- Wehrenberg Theatres
Wehrenberg Theatres is the oldest and largest family-owned
movie theater chain in America. It is a member of theNational Association of Theatre Owners .History
Fred Wehrenberg's life was changed after he saw a short film at the
1904 World's Fair . He opened the Cherokee Saloon, a silent film theatre in 1906. The success of the Cherokee inspired Wehrenberg to open the Airdome, an open-air theater (a drive-in without cars).The name of the corporation is Wehrenberg, Inc. The name under which it was originally organized was Normandy Theatre, Inc. The corporate name was changed from Normandy Theatre, Inc. to South Drive-In, Inc. South Drive-In, Inc. was merged with South Side Amusement Company, and the name of the surviving entity was changed to Wehrenberg, Inc.
Normandy Theatre, Inc. was incorporated in the state of
Missouri on the 12th of August in 1936 with an authorized capital stock of $30,000 divided into 300 shares. The first shareholders, each with 100 shares at $100.00 per share, were W. W. Kieselhorst, James S. McClellan, and Lewis H. Carsterphen.Wehrenberg and his son-in-law, Paul Krueger, opened Ronnie's Drive-In Theater in 1948, named after Paul's son, Ron.
Wehrenberg opened their first multi-plex in St. Charles containing four theatres. This evolved into megaplexes, with ten or more screens. They have expanded from St. Louis to faraway cities such as Springfield, Osage Beach, and Cape Girardeau. In 1999, Wehrenberg opened the Ronnie's 20 Cine at the same site of the original Ronnie's Drive-In, containing a replica of it with a huge screen, a snack bar, two-story arcade, three concession stands (although only one is open all the time), and stadium seating in all 20 screens. Ronnie's also has one
IMAX screen. Ron Krueger I is the company's chairman and CEO, and Ron Krueger II is the company's president.In 2005, Wehrenberg launched the MVP Card. Through buying tickets and concessions, points are added to the card, entitling the owner of the card to various free tickets and concessions. Currently, the rewards come every 450 points. Roughly 7 points are earned per dollar. A person would spend a bit over $64 to earn the next award.
In 2007, five theatres converted one of their screens to
digital projection . More screens will follow. [http://www.wehrenberg.com/presenting.aspx?pId=38]Theatres
*Arnold 14 - Arnold
*Mid Rivers 14 - St. Peters
*Chesterfield Galaxy 14 - Chesterfield (Features the Mega Screen, the largest screen in the Midwest)*
*O'Fallon 15 -O'Fallon, Illinois *
*Des Peres 14 - Des Peres
*Ronnies 20 - Sappington*
*Jamestown 14 - Florissant
*St. Charles Stadium 18 - St. Charles*
*St. Clair 10 - Fairview Heights, Illinois
*Town Square 12 -Dardenne Prairie Missouri
*Campbell 16 - Springfield
*Osage Village 5 - Osage Beach
*Cape West 14 -Cape Girardeau Illinois
*Bloomington Galaxy 14 - Bloomington*
Iowa
*Cedar Rapids Galaxy 16 -
Cedar Rapids *Minnesota
*Rochester Galaxy 14 - Rochester*
*"Currently has one or more digital screens."
External links
* [http://www.wehrenberg.com/ Wehrenberg Theatres' Homepage]
* [http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=IMAX&script=410&layout=-6&item_id=721507 Imax Corporation: IMAX Signs Theatre Deal with Largest Theatre Operator in St. Louis, Missouri] ]
* [http://filmjournal.com/filmjournal/features/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002157689 Film Journal International: It's a Family Business!]
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