I went to college with a family member who owned the Irving circa 1960. He spoked of operating the Irving and a drive-in theatre during the summer. LaSalle 1964
I loved this theatre. My aunt and uncle lived practically across the street from the Century. I recall in 1952 visiting them and watching the traveling lights on the theatre’s marquee advertising a Martin & Lewis feature. I saw “Tonka” starring Sal Mineo ar this theatre. They played many Disney films here as well as many of the campy AIP features of the late 50s. Coming attractions with “Tonka” included the “Brain from Planet Aros”. They also had “How to Make A Monster”, Teenage Caveman" and “The Spider” at
this theatre among many other teenage fav AIP
features. It was a fun theatre and well maintained
(at least in the late 50s).
Well I saw “David and Basheba” at the Shore in 1951. From what I can recall, it was rather narrow but tall with a balcony. It most likely held 965 people that’s listed for this theatre or more. It wasn’t fancy from what I can recall.
The photos listed on 8/22/08 by “bgsound” are not those of the RKO Lincoln in Trenton, NJ. I attended this theatre many times and have photos of its interior. “Crazy Bob” is correct about the round domed ceiling. I saw many films at this theatre including “The Guns of Navarone”; “The Cardinal”; “Irma La Douce”; and Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. It was a grand movie palace for Trenton.
I have photos of the Paramount’s interior taken when it was still running films. In design, it is almost identical to the Paramount Theatre, Lynn, MA and the Warner Theatre, West Chester, PA. Both of these theatres have been demolished. The Lynn Paramount was about the same size as this theatre, the Warner was smaller. Decorative fine points differed, but the basic designs are the same.
Rapp & Rapp used several basic designs they repeated time and again as architects. This design was first used in 1926 with the Chicago Oriental and the Saint Louis Ambassador. There are many similarities, especially in the ceiling arrangement above the organ screens.
The Loew’s Kings is one of the most spectacular theatres ever designed by the architects, Rapp & Rapp. For a Chicago firm, they went all out in the New York City area with the Brooklyn Paramount (their most spectacular design),the Times Square Paramount and the Loew’s Jersey. In square footage, the Kings is one of the largest motion picture theatres ever built. This wonderful theatre must be saved so that generations to come can comprehend what entertainment was like for their ancestors.
I was fortunate to see the Denver Theatre’s auditorium before demolition. It was almost a twin to Rapp & Rapp’s Seattle (Paramount) Theatre in Seattle, WA.
Yes, I have seen a photo of the Tulsa Orpheum. John must have had an Oklahoma connection. I’d be interested in seeing more photos of Eberson’s Oklahoma work since good photos of these theatres have been relatively unknown until now. Any detail photos of the Ritz?
The architect for the Lincoln Theatre was EUGENE DeROSA. There was a near twin of this theatre built in the New York City area by the same architect (the name and location escapes me, though I have seen the photos).I saw “The Robe” here in 1953 in Cinemascope. The mighty Moeller organ was played before the feature. This was the the major film theatre in Trenton.
The Towne Theatre was my neighborhood movie house. It opened in the spring of 1954 with the film “The River of No Return” starring Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum. I attended the first “kiddie” matinee the Saturday following it’s opening. The feature was an animated film, “Johnny the Giant Killer”, a grade Z dubbed film from France. Went there many times. It sat idol for quite some some before demolition in the late 90s. Thw whole Levittown Shopping Center is now a memory. So sad!
On page 47 of the Vestal Press’s reprint of the Wurlitzer Unit Organ brochure, there is a fine photo of the Germantown Theatre’s interior (stage view).
Ah! the Lincoln Drive-In, the first drive-in I ever attended. I recall as a child going with my parents, dressed in my P.J.s and given a purchased orange drink to keep me quiet while they watched the fim fare. We always parked on ramp #13 (they called them ramps, not rows). “Our” ramp was two in front of the concession stand, a little to the right. In the early days, the guys would have spotlight “fights' on the screen after dusk. This was before the 10 minute green tinted big intermission clock or the little guy who stuffed his face with junk food. I continued to attend this drive-in for the next 25 years.
The theatre opened on 4/2/1948 with two old fims: “Buck Privates” (1941) starring Abbott & Costello and “Jack London” (1943). The Lincoln was the first drive-in built in northeast Philadelphia and lower Bucks County. The entrance was festooned with blinking pink and green neon, and the attraction marquee spelled out LINCOLN DRIVE-IN in a myriad of blinking bulbs.
In the late 70s and into the 80s, the theatre showed mainly porn fare. That was a shame since in its hey day, it showed the most popular films. In 1949, it had the exclusive run for Cecil B. DeMille’s “Samson and Delilah”. I saw “Singin' in the Rain”, Martin & Lewis’s “Jumpin' Jacks” and “Broken Arrow” here as a child. In 1956, me and my best friend sat on the gravel lot watching “Godzilla” destroy Tokyo while a cool summer breeze kept us cool. The Lincoln Drive-In holds many wonderful memories. I still miss it.
I have seen a photo of the theatre’s interior. It was an ATMOSPHERIC design. As far as I know, this theatre was closed most of the time. It was one of those cases where there were too many seats for the neighborhood.
The Bristol Theatre opened on February 9, 1938. It replaced the old Riverside Theatre which was closed following a fire in the mid 30s. The theatre was built by the Soblosky’s under the Grand Amusement Company which also operated the Grand Theatre in Bristol. The architect was T. R. Remer who was associated with Hoffman-Henon of Philadelphia. The theatre’s capacity was more like 850, not the 302 that’s listed above. When the theatre opened in 1938, it became the Paramount, Columbia and Republic film exhibitor in Bristol with a few sub-runs from the Grand Theatre.
I attended this theatre from 1950 until the early 60s. The first film I saw here was “King Solomon’s Mines”, a M-G-M film that normally would have played the Grand. But around 1950, film distribution arrangements changed, and a few M-G-M titles played the Bristol, this being one of them. During the 50s, the Bristol Theatre became the principal theatre in town as the Grand slipped into oblivion. In 1966, the theatre became the Bristol Art Theatre showing porn for another 18 years. It closed and was again resurrected as the Bristol Riverside Dinner Theatre which has been very successful.
Thanks “OrpheumDennis” for responding to my post. I’m so glad that you can confirm that John Eberson designed the Ritz. I’m a member of the Theatre Historical Sciety and will suggest that someone (maybe me) do an article on this unknown Eberson atmospheric theatre. There are a number of Eberson atmospherics that are “lost” as far as photos are concerned. I was friends with Mike Miller who knew Drew Eberson (John’s son) and had obtained many photos of his father’s designs. John made it a point to have his theatres extensively photographed. Mike shared those photos with me although the Ritz was not included. Most of the photos were of theatres designed after 1926. The photos of the Ritz’s mezzanine area shows two features in common with other Eberson theatres. The water fountain on the left is IDENTICAL to the one in the Omaha Riviera (1927) and the Chicago Capitol (1925). The ceiling in that area is also identical (but in a smaller scale) to the ceiling in the Chicago Capitol’s foyer area. It’s great to discover a “new” Eberson theatre, and a nice one too.
This theatre opened as the Forum Theatre and should be listed as such. The theatre was operated by Stanley-Warner who closed it in 1952. It reopened in 1955 as the Ellis. I saw many films here in the early 60s while attending college. The theatre was in excellent condition, retaining most of it’s original archectectural detail.
CORRECTION TO MY POST OF JUL 10, 2007.
The organ screens in the Capitol were very similar to those used by Eberson in the Detroit Annex Theatre, not those in the Kalamazoo theatre.
Actually, the only things the Capital had in common with the Omaha Riviera were they were both Eberson designs and atmospheric. The Capitol was very plain for Eberson. The procenium design was rather Moorish and the organ screens were quite similar to those Eberson used in the State Theatre, Kalamazoo, MI. Aside from that, the theatre had little architectural design at all. I photographed the theatre in 1977 when I saw “Saturday Night Fever” there. It was in pretty good shape aside from being stripped of it folage and wildlife. I also have a few original photos which show the trees, etc. which were pretty much all the decoration used in this theatre. This was Eberson on a very low budget. The theatre also had no lobby to speak of.
After viewing the photos of the Ritz Theatre for the first time, I’d bet my life that John Eberson either designed this theatre or had a lot to do with its decoration. It has all the signature marks of an Eberson design, including the exact same features used in many of his other theatres. It’s my opinion that Edward Saunders designed the office building that incorporated the theatre, but not the theatre itself. I’ve been studying theatre architecture for years and photos of this theatre were unknown up until now. I was always suspicious that Eberson may have designed the theatre since in 1926, he pretty much was the only architect designing atmospheric theatres. Other architects didn’t start doing them until late 1927 and 1928. Now that these photos have surfaced, more may be learned about this lost gem.
I went to college with a family member who owned the Irving circa 1960. He spoked of operating the Irving and a drive-in theatre during the summer. LaSalle 1964
I loved this theatre. My aunt and uncle lived practically across the street from the Century. I recall in 1952 visiting them and watching the traveling lights on the theatre’s marquee advertising a Martin & Lewis feature. I saw “Tonka” starring Sal Mineo ar this theatre. They played many Disney films here as well as many of the campy AIP features of the late 50s. Coming attractions with “Tonka” included the “Brain from Planet Aros”. They also had “How to Make A Monster”, Teenage Caveman" and “The Spider” at
this theatre among many other teenage fav AIP
features. It was a fun theatre and well maintained
(at least in the late 50s).
Well I saw “David and Basheba” at the Shore in 1951. From what I can recall, it was rather narrow but tall with a balcony. It most likely held 965 people that’s listed for this theatre or more. It wasn’t fancy from what I can recall.
The photos listed on 8/22/08 by “bgsound” are not those of the RKO Lincoln in Trenton, NJ. I attended this theatre many times and have photos of its interior. “Crazy Bob” is correct about the round domed ceiling. I saw many films at this theatre including “The Guns of Navarone”; “The Cardinal”; “Irma La Douce”; and Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. It was a grand movie palace for Trenton.
I have photos of the Paramount’s interior taken when it was still running films. In design, it is almost identical to the Paramount Theatre, Lynn, MA and the Warner Theatre, West Chester, PA. Both of these theatres have been demolished. The Lynn Paramount was about the same size as this theatre, the Warner was smaller. Decorative fine points differed, but the basic designs are the same.
Rapp & Rapp used several basic designs they repeated time and again as architects. This design was first used in 1926 with the Chicago Oriental and the Saint Louis Ambassador. There are many similarities, especially in the ceiling arrangement above the organ screens.
The Loew’s Kings is one of the most spectacular theatres ever designed by the architects, Rapp & Rapp. For a Chicago firm, they went all out in the New York City area with the Brooklyn Paramount (their most spectacular design),the Times Square Paramount and the Loew’s Jersey. In square footage, the Kings is one of the largest motion picture theatres ever built. This wonderful theatre must be saved so that generations to come can comprehend what entertainment was like for their ancestors.
I was fortunate to see the Denver Theatre’s auditorium before demolition. It was almost a twin to Rapp & Rapp’s Seattle (Paramount) Theatre in Seattle, WA.
Seymour:
Yes, I have seen a photo of the Tulsa Orpheum. John must have had an Oklahoma connection. I’d be interested in seeing more photos of Eberson’s Oklahoma work since good photos of these theatres have been relatively unknown until now. Any detail photos of the Ritz?
The architect for the Lincoln Theatre was EUGENE DeROSA. There was a near twin of this theatre built in the New York City area by the same architect (the name and location escapes me, though I have seen the photos).I saw “The Robe” here in 1953 in Cinemascope. The mighty Moeller organ was played before the feature. This was the the major film theatre in Trenton.
The Towne Theatre was my neighborhood movie house. It opened in the spring of 1954 with the film “The River of No Return” starring Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum. I attended the first “kiddie” matinee the Saturday following it’s opening. The feature was an animated film, “Johnny the Giant Killer”, a grade Z dubbed film from France. Went there many times. It sat idol for quite some some before demolition in the late 90s. Thw whole Levittown Shopping Center is now a memory. So sad!
On page 47 of the Vestal Press’s reprint of the Wurlitzer Unit Organ brochure, there is a fine photo of the Germantown Theatre’s interior (stage view).
Ah! the Lincoln Drive-In, the first drive-in I ever attended. I recall as a child going with my parents, dressed in my P.J.s and given a purchased orange drink to keep me quiet while they watched the fim fare. We always parked on ramp #13 (they called them ramps, not rows). “Our” ramp was two in front of the concession stand, a little to the right. In the early days, the guys would have spotlight “fights' on the screen after dusk. This was before the 10 minute green tinted big intermission clock or the little guy who stuffed his face with junk food. I continued to attend this drive-in for the next 25 years.
The theatre opened on 4/2/1948 with two old fims: “Buck Privates” (1941) starring Abbott & Costello and “Jack London” (1943). The Lincoln was the first drive-in built in northeast Philadelphia and lower Bucks County. The entrance was festooned with blinking pink and green neon, and the attraction marquee spelled out LINCOLN DRIVE-IN in a myriad of blinking bulbs.
In the late 70s and into the 80s, the theatre showed mainly porn fare. That was a shame since in its hey day, it showed the most popular films. In 1949, it had the exclusive run for Cecil B. DeMille’s “Samson and Delilah”. I saw “Singin' in the Rain”, Martin & Lewis’s “Jumpin' Jacks” and “Broken Arrow” here as a child. In 1956, me and my best friend sat on the gravel lot watching “Godzilla” destroy Tokyo while a cool summer breeze kept us cool. The Lincoln Drive-In holds many wonderful memories. I still miss it.
I have seen a photo of the theatre’s interior. It was an ATMOSPHERIC design. As far as I know, this theatre was closed most of the time. It was one of those cases where there were too many seats for the neighborhood.
The Bristol Theatre opened on February 9, 1938. It replaced the old Riverside Theatre which was closed following a fire in the mid 30s. The theatre was built by the Soblosky’s under the Grand Amusement Company which also operated the Grand Theatre in Bristol. The architect was T. R. Remer who was associated with Hoffman-Henon of Philadelphia. The theatre’s capacity was more like 850, not the 302 that’s listed above. When the theatre opened in 1938, it became the Paramount, Columbia and Republic film exhibitor in Bristol with a few sub-runs from the Grand Theatre.
I attended this theatre from 1950 until the early 60s. The first film I saw here was “King Solomon’s Mines”, a M-G-M film that normally would have played the Grand. But around 1950, film distribution arrangements changed, and a few M-G-M titles played the Bristol, this being one of them. During the 50s, the Bristol Theatre became the principal theatre in town as the Grand slipped into oblivion. In 1966, the theatre became the Bristol Art Theatre showing porn for another 18 years. It closed and was again resurrected as the Bristol Riverside Dinner Theatre which has been very successful.
The architects for the Enright were Hoffman-Henon.
Thanks “OrpheumDennis” for responding to my post. I’m so glad that you can confirm that John Eberson designed the Ritz. I’m a member of the Theatre Historical Sciety and will suggest that someone (maybe me) do an article on this unknown Eberson atmospheric theatre. There are a number of Eberson atmospherics that are “lost” as far as photos are concerned. I was friends with Mike Miller who knew Drew Eberson (John’s son) and had obtained many photos of his father’s designs. John made it a point to have his theatres extensively photographed. Mike shared those photos with me although the Ritz was not included. Most of the photos were of theatres designed after 1926. The photos of the Ritz’s mezzanine area shows two features in common with other Eberson theatres. The water fountain on the left is IDENTICAL to the one in the Omaha Riviera (1927) and the Chicago Capitol (1925). The ceiling in that area is also identical (but in a smaller scale) to the ceiling in the Chicago Capitol’s foyer area. It’s great to discover a “new” Eberson theatre, and a nice one too.
This theatre opened as the Forum Theatre and should be listed as such. The theatre was operated by Stanley-Warner who closed it in 1952. It reopened in 1955 as the Ellis. I saw many films here in the early 60s while attending college. The theatre was in excellent condition, retaining most of it’s original archectectural detail.
CORRECTION TO MY POST OF JUL 10, 2007.
The organ screens in the Capitol were very similar to those used by Eberson in the Detroit Annex Theatre, not those in the Kalamazoo theatre.
Actually, the only things the Capital had in common with the Omaha Riviera were they were both Eberson designs and atmospheric. The Capitol was very plain for Eberson. The procenium design was rather Moorish and the organ screens were quite similar to those Eberson used in the State Theatre, Kalamazoo, MI. Aside from that, the theatre had little architectural design at all. I photographed the theatre in 1977 when I saw “Saturday Night Fever” there. It was in pretty good shape aside from being stripped of it folage and wildlife. I also have a few original photos which show the trees, etc. which were pretty much all the decoration used in this theatre. This was Eberson on a very low budget. The theatre also had no lobby to speak of.
After viewing the photos of the Ritz Theatre for the first time, I’d bet my life that John Eberson either designed this theatre or had a lot to do with its decoration. It has all the signature marks of an Eberson design, including the exact same features used in many of his other theatres. It’s my opinion that Edward Saunders designed the office building that incorporated the theatre, but not the theatre itself. I’ve been studying theatre architecture for years and photos of this theatre were unknown up until now. I was always suspicious that Eberson may have designed the theatre since in 1926, he pretty much was the only architect designing atmospheric theatres. Other architects didn’t start doing them until late 1927 and 1928. Now that these photos have surfaced, more may be learned about this lost gem.