This movie theater ushered in modern, megaplex trend in Fresno. Broadway Faire is closed
Fans of the big-screen, multiplex movie experience now have one less choice in Fresno.
Regal Cinema announced it would be closing its Broadway Faire theater on Thursday.
The company made the announcement in an email and on its website on Wednesday. No reason was given for the closure and fans were directed to Regal’s three other Fresno locations: Manchester Center, River Park and El Paseo.
Similar closures were reported in several states and is likely tied to the bankruptcy of Regal’s parent company, Cineworld, which has been struggling since the pandemic. Its stock crashed by 80% at one point in August, as reported by CNN.
A message to Regal Cinema was not immediately returned.
Fresno theater opened as United Artist venue
The theater at Broadway Faire opened in 1996 under the United Artist, at the time the largest theater chain in the county.
It was built in an expanding area of West Shaw Avenue and was the first new movie theater in Fresno since 1975, according to Bee archives.
In a way, it ushered Fresno into the age of the multiplex. It added 10 screens and 2,800 seats (with cup holders, no less) and brought the total number of movies screens in Fresno to 50, which was above the national average for a metropolitan area at the time.
It was equipped with digital stereo (the same sound quality as a compact disc, to quote The Bee’s coverage at the time) and had two screens with LucasFilm’s “THX” sound technology. It also had side aisles and air conditioning and heating units “situated so moviegoers are less likely to hear them.”
Edwards Theatres Circuit Inc. opened its signature 21-screen theater at River Park two years later.
That same year, Broadway Faire got its first remodel.
Not the first Fresno movie theater to close
In some ways, Broadway Faire was also the last of the old-school movie theaters dotted across the city; along Blackstone Avenue north and south, and on Shaw east to west.
A half-dozen movie theaters closed in Fresno in the late 1990s, including Northgate Cinemas, UA Movies and Manchester Mall Cinemas (all part of the United Artists chain, which was ultimately absorbed into the Regal Cinemas).
Festival Cinemas at Blackstone and Barstow avenues; Regency Cinemas at Shaw and Willow avenues in Clovis and Fig Garden Cinemas in the Fig Garden Village all closed in 2000.
For those looking for a real trip down memory lane, the website cinematreasures.org has a full list of Fresno movie theaters, including long-gone venues like the Country Squire Theater on Ashlan Avenue and the Hippodrome Theatre on Fresno Street.
