I’ve found and April 3, 1948, Boxoffice item indicating that the remodeling of the Rialto did take place. It included new restrooms, a remodeled balcony, a new front, and a renovation of the projection booth. The project was nearing completion, the item said.
The Rialto opened in 1928 as the Normana Theatre, part of the Frels circuit, and was first operated by Rubin Frels' sister Norma, for whom the theater had been named. The July 7, 1928, issue of Motion Picture Times said that the new theater was expected to open in about 30 days, but the September 29 issue of the same publication said that the Normana Theatre had “just opened.”
A Boxoffice Magazine “Twenty Years Ago” feature in the issue of June 11, 1949, revealed that in mid-1929 S.G. Fry and E.D. Nichuls had opened a rebuilt theater called the Palace next door to Frels' Normana, and a May 6, 1930, Motion Picture Times item said that the Hall brothers had taken over the Palace and would update it to compete with the Normana.
Motion Picture Times of June 30, 1930, reported that the Normana Theatre had been sold by Frels to Hall Industries, and that the latter company would renovate the house and rename it the Rialto. I’ve been unable to find the Palace mentioned in later issues of the trade journals, but a 1937 item says that Hall Industries was operating the Rialto and Rex theaters at Cuero, and indicates that the Rex was the Palace renamed.
In 1937, Jack Pickens opened the Trot Theatre in Cuero, and shortly thereafter took over operation of the Rialto from the Halls. He also got control of the Rex, which he apparently then closed. Pickens merged his operations with the Griffith circuit in 1938, and the April 30 Boxoffice item about the merger said that Pickens operated only two theaters at Cuero. The Rialto and Trot are mentioned in later issues of Boxoffice, but the Rex is never mentioned again.
A January 31, 1948, Boxoffice item said that the Rialto at Cuero was to be remodeled and enlarged, and that tenants of shops in the building had been informed by the Griffith circuit that the space they occupied was to be taken over for the theater. I’ve found no further mention of the project in Boxoffice, and in the absence of any photos of the theater more recent than the 1930s I can’t say if this remodeling project was carried out or not.
Is this called the El Rancho or just the Rancho? Boxoffice of October 24, 1953, said that Homer Gray was selling his Rancho Drive-In at San Pablo to Ray Syufy. Then the El Rancho Drive-In at San Pablo was mentioned as a Syufy operation in Boxoffice of October 15, 1955. Boxoffice switches back and forth in various items over the years. Which form was on the screen tower or attraction board (or did they each have a different one?)
To add to the confusion, Boxoffice of July 9, 1973, has an item saying that the San Pablo city council had asked the courts to have the Rancho Drive-In permanently closed as a public nuisance, but this item gave the location of the theater as 14th Street and Broadway.
Whatever the name, the drive-in was in operation by September of 1951, and must have been one of the two drive-ins that were reported in Boxoffice of July 8, 1950, to then be under construction at San Pablo.
-DB: That photo has been posted at Cinema Treasures before, but I can’t remember which page it was on. I don’t think anybody was able to identify the theater.
Boxoffice of May 6, 1950, said that the Inglewood Theatre had recently been opened by Crescent Amusement Company. Few details about the theater were given, other than that it had both a cry room and a party room, and that it would be the only suburban Nashville house to present daily matinees.
An article announcing the partnership between Trans-Lux and Inflight appeared in Boxoffice, November 13, 1967 Upper left.) The company planned to have at least fifty Trans-Lux Inflight Cines in operation by the end of 1969. All were to have screens twenty feet wide, and would seat about 350 patrons. The architect for all of these projects was John McNamara.
A May 6, 1968, Boxoffice item said that the first Trans-Lux Inflight Cine would be opened soon in Bartow, Florida, and that the second would open at Tampa that summer. The company totally missed its goal of opening fifty theaters by the end of 1969. Boxoffice of April 17, 1972, reported that the Trans-Lux Inflight Cine, a twin theater, had opened at Daytona, and was the 18th house in the chain. The theaters were still being designed by John McNamara, though.
Boxoffice of December 12, 1953, said that the Iowa Theatre at Fort Madison was one of three theaters in the state that had closed the previous week. The item gave some of the history of the house, which had been the oldest theater in Fort Madison.
Prior to becoming the Iowa Theatre in the 1930s, it had operated as the Grand Theatre and then the Columbia Theatre, being for several decades a venue for touring companies of stage productions. The building had originally been erected in the 1880s as a skating rink. The house was listed as the Grand in Julius Cahn’s guide for 1900-1901. It then had 908 seats.
The remodeling and renaming of the Strand took place in 1950. Boxoffice of July 15 that year said that the $50,000 project was scheduled to begin that day. A small photo of the remodeled Fox appeared in Boxoffice of Ocotber 6, 1951.
A Strand Theatre in Fort Madison was mentioned in the July 6, 1929, issue of Movie Age as one of several Iowa house recently installing Western Electric sound equipment.
Boxoffice of June 19, 1954, ran an item saying that Louis Donnici had sold the Palace Theatre, which had been acquired by his father, Dominick Donnici, “…nearly forty years ago from Richard & Flynn.”
Thanks for the update, JAlex. The 12th Street Theatre must have been at least under construction by mid-1920, so it was probably in operation before its neighbor, the Pantages/Tower, which opened in August, 1921.
Here’s a report by the fire chief of Kansas City describing the fire that destroyed the Willis Wood Theatre in 1917:
“Willis Wood Theatre, northeast corner Eleventh and Baltimore, January 8th, 1917. The first alarm was received at 12:50 A. M., followed by a second alarm at 12:51 A. M. The building was a three-story brick theatre owned by the Willis Wood estate, and occupied by Messrs. Richards & Flynn, as a moving picture theatre. Upon arrival of the Department the fire had spread throughout the entire building. The fire was practically confined to the theatre, with nominal exposure losses on the Home Telephone Company’s building and the Kansas City Southern Railway building, adjoining. The loss on building and contents was $87,296.51, the total insurance being $551.549.82. Eight single streams and two turret streams were used in extinguishing the fire; cause, unknown.”
Boxoffice of May 9, 1966, mentions the Lido: “Ramon Lence, who operates the Lido (formerly the Major) in Dallas, is converting the house to live talent and art movies….”
The house was still called the Major in 1965, when the March 29 issue of Boxoffice reported that Phil Isley had sold most of his circuit to John Rowley, but had retained ownership of the Major Theatre in Dallas and the Canyon Drive-In at Snyder.
I’ve found Phil Isley’s Major Theatre mentioned in Boxoffice as early as the issue of February 11, 1950, in an item saying that R.V. Scott had taken over as manager of the house. I haven’t found the opening date for the Major, but judging from the style of the building I’d say that it might have opened in early 1950 or in the late 1940s.
Boxoffice of July 10, 1954, said that D.B. Stout, operator of the Uptown Theatre, had announced that the house had been closed permanently as of the first of the month. The highway department was widening Sycamore Street, and the front portion of the building was to be demolished to accommodate the expanded right-of-way.
The Lincoln Theatre in Cairo was mentioned in Boxoffice of June 14, 1947. The Opera House had burned down on February 7 that same year. If the Rodgers became the Lincoln when it replaced the Opera House as the town’s African-American theater, then the name change must have taken place that year.
Boxoffice of October 26, 1957, reported that the Rodgers circuit had announced that their Lincoln Theatre at Cairo would be closed “…for an indefinite period.” I haven’t found any later mentions of the Lincoln in Boxoffice.
The destruction of the Cairo Opera House by fire was reported in Boxoffice of February 15, 1947. The fire broke out shortly before noon on February 7, and destroyed five buildings.
Another brief item in the magazine’s issue of April 12 said that the Opera House had opened in December, 1881, with Fay Templeton in “Mascotte” and that the last stage production at the house had been Irving Berlin’s “Music Box Review,” presented in 1937. 56 years was an impressive run for a small town theater.
I would surmise that the discrepancy in seating capacity between the 1890s and the 1940s was probably the result of the closing of some part of the auditorium— probably upper galleries and side boxes— when the house was converted for showing movies. The main floor might have been reseated with larger chairs and wider rows at some time as well.
An article in Boxoffice of January 16, 1967, gives a somewhat different history of the Gem than that currently presented here. According to Bill Griffin (the subject of the article, and former assistant manager of the old Gem and manager of its replacement) the original Gem did not burn down, but was demolished to make way for the new Gem. It was the new Gem which suffered the fire.
Although the Boxoffice item says that Griffin watched “…the beautiful new Gem Theatre burn to the ground,” the facade that survives today doesn’t look like anything that would have been put up in the 1930s. My guess would be that the fire only gutted the theater and it was rebuilt within the old walls. Griffin arrived in Cairo in December, 1926, so the original Gem was demolished after that. My guess, judging from the architectural style of the newer building, is that the ill-fated second Gem was built in the late 1920s.
That’s obviously a very old building, probably dating from no later than the early 1920s, possibly from the 1910s. If I were to hazard a guess (and you know I will) I’d say the Roxy was probably in operation in the 1920s under another name.
But the only mentions of the Roxy I’ve been able to find in Boxoffice so far are from the early 1950s. The issue of February 12, 1955, in an item saying that Maurice Stahl had recently acquired the house from Claughton Theatres and planned to redecorate it.
The Mesa Theatre suffered a major fire and was rebuilt in 1948. Apparently the walls survived the disaster. Reconstruction was about to begin, according to Boxoffice of March 6, 1948. Operator E. R. Hardwick said that everything in the theater would be new, including the four (segregated) rest rooms. The stadium-style auditorium was to seat 768. The architect for the project was Jack Corgan.
Boxoffice of March, 1988, said that Commonwealth Theatres had closed its State Theatre in Clovis the previous December 18, the same day the circuit’s new North Plains four-plex was opened.
A 1944 Boxoffice item said that E. R. Hardwick, long-time operator of the State, had entered the theater business in 1909 as an usher, and had been in charge of theaters in Clovis since 1913. He became an affiliate of Griffith Theatres in 1933.
The Crystal was a very early movie house on Elm Street, Dallas’s “Theatre Row.” A bit of its history is told in this article from Motion Picture Times of October 6, 1928. The Crystal was being dismantled at that time.
A Ritz Theatre opened at Midland in 1928, and was designed by theater architect W. Scott Dunne. Motion Picture Times of November 3 that year said that the house, owned by W. H. Williams, would open about Thanksgiving Day.
Boxoffice of January 17, 1977, said this: “Video’s Cinema, formerly the Ritz, in Midland, Tex., has been completely remodeled and will reopen soon.” I can’t find any other refences to a house in Midland called the Cinema.
According to volume 2 of a 1912 publication, “Genealogical and personal history of Fayette county Pennsylvania”, by James Hadden, the Soisson Theatre was built in 1907 by Joseph Soisson. It was originally designed as a venue for live performances. I haven’t been able to find anything else about its early history, but it was showing movies in 1928.
The Soisson Theatre had been dark for many years when it was renovated and reopened by Vernon F. Scott’s Ideal Amusement company in 1937. Boxoffice of November 20 that year said that the opening was scheduled for November 24. The architect for the extensive remodeling was Harry W. Altman, Sr. of Altman & Altman, Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
The Soisson was acquired by the Warner-affiliated Brown Amusement Company in 1941. Boxoffice of August 1, 1953, said that the Orpheum Theatre at Connellsville had reopened after being closed for six weeks and that the Soisson Theatre was scheduled to go dark. The Soisson is mentioned again in Boxoffice of May 22, 1954, in an item saying that it would be operated on weekends only.
The Soisson and Orpheum are mentioned as the only two theaters still oeprating in Connellsville in Boxoffice of September 26, 1956. I haven’t found the Soisson mentioned as an operating theater in any later issues of Boxoffice. The Orpheum operated at least as late as 1965, but was closed and its equipment sold by 1971.
This theater returned to its original name of Paramount in 1953, according to the February 7 issue of Boxoffice that year. The house had been closed for six months. The September 4, 1954, issue of Boxoffice reported that the Paramount at Connellsville had been closed.
I haven’t found the Paramount mentioned in any later issues of Boxoffice. A 1956 Boxoffice item said that the only theaters still operating in Connellsville were the Soisson and the Orpheum, so the 1954 closure of the Paramount had probably been permanent.
Vernon Scott was the head of the Ideal Amusement Company, according to Boxoffice of October 2, 1937. The item said that the Vernon Theatre had opened “…at the turn of the year….” I guess that would mean either December 31, 1936, or January 1, 1937.
At the time of Scott’s death in March, 1942, the Ideal Amusement company operated a circuit of 14 theaters. Scott was succeeded as President of the chain by former general manager F.X. McClellan.
I’ve found and April 3, 1948, Boxoffice item indicating that the remodeling of the Rialto did take place. It included new restrooms, a remodeled balcony, a new front, and a renovation of the projection booth. The project was nearing completion, the item said.
The Rialto opened in 1928 as the Normana Theatre, part of the Frels circuit, and was first operated by Rubin Frels' sister Norma, for whom the theater had been named. The July 7, 1928, issue of Motion Picture Times said that the new theater was expected to open in about 30 days, but the September 29 issue of the same publication said that the Normana Theatre had “just opened.”
A Boxoffice Magazine “Twenty Years Ago” feature in the issue of June 11, 1949, revealed that in mid-1929 S.G. Fry and E.D. Nichuls had opened a rebuilt theater called the Palace next door to Frels' Normana, and a May 6, 1930, Motion Picture Times item said that the Hall brothers had taken over the Palace and would update it to compete with the Normana.
Motion Picture Times of June 30, 1930, reported that the Normana Theatre had been sold by Frels to Hall Industries, and that the latter company would renovate the house and rename it the Rialto. I’ve been unable to find the Palace mentioned in later issues of the trade journals, but a 1937 item says that Hall Industries was operating the Rialto and Rex theaters at Cuero, and indicates that the Rex was the Palace renamed.
In 1937, Jack Pickens opened the Trot Theatre in Cuero, and shortly thereafter took over operation of the Rialto from the Halls. He also got control of the Rex, which he apparently then closed. Pickens merged his operations with the Griffith circuit in 1938, and the April 30 Boxoffice item about the merger said that Pickens operated only two theaters at Cuero. The Rialto and Trot are mentioned in later issues of Boxoffice, but the Rex is never mentioned again.
A January 31, 1948, Boxoffice item said that the Rialto at Cuero was to be remodeled and enlarged, and that tenants of shops in the building had been informed by the Griffith circuit that the space they occupied was to be taken over for the theater. I’ve found no further mention of the project in Boxoffice, and in the absence of any photos of the theater more recent than the 1930s I can’t say if this remodeling project was carried out or not.
Is this called the El Rancho or just the Rancho? Boxoffice of October 24, 1953, said that Homer Gray was selling his Rancho Drive-In at San Pablo to Ray Syufy. Then the El Rancho Drive-In at San Pablo was mentioned as a Syufy operation in Boxoffice of October 15, 1955. Boxoffice switches back and forth in various items over the years. Which form was on the screen tower or attraction board (or did they each have a different one?)
To add to the confusion, Boxoffice of July 9, 1973, has an item saying that the San Pablo city council had asked the courts to have the Rancho Drive-In permanently closed as a public nuisance, but this item gave the location of the theater as 14th Street and Broadway.
Whatever the name, the drive-in was in operation by September of 1951, and must have been one of the two drive-ins that were reported in Boxoffice of July 8, 1950, to then be under construction at San Pablo.
-DB: That photo has been posted at Cinema Treasures before, but I can’t remember which page it was on. I don’t think anybody was able to identify the theater.
Boxoffice of May 6, 1950, said that the Inglewood Theatre had recently been opened by Crescent Amusement Company. Few details about the theater were given, other than that it had both a cry room and a party room, and that it would be the only suburban Nashville house to present daily matinees.
An article announcing the partnership between Trans-Lux and Inflight appeared in Boxoffice, November 13, 1967 Upper left.) The company planned to have at least fifty Trans-Lux Inflight Cines in operation by the end of 1969. All were to have screens twenty feet wide, and would seat about 350 patrons. The architect for all of these projects was John McNamara.
A May 6, 1968, Boxoffice item said that the first Trans-Lux Inflight Cine would be opened soon in Bartow, Florida, and that the second would open at Tampa that summer. The company totally missed its goal of opening fifty theaters by the end of 1969. Boxoffice of April 17, 1972, reported that the Trans-Lux Inflight Cine, a twin theater, had opened at Daytona, and was the 18th house in the chain. The theaters were still being designed by John McNamara, though.
Boxoffice of December 12, 1953, said that the Iowa Theatre at Fort Madison was one of three theaters in the state that had closed the previous week. The item gave some of the history of the house, which had been the oldest theater in Fort Madison.
Prior to becoming the Iowa Theatre in the 1930s, it had operated as the Grand Theatre and then the Columbia Theatre, being for several decades a venue for touring companies of stage productions. The building had originally been erected in the 1880s as a skating rink. The house was listed as the Grand in Julius Cahn’s guide for 1900-1901. It then had 908 seats.
The remodeling and renaming of the Strand took place in 1950. Boxoffice of July 15 that year said that the $50,000 project was scheduled to begin that day. A small photo of the remodeled Fox appeared in Boxoffice of Ocotber 6, 1951.
A Strand Theatre in Fort Madison was mentioned in the July 6, 1929, issue of Movie Age as one of several Iowa house recently installing Western Electric sound equipment.
Boxoffice of June 19, 1954, ran an item saying that Louis Donnici had sold the Palace Theatre, which had been acquired by his father, Dominick Donnici, “…nearly forty years ago from Richard & Flynn.”
Thanks for the update, JAlex. The 12th Street Theatre must have been at least under construction by mid-1920, so it was probably in operation before its neighbor, the Pantages/Tower, which opened in August, 1921.
Here’s a report by the fire chief of Kansas City describing the fire that destroyed the Willis Wood Theatre in 1917:
Boxoffice of May 9, 1966, mentions the Lido: “Ramon Lence, who operates the Lido (formerly the Major) in Dallas, is converting the house to live talent and art movies….”
The house was still called the Major in 1965, when the March 29 issue of Boxoffice reported that Phil Isley had sold most of his circuit to John Rowley, but had retained ownership of the Major Theatre in Dallas and the Canyon Drive-In at Snyder.
I’ve found Phil Isley’s Major Theatre mentioned in Boxoffice as early as the issue of February 11, 1950, in an item saying that R.V. Scott had taken over as manager of the house. I haven’t found the opening date for the Major, but judging from the style of the building I’d say that it might have opened in early 1950 or in the late 1940s.
Boxoffice of July 10, 1954, said that D.B. Stout, operator of the Uptown Theatre, had announced that the house had been closed permanently as of the first of the month. The highway department was widening Sycamore Street, and the front portion of the building was to be demolished to accommodate the expanded right-of-way.
The Lincoln Theatre in Cairo was mentioned in Boxoffice of June 14, 1947. The Opera House had burned down on February 7 that same year. If the Rodgers became the Lincoln when it replaced the Opera House as the town’s African-American theater, then the name change must have taken place that year.
Boxoffice of October 26, 1957, reported that the Rodgers circuit had announced that their Lincoln Theatre at Cairo would be closed “…for an indefinite period.” I haven’t found any later mentions of the Lincoln in Boxoffice.
The destruction of the Cairo Opera House by fire was reported in Boxoffice of February 15, 1947. The fire broke out shortly before noon on February 7, and destroyed five buildings.
Another brief item in the magazine’s issue of April 12 said that the Opera House had opened in December, 1881, with Fay Templeton in “Mascotte” and that the last stage production at the house had been Irving Berlin’s “Music Box Review,” presented in 1937. 56 years was an impressive run for a small town theater.
I would surmise that the discrepancy in seating capacity between the 1890s and the 1940s was probably the result of the closing of some part of the auditorium— probably upper galleries and side boxes— when the house was converted for showing movies. The main floor might have been reseated with larger chairs and wider rows at some time as well.
An article in Boxoffice of January 16, 1967, gives a somewhat different history of the Gem than that currently presented here. According to Bill Griffin (the subject of the article, and former assistant manager of the old Gem and manager of its replacement) the original Gem did not burn down, but was demolished to make way for the new Gem. It was the new Gem which suffered the fire.
Although the Boxoffice item says that Griffin watched “…the beautiful new Gem Theatre burn to the ground,” the facade that survives today doesn’t look like anything that would have been put up in the 1930s. My guess would be that the fire only gutted the theater and it was rebuilt within the old walls. Griffin arrived in Cairo in December, 1926, so the original Gem was demolished after that. My guess, judging from the architectural style of the newer building, is that the ill-fated second Gem was built in the late 1920s.
That’s obviously a very old building, probably dating from no later than the early 1920s, possibly from the 1910s. If I were to hazard a guess (and you know I will) I’d say the Roxy was probably in operation in the 1920s under another name.
But the only mentions of the Roxy I’ve been able to find in Boxoffice so far are from the early 1950s. The issue of February 12, 1955, in an item saying that Maurice Stahl had recently acquired the house from Claughton Theatres and planned to redecorate it.
The Mesa Theatre suffered a major fire and was rebuilt in 1948. Apparently the walls survived the disaster. Reconstruction was about to begin, according to Boxoffice of March 6, 1948. Operator E. R. Hardwick said that everything in the theater would be new, including the four (segregated) rest rooms. The stadium-style auditorium was to seat 768. The architect for the project was Jack Corgan.
Boxoffice of March, 1988, said that Commonwealth Theatres had closed its State Theatre in Clovis the previous December 18, the same day the circuit’s new North Plains four-plex was opened.
A 1944 Boxoffice item said that E. R. Hardwick, long-time operator of the State, had entered the theater business in 1909 as an usher, and had been in charge of theaters in Clovis since 1913. He became an affiliate of Griffith Theatres in 1933.
The Crystal was a very early movie house on Elm Street, Dallas’s “Theatre Row.” A bit of its history is told in this article from Motion Picture Times of October 6, 1928. The Crystal was being dismantled at that time.
Rongee: The other four theaters you remember are all listed at Cinema Treasures:
Brooklyn Theatre
Joy Theatre
National Theatre
Wabash Theatre
A Ritz Theatre opened at Midland in 1928, and was designed by theater architect W. Scott Dunne. Motion Picture Times of November 3 that year said that the house, owned by W. H. Williams, would open about Thanksgiving Day.
Boxoffice of January 17, 1977, said this: “Video’s Cinema, formerly the Ritz, in Midland, Tex., has been completely remodeled and will reopen soon.” I can’t find any other refences to a house in Midland called the Cinema.
According to volume 2 of a 1912 publication, “Genealogical and personal history of Fayette county Pennsylvania”, by James Hadden, the Soisson Theatre was built in 1907 by Joseph Soisson. It was originally designed as a venue for live performances. I haven’t been able to find anything else about its early history, but it was showing movies in 1928.
The Soisson Theatre had been dark for many years when it was renovated and reopened by Vernon F. Scott’s Ideal Amusement company in 1937. Boxoffice of November 20 that year said that the opening was scheduled for November 24. The architect for the extensive remodeling was Harry W. Altman, Sr. of Altman & Altman, Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
The Soisson was acquired by the Warner-affiliated Brown Amusement Company in 1941. Boxoffice of August 1, 1953, said that the Orpheum Theatre at Connellsville had reopened after being closed for six weeks and that the Soisson Theatre was scheduled to go dark. The Soisson is mentioned again in Boxoffice of May 22, 1954, in an item saying that it would be operated on weekends only.
The Soisson and Orpheum are mentioned as the only two theaters still oeprating in Connellsville in Boxoffice of September 26, 1956. I haven’t found the Soisson mentioned as an operating theater in any later issues of Boxoffice. The Orpheum operated at least as late as 1965, but was closed and its equipment sold by 1971.
This theater returned to its original name of Paramount in 1953, according to the February 7 issue of Boxoffice that year. The house had been closed for six months. The September 4, 1954, issue of Boxoffice reported that the Paramount at Connellsville had been closed.
I haven’t found the Paramount mentioned in any later issues of Boxoffice. A 1956 Boxoffice item said that the only theaters still operating in Connellsville were the Soisson and the Orpheum, so the 1954 closure of the Paramount had probably been permanent.
Vernon Scott was the head of the Ideal Amusement Company, according to Boxoffice of October 2, 1937. The item said that the Vernon Theatre had opened “…at the turn of the year….” I guess that would mean either December 31, 1936, or January 1, 1937.
At the time of Scott’s death in March, 1942, the Ideal Amusement company operated a circuit of 14 theaters. Scott was succeeded as President of the chain by former general manager F.X. McClellan.