Screenland Armour

Sometimes, you go somewhere for the first time and it instantly feels like pure magic & you can’t wait to go back again. This is what happened when I visited Screenland Armour in NKC a few years back. Everything from the beautifully lit marquee out front, to the arcade games inside the lobby & local beer on draft, makes you feel a sense of history and pride. I remember walking in for the first time and seeing that they had made a specific drink menu for the film I was going to see, and how you could tell the thought that went into the ingredient lists & names given to each one. It’s been such a special place for me to take friends, or cherish by myself and escape for a few hours. 

Since its restoration in 2008, this space just celebrated its 10 year anniversary in May, (and 90 years since the original doors opened!) General Manager Kaleigh Rangel shared with me some of the changes one of KC’s only remaining historic theatres has gone through over the years.

‘In 2008, after renovations, Butch Rigby officially opened the theatre as Screenland Armour. The doors originally opened in 1928 as the silent film house, ‘Armour Theatre’. Before it became Screenland, it also operated as The Centre Theatre, The Paradise and the Northland Opry, (which was a country music venue). It sat quiet for a few years before the founder of Screenland purchased it and began renovations. It has a rich history! I’ve had so many people come in and talk about coming there when they were younger. I even had a couple who was celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary come in to see a movie and told me that the theatre was where they had their first date!’

Screenland is also set to expand by adding two more screens, a larger lobby, and more food + drinks options as well. You can find this beautiful location, alongside many other local favorite shops, at 408 Armour Rd.