“Grand Opening of a New Luxurious Fabian Theatre”

When Berkshire Mall opened in 1970, the development introduced a new type of shopping and entertainment destination to the Reading area. One of its early attractions was a modern movie theater operated by Fabian Management Corporation, which also operated Reading's Embassy Theatre.

The Reading Eagle of Wednesday, August 26, 1970, carried a full-page grand-opening advertisement for the new Fabian Theatre. That evening's feature was Getting Straight, starring Elliott Gould and Candice Bergen, with performances advertised for 7:00 and 9:30 p.m.

The ad described giant panoramic screens, comfortable push-back seats, multicolor curtain controls, plentiful free parking and a four-channel stereophonic sound system. According to opening coverage, the auditorium had about 400 seats and an interior decorated predominantly in red, purple and blue. New water-cooled projection machines and a sophisticated air-conditioning installation reflected the emphasis on modern comfort and equipment.

Perhaps the advertisement's most useful historical detail appeared along its bottom edge: “We are located at rear of mall between Sears and Lits stores.” This places the original theater inside the Berkshire Mall complex, not at the later Berkshire Mall West location.

Eugene E. Plank, previously manager of Reading's Embassy Theatre, became the new theater's manager. LeRoy M. Talbot, whose projection career dated to 1919, served as chief operator. Plank had been involved in the theater business since the 1940s.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held the evening of Tuesday, August 25, 1970, for approximately 100 invited guests. Attending were Adrian Ettelson, general manager of Fabian Theaters; Carl N. L. Erdman, president of Wyomissing Borough Council; Eugene E. Plank; and Frank E. Kauffman, Wyomissing borough manager.

Unlike the ornate movie palaces of downtown Reading, this theater offered a straightforward modern experience: shop, eat and see a film without leaving the mall.

United Artists and a Second Theater Across the Road

By the early 1970s, single-screen theaters were increasingly giving way to multiplexes, which could show several movies at once. The original Berkshire Mall theater eventually came under United Artists management. Some theater histories place the change in 1973, although a contemporary announcement confirming the exact acquisition date has not yet been identified.

What can be established from the newspaper record is that United Artists was operating the original mall theater by February 1975 and preparing a separate, three-screen cinema at Berkshire Mall West.

A February 19, 1975, Reading Eagle column by Nick Moser discussed the retirement of Eugene Plank and mentioned the United Artists “triple-unit” at Berkshire Mall West as opening soon. That means the three-screen location had not yet opened on February 19, 1975; its exact opening day still needs verification.

The new United Artists Movies 1, 2, 3 gave audiences three choices under one roof. For a period, both the original mall theater and the three-screen complex operated near each other, providing four screens in the immediate shopping district.

Those two locations are easily confused in memory, but their histories diverged sharply in 1982.

Fox Buys the Theaters — and Plans to Close One

In June 1982, local theater operator Fox Theatres acquired the United Artists three-screen complex at Berkshire Mall West and renamed it Fox Berkshire. The company announced that it would also take over the remaining theater within Berkshire Mall in July. A contemporary report said the transaction brought Fox's Berks County holdings to 17 screens.

Fox did not plan to operate both locations indefinitely. The three-screen property offered better economics and more programming flexibility, while the original mall theater occupied approximately 10,500 square feet that Berkshire Mall's ownership wanted to put to retail use.

The proposed closing prompted scrutiny. In a July 25, 1982, Reading Eagle column titled “Why Berkshire Mall Theater will close,” arts editor Al Walentis questioned whether Fox's purchase would reduce local competition and affect access to first-run movie bookings. Films such as Conan the Barbarian and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid figured in the discussion of distributor arrangements and exclusive bookings.

Donald M. Fox, in separate newspaper coverage, maintained that the company's principal objective was to buy Movies 1, 2, 3 at Berkshire Mall West, and that the original mall auditorium came with the arrangement. The older theater was expected to close around Christmas 1982, depending on film schedules.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was identified in contemporary coverage as the anticipated final attraction. Published histories differ on whether the theater's actual closing fell in late 1982 or early 1983, so the exact date should not be treated as settled. The auditorium was subsequently converted into retail space.

The Fox Berkshire That Eighties Kids Remember

With the original mall theater gone, the three-screen Fox Berkshire at Berkshire Mall West became a familiar destination for local moviegoers. Its location across Woodland Road made it convenient for families, teenagers and couples to combine a movie with shopping or dinner nearby.

Many people who grew up in Berks County during the 1980s remember this location, rather than the eight-screen theater that later opened on Berkshire Boulevard.

Yet by the middle of the decade, Fox was already weighing its replacement. On September 9, 1986, the Reading Eagle reported that Fox planned to build a new eight-screen theater within a mile of Berkshire Mall. The company also proposed selling four existing Berks County theater properties, including Fox Berkshire at Berkshire Mall West, Fox North, Fox East and Fox Fairgrounds.

Donald Fox explained that older buildings presented difficulties involving space, parking and construction. Modernizing them sufficiently for the next generation of theaters did not appear practical. Fox North, built in 1964 and long important to the family business, was particularly difficult to contemplate selling.

The Wyomissing project was therefore not a sudden idea in 1993. Plans for replacing the smaller Berkshire Mall West theater were already public seven years earlier.

Dolby Stereo Comes to All Three Screens

Even while considering a replacement, Fox continued upgrading its Berkshire Mall West property. A June 22, 1989, Reading Eagle report about sound-system improvements at Fox Plaza disclosed that the old Fox Berkshire had received its third Dolby Stereo installation the previous week.

That detail confirms that all three of the Berkshire Mall West auditoriums were equipped with Dolby Stereo by June 1989. The upgrades were part of a wider Fox modernization program as major movies increasingly used sophisticated stereo soundtracks. The article also described Dolby installations at Fox Plaza timed to the release of Batman.

The contrast is striking: the company was still spending money to improve the small existing cinema while working toward something far grander nearby.

The $15 Million Theater Complex That Almost Was

By 1989, Fox's plans had grown from an ordinary eight-screen multiplex to a $15 million, 14-screen theater and entertainment center on approximately 35 acres near Service Merchandise at 845 Woodland Road.

The Reading Eagle of November 15, 1989, reported that the first phase would include eight screens and roughly 2,000 seats, while a later phase would add another six screens. The master plan included a child-care center, food court, café, restaurant and entertainment attractions. The full complex was expected to total approximately 75,000 square feet.

Architect Malcolm Holzman of Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates envisioned an unusual building integrated into the wooded hillside: sloping roofs, natural wood, cedar shingles, stone, a boardwalk and a sweeping glass wall. Rather than simply placing a multiplex in a parking lot, the concept aimed to make the theater itself a destination.

Fox hoped to open the first eight auditoriums during the following summer. That did not happen. The grander concept was never realized in its proposed form.

Recession, Roadwork and a Seven-Year Wait

A February 1992 Reading Eagle interview with Donald Fox explained why the project had stalled. The early-1990s recession complicated real estate financing, and the site's approval process was affected by land condemnation and the Park Road project involving PennDOT.

Movie attendance had also fallen nationwide in 1991. Fox reported a difficult year of ticket sales and cited late-season successes such as The Addams Family and Home Alone as bright spots.

By this point, the elaborate fourteen-screen plan had been reduced to eight screens and approximately 2,000 seats. Fox hoped to start construction in early 1992 and open by Christmas. That schedule, too, slipped.

Finally, on November 19, 1993, the new Fox Wyomissing 8 opened on Berkshire Boulevard. The modern eight-screen cinema delivered the larger multiplex Fox had discussed since 1986, even though it was more modest than the extraordinary 1989 proposal.

The older three-screen Fox Berkshire at Berkshire Mall West reportedly ceased showing movies in late 1993. Its exact last screening date has not been independently confirmed, and should not automatically be equated with the November 19 opening of the replacement.

From Movie Screens to Old Country Buffet

A Reading Eagle article dated December 16, 1994, confirmed that Old Country Buffet had opened in the former Fox Berkshire space at Berkshire Mall West. The article described the restaurant as occupying an entirely rebuilt interior.

For those who remembered waiting for tickets or buying popcorn there, the change was remarkable: the rooms that once housed three auditoriums now served family-style meals. This contemporary report proves that the theater had closed and been converted by December 1994, although it does not establish the date of its final film.

Fox, meanwhile, remained active in the county. In September 1994, the company announced plans to reopen the fire-damaged Fox Midtown duplex at Ninth and Penn Streets. That newspaper report counted 20 Fox-operated screens in Berks County, including eight in Wyomissing, five at Fox Fairgrounds, four at Fox East, two at Fox Plaza and one at the Sinking Spring Drive-In.

Carmike, a Fox Revival and the Arrival of AMC

The Berkshire Boulevard eight-screen theater eventually operated under Carmike Cinemas, before returning to Fox management and receiving further modernization. Digital projection, reserved seating, luxury recliners, premium-format presentation and upgraded food service changed the moviegoing experience again. Fox Kitchen & Bar and the Fox Patio underscored the growing importance of dining alongside entertainment.

In July 2023, Fox sold the Wyomissing theater to AMC. It reopened under the name AMC DINE-IN Berkshire 8 on July 14, 2023, marking the end of Fox's operation of its remaining hometown cinema.

One shopping district had now seen the transition from an original single-screen theater to a three-screen multiplex, then to eight screens, and finally to a nationally operated dine-in cinema.

The Berkshire Mall Movie Theater Timeline