Cinema 12 was built in 1967 by the Besinger family as part of the Meadowdale shopping center and leased to General Cinema, which opened it on March 25, 1970. Originally a two-screen theatre with about 1,300 seats, it has since gone through several changes. In 1974 it was expanded when two additional auditoriums, each seating 335, were added. In 1978 one of the two original theatres was split down the middle, making it a five-screen theatre.

Classic Cinemas took over the theatre in April 1990 and closed it down for renovations. Within six weeks, it had all new seats, carpeting, screens, concession counter and the entire interior was repainted. A beautiful neon sculpture was created for the center section of the lobby, which soars to 20 feet. In 1994 two additional auditoriums were added, and another five were added in 1995.

In 2004, the theatre's lobby was renovated with new carpeting and floor tile, as well as improvements to the concession area. Baby changing stations were added to every restroom to keep the theatre family friendly, and the hearing impaired system was upgraded to infra-red, the industry state of the art.

A 50 foot wide "Grande" screen was installed in the largest auditorium in May of 2005.  Along with the larger than life big screen image an all new digital sound was added.