A few years ago, we posted about the old stand-alone movie theaters in Cagayan de Oro that are still standing today but are now being used for other purposes. We’ve also added more stand-alone theaters that used to exist in the old days but have either closed, replaced by a new building or destroyed by fire.
This was our old photo collage.
And this is our updated collage.
If you happen to notice, these large elongated buildings still exist today. Browse over them below.
NATION – Don Apolinar Velez corner Gomez Street; present-day NOVO Department Store
RIZAL – Capistrano corner Montalban Street; present-day The Word of God Spirit and Life Ministries Inc.
KAIRO – Capistrano near Pacana Street; owned by Limketkai; present-day Savemore Capistrano. Kairo’s unique curved facade was retained. It was also the first theater in the city with an escalator.
ROKET – Capistrano corner Cruz Taal Street; also owned by Limketkai; not utilized at the moment
GOLD – Capistrano corner Mabini Street; present-day Jesus is Lord Fellowship Church
SKYHI 1 & 2 (COGON) – JR Borja corner Daumar Street; commercial spaces at the ground floor; Skyhi started the modern-day twin cinema.
SKYHI 3 & 4 (DIVISORIA) – Rizal corner JR Borja Street; present-day Forever Living; LandBank and commercial spaces at the ground floor; This was a follow-up to the successful Skyhi 1 and 2.
REYNA – Yacapin corner Daumar Street; replaced by JANET 3, then WORLD; present-day Gaisano Suki Club.
GOTIC 1 & 2 – Osmena corner Ramonal Street; commercial spaces at the ground floor; Gotic was the last modern stand-alone theater built in the city.
GALA – JR Borja corner Aguinaldo Street; new Technomart Building erected at front section; back portion still vacant; the iconic theater known for showing sleazy movies in its later years was destroyed by fire.
Here’s an old photo of Gala Theater shown in the background.
FOX – JR Borja corner Corrales Avenue; present-day Shekinah Glory Christian Academy
Here’s the current setting. Note building at right is the same in the old photo.
Below are much older stand-alone movie theaters in Cagayan de Oro.
GLORY – then Calle del Mar (now Don Apolinar Velez Street); replaced by RIVOLI then LYRIC, then NATION; present day NOVO Department Store
RIVOLI – present day NOVO Department Store (Velez-Gomez Sts)
Other previous stand-alone theaters that were either destroyed by fire or demolished (no photo available) are as follows:
CROWN – Capistrano Street (right across City Hall); present-day Maternity Hospital Bldg
RIVIERA and FORTUNE – RN Abejuela Street; replaced by PRINCE and PRINCESS; near present-day BDO Divisoria
PRINCE and PRINCESS – RN Abejuela Street; near present-day BDO Divisoria
VISTA – Ramon Chaves Street (near present-day Fatima Commercial)
LYRIC – Don Apolinar Velez Street; replaced by NATION Theater; present day NOVO Department Store
EVER – Don Apolinar Velez Street (fronting City Central School); near present-day Imperial Appliance Plaza
STATE – Don Apolinar Velez Street (fronting City Central School); near present-day Imperial Appliance Plaza
AVENUE – Capistrano corner Pacana Street (present day LandBank)
info taken from Kagay-an Kaniadto Facebook Page
The era of stand-alone theaters slowly ended with the opening of cinemas inside malls. It also started the shift to single movies instead of the usual double movies where patrons spent 4-5 hours inside theaters.
CINEMAS INSIDE MALLS
Ororama Megacenter Tri-Cinema – destroyed by fire; present-day Puregold
Limketkai Cinema 1, 2, 3 & 4 – only two cinemas are operating today
Here’s an old photo of Limketkai Cinema before the major renovation.
Here’s the cinema lobby after the renovation.
Gaisano Cinema 1, 2, 3 & 4 – permanently closed in January 2023.
SM City CDO Uptown Cinema 1, 2, 3 & 4 – still operating
Ayala Malls Centrio Cinema 1, 2, 3 & 4 – still operating
SM CDO Downtown Cinema 1, 2, 3, 4, Director’s Club, Mega Screen – still operating
CityMall Bulua Cinema 1 & 2 – opened in 2018; only 1 cinema is still operating
Meanwhile, the small DVD movie-house trend also arrived in the city. Among them are Stargaze DVD Movie House (Kalambaguhan-Capistrano Streets), Hello Robin’s (Tirso Neri St-CLOSED), Star Movie Cafe (Grand Central), Movie Dream (Archbishop Hayes – Mortola Sts-CLOSED), and Moviefy Home Theatre (Tomas Saco St-CLOSED in 2020).
The digital age has also reduced the number of movie-goers as movies have started streaming online and available for download.
