Comments from dallasmovietheaters

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Lyric Theatre on Nov 21, 2020 at 8:40 am

Orlando P. Rose opened a “continuous show” movie theater with a projector in 1907. This occurred not long after his company made news with a 700 pound coin deposit in 1907. That was likely what triggered his decision to move from nickelodeon presentation to a 250-seat theater at this address. It was advertised as the Lyric beginning in 1911 expanding to 350 seats.

As new theaters challenged the Lyric, Rose and his son sold the operation in 1920 to get into neighborhood theaters including the Warwick and Apollo. The Lyric soldiered on and at least three times was fined for indecent attractions.

On March 6, 1933, a midnight show led to a police raid in which police shook down operator Joe P. Deo and all of the attendees. Each of the 34 attendees who didn’t flee was fined $5 on the spot and each performer was ordered to pay $100 to avoid a trip to jail. None of the performers paid and were all placed in jail denying the charges along with the patrons who couldn’t raise the $5. Deo was fined $250. This was likely the end of the venue’s run.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Palace Theatre on Nov 20, 2020 at 10:20 pm

Standard Amusement and Dominick Donninci opened the Palace Theatre on February 13, 1913 with Rex Beach’s “The Vengeance of Durand.” The theatre was built in an existing retail structure. After a ten-year lease expired, Donninci signed on for another 30-year lease. The neighbor was a restaurant and a Hotel called the Palace Hotel and then the Waverly Hote.

Louis A. Donninci took over the theatre in 1939 running it to the end of lease on July 11, 1954. Ralph Joseph Heft took on the theatre on a new lease running the venue only until 1955 at which time it closed permanently. The building was set to be torn down in 1957 but stayed around perhaps too long with the city condemning it in 1964 as part of its urban renewal plan.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Roxy Theater on Nov 20, 2020 at 6:55 pm

AMC Theatres closed the Roxy Theatre on January 9, 1971 with “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.” An urban re-development plan called 12th and Main (called City Center Square at opening) was announced in 1972 in which AMC closed the former Paramount turned Towne 4 on February 6th. That was followed by auctions of both the Towne and Roxy.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Paramount Theatre on Nov 20, 2020 at 5:19 pm

In 1970, AMC Theatre and architects Lund-Balderson won a Quigley Award for Theatre Design in the conversion of the Paramount Theatre into the Towne 4. But the theatre failed to attract moviegoers to downtown ending its run after just three years on February 6, 1972. An urban re-development plan was announced followed by auctions of the AMC Towne 4 and the Roxy Theatre. Both theatres were then razed.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Orpheum Theatre on Nov 19, 2020 at 4:42 pm

Fox Midwest swapped its Missouri Theatre for the Orpheum in 1948. The Orpheum’s closed after the November 2, 1955 showing of Clark Gable in “The Tall Men.” It had closed the venerable Esquire in January of 1955.

In 1956, there was hope for one of the old theaters. Fox then had to select one of its theaters for Todd-AO and went with the Tower Theatre. It moved its next booking to the Esquire - reopening that theatre in September of 1956. And the Orpheum’s fate was sealed when Fox removed seating from the Orpheum to take to the Tower. The circuit sold the theatre the next month to a hotel firm. It was bulldozed beginning in November of 1961 and into 1962 to make way for a motel. Many hidden gems were found while razing the nearly 50-year old venue including old posters.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Isis Theater on Nov 19, 2020 at 8:42 am

September 19, 1927 shot celebrating the widening of the street finally allowing the city to use its fancy double-decker busses it had purchased but could not use. The first trip of the Linwood Line began at the Isis Theatre. The theater lasted another 43 years but the double decker busses were a failure.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Isis Theater on Nov 19, 2020 at 8:36 am

Appears to have departed with a Steve McQueen triple feature with “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “Nevada Smith,” and “The Blob.“

And very technically, it was never an adult film house in the way that phrase is commonly used.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Fox Tower Theater on Nov 19, 2020 at 8:22 am

After being closed for a fortnight, the Fox Tower re-emerged with a curved screen and Todd-AO projection on October 17, 1956. First up on the road show approach was reserved seating for “Oklahoma!” in downtown Kansas City. It turned out that the Tower need more than the miracle of Todd-AO to stave off closure within two years In July of 1958 and bulldozing which would occur two years later.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Fox Tower Theater on Nov 19, 2020 at 8:20 am

Fox Midwest closed the Tower for a fortnight on October 2, 1956 to install the Todd-AO process and adding seats from the Orpheum. It the-emerged with a reserved seating showing of “Oklahoma” on October 17, 1956 followed by “Around the World in 80 Days.” But the miracle of Todd-AO wasn’t enough and the process moved to the Capri. The faded Tower then closed quietly on July 8, 1958 with a double feature of Alan Ladd in “Proud Rebel” and Charles Bronson in “Showdown at Boot Hill.”

The Pantages turned Tower and New 12th Street turned Esquire came in to downtown Kansas City together both built in 1920 and they would both exit together 40 years later in 1960. Cleveland Wrecking Company razed both buildings in the summer of 1960 after salvage sales at both venues.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Lake Park Twin Drive-In on Nov 19, 2020 at 8:18 am

The Lake Park Drive-In Theatre launched June 6, 1953 with “Horizons West” and “No Room for the Groom” along with a cartoon. It was marketed additionally with the name of the L.P. Drive-In in the 1950s. The Lake Park closed on September 7, 1981 with “The Prowler” and “The Evil” on Screen One and “Student Bodies” and “Eye for an Eye” On Screen Two.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Isis Theater on Nov 18, 2020 at 9:56 am

The Isis made news on July 9, 1960 when African American patrons decided to test the Fox Midwest’s policy of the Isis to serve only White customers in an organized demonstration. With dollar bills in hand, the Isis refused to sell tickets or allow entry. The theatre closed an hour and half later - two hours early - refusing entry.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Esquire Theatre on Nov 18, 2020 at 7:39 am

This address was home to two 12th Street Theatres. The original 650-seat venue launched on April 22, 1911 at a cost of $30,000. It went out of business a year later but reopened to much greater success with new management. So popular was the 12th Street Theater that Richards & Flynn decided to construct a larger theater on the same spot at the same time that Pantages was building a vaudeville house nearby. A final October 5, 1919 show at the 12th Street was followed by a salvage sale the next day and the building was razed two weeks late.

Richards & Flynn hired Edgar P. Madorie providing architectural drawings for the New 12th Street Theatre. During the construction phase, Frank L. Newman took on the project. It opened with the unwieldy name of Frank L. Newman’s New 12th Street Theatre on June 20, 1920 with Anita Stewart in “The Yellow Typhoon.” The name would become the 12th Street Theater.

In 1932, the theater briefly took on the name of the Wonderland - a theatre that was located in the Rookery Building from 1912 to 1925 a block away - but reverted quickly to the 12th Street Theater until changing its name to the Downtown Theatre. That was a sub-run operation playing deep discount double features continuously. Fox Midwest took on the venue and the neighboring Tower Theatre. On August 18, 1938, it rebranded the Downown as the Esquire Theatre with “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.”

Fox closed the venue on January 8, 1955 as television and suburban houses with free parking took their toll on business. When Fox installed Todd-AO at the Tower in 1956, it reopened the Esquire in September of 1956. The venue bowed out as a grindhouse under the moniker of the New Esquire Theatre on January 28, 1960 with continuous showings of a triple feature with Brigitte Bardot in “… and God Created Woman,” Jane Russell in “The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown,” and Dean Martin in “Ten Thousand Bedrooms.”

The New 12th Street and Pantages (turned Tower) theatres came in to downtown Kansas City together both built in 1920 and they would both exit together 40 years later in 1960. Cleveland Wrecking Company razed both buildings in the summer of 1960 after salvage sales.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Dream Theater on Nov 17, 2020 at 7:59 am

The Wallis Brothers launched the MainStreet Theatre on August 4, 1924 With Rex Beach’s “Flowing Gold.” Audiences were impressed with the pipe organ, the special orchestra concert and the projection that had a new Gardiner screen and Simplex projectors.

The new theatre replaced their Isis Theatre that had launched elsewhere on Main Street in a new-build structure on May 5, 1911 by Edward Elza Smith and Earnest Maag. The Isis closed prior to the opening of the MainStreet.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Vogue Theatre on Nov 16, 2020 at 7:31 am

Iliad Amusement Company opened the Broadmour Theatre on November 14, 1912 with “The Lion Tamer’s Revenge.” Joseph H. Gilday was in charge of both it and the Iliad Theatre on Troost Avenue. Two years later, Dominick Donnici took on the venue. The Broadmour made the transition to sound in late 1929 going dark on May 3, 1930.

Under new management, the theatre relaunched as the New Broadmour on March 29, 1932. That was short-lived and the theatre returned to closed and offered for sale in 1933. The theatre re-emerged very briefly as the LaSalle Theatre. The theatre was redesigned to the plans of architect James F. Terney in 1938 relaunching as the Vogue Theatre on April 17, 1938. It rebranded as the Vogue Art Theatre in 1952. It closed as the Vogue Art Theatre with “War and Peace” in 1956 then transitioned back to discount double feature sub-runs as the Vogue Theatre. It closed on February 2, 1957 with Humphrey Bogart in “Oklahoma Kid” and George Montgomery in “Huk!”

The venue reopened one final time as the Vogue Theatre in October of 1959 closing for good on February 28, 1960 with Gary Cooper in “They Came to Codura” and Jane Wyman in “Holiday for Lovers.”

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Vogue Theatre on Nov 15, 2020 at 9:54 pm

1924 letter as the Broadmour Theatre in Kansas City.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Esquire Theatre on Nov 15, 2020 at 2:00 pm

Louis Israel of the Heights and Standard Theatre went “all in” on the Cinema Theater on Euclid. It launched on October 14, 1928 as a sub-run theatre with Richard Barthelmess in “The Patent Leather Kid.“ The large 1,000-seat theater featured a Wurlitzer organ and was bathed boldly in blue and gold. Israel had sold off the Heights and, just a year later sold, the Standard. The theatre was happily branded as “the best of the second run” films but stooped to exploitation fare as chain operated sound films took their toll on the Cinema.

Israel even booked the infamous, “Ingagi” banned for nature faking by censors in New York State and then by the Hays Office. Badly positioned technology-wise, the Cinema struggled into the Depression. Fortunately, Israel found a taker in the Warner Brothers Circuit which announced it would be closed for for “a fortnight” on November 18, 1930. The venue re-emerged as Warner’s Lake Theater on Christmas Day 1930 wiring it for Western Electric sound and positioned as a first-run house. The opening film was Otis Skinner starring in “Kismet.” When Warner took on the Hippodrome Theatre, the Lake was back where it started now as a discount, sub-run, double-feature house on November 21, 1933.

Community Theatres Circuit took on the venue changing its name to the Esquire. It shedded seats - now cushioned - in a redesign and opening with Dane Clark in “Moonrise.“ The streamlined 1948 renovation added turquoise and beige to the color pallet. But the Esquire failed to find its audience closing May 28, 1951 with Susan Hayward in “I Can Get It For You Wholesale.”

It became the studios of WJW-TV Channel 8 and was saved from demolition after the station departed serving as the live, Center Repertory Theatre after a costly refurbishing. But when they moved out in 1980, Playhouse Square took on the venue in 1981 but was unable to raise funding in excess of three million dollars to use the space. They sold off the theatre to a developer who demolished the building.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Roxy Theatre on Nov 14, 2020 at 8:18 am

The Rex Theatre launched on June 11, 1915 by O.E. Simon. Simon made some news in 1927 by not only converting to sound but by creating his own sound system. In 1932, Simon sold the theatre and it was renamed the Cave Theatre. Simon re-acquired the theatre and, after a major refresh, he renamed it the Roxy Theatre with a grand opening on November 25, 1937.

Rose and Merle Burns ran it from 1952 to 1979. In 1953, Corporal Luverne Luthmiller appeared in a newsreel when, arriving home on a furlough was honored by the Roxy with a showing of the newsreel. He was then given the newsreel. The Burns' Frosty Shop also sold candy and ice cream to patrons.

In 1954, the theatre converted from its 10x12' screen to a widescreen 14.5x41' screen to show CinemaScope films. In 1965, the theatre celebrated its 50th anniversary with throwback 1915 pricing and honoring O.E. Simon. Former Major League Baseball Player Kevin Maas once was a projectionist there for four years. The Roxy ceased operations in 1979.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Cowtown Drive-In on Nov 14, 2020 at 7:12 am

The Cowtown closed playing Spanish language films and also hosting a weekend flea market in 1984.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Emagine Woodhaven on Nov 13, 2020 at 8:34 am

The Emagine Woodhaven closed in January of 2017. On December 15, 2017, AMC took on the venue renaming it as the AMC Woodhaven Village 10. On March 16, 2020, the theatre closed along with most other theaters during the COVID-19 pandemic. When Michigan theaters were allowed to reopen in early October 2020, AMC decided against reopening the Woodhaven Village and made the closure permanent.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about November 10, 2020 webstie on Nov 12, 2020 at 2:14 pm

Not sure what this picture represents - a movie that didn’t play at the Bow-Tie Cinemas at Greenwich Plaza because it was already out of business?

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dallasmovietheaters commented about AMC Studio 30 on Nov 12, 2020 at 10:54 am

The AMC Studio 30 was closed on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened on August 20, 2020 along with a number of locations offering throw-back 15 cents ticket prices as AMC tried to celebrate its 100th Anniversary. But with revenues reportedly off more than 90% year-to-year, AMC made the closure permanent after shows of November 8, 2020. It was one of many locations closed permanently by the circuit in a second wave of closures it announced in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about AMC Hamilton 24 on Nov 12, 2020 at 10:25 am

The AMC Hamilton closed along with the rest of the circuit on March 16, 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic. The theatre was reopened on September 10, 2020. However, it was one of many theatres the circuit permanently closed on November 8, 2020 - a second major wave of closures it announced late in 2020 due to the pandemic. Although rent was a factor undoubtedly, AMC said the Hamilton 24’s closure was a result of the ongoing pandemic reporting revenue at theatre down in excess of 90% year over year.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Omaha Oak View Plaza 14 on Nov 12, 2020 at 10:14 am

AMC Oakview Plaza 24 was located as an outparcel building near Oak View Mall. The theatre reopened August 27, 2020 after being closed for the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it was one of many theatres the circuit closed permanently on November 8, 2020 - a second major wave of closures it announced late in 2020 due to the pandemic.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Cache Valley 3 Theatres on Nov 11, 2020 at 11:27 am

The Cache Valley Mall opened July 28, 1976. Not far behind was the Grand Opening of the Cache Valley Mall Triplex Theatres likely on a 30-year lease. The Triplex launched August 6, 1976 after a ribbon cutting with the films, “Lifeguard,” “Bingo Long and the Traveling All-Stars, and “Swashbuckler.” Under new opeators, it would become the Cache Valley 3 Theatres operating just past its 30-year leasing cycle.

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dallasmovietheaters commented about Logan Art Cinema on Nov 11, 2020 at 11:23 am

H.C. Heninger of the Cache Drive-In Theatre launched the Redwood Family Theatre after a $100,000 remodeling of the former Steed’s Dairy Bar building on March 3, 1976. Theatre Operators Inc. changed the name to the Redwood Theatre arranging screenings of R-rated features at discount prices for the nearby college crowd. It likely ceased operations in 1982. It later became the Reel Time and Logan Art House & Cinema.