Bakersfield 6
1999 Photo from the Scott Neff collection.
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AMC Theatres 4200 California Ave Bakersfield CA 93309 (661) 869-0169
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| Record #1858 |
Opened: June 15, 1979
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Capacity:
Architect(s):
Architectural Style(s):
National Register:
Current Organ: none |
Also Known As: Movies 6 |
Previously operated by: United Artists Theatres, Interstate Theatres, Starplex Cinemas |
Information for this tour was contributed by Paul Linfesty. The UA Movies 6 theatres opened on June 15, 1979 with Rocky II, Prophesy, Players, Superman, Lost and Found, and Dawn of the Dead. The largest auditorium sat around 525 seats and was equipped with 70mm 6-track stereo and 35mm 4-track mag and Dolby stereo-optical sound. Another theatre sat 375 seats and 4 smaller auditoriums ranged from 110-180.
In 1981, the UA presented a 70mm film festival in June, with one-week engagements of Fame, The Jazz Singer, and Camelot. In the fall, the theatre switched their 35mm print of Superman II for a 70mm one, which played a month. The final 70mm presentation for Bakersfield was Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in 1984.
The UA Movies held the record in Bakersfield for longevity of a film. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial played uninterrupted for a full year!
Unfortunately, this theatre was poorly maintained, and projection and sound deteriorated to the point where it made viewing almost impossible. Wall treatments were peeling away, screen masks were ripped, images were dim, etc. The shabbiness of construction was revealed almost immediately; when the first rain hit the new theatre in 1979, buckets were spread throughout the complex (the ceiling was the bottom of the roof).
While DTS digital sound was installed in 1994 for Blown Away, the theatre never upgraded the other theatres to Dolby stereo. And even DTS didn't last long. In 1999, it was yanked and transferred to another UA theatre in town.
The theatre continued to think it was a first-run theatre, even after the megaplexes hit town. While it showed mostly move-overs, it still charged first-run prices. It had a stealth closing in 2000. A full week's ads continued to run in the paper complete with showtimes, even though the theatre closed early in the week.
The closing date for the UA Movies 6 was Tuesday, July 25, 2000. It was the third complex to close in a two month period.
The theater was reopened as a discount house on 4/16/2004 by Interstate Theatres, which operated it until 12/23/2004.
AMC acquired this and 30 other locations from Starplex Cinemas on 12/16/2015 Photos Photos remain the property of the Member and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Member. |
July 1999 photos from the Scott Neff collection.
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1999 photos from the Scott Neff collection.
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Last featured 7/3/2004. Last edited 9/7/2016.
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