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September 7, 2010
By: Kenny Mahan
It was a small theatre, but also an important one for Lubbock. Showplace 6 started as Showplace 4 in 1972. It opened that summer as the first movie multi-screen theatre in Lubbock. Expanding to six screens within as many years it proved to be a success. Many will remember it as the “cheap” movies, as come the mid 1980’s it turned into a second run movie theatre. This is how I remember it.
Showplace 6 was the place where I first saw “The Great Mouse Detective” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” It was where I played my first arcade game and the last place I ever played one as well. Showplace 6 was the place I was first allowed to see a movie all by myself and get my own popcorn. I spent more hours than I can count watching movies with family and friends. Even more hours were spent there when my friend became assistant manager and he gave us, the previously considered mythical, free movie passes.
I was allowed to wander through the building after it closed and memories flowed in crystalline fashion. It may appear silly to some to be attached to a theatre, but attached I am. I could smell the popcorn, from the poppers already removed. I heard the drink fountains that have also vanished. Then I went into the last theatre that remains intact and had a seat.
The chair creaked and squealed in protest but held as I knew it would. I leaned back and stared at the screen for a moment trying to solidify that singular sensation. I knew it would be a last in that place. Knowing that Lubbock has lost something and that I have lost something, there is a part of me that is saddened and changed.
At the time of this writing the city landscape will change. The marquee will come down and the lights will not turn on. For better or worse it is a change that some will need to become accustomed to and others will hardly notice.
September 7, 2010
By: Kenny Mahan
An "It Moment" for Personal Reasons
There is something called an “it moment”. This is a moment in time that is changed with a before and an after. An “it moment” can be national, such as Katrina or 9/11, or incredibly small and personal, such as a car wreck with a simple broken headlight. Regardless, in that moment there is a change. Lubbock has undergone a change and for me it’s one of those “it moments,” small as it may be. Showplace 6, after 38 years in business, has closed its doors and become silent.
A Lubbock icon, Showplace Theatre is no longer in business
Showplace 6 was the place where I first saw “The Great Mouse Detective” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” It was where I played my first arcade game and the last place I ever played one as well. Showplace 6 was the place I was first allowed to see a movie all by myself and get my own popcorn. I spent more hours than I can count watching movies with family and friends. Even more hours were spent there when my friend became assistant manager and he gave us, the previously considered mythical, free movie passes.
I was allowed to wander through the building after it closed and memories flowed in crystalline fashion. It may appear silly to some to be attached to a theatre, but attached I am. I could smell the popcorn, from the poppers already removed. I heard the drink fountains that have also vanished. Then I went into the last theatre that remains intact and had a seat.
The chair creaked and squealed in protest but held as I knew it would. I leaned back and stared at the screen for a moment trying to solidify that singular sensation. I knew it would be a last in that place. Knowing that Lubbock has lost something and that I have lost something, there is a part of me that is saddened and changed.
At the time of this writing the city landscape will change. The marquee will come down and the lights will not turn on. For better or worse it is a change that some will need to become accustomed to and others will hardly notice.
