[Knucklehead]

And Wednesday nights and throwing M&Ms at the screen

[Sly Fox]

I think my freshman year I watched 40 movies there. Cheap entertainment. But my grades didn't fare so well.

Anybody remember the Metal music store out front back in the day?

[Libertine]

I got to experience the last days of the Fort Theatre. Holes in the screen, broken seats, leaks in the roof, parking lot made up entirely of speedbumps, Spanish version of 'Asteroid' in the lobby ("Jugador Uno -- Fuego!") , 5 people in the entire joint. It was awesome! I first saw "The Crow" there. Changed my life. Two months later, they tore it down.

[Hold My Own]

"If it's a rockin..."

[PastorZack]

my only memory of the place was the worst movie of all time, "A Walk in the Clouds", oh, and the wholes in the ceiling.

[El Scorcho]

I don't know anything about the old Fort Theatre, but I've heard stories about the drive-in over that way.

[Hold My Own]

I don't know anything about the old Fort Theatre, but I've heard stories about the drive-in over that way.

isnt the Fort Theater the old drive in?

[Sly Fox]

The theatre was built in front of the old drive-in as a replacement.

Back in its heydey, the only competition for the Fort was the one at the mall and the overpriced one at the Plaza. Otherwise most everyone drove to Roanoke. I used to head down to Altavista when the RAs were still writing down license plates in the Fort parking lots.

[Hold My Own]

Sly Fox

[Cider Jim]

I saw both Dances with Wolves and Major League at the Fort Theatre, before the movie rule changed (Lord forgive me).

[thepostman]

I remember the Fort Flea Market does that count??? haha

[El Scorcho]

...and the overpriced one at the Plaza.

Which I now affectionately refer to as "Dumpy Theater #1".

[Knucklehead]

sly - should have had an easily removable sticker! Never had issues with the RAs.
I don't much remember specific movies, just the adventure and the M&M fights. Which is why there were holes in the screen. Those peanut ones make great projectiles.

[Sly Fox]

I think I saw "The Lost Boys" with Keifer pre-Jack Bauer about 5 or 6 times. That movie was one of the highlights of that decade.

They used to do Rocky Horror Picture Shows ... but that was after curfew.

[PAmedic]

YESSSS

[Libertine]

I hate to tell you, Scorchy, but that's not the Plaza theater the old guys are talking about. What's there now is the new Plaza theater, believe it or not. The original Plaza is the abandoned space right there at the Wadsworth Street entrance.

Hey, Knuckles, unless you guys were chucking chair-sized M&M's, I don't think the candy fights were the cause. When I say there were holes in the screen, I mean there were holes in the screen. It was really bad.

[Knucklehead]

I was there remember?

[Libertine]

Were you one of the other four people?

[flameshaw]

Remember the Old Fort Drive in and the Plaza Theaters. There was also one in Boonesboro as I recall. Plaza was pretty nice back in 72-74, you didn't get points for going back then, you got your choice of the chair or lethal injection.

[belcherboy]

I think my first year at Liberty was the last year it was there (93-94). We would go there just to play all the free "old time" video games. Out of the 10-15 stand up games they had, only about 7-8 worked, but it cheaply killed some time my freshman year. The seats were INCREDIBLE. It was like sitting in a La-Z-Boy. They were big enough to fit 2 people on them and you could lean back quite a bit. Because of the seats, it was DEFINITELY the spot to have a make out date. I had high hopes of achieving that goal for myself, but they closed it down before I got to that point. (I'm sure it would have never happened anyway, but it is good to dream, eh?)

[bbrothers224]

Would that be the same as the Fort Hill Cinema and drive in? A bunch of us loaded up 2 pick up trucks with coolers ( packed with food and beverages) and watched the Beastmaster there in 82-83.

[Sly Fox]

Yeah when the drive-in business was dying they opened the cinema out front. It quickly became a dollar theatre before eventually dying a slow death.

[backintheday]

My friends and I usually went to the movies at Fort Theater or would drive all the way to Roanoke. The Plaza Theater was in Pittman Plaza which was the main shopping center before the mall was built. Going there was considered a higher risk because faculty were often shopping (or going to the movies!) there. Fort Theater offered better cover. As Flameshaw mentioned, punishment for gettig caught at the movies was the death penalty. It's pretty funny now because stuff like Rocky (the original) and the first Star Wars movie were coming out and you weren't even allowed to see those. Of course, it never stopped us.

[Ronni]

omigosh...pittman plaza! i totally forgot about that place! you could get the best bagels and cream cheese there....can't remember the name of the little place.....blast from the past.

anyone ever hang out downtown by the hotel? there was a great place a block or two away that had great breakfasts....

[bbrothers224]

I went to pittman plaza a lot...specifically blue goose records and tapes. that's about the only place i remember there. is the plaza still around?