NORTHPARK'S FUTURE
Northpark Mall owners hope to revive, upgrade closed theater
The Northpark Cinema may reopen as part a remodeling of Northpark Mall
The North park Cinema, Oklahoma City's oldest cont i nuously operating movie theater, closed Saturday but could reopen as part a remodeling of Northpark Mall.
Dozens of people lamented the closing via social media
after it was first reported Saturday by The Oklahoman. Several, including Mayor David Holt, fondly remembered standing on line at the theater to see the first “Star Wars.”
Kevyn Colburn, vice president of leasing at Northpark, said AMC Theaters chose to end its lease after an agreement could not be reached on a request by the mall owners, Tom Morris Enterprises, to remodel the 16,300- squarefoot cinema and upgrade
i t with r ecli ning seats and restore it as a first-run theater.
“We have been approached with i deas to go with other concepts, including live music, a microbrewery or a restaurant,” Colburn said. “And we do have a plan by Fitzsimmons Architects to update the theater with reclining seats with a restaurant and bar. At this point we don't have an operator for that. We do have the plan.”
Colburn s ai d an i nteri or remodeling of the mall is set
to start soon, including new l i ghting, new f l ooring and skylights throughout the mall at NW 122 and May Avenue.
When the mall opened i n 1973, the theater, then four screens, represented the new wave of multi-screen cinemas.
At the time, the development was on the north fringe of the city. Memorial Road was a sleepy country corridor, though Mercy Hospital was set to challenge assumptions
about how far out the city might expand over the next decade.
The theater was a big draw in the early years. Newer theaters with more screens started popping up along Memorial Road, and by the early 1990s Northpark was converted into a discount theater. In 1993, the cinemas were split up and the number of screens were increased from four to seven.
Several discount, secondrun theaters were attempted during the arrival of stadium seating in the late 1990s but most didn't last long. Northpark survived under different operators, most recently under AMC.
The chain improved the concession stand a bit, and some broken seats were repaired. Air conditioning problems were addressed. Ticket prices went up a bit, but were still quite the deal compared to other theaters now charging $9 or more for a ticket.
Col burn is hoping an operator will share her vision for keeping the movie going tradition alive at Northpark.
“We think it's an exciting opportunity,” she said. “We're looking forward to seeing something done.”