Curtain falls on Broadway Faire movie theater on Shaw in Northwest Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The curtain has fallen at a longtime Northwest Fresno movie theater.

Regal Cinemas sent out an announcement on Wednesday, saying that it would be the last day for showings at the United Artists Broadway Faire on Shaw and Valentine.

According to an advertisement posted at the website Cinema Treasures, the 10 screen multiplex opened 26 years ago, on February 2, 1996.

Opening two years before the rival Edwards Theater in River Park, it was one of the first in Fresno to feature stadium seating.

A sign of the times, the opening advertisements boasted about its armrest cupholders, child booster seats and digital audio system.

Since that time, both the United Artists and Edwards Theater chains were purchased by Regal Cinemas, which now owns most movie theaters in Central California.

Regal did not offer a reason for the closing of the Broadway Faire cinema or the status of current employees at the theater.

The theater chain urged moviegoers to attend screenings at their theaters at the Marketplace at El Paseo, Manchester Center and River Park.