Some of these locations go back a looooong way!

Back in the days before we all sat on our cans at home and started streaming everything, going to the movies was the ultimate leisure time activity. Sure, people still venture out of the house and go see the hot new releases, but it used to be a much, much bigger deal.

A really cool video was posted recently, that highlights the history of movie theatres in the Bangor area, from 1960-2022. There have been many changes in all those years, and we broke it down in a timeline for you.

How many do you remember? One of my earliest movie memories was when I saw “Back To The Future” when Bangor Mall Cinemas opened their doors!

1965-The Bangor Opera House starts showing movies
1967-The Brewer Cinema Twin opens, right where the Hannaford sits today
1968-The Westgate Cinema opens in Bangor
1970-University Cinema 1-2 opens in Old Town
1971-University Mall Theatre opens in Orono
1972-Brewer Cinema opens a 3rd screen
1974-Westgate Cinemas starts showing “Adult” films. Ooh la la!
1978-Brewer Cinemas opens a 4th screen
1985-Bangor Mall Cinemas 1-8 opens, and proves to be so popular, that Brewer Cinemas 1-4, close their doors
1991-Hoyt’s Bangor Mall Cinemas expands to 10 big screens
1996-Spotlight Cinemas in Orono opens for business
1997-Movie City Cinemas opens on the Odlin Road in Bangor, it then became Movie Magic 8, Hollywood Cinemas, Westside Cinemas, and currently, Movie Rocket
2015-The Bangor Drive-In opens back up, then unfortunately closed again earlier this year in 2022

25 Bangor Then and Now Photos From Google Street View

Take a look at how Downtown Bangor, the Waterfront, State Street, Stillwater and more areas of Bangor looked years ago compared to today using Google Street View archives.

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