This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

Screenland Armour is an independently owned four-screen cinema at 408 Armour Rd, North Kansas City, MO, in the historic Armour Theatre Building (opened 1928 as a silent-movie house). Restored and reopened as Screenland Armour in 2008 by founder Butch Rigby; operated since 2012 by Adam Roberts and Brent Miller. Film, digital, 35mm/70mm programming, kitchen and draft beer, basement Rewind Video and Dive. Tier 1 independent metro cinema.123

Description

Screenland Armour programs mainstream, independent, foreign, and classic cinema — including specialty film formats (4K digital, 35mm, 70mm) — with a kitchen (pizza, sandwiches) and roughly twenty beers on tap. The 2018 expansion added two pocket screens, larger kitchen, lobby seating, and outdoor patio into the adjacent original Power and Light company space. During the 2020 pandemic the theatre ran parking-lot outdoor screenings. In 2022 the basement opened as Rewind Video and Dive, a 1990s nostalgia video-store and dive bar concept.14

It is one of the metro’s best-known independent screens and a frequent host for festival and specialty programming (including co-founding ties to Panic Fest noted on the house history page).1

Ownership and history

Building (1928–)

Designed by Kansas City architects Keene and Simpson as a two-story Spanish Eclectic building housing a silent movie theatre and community offices (Chamber of Commerce, Power and Light). Original opening September 6, 1928 with the film Warming Up. Blind pianist George Newell accompanied silent pictures until talkies ended that role. Later name changes included Centre Theatre (Commonwealth Theaters, from Christmas 1963) and Paradise (1984; Mossman / Fine Arts lineage; live entertainment and video rentals).1

Screenland era

  • 2007–2008: Screenland founder Butch Rigby purchased and restored the vacant building; reopened May 23, 2008 with 35mm, Dolby 5.1, stadium seating (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull).1
  • September 2012: Adam Roberts and brother-in-law Brent Miller took over operations (they had been running trivia nights). Digital conversion March 2013; draft beer, larger kitchen, expanded programming.13
  • 2018: Expansion to four screens into the neighboring Power & Light building space.1
  • 2026: Kansas City Star profiled Roberts on bringing film projection back for specialty 70mm runs — confirms continuous independent operation under Roberts as owner/operator.2

Roberts and Miller have also operated Screenland Tapcade (1701 McGee St) since around 2015 (separate venue; not drafted this pass).3

Menu / concessions

Theatre kitchen and bar (pizza, sandwiches, draft beer) — itemized prices not captured this pass. menu_status: na for a full restaurant menu; concessions are ancillary. Capture on a venue concessions pass if desired.

See also

Sources

Footnotes

  1. “History,” Screenland Armour (first-party) (accessed 2026-08-10). Asserts: 1928 Keene & Simpson building; Sept 6 1928 open with Warming Up; George Newell; Centre 1963; Paradise 1984 / Mossman; Rigby purchase 2007, reopen May 23 2008; Roberts & Miller Sept 2012; digital March 2013; 2018 two-pocket expansion; 2020 outdoor lot; 2022 Rewind Video and Dive basement. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  2. Joseph Hernandez, “Why KC’s Screenland brought back a film projector,” The Kansas City Star, Mar 28, 2026 — asserts: owner Adam Roberts; 408 Armour Rd; 70mm / film specialty programming in 2026. ↩ ↩2

  3. Laura Spencer, “North Kansas City’s Screenland Armour heads outside during the coronavirus pandemic,” KCUR, July 12, 2020 — asserts: Roberts co-owner/operator with Brent Miller; Rigby 2008 restore; takeover 2012; Screenland Tapcade at 1701 McGee since 2015. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. “Screenland Armour Theatre,” Visit KC — asserts: independently owned and operated; 408 Armour Rd; (816) 994-7380. ↩

See also

Categories

On the record — ks.city/registry/screenland-armour · record updated 2026-08-10