The Westates Theatres at Trolley Corners showed their last movies Thursday night, closing their doors for good.
Located at 515 S. 700 East, across the street from the Trolley Square Mall, Trolley Corners featured one of the largest theaters in Utah, with 770 seats, and had entertained moviegoers since 1977.
The Villa Theatre, at 3092 S. Highland Drive, which closed in February 2003, had 930 seats.
A Westates employee confirmed the closure Thursday. Company executives could not be reached for further comment.
Trolley Corners was the last traditional theater in the Salt Lake Valley to show 70-millimeter films, according to Grant Smith, a theater history buff and founder of the Web site www.utahtheaters.info.
Smith said Trolley Corners had operated as a dollar theater since
September, more than a year after the opening of Larry Miller's Megaplex 12 at The Gateway.
"They couldn't book any first-run films after that, so they switched to a dollar theater," Smith said. "That's a good indication they aren't going to last much longer."
Denny Cameron, an employee at the theater, said patrons have been disappointed by the news.
"We just found out on Tuesday we were closing. We're just not getting enough business here," Cameron said. "People liked this theater better than the Movies 10 at Sugar House."
Smith said only three first-run theaters in the valley that were built before the stadium seating push remain: the Carmike 12 in West Jordan, the Holladay Center Cinema 6 at Cottonwood Mall and the 5 Star Cinemas in Magna.
"I'm really going to miss the Villa and Trolley Corners," Smith said. "I do like the new theaters, but they don't have as much charm."
The demise of downtown's historic theaters began in the 1970s and 1980s with the emergence of suburban mall multiplexes.
Salt Lake-based Westates Theatres Inc. operates in 23 locations in five Western states.
E-mail: danderton@desnews.com