Rave Motion Pictures in Ridgmar Mall is set to open at midnight on Dec. 17. The theater features wide rows, stadium seating, higher clearance to see over the rows in front, disabled access to the upper rows in two of the theaters and lots of neon in the lobby. Andrew Marton story. Anna Tinsley story. DIGITAL PHOTO Star-Telegram/Rodger Mallison
RODGER MALLISON
FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
Movie lovers rejoice: Even as the Ridgmar Mall has been purchased with plans to be turned into a logistics center, the beloved Cinemark Ridgmar Rave 13 and XD theater will stay open — for now, at least.
On Aug. 6, the Dallas-based real estate investment firm Ramrock Real Estate LLC announced plans to turn the storied and struggling Ridgmar Mall into a 930,960-square-foot logistics center (which is not a data center).
Rave Motion Pictures in Ridgmar Mall opened at midnight on Dec. 17, 2003, with a showing of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” Star-Telegram/Rodger Mallison RODGER MALLISON FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
Most of the mall will eventually be demolished to make way for the new development in the next 12 to 18 months.
The movie theater opened as Rave Motion Pictures on Dec. 17, 2003, with a midnight showing of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”
“The Fort Worth theater blares out its presence with a jumbo “R” logo plastered like a bull’s-eye on the side of its 62,000-square-foot Ridgmar complex,” Star-Telegram staff writer Andrew Marton wrote in 2003.
Shoppers from the mall get to Rave Motion Pictures on Sunday, May 30, 2004 at Ridgmar Mall in Fort Worth. JILL JOHNSON JILL JOHNSON FWST
Rave was purchased by Cinemark in 2013, but the theater has retained its Rave name and early aughts branding.
A spokesperson for Cinemark would not say just how long the Rave 13 will remain open, but confirmed that it will operate for the next few years through the end of its lease.
Tony Creme, a partner with KBC Advisors — one of the companies involved in the logistics center development — confirmed that the theater will remain open for now.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Emily Holshouser is a local news reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.