Dickinson Theatres

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Dickinson Theaters
Type	Private
Founded	1920 in Manhattan, Kansas
Headquarters	Overland Park, Kansas
Key people	Glen W Dickinson Sr., Founder John Hartley, CEO
Industry	Entertainment (movie theatres)
Products	Dickinson Theaters
Website	www.dtmovies.com

Dickinson Theaters is a movie theater chain based in Overland Park, Kansas. As of 2007, the company operates 36 theaters with 337 screes over 10 states.

[edit] History

The company was founded in 1920 by Glen W. Dickinson, Sr. Dickinson quit his family run Ford Motor Company tractor dealership to start his business. Dickinson purchased a small two screen theater in Manhattan, Kansas, The Manhattan Marshall Theater, trying to capitalize on the booming college town crowd.

Soon after, on the success of his first theater, Dickinson opened another theater in Lawrence, Kansas, another booming college town, less than two hours away from Manhattan. Other theaters in Junction City, Ellsworth, Beloit, Great Bend, and Springfield, Missouri followed in short order. By 1931, the chain was operating 26 theaters and the home office was moved to Lawrence, Kansas.

1946 saw the opening of the company's first Drive-in theater in Pittsburg, Kansas. By 1948, 3 more drive-ins were opened around the state.

In 1963, leadership of the company passesd to Glen Dickinson, Jr., who headed the company for the next 20 years. During his tenure, the company expanded to 168 screens in 39 locations by the year 1995.

In 1999, Wood Dickinson, the last of the Dickinson family, left the theater business to start Renegade Pictures, LLC a feature film production company. John Hartley became CEO and president of the chain. Under Hartley's direction the company expanded to its current configuration of 337 screens located in 37 locations across 10 states.