The Fox Florence Theater opened on 8th April 1932 with Leo Carrillo and Lupe Valez staring in “The Broken Wing”.
Corrections required to the headers for this theater:
I have never heard of Architect; S. Charles Lee working with the Firm; Rapp & Rapp. The Architectural Style should read; Spanish Colonial Revival. There was only one balcony in the theater.
The Peninsula Theater opened on 12th October 1926. On screen was Norma Shearer in “Upstage”. Charlie Chase appeared ‘in person’ and the Robert-Morton theatre organ was played by Elbert LaChelle and Elmer Vincent. Milt Franklin and his “Musical Aristocats” were the house band.
David;
The book you refer to is titled “The Best Remaining Seats” – The Story of the Golden Age of the Movie Palace by Ben M. Hall Published by Bramhall House in 1961
It has ben re-printed a couple of times since then and there are copies to be found in 2nd hand book stores and on the internet.
I have never been to the Tivoli, or St Louis for that matter, but I take your points.
I have a copy of the theatre guide for St Louis published by the Theatre Historical Society of America for their 1984 Conclave to the city. I quote from that;
Tivoli
Opened: 1924
Seats: 1,900 (Eh?)
Interesting Facts: The theatre is a victim of a horrendous 1960’s remodeling job. The original organ screens and decorative plaster are behind the present screen. The dressing rooms have graffiti from vaudeville actors from the 1920's
Present Status: exhibits art and foreign films
As I said, this was a 1984 record of the Tivoli by THSA.
You will be pleased to know that the Film Daily Yearbook, 1950 had a reduced seating capacity given as 1,313. I know these figures cannot be, and should never be taken as ‘gospel truth’.
I’m sure you are correct to say and I agree that is a mis-spelling of Circle.
I’m sorry to say this is an area of LA I am not familiar with and have only passed through it on the Metro. So my knowledge is limited to say the least! I wish I had done some research when I first went to LA in the mid 1970’s, but then the allure and glamour of Hollywood enticed me there instead.
The Cinema Treasures listing for the Century /theaters/7357 gives an indication of a 1940’s opening for this theatre. According to Mike Rivest’s listings http://movie-theatre.org/usa/ca/la/la.xls the Circle operated from 1925 – 1935 (no address given), the Aloha operated from 1945 – 1950 @ #6010 S.Broadway and the Century from 1940 – 1950 @ 6013 S. Broadway. The Century is listed as having 900 seats in the Film Daily Yearbook of 1941 and its still listed in the 1952 F.D.Y, but with 950 seats. MMmmmm??
There was a silent move theatre named Casino. It is listed on http://www.silentera.com/theaters/index.html Sadly this is an ongoing research site (like Cinema Treasures) and the Casino hasn’t been fully researched yet. But it does give an accurate list and details of most silent movie theatres. In this instant click on ‘United States, then California, then Los Angeles’.
It seem a big coincidence to me that there were two different theatres, on the same Avenue, that were exactly 100#’s apart. (4219 or 4319. But coincidences DO happen, eh? Anyone got a 1920’s Film Daily Yearbook with full addresses please?
The architects of the Alhambra Cinema, Moseley Road, Birmingham were Satchwell & Roberts and it was built for the Leon Salberg and Sydney W. Clift circuit of cinemas named Cinema Proprietors Ltd. It opened on 26th December 1928 and had a seating capacity of 1,662.
It was taken over by Associated British Cinemas (ABC) on 1st April 1930. It closed as a regular cinema on 31st August 1968 and became an Asian cinema showing Bollywood movies before final closure and demolition.
The Bill Robinson Theatre is listed in the Film Daily Yearbook 1941; street address given is 4219 S. Central Ave. Seating is given as 850. So this must be the former Tivoli, designed by Lewis A. Smith in 1921.
William;
Film Daily Yearbooks I have for both 1950 and 1952 give a street address of 4319 S. Central, which must be a typo error if we are going to go for this building being the Tivoli on the 4200 block. (790 seats were given as a capacity for both those years)
The Circle Theatre was Philadelphia’s only ‘Atmospheric’ styled theatre (the Circle was Spanish atmospheric). It closed as a movie house in the 1950’s and the area under the balcony and all the lobbies were converted into retail use, with the rest of the theatre sealed off intact. Sadly all is now gone with the subsequent demolition of the building.
The Theatre Historical Society of America visited Philadelphia in June 1985 and in their published guide book for the visit, the final demise of the Carman Theatre began when;
‘pipes in the ceiling of the closed theatre froze and burst in 1978. It rained in the Carman for nearly a week washing off the stuccoed walls, but the tiles remained. For six weeks the wrecking ball hit the house in 1978’
The Broadway Theater was South Philadelphia’s largest theatre. It opened as a Keith Vaudeville house and movies
(Stanley Photoplays) were added later, when eventually it became a full time movie house by the 1940’s. The architect was A.E. Westover.
First a correction to my Nov 26th posting; I stated at the end of paragraph 3 that ‘the EMD closed in 2001’, this should have read 2003. The EMD Cinema actually closed on Friday 3rd January 2003 with a special gala charity screening of the film “The Smallest Show on Earth” plus organ interlude, and live music on stage. The EMD Cinema had been purchased by the Brazilian based Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) for £2.8million.
My resume of the Granada/EMD wasn’t meant to be a full history of the building but just a brief insight into what has happened there over the years. Of course much can be writen about recent events that have paved the way for the future of the theatre and I will deal with some of them right now.
Within a few days of closing, the theatre was broken into by a group of illegal ‘ravers’ (police numbers estimate around 500). Despite press reports that much damage was done to the interior of the building, it was inspected a few days after the ‘rave’ by the local Waltham Forest Council, Conservation Officer accompanied by the chairman of the Cinema Theatre Association who found damage to be ‘minimal’ in the main auditorium and broken seats, a slashed screen and damage to a couple of mirrors and projection equipment in the smallers screens.
The Conservation Officer and the Cinema Theatre Association are working together to promote a re-use of the building and it is to the credit of Waltham Forrest Council that they insist that the building is retained for entertainment use and not as a church. (The London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of two London Boroughs which currently do not have a cinema operation within their boundries (Lewisham is the other Borough). The UCKG appealed against the Council’s decision to alter change of use and they lost the appeal, a decision which was backed by the Parliamentary Secretary of State for the Arts & Culture.
Being a Grade II Listed building, the current owners (UCKG) are not allowed to remove any fixtures and fittings from the building and as far as is known this has not happened. It was recently reported that the owners had actually made repairs to the building, following concerns after it was put on the ‘buildings at risk’ register by English Heritage and of course they were more than anxious to make the building more secure from intruders after the ‘rave’ had happened.
Waltham Forrest Borough Council have for a while been taking advise on planning an Arts Centre of the Borough and recently favour has swung in the direction of the former Granada/EMD Cinema to be used for this purpose. A few weeks ago, the Council decided to ditch plans for the new Arts Centra and concentrate its attention on buying and refurbishing the existing Granada/EMD. The Council have stated that they would like to come to a mutual agreement for the purchase of the building from UCKG, but might have to resort to a compulsory purchase order. Negotiations are continuing but it could take a long time before the Granada re-opens.
Fact: The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God own many former theatre and cinema buildings around the world. In Los Angeles, CA they operate the former Loews State and the Tower Theater on Broadway, the Granada at Wilmington, CA and the Bay Theater, National City, CA. to name just a few.
Here in the UK they has done a splendid job of restoring the former Astoria Theatre, Finsbury Park in North London. /theaters/1423/
The Film Daily Yearbook 1941 gives a seating capacity of 650. The address given in the 1952 F.D.Y. is given as 200 E. Florida Avenue, Hemet, CA. Seating capacity 632.
The Avo Theatre opened on 11th December 1948 with the movie “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” staring Edward G. Robinson. The owner of the Avo was Mr Aberahiam Shelhoup who owned and operated a shop in Vista (His son is still alive and works in the store today).
The lobby of the theatre is in the shape of an avocado and being the town of Vista had many avocado groves, hence the name of the theatre. Although the exterior and lobby area still exist as first built, the auditorium has been stripped of any decoration it may have had (including the removal of the proscenium opening) and is now painted a dark blue/green colour. It continues in use as a small town community theatre producing small scale stage productions.
Above details sourced from the Vista Historical Society.
The Carmel Theater opened on 19th November 1924. The architect was Lewis A. Smith (L.A. Smith) and was built for West Coast Theaters.
When operating as a successful adult movie house (re-named the Paris Theatre) it was seriously damaged by fire in January 1976 and was demolished.
The Fox Florence Theater opened on 8th April 1932 with Leo Carrillo and Lupe Valez staring in “The Broken Wing”.
Corrections required to the headers for this theater:
I have never heard of Architect; S. Charles Lee working with the Firm; Rapp & Rapp. The Architectural Style should read; Spanish Colonial Revival. There was only one balcony in the theater.
The Peninsula Theater opened on 12th October 1926. On screen was Norma Shearer in “Upstage”. Charlie Chase appeared ‘in person’ and the Robert-Morton theatre organ was played by Elbert LaChelle and Elmer Vincent. Milt Franklin and his “Musical Aristocats” were the house band.
The Fox Burlingame Theater (formally Peninsula Theater) was closed in 1974.
Opened as the Lincoln-Dixie Theater on 23rd June 1921 it featured both movies and vaudeville.
The Lincoln Theater was demolished in February 1972 after standing vacant for several years and suffering a fire which had gutted the interior.
David;
The book you refer to is titled “The Best Remaining Seats” – The Story of the Golden Age of the Movie Palace by Ben M. Hall Published by Bramhall House in 1961
It has ben re-printed a couple of times since then and there are copies to be found in 2nd hand book stores and on the internet.
I have never been to the Tivoli, or St Louis for that matter, but I take your points.
I have a copy of the theatre guide for St Louis published by the Theatre Historical Society of America for their 1984 Conclave to the city. I quote from that;
Tivoli
Opened: 1924
Seats: 1,900 (Eh?)
Interesting Facts: The theatre is a victim of a horrendous 1960’s remodeling job. The original organ screens and decorative plaster are behind the present screen. The dressing rooms have graffiti from vaudeville actors from the 1920's
Present Status: exhibits art and foreign films
As I said, this was a 1984 record of the Tivoli by THSA.
You will be pleased to know that the Film Daily Yearbook, 1950 had a reduced seating capacity given as 1,313. I know these figures cannot be, and should never be taken as ‘gospel truth’.
Thanks Charles. Just trying to give a perpective on the size of the building, being it had no seating capacity given here, until I posted it.
Correction:
The Cinema Treasures listing for the Century is /theaters/7356
I’m sure you are correct to say and I agree that is a mis-spelling of Circle.
I’m sorry to say this is an area of LA I am not familiar with and have only passed through it on the Metro. So my knowledge is limited to say the least! I wish I had done some research when I first went to LA in the mid 1970’s, but then the allure and glamour of Hollywood enticed me there instead.
The Cinema Treasures listing for the Century /theaters/7357 gives an indication of a 1940’s opening for this theatre. According to Mike Rivest’s listings http://movie-theatre.org/usa/ca/la/la.xls the Circle operated from 1925 – 1935 (no address given), the Aloha operated from 1945 – 1950 @ #6010 S.Broadway and the Century from 1940 – 1950 @ 6013 S. Broadway. The Century is listed as having 900 seats in the Film Daily Yearbook of 1941 and its still listed in the 1952 F.D.Y, but with 950 seats. MMmmmm??
There was a silent move theatre named Casino. It is listed on http://www.silentera.com/theaters/index.html Sadly this is an ongoing research site (like Cinema Treasures) and the Casino hasn’t been fully researched yet. But it does give an accurate list and details of most silent movie theatres. In this instant click on ‘United States, then California, then Los Angeles’.
It seem a big coincidence to me that there were two different theatres, on the same Avenue, that were exactly 100#’s apart. (4219 or 4319. But coincidences DO happen, eh? Anyone got a 1920’s Film Daily Yearbook with full addresses please?
The architects of the Alhambra Cinema, Moseley Road, Birmingham were Satchwell & Roberts and it was built for the Leon Salberg and Sydney W. Clift circuit of cinemas named Cinema Proprietors Ltd. It opened on 26th December 1928 and had a seating capacity of 1,662.
It was taken over by Associated British Cinemas (ABC) on 1st April 1930. It closed as a regular cinema on 31st August 1968 and became an Asian cinema showing Bollywood movies before final closure and demolition.
The Royal Theatre was re-modelled in an Art Deco style both externally and internally in 1935/36 by architect Timothy Pflueger.
The Largo Theatre opened in 1923. Architect: Carl Boller. Firm: Boller Brothers. Listed as having 904 seats in 1950.
Joe;
Looks like you have solved this one, Thanks.
The Bill Robinson Theatre is listed in the Film Daily Yearbook 1941; street address given is 4219 S. Central Ave. Seating is given as 850. So this must be the former Tivoli, designed by Lewis A. Smith in 1921.
William;
Film Daily Yearbooks I have for both 1950 and 1952 give a street address of 4319 S. Central, which must be a typo error if we are going to go for this building being the Tivoli on the 4200 block. (790 seats were given as a capacity for both those years)
In the Film Daily Yearbook, 1941 it is listed as the Fox State with a seating capacity of 1,245.
The Circle Theatre was Philadelphia’s only ‘Atmospheric’ styled theatre (the Circle was Spanish atmospheric). It closed as a movie house in the 1950’s and the area under the balcony and all the lobbies were converted into retail use, with the rest of the theatre sealed off intact. Sadly all is now gone with the subsequent demolition of the building.
The Theatre Historical Society of America visited Philadelphia in June 1985 and in their published guide book for the visit, the final demise of the Carman Theatre began when;
‘pipes in the ceiling of the closed theatre froze and burst in 1978. It rained in the Carman for nearly a week washing off the stuccoed walls, but the tiles remained. For six weeks the wrecking ball hit the house in 1978’
The Broadway Theater was South Philadelphia’s largest theatre. It opened as a Keith Vaudeville house and movies
(Stanley Photoplays) were added later, when eventually it became a full time movie house by the 1940’s. The architect was A.E. Westover.
The architect of the Lincoln Theatre was William Henry Gruen.
The Film Daily Yearbook 1941 gives the seating capacity for the Tivoli Theater as 1,440.
First a correction to my Nov 26th posting; I stated at the end of paragraph 3 that ‘the EMD closed in 2001’, this should have read 2003. The EMD Cinema actually closed on Friday 3rd January 2003 with a special gala charity screening of the film “The Smallest Show on Earth” plus organ interlude, and live music on stage. The EMD Cinema had been purchased by the Brazilian based Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) for £2.8million.
My resume of the Granada/EMD wasn’t meant to be a full history of the building but just a brief insight into what has happened there over the years. Of course much can be writen about recent events that have paved the way for the future of the theatre and I will deal with some of them right now.
Within a few days of closing, the theatre was broken into by a group of illegal ‘ravers’ (police numbers estimate around 500). Despite press reports that much damage was done to the interior of the building, it was inspected a few days after the ‘rave’ by the local Waltham Forest Council, Conservation Officer accompanied by the chairman of the Cinema Theatre Association who found damage to be ‘minimal’ in the main auditorium and broken seats, a slashed screen and damage to a couple of mirrors and projection equipment in the smallers screens.
The Conservation Officer and the Cinema Theatre Association are working together to promote a re-use of the building and it is to the credit of Waltham Forrest Council that they insist that the building is retained for entertainment use and not as a church. (The London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of two London Boroughs which currently do not have a cinema operation within their boundries (Lewisham is the other Borough). The UCKG appealed against the Council’s decision to alter change of use and they lost the appeal, a decision which was backed by the Parliamentary Secretary of State for the Arts & Culture.
Being a Grade II Listed building, the current owners (UCKG) are not allowed to remove any fixtures and fittings from the building and as far as is known this has not happened. It was recently reported that the owners had actually made repairs to the building, following concerns after it was put on the ‘buildings at risk’ register by English Heritage and of course they were more than anxious to make the building more secure from intruders after the ‘rave’ had happened.
Waltham Forrest Borough Council have for a while been taking advise on planning an Arts Centre of the Borough and recently favour has swung in the direction of the former Granada/EMD Cinema to be used for this purpose. A few weeks ago, the Council decided to ditch plans for the new Arts Centra and concentrate its attention on buying and refurbishing the existing Granada/EMD. The Council have stated that they would like to come to a mutual agreement for the purchase of the building from UCKG, but might have to resort to a compulsory purchase order. Negotiations are continuing but it could take a long time before the Granada re-opens.
Fact: The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God own many former theatre and cinema buildings around the world. In Los Angeles, CA they operate the former Loews State and the Tower Theater on Broadway, the Granada at Wilmington, CA and the Bay Theater, National City, CA. to name just a few.
Here in the UK they has done a splendid job of restoring the former Astoria Theatre, Finsbury Park in North London. /theaters/1423/
The Film Daily Yearbook 1941 gives a seating capacity of 650. The address given in the 1952 F.D.Y. is given as 200 E. Florida Avenue, Hemet, CA. Seating capacity 632.
The Avo Theatre opened on 11th December 1948 with the movie “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” staring Edward G. Robinson. The owner of the Avo was Mr Aberahiam Shelhoup who owned and operated a shop in Vista (His son is still alive and works in the store today).
The lobby of the theatre is in the shape of an avocado and being the town of Vista had many avocado groves, hence the name of the theatre. Although the exterior and lobby area still exist as first built, the auditorium has been stripped of any decoration it may have had (including the removal of the proscenium opening) and is now painted a dark blue/green colour. It continues in use as a small town community theatre producing small scale stage productions.
Above details sourced from the Vista Historical Society.