Built in 1967, Roanoke’s Plitt Terrace Theater opened by invitation only for its first movie, “In Like Flint” on May 4. According to a Roanoke Times article, the theater had one screen and 750 seats. The seats rocked like rocking chairs and its huge curved screen was a nice improvement over other theaters in the Valley.
Script from January 13, 1967: (UVA/WSLS Archive)
(LIVE ON) CONSTRUCTION OF THE FIRST NEW INDOOR MOVIE THEATRE IN ROANOKE IN TWENTY YEARS WAS ANNOUNCED TODAY BY DOMINION THEATRES. THE 400 THOUSAND DOLLAR THEATRE HAS BEEN UNDER CONSTRUCTION FOR SOME WEEKS AT CROSSROADS MALL. DOMINION'S DISTRICT MANAGER, DAVE GARVIN, (ROLL FILM) ..HAD THESE COMMENTS ON THE NEW AND MODERN MOVIE THEATRE AT CROSSROADS. (TAKE FILM, SOUND UP. END CUE: ____)
The opening of the Terrace marked the first new theater in the Roanoke Valley in about 20 years.
The above video is from the May 1967 newscast from WSLS TV. The script reads as follows:
AN ESPECIALLY INVITED AUDIENCE OF ROANOKE VALLEY DIGNITARIES WAS GIVEN A PREVIEW OF ROANOKE’S FIRST NEW INDOOR THEATRE SINCE WORLD WAR II. (TAKE FILM) THE TERRACE THEATRE, OPENING TOMORROW AT THE CROSSROADS MALL SHOPPING CENTER, IS THE SECOND THEATRE IN VIRGINIA WITH SEATS THAT ROCK, AND THE FIRST THEATRE IN THE UNITED STATES TO HAVE AN “ULTRA-VISION” SCREEN — A CURVED SCREEN THAT STRETCHES ACROSS THE ENTIRE FRONT OF THE THEATRE, A BRIEF RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY TOOK PLACE BEFORE THE CURTAIN OPENED. CHANNEL TEN PERSONALITY KIT JOHNSON ACTED AS MISTRESS OF CEREMONIES, INTRODUCING ROANOKE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CHAIRMAN WALTER LIPES, AND ROANOKE CITY MAYOR BENTON DILLARD, WHO JOINTLY CUT THE RIBBON.
“In Like Flint” was chosen to be the first movie to be picked for the Terrace because of a small, easy-to-be-missed moment in the movie. The character of Nora Benson tells Lloyd C. Cramden that she is a school teacher at the John C. Calhoun High School in Roanoke, Virginia. Of course, Roanokers know there was never a John C. Calhoun High School in the Star City.
KIDDIE SHOWS
During the summer months, the Terrace held bargain matinees for school children with child friendly movies. Tickets were sold through the schools. When I was a child, it was 10 tickets for a dollar.
Some movies featured were “Hello Down There,” “Who’s Minding the Mint?” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” and occasionally Disney movies like “The Boatniks.”
Another movie that seemed to make the cut frequently was “Mara of the Wilderness.”
Most of the time, we went to the Terrace without even knowing what was showing. It was summer and we just wanted something to do… I’m sure our mothers also wanted to get us out of the house.
I remember once or twice a few behavior problems would happen and the movie would stop. A booming male voice would come over a speaker threatening to end the movie and send everyone home.
CHANGING TIMES
The Terrace did well for years, but once multiplexes became common, the era of the single-screen stand-alone theaters came to an end.
The number of screens exploded in the 1970s in the Roanoke Valley. In 1975, Tanglewood Mall opened Tanglewood 1-2-3 Cinemas. The Valley 1-2-3-4 Cinema opened about that time on Apperson Drive in Salem.
The Terrace and its sister theater at Towers added more screens, but no more seats.
Things stayed that way for several years. Then in 1985, Valley View Mall opened close to the Terrace theater.
It had a multiplex right in the mall. It grabbed a lot of attention from moviegoers and quickly became the most popular theater in the Valley.
THE BEGINNING OF THE END
The Terrace Theater eventually gave up competing with all the other screens in the Valley. It changed hands and started running second-run movies for a dollar.
Even with video cassettes, it took several months for movies to come to the rental market.
Second-run theaters would get them a couple of months after they premiered in first-run venues.
Even in the 1980s, a dollar admission was well below the cost of a ticket at the other theaters.
The Terrace operated like this for a few years, but it was sold again.
THE END OF THE TERRACE COMES WITH DINNER AND A MOVIE
The theater known as the Terrace ended at this point. It became the Star City Cinema Grill.
The theater seats were removed, tiers were built and tables were set up.
It started serving popcorn, wings, burgers, pizza, beer, and wine.
And it had one controversial feature. It allowed smoking.
Virginia had banned cigarette smoking in theaters for years, but not from restaurants at that point.
Restaurants could offer smoking and non-smoking sections.
Now officially classified as a restaurant, The Cinema Grill did just that.
But since it was all one open area, if one person smoked, everyone in the theater had to smell it and breathe it in.
Smokers loved it, but it kept many non-smokers away.
The Cinema Grill didn’t last very long. It shut down around 2005.
The theater sat empty for years. A church leased it in 2017 and ran it for a while, but it moved to new facilities a few years later. As of January 2023, it is empty once again.
THE TIME CAPSULE
Anyone who ever stood in front of the Terrace is familiar with the time capsule buried in the concrete in the sidewalk out front.
According to the Roanoke Times, the time capsule was buried on April 25, 1967. The plaque says April 17th, but the ceremony was delayed more than a week.
But the plaque was already made and the owners didn’t want to pay to remake it.
Reportedly the airtight, watertight copper cylinder contained a letter from 1967 Roanoke Mayor Benton Dillard, a letter from the Roanoke Times’ movie critic to the 2017 movie critic, a city phone book, and information about the theater’s opening.
The time capsule was opened on April 25, 2017.
It drew the attention of the local media.
From WFXR TV
Time capsule opened in Roanoke It was buried in 1967 at the Terrace Theater
By: Thom Brewer Posted: Apr 26, 2017, 09:46 AM EDT
ROANOKE, Va. – A lot has changed in the last 50 years when it comes to movie theaters in the Roanoke Valley.
The Terrace Theater was a long-time favorite until it shut down more than a decade ago. But anyone who ever approached the box office stepped over a time capsule that was planted when the theater opened in 1967.
The former theater is now the Abundant Grace Assembly Church.
After 50 years, the new owners opened the time capsule to see what was inside.
One of the men who helped put the capsule in the ground helped open it Tuesday.
A lot of the contents suffered damage from the elements after spending half a century underground.
Inside was a movie reel, a coin, a film, a copy of the 1967 Roanoke Times, and a letter from Roanoke’s then-mayor to the current mayor.
After a lot of changes to stay competitive, the Terrace closed as a theater in 2005.
The church recently refurbished the building and is holding its grand opening events this week.
SOMETHING IS HAPPENING
For several months in 2022, a big “For Lease Banner” hung on the old Terrace Theater as it once again sat empty.
But that banner is now down and there are signs that construction is either underway or getting ready to begin at the old site.
