 10 cent admission.  Movies with musical accompaniment interspersed with four live performances daily.
Stage Cinema* 7930 Stage Road (Highway 64) west of Germantown Parkway. 10 screens, stadium seating.
Strand 138 S. Main Downtown
Studio 535 South Highland in the Highland strip.  Originally called the Normal.
Studio on the Square* LaSalle Place, just off Overton Square. 4 screens, stadium seating.
Trinity Trinity Shopping Center on Germantown Parkway.  4 screens.  Closed in mid-2000s.
Winchester Court* 6740 Winchester Road.  6 screens.
Wolfchase Mall* Wolfchase Mall, Germantown Parkway & Stage Road.  8 screens, stadium seating.
 
Memphis Drive-In Movie Theaters
 
51 Drive-In In Frayser on James Road at Highway 51. (structure no longer there) They used to have "Dollar-a-Carload" nights.
Jackson Avenue Drive-In Jackson Avenue
(location needed)
Lamar
Drive-In
East side of Lamar just north of Prescott (structure no longer there)  They used to have "Dollar-a-Carload" nights.
Lincoln
Drive-In
(location needed)
Sky-Vue
Drive-In
South side of Park Avenue about a mile east of Airways, where Melrose High School is now.
Southwest
Drive-In
Highway 61 (location needed).
They had little inside seating areas where you could watch the drive-in screen through a huge window.
Summer
Drive-In
*
Summer Avenue just outside I-240. Still in operation.  Originally the Summer Twin until two additional screens were added.
Third Street
Drive-In
Third Street (now a flea market)
     
Can you provide additional information on Memphis movie theaters?
Let us know by clicking here.

 

 


Share Your Memories
 


Submitted by: papsexpopay   :   25 Feb 2008, 01:43
Good
site.
Submitted by: JOE STRAUSSER   :   05 May 2008, 12:16
THE BELLEVUE DRIVE-IN IS MISSING AND ALSO I THINK THE THIRD ST. AND SOUTHWEST DRIVE-IN IS THE SAME. MAYBE THIRD ST DRIVE IN WAS BELLEVUE?.
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