Comments from LouRugani

There’s a glimpse of the Los Angeles theater at the beginning of “Duel” (1971).

Here is the new Mont Clare moving picture theater, now under construction at the southeast corner of Grand and Neva avenues. William P. Whitney is architect. Besides a 1,100 seat movie auditorium there will be seven stores and twenty-nine apartments. Now for a few words of comfort for those Chicagoans who think that a water tank on a roof is a work of art, especially when said tank is of the common variety, un-adorned by any outer covering. A careful look at the above will reveal that the Mont Clare is to have its water tank located so that it can be easily seen by all members of the Water Tank Lovers' League of America. Walter Simpson drew this picture.

The Palace Theater of Gary, Indiana by Sometimes Interesting - Another icon of Gary is the majestic Palace Theater, opened in 1925. One of the finer examples of Atmospheric theater design, it was the crown jewel of a northwest Indiana theater conglomerate. The theater would be the longest-running in Gary, and served residents for nearly 50 years before succumbing to crime and financial difficulties. It has been abandoned for nearly 40 years, and today the Palace is one of five remaining Atmospheric theaters in Indiana. But without financial support, how much longer will it cast a shadow on Broadway? In the early days of Gary the theater business was booming. Entrepreneurs V.U. Young and C.J. Wolf formed Young and Wolf Enterprises and would grow their business to encompass more than 30 theaters throughout the Midwest. In Gary, they would run some of the most famous theaters in town. Young would be the driving force behind the Majestic Theater on 5th and Connecticut opened in 1909, the Orpheum Theater on 8th and Washington, the Star Theater on Broadway, south of 9th Avenue, and the Cosy Theater at 9th and Jefferson – each of which were opened in 1910. Young and Wolf then opened the Art Theater at 620 Broadway, which introduced the first pipe organ to Gary. In 1915, the duo opened the Gary Theater on Broadway just north of 5th; it was acclaimed as Indiana’s most beautiful playhouse. All of the Young and Wolf theaters were successful, but none as grand or distinguished as the Palace Theater, built ten years later. The Palace was the creation of distinguished movie theater architect John Eberson. An authority of classic Atmospheric-style movie theaters, Eberson designed over 500 theaters during his career. Young hired Maximillian Dubois’ construction company “Max and Sons” to build the theater, and in 1924 groundbreaking began. Construction would finish a year later, and when the Palace Theater opened in 1925 it was hailed as a civic jewel. The classic structure at 765 Broadway featured live stage shows and vaudeville acts. Acts at the Palace could entertain up to 3,000 guests, seated on multiple levels. The Palace was luxurious, ornate, and brought a class to Gary not previously seen at the time. For decades the Palace Theater was a top destination for entertainers coming to Gary. Over the years the theater would transition with the times; vaudeville shows fell out of favor and movies would become rapidly popular. The Palace then specialized in first-run films for the Northwest Indiana area after they played their engagements in Chicago. When movies at the Palace were 50 cents, it was a hit with the youth. Gary theaters would experience a boom in the 1930s and 40s, but decline after. In 1944 citizens could choose between eleven theaters in Gary; by 1964 there were eight, and the number would decrease nearly every year thereafter. The fortunes of the Palace Theater were no different. When domestic steel experienced an economic decline, violence in downtown Gary would escalate as unemployment increased. The Palace Theater was centrally located to the depressed region and bore the brunt of those who turned to desperation. Repeated attacks and muggings would be reported in and around the theater. Throughout the 1960s crime steadily increased; eventually the area became so dangerous citizens refused to set foot on Broadway at night. On April 14th, 1968, festivities at the Palace Theater would come to a halt when Roosevelt High School 10th grader Aldrid Black was killed after a movie. Four hundred spectators watched as the 15 year-old youth was stabbed to death in the crowded lobby after a showing of “Bonnie and Clyde.” The death of the teenager was the final straw for the citizens of Gary; if it wasn’t before, the Palace Theater was now radioactive. Despite regular police presence, violent incidents continued to occur at the premesis. For the next four years it would struggle to draw crowds. By 1970 the once-glorious Palace Theater had become an afterthought in Gary. It no longer featured premier traveling acts or vaudeville shows. It was no longer the place young men took their dates, or parents caught a matinee show. Now, the only time citizens would read about the theater is when a crime was reported in the paper. Perhaps wishfully, residents recited rumors for years the theater would shut down. By 1971 the Palace had been reduced to a haven for crime and drug-dealers. The theater itself had not been maintained and no longer enjoyed its original splendor. When a young woman was attacked in the ladies room of the lobby in January of 1972, the town of Gary had enough; the Palace Theater was immediately shut down. In November of 1975, the Palace re-opened as the Star Palace Theater. Local businessman Carl Williams led a group of investors in an attempt to resurrect the landmark. The Star Palace showed movies and hosted community theater. Williams leased storefront space on the first floor to tenants, and soon the entire building was alive once again. The celebrated rebirth was short-lived, however, when the first-floor store owners complained Williams neglected to turn on the building’s heat. The tenants chipped in $150 a week to pay for oil for the furnace, but the plan quickly fell apart when water service to the building was shut off for past-due bills. The tenants left and the theater closed once more. In the summer of 1976 the theater was reorganized and reopened as the Star Academy of Performing Arts and Sciences. A government grant helped the theater produce a series of children’s plays and musicals. In the evenings, adults in the community were invited to participate. Residents raved about the group’s performance of the musical Mame. But despite enjoying a renaissance of the arts, the cash-strapped theater would run out of money and close again later that year. The theater would be abandoned once again for the next ten years. In January of 1987 Mayor Richard Hatcher announced plans to renovate the old Palace Theater on the corner of 8th and Broadway. The Ghandi-King Corporation, a group of prominent doctors led by Dr. William Washington II, announced plans to breathe life into the building which had been abandoned for 15 years. Along with Washington, Dr. Keshavd Aggarwal and Dr. Shreyes Desai purchased the property at a tax sale in August of 1986 for $30,000. The three planned to invest between $500,000 and $1 million to renovate the old theater and storefronts. In addition, the doctors would open a restaurant on the 8th Avenue side of the building to supplement income from the theater operations. The optimistic Ghandi-King Corp. shunned the national trend of viewers toward multi-screen theaters in shopping malls, video rentals, and cable television. Instead, they banked on the theater’s history adding value to the movie-going experience. The doctors also believed they were at an advantage since there were no other movie theaters in town. Despite the claims, progress would not come as fast as hoped. By June of 1988 the four Broadway storefronts of the Palace Theater were still vacant. Office and apartments above the storefronts also sat empty. Part of the problem was the condition of the units; the doctors had neglected to repair or remodel the structure. As an incentive, Ghandi-King decided to offer one-year leases to tenants for free. In exchange, the tenants would have to make repairs and pay utilities. The free rent plan to attract tenants was a success, and by the summer of 1989 the first floor of the Palace Theater building was once again lively. The store spaces were leased and now the neon signs of a new 148-seat restaurant named Colors glowed throughout the day. The full-menu restaurant was open for breakfast and lunch and was open seven days a week. The novelty of a sit-down restaurant on Broadway quickly wore off as crime continued to permeate the downtown area in the late 1980s. After several months the restaurant was forced to close its doors, despite the luxuries of operating rent-free. The doctors never finished the restoration of the theater, and when the businesses left they abandoned the project. In the years since, the Palace Theater’s east and south walls began to sag. The once-proud marquee which proclaimed “Open for Business” was now missing letters and seemed to lethargically whimper “Ope or bus.” A leaky roof and vandals have combined to strip away much of the decorative plasterwork inside. Scavengers have stripped the copper dome from the tower that faces Broadway, and the terra cotta fixtures have been robbed leaving gaping holes. In February of 2001, Mayor Scott King announced an agreement with Donald Trump to bring the Miss U.S.A. pageant to Gary. Suddenly, the entire town needed to undergo a makeover before television crews would arrive. Neighborhood Service Company of Chicago was hired to paint murals on boarded up buildings along Broadway. NSC was tasked with dressing up the facade of Palace Theater, and in the spring of 2001 they installed fake windows and painted human silhouettes. Trump’s organizers also had them install a new marquee which read “Jackson Five Tonite.” While this made for great photos, it is misleading; the Jacksons are from Gary but they never performed at the Palace Theater. In advance of the pageant, the city barricaded all doors and windows to keep the public out of the building. The front entrance was continually padlocked as well, but every time the lock was broken off and trespassers would find their way inside. With insufficient resources the city was unable to keep scavengers out. Over the years, scavengers and vandals have had their way with the building. By September of 2002 the balcony’s rear fire escape door had been forced open and the rear exit door of the auditorium had been completely broken off. Vandalism and water damage have claimed most of the original ornate plasterwork. On the stage of the old theater still looms the exotic, painted backdrop depicting Morocco, left over from the Palace Theater’s last production. In August of 2004, city officials announced the Palace Theater had made the short-list for demolition. Odds were in the theater’s favor, however, as there were over 40 properties on the list and the city didn’t have the money for any of them. In March of 2005 preservation groups protested the city’s inspections for demolition. Engineering advocates for preservation of the structure revealed the cost to stabilize the ailing building was $50,000, about how much the city was going to spend to tear it down. Eventually, city officials agreed to stop demolition plans and instead pay to keep the structure standing – but only if the preservationists could locate a developer willing to buy the theater and restore the site. The enthusiastic group agreed and began to line up investors. The city would receive two bids to renovate the Palace Theater: one from Gary-based Bauer Laterzo Studio and another from Chicago-based Thornton-Tomasetti. However by June of 2006 the developers had not followed through and plans had stalled once again. City officials announced that while they had no plans to demolish the structure, they were no longer going to pay to stabilize it. The building would be abandoned again. When Gary native Michael Jackson died in 2009 plastic signs reading “Jackson Five Forever” were placed on both sides of the Palace Theater’s marquee, but they were quickly lost to the elements or thieves. Today the marquee sits blank, only the shadow of “Jackson Five Tonite” still visible.

The Highway 18 Outdoor Theatre in Jefferson County may not open after this upcoming season. The theater was built in 1953 and is now one of the last drive-in movie theaters in Southeast Wisconsin. After more than 70 years in the business, the theater is for sale. Lee Burgess is the theater’s owner. He has been operating the business for 25 years. He told 12 News it is time to say goodbye. “I’m at the point now, I’m in my 70s,” Burgess said. Nobody in my family wants to take over the business. I’m not going to live forever, it’s time to begin the process of turning it over.“ Burgess said his love for drive-in theaters reaches all the way back into his childhood. He said to him, they represent freedom. "It’s just a sense of freedom, where you can sit there in nice, open skies,” Burgess said. “The stars are above and this huge screen with a movie running, and you can let your kids run around and yell and scream.” Burgess explained the main issue drive-in theaters face is the small window of time they are open. He said theaters are a seasonal business in Wisconsin. The Highway 18 Outdoor Theatre is open only three or four months of the year, and they only show one movie per night. Burgess said he plans to operate the theater for one more season. He said he hopes someone is willing to revamp the theater, but might have to sell to a completely different sector. “I’ve told my broker that if someone wants to purchase this theater, I will make myself available to help them out, give them advice, repair the projectors, whatever they need to go forward at no charge,” Burgess said. Burgess asks anyone who can to go see a movie at a drive-in. “Support your local drive-ins,” Burgess said. “There’s not very many of us left.” (©2024, Hearst Television Inc. on behalf of WISN-TV.)

The Vogue Theatre’s grand opening was heralded with a full-page ad in in the Kenosha Evening News on September 15, 1923. Strangely, several days after the gala there were no more ads for the Vogue. As days passed, Vogue ads finally reappeared the following weekend. Either the theatre closed down briefly after its grand opening due to some problem or, more likely, the inexperienced management following the excitement surrounding the premiere forgot to order ads in advance. The name of the lady who was opening night organist on the Vogue’s new Moller instrument has also been lost, but a week later, Dr. E. M. Hyland Slatre-Wilson, a colorful, many-faceted Kenoshan who then operated many clinics and classes in music, science and art within the new Orpheum Building, took command of the Vogue Theatre organ to accompany the films and provide solo interludes. Thus began the Vogue’s 28-year career as a central-city neighborhood theatre. After a time, some vaudeville acts were booked, but this never was a major part of the bill at the Vogue, and was all but discontinued by the late 1930’s. The stage was rather shallow - about sixteen feet deep by about twenty-five feet across - but it was adequate for the acts that did play there - mostly jugglers, comics, acrobats and small musical groups. Walter Schlager ran the Vogue for two years, then leased it to the new and shortlived United Theatres chain, which took over the Butterfly Theatre and the Lincoln Theatre as well. The general manager for United was Al Meis of 5930 Fifth Avenue, long experienced in managing the downtown Virginian Theatre. Walter and Rose Schlager went back to operating soft-drink taverns (this was during Prohibitlon) at 2024 56th Street and elsewhere, also living on the premises. But United Theatres didn’t last long, and by 1930 Walter was back in charge of the Vogue Theatre. - Enter Francis B. “Butch” Schlax, who had a love for show business as a young man. Beginning as an usher at the Orpheum and Majestic Theatres, he worked up a partnership with George Fischer of the Hotel Fischer at 508-12 56th Street just east of the Rhode Opera House. Together, Schlax and Fischer leased the Vogue Theatre in 1934. Schlax therefore began a long career in theatre management, eventually operating nearly every theatre in Kenosha, including the inevitable local outdoors, the Mid-City and Keno. - Early movie film stock was of nitrate and very flammable. Projectionist Kenneth Hahn told of an incident involving Louis Goodare, who was operating the Vogue’s twin Simplex projectors one night when the film caught fire. Ever the alert operator, Goodare somehow snatched the flaring reel and pitched it from a front window just in time, where it landed, blazing, atop the Vogue’s marquee. Goodare’s trousers were burned, so he later billed the Milwaukee theatre chain for this. Hahn sald the chain denied the claim. “He saved their theatre, and they wouldn’t replace his burned pants.” (Hahn did verify a good working relationship with “Butch” Schlax, however.) In the Twenties, theatres could do well on box-office receipts alone, but the studios kept taking ever-larger percentages, so all theatres had to rely on popcorn, candy and soft drink vending beginning in the Depression years, and employees were told often to promote the concessions. - Francis B. Schlax, who lived at 6410 Fifth Avenue, is probably the Vogue’s best-remembered manager, and many a youngster without the price of admission was allowed in free as long as there was an empty seat to be had" (and they might have had to sweep up a bit, too), recalled his brother Leslie. But a vicious accident on Highway 38 while returning from a film-booking meeting in Milwaukee cost Francis the sight in one eye, and during the two-month hospital stay that resulted, Leslie and their family members pitched in to run the Vogue. So did Dominick Gallo, later of Gallo Food Products just east of the theatre. Gallo, “houseman” at the Vogue for years, walked to work around the corner from his home at 5129 18th Avenue. (in a way, he stayed in show business; purveying the famed Gallo Hot Tamales to Kenosha’s two outdoors for decades.) A lot of Kenoshans found employment through the years at the Vogue. Some of the better-remembered projectionists included Kenneth Hahn of 7921 19th Avenue, Fred Sherry of 1419 62nd Street, Ray Bacon of 2410 61st Street, Louis Goodare of 5921 6th Avenue, Richard Schnell of 6037 Fifth Avenue, and Percy Garton, 1108 56th Street. Projectionists were every theatre’s unsung heroes, those invisible souls high up in their booths for which audiences gave nary a thought … except if the film should break or the arc lamp fail. Then the unseen projectionist would be roundly cursed with a hail of insults and foot stomping until the picture would resume. Sometimes he would be pressed into part-time security duty as well, patrolling the balcony for rowdy or over-amorous patrons. But watching for a flash fire was a potentially-deadly aspect of the job. Eventually the Vogue was leased by the Standard Theatres chain of Milwaukee that also operated the Hollywood, Lincoln, the Cameo (620 56th Street) and the big Kenosha and Gateway (now Rhode Opera House) and the two outdoors. Schlax was promoted to Standard’s citywide manager. Francis' son Robert Schlax recalled accompanying his father each Thursday night during the war years to the Vogue and other local theatres and watching brief scenes of the current features as his Dad tallied receipts in the varied offices with managers. At some time during this period, the Vogue’s two-rank Moller pipe organ was sold and moved. It had fallen silent since the onset of sound films and wasn’t being used. Fred Hermes of the Dairyland Theatre Organ Society had some data on the Vogue’s organ, but didn’t know where it went. “Probably to some church,” he guessed. Through the decades, the Vogue was a comfortable if unspectacular addition to the city’s entertainment scene. Many of its patrons were blue-collar families, and often these were newly-arrived Italian immigrants, especially early on. Occasionally foreign films would grace the Vogue’s screen, which usually drew crowds and gave the Vogue its local nickname: the Garlic Opera House. Robert Schlax recalled Vogue employees sharing a good relationship with his father, gifting him tomatoes from their gardens and homemade wine for the boss. To many, the Vogue was a gathering place for a few hours, second only in importance to their churches. In this manner, the Vogue Theatre lived out its career of almost three decades “free trom vicissitudes,” as a 1936 Centennial Edition article in the Kenosha News put it. The vicissitudes would come rather suddenly, when they finally came. But that was not to happen for another decade and a half.

The Congress Theatre (by Sharon Lindy) - - The Congress Theatre, located at 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago, opened on September 5, 1926 with 2,904 seats, as part of the Lubliner & Trinz chain of theatres. It was the third large theatre to be built in Chicago by the L&T firm as a vaudeville house on the Orpheum circuit. Acts on the circuit would try out their routines at the Congress before taking them downtown. L&T first built the Harding Theatre (2,993 seats), in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, just a few blocks from where the Congress would be erected, in October 1925. The second theatre in their chain was the Tower on the south side at 63rd Street with 2,995 seats. The Congress was the last to be built, and it is the only one of the three which remains standing today, looking very much like it did when it was first opened. A descendant of the builders, Bruce Trinz, carries on the tradition of theatre involvement. He used to operate the Clark Theatre in downtown Chicago in the 1960s. He was one of the first theatre operators to book vintage films at a dollar admission, and the Clark changed its bill every day, showed double features, and was open 24 hours a day. Who in Chicago can forget his advertising slogan over the radio: “Hark Hark! The Clark!” Monthly movie schedules were issued and each film had a clever two-line couplet describing the movie’s theme written by Trinz himself. Alas, the Clark was demolished, and he now manages the McClurg Court Theatres in Chicago’s posh Gold Coast area. But back to the Congress: In the 1920s, there were 20 theatres in Chicago that had 2,990 seats, the odd figure being because there was a Chicago union cutoff at 3,000. If there were less than 3,000 seats, less staff was needed. The Congress was taken over by the Publix Balaban & Katz chain on February 1, 1929. It never did the volume expected of it because Milwaukee Avenue had so many cinemas, not necessarily large ones but lots of little ones. Many of these buildings still stand along Milwaukee Avenue, a 20 block stretch from Division Street to Belmont, with 30 theatres, though they are no longer used as theatres. The Congress stands on a quarter of a city block, a complex which includes 17 stores and 56 apartments. B&K gave up the theatre to the Plitt chain because of marketing problems. The 40-year manager of the Congress McNeil Smith took good care of the Congress. B&K had a long lease on the building, and so it was well cared for. The lobby, all lined in marble, was extensively redone in the late 1950s. The lobby color scheme was changed, the grand drapery over the staircase was removed, and a painted-on drape mural was produced by Hans Teichert and the B&K poster studio. From a distance, it looks like a real drape and fools many people until they come close. All original furnishings were put in storage. In 1963, the enormous Marbro Theatre closed. The CO2 air conditioner at the Congress was out of service, so at considerable expense, they moved the small air conditioning compressors from the Marbro to the Congress. A most unusual effect is created by the stud lighting around the two original inside box offices. Fridstein was the architect for the Congress, and one of his tricks is the glass-enclosed vestibule with a clean glass ceiling. As one leaves the vestibule and enters the huge lobby, directly above the doorway is a painted cardboard balcony fence mural, another product of the B&K poster studios. The long vertical lobby windows never had any curtains on them, so daylight could always stream into the huge lobby. The large ceiling light fixtures are Pearlman fixtures and are original, as are the smaller fixtures along the walls. The large fixtures are identical to those hanging in the Ambassador Theatre in St. Louis. In 1983, the Theatre Historical Society promoted a tour of the Congress for its annual fall tour. During the tour, it was noted that the fixtures had not been cleaned or working for 25 years. Shortly afterwards, a THS volunteer crew ascended to the attic of the immense dome, skirted along the catwalks, and found the cables holding the chandeliers in place over the lobby. Not having been lowered in so many years, they were dry and buried in dust and dirt (and pigeon feathers). The volunteers carefully oiled and loosened them, and slowly lowered the chandeliers to the lobby floor. Once down, many hands dismantled the glass parts, scrubbed off the grime and dirt which had accumulated over the years, replaced the bulbs, and hosted them back up manually to their former position, When the power was flipped on, they glowed and gleamed just as lovely as they did back in 1926 when they were brand new. And now a whole new generation can enjoy this sight hanging high over the lobby. Each chandelier had so many parts to it and was such an ordeal to disassemble and reassemble that it took an entire day to do just one chandelier. THS volunteers also arranged to have an artist come in, mount scaffolding. and repaint a wall mural that had been water-damaged many years before. The result is that the damage is now undetectable compared to the rest of the mural. The auditorium is of unusual proportions; Fridstein was competing with Rapp & Rapp when he designed this theatre and he had a modest budget, but he tried to make the Congress look as elegant as the R&R theatres. The main floor has 2,200 seats. and the balcony has 790. Standing anywhere on the main floor, you can see the immense flying-saucer dome this theatre has. The auditorium has never been repainted, so the colors are original, and it has been maintained fairly well. The original grand drape, valance, and teaser curtains remain. The considerable amount of marble on the lobby walls was installed by the Orpheum Circuit bookers who had a passion for marble and put it everywhere they could. The foyer between the lobby and the auditorium is unusual space because of its wide curve, but the main floor is very wide. The foyer is now empty, but it once had a great many sofas and chairs lining its walls. The foyer floor was changed to tile from carpet in the 1950s remodeling. There is a large exit door on Rockwell Street, and the foyer decorative fixtures are also original. The auditorium gives a large plush feeling to patrons. At this date, with the exception of the Chicago Theatre, the Congress is the largest operating cinema in the city. The auditorium color scheme is gold and burgundy. The auditorium aisles number eight. There are many entrances to the very shallow balcony. The back wall was redone after sound movies came in to reduce the echo. When the Congress first opened, it had one of the first 4- manual 20-rank organs known as a Publix One. Organists who played it, like Edna Sollers, John Mury, etc., said it sounded absolutely fabulous. It was so good that two years after B&K took over the theatre in 1929, they built the Southtown on Chicago’s south side, and they decided that with the depression going on, instead of buying a new organ they would move the splendid Congress organ to the Southtown. Unfortunately it sounded terrible in the Southtown. It was buried behind massive organ screens. It was subsequently broken up for parts, as was the fate of many theatre organs.

(Charles Fulkerson Of The State Journal, Nov. 27, 1975) - The old metal seats in the gloomy theater below the projection room glowed in the soft light reflecting off the screen. Seven people were watching a Monday night showing of “Walking Tall, Part II” at Edgerton’s Rialto theater. There were 401 empty seats. “This used to be a good movie town, if you can explain it. I wish you would,” Bud Horan said glumly as he peered out the tiny projection room window and watched the popular new movie that had drawn big crowds elsewhere. Horan, 51, took over the manager’s job in 1965 when a full house was common and when Esther Williams thrilled moviegoers by adding new dimensions to the one-piece swimsuit. Twenty years later, the Rialto normally is open only on weekends, and even then the big crowds are rare. The last picture show already has played at thousands of theaters like it across the country. A review recently of conditions at a dozen small town theaters left in southern Wisconsin finds the Rialto and a couple of others at one end of the spectrum, some theaters in the middle and a few reporting decent business. All small theater owners are suffering under terms from movie companies which they say make it harder and harder to compete with the big city theaters. Aided by better roads and bigger pictures, the big city theater, whether in Madison, Milwaukee or Dubuque, lowa, has lured away the rural movie goer. These film companies are awfully rough on the small theaters; sometimes you can’t even get a movie,“ said Krith Vance, owner of Viroqua’s Temple Theater. Vance said business is down and he blames it partly on "the product” from Hollywood. “It’s your darn high terms, they’re too high,” said Ed Benes, mayor of Elroy and owner of the Elroy Theater. Benes also grumbled about the Hollywood fare. Business might be decent, he said, “if they’d get off their dead duffs and make a product the public would like to see.” Practically every small theater had a horror story about Universal’s “Jaws.” Benes was no exception. “If I wanted to run "Jaws” right now they’d want $2,500 in front money and two weeks play time,“ said Benes. "For a town of 1,500 that’s ridiculous.” The theater owner generally gets his films in one of three ways. ONE. Leases them for a prearranged period of time and splits the ticket proceeds with the movie company. TWO. Pays a flat fee and takes the movie for as short a time as he wants. THREE. Rents out his theater to the movie company in the so-called “Four Wall” method. Under the leasing method, the small town theater owners complain they are subjected to the same high terms as their big city counterparts and are in no position to pay. In a box office smash like “Jaws”, the theater owners say the movie companies will settle only for an arrangement that lets them take 30 percent of proceeds from tickets. In a few days every potential movie goer in a small town has seen a new flick, and the owner can lose his shirt if he is forced to sign a lease for more to get a big picture a week. That’s whats happening right now at the Point Theater in Mineral Point, Manager Dave Bachkreski said. He paid $2,000 to Universal just to get “Jaws” and after a few big nights, attendance dropped to nearly nothing. And the Rialto wouldn’t even have been open the weeknight it got seven people, except that the owner had to the take a week’s lease to get a popular first-run movie. According to Jim Thiele of Boscobel’s Blaine Theater, the terms for the big pictures are so outrageous you can’t play them till they’re old. “But if you wait until they’re old”, he says, “your customers have already driven to a big city to see them.” The whole problem boils down to one thing, said Otto Settele, an old movie hand who broke into the business in 1932 when Ethel, John and Lionel Barrymore all starred together in “Rasputin and the Empress.” “We’re fighting a seller’s market now,” Settele said. “There are more screens than there are pictures.” Settele said his Dodge Theater in Dodgeville is “one of the better small-town spots and he said the movie theater may be making a comeback. The number of screens nationally has risen from a low of 11,000 in the 1960s to 15,000 today, Settele said. But those new theaters are in the larger cities and in their shopping centers he said, not in the small towns. Settele, Thiele and many others said it’s the candy and popcorn sales from the concession stand that play a big part in keeping the lights bright at the small town theater. And to make it as a small town theater, the owner has to be dedicate according to Elmer Kramer, owner of both the Badger Theater in Reedsburg and the ailing Rialto. "The only way to survive is if it’s personally owned operation and you put in your own time and don’t get paid for it,” said Krueger, who loves movies so much he has seen “Ben Hur” 67 times.

Cinema Chatham, One Of The South Side’s Few Movie Theaters, Closes Permanently. —– Officials posted a sign on the entrance alerting neighbors the movie theater was permanently closed. It opened in August 2021. (By Atavia Reed) - CHATHAM: Cinema Chatham permanently closed this week, shutting down just days after hosting a screening with a local alderperson’s office. Cinema Chatham officials posted a sign on the entrance this week saying the theatre was permanently closed. Shocked neighbors responded to the news on Facebook Tuesday. “We extend our heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support and patronage,” the sign read. “It has been a pleasure serving you.” Anthony LaVerde, CEO of parent company Emagine Entertainment, said in a statement that the theater at 210 W. 87th St was no longer economically viable. “It is with deep regret that Cinema Chatham, a franchise operator under the Emagine brand, announces its closure,” Emagine leaders said in a statement. “The decision comes as a result of the business at this specific location no longer being economically viable. When our franchise partner reopened the theatre in 2021, they were hopeful they could to continue to carry on the legacy of serving this community, so we understand that this news may be disheartening.” Jon Goldstein, owner of Cinema Chatham, did not immediately respond to Block Club’s request for comment. Ald. Ronnie Mosley (21st), whose ward includes the theater, said it’s a “major blow to the arts and entertainment scene in the 21st Ward. Despite the decline of the movie theatre industry in the U.S., further worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and growing popularity of streaming services, Cinema Chatham made a valiant effort to stay open, and their efforts are appreciated,” Mosley said in a statement. Worlee Glover, a longtime Chatham resident, learned about the closing after neighbors began texting him with pictures of the sign, he said. Most people found out about the closing only after visiting the theatre, 210 W. 87th St., Glover said. “It looks to us like it was a last-minute decision,” Glover said. Cinema Chatham opened in August 2021. Goldstein, an avid movie fan and Emagine Theatre franchisee, bought the 87th Street building in 2019 when it still housed Studio Movie Grill. Studio Movie Grill filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and permanently closed in April 2021. Goldstein filled the vacant space with Cinema Chatham. South Side moviegoers slowly flocked back to the theater in August 2021 while Goldstein worked to open all 14 theaters to the public and obtain a liquor license. The theater hosted a grand opening celebration in July 2022 with new renovations and a screening of Jordan Peele’s film, “Nope.” “This might sound cheesy, but there’s nothing better than doing this,” Goldstein previously told Block Club. “Something about entertaining people and making people happy through entertainment has always been a real joy for me. The thought that I provided a couple of hours of escapism has always been something that just feels like my purpose. What a great business to be in.” Glover used to visit Cinema Chatham often, he said. The theatre was known for partnering with local community organizations for special screenings. Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th) hosted a 16th Ward Movie Day screening of “The Color Purple” on Jan. 25. Cinema Chatham also often screened films by independent filmmakers and hosted festivals for up-and-coming artists, like the Cinema Soup Film Festival and the Indie Horror Film Festival. “I’ve been a supporter since they first opened,” Glover said. “We’re losing out.” Cinema Chatham joins a list of national chains that have abruptly left the 87th Street building. A Best Buy in the Chatham Ridge Shopping Mall closed in April 2013. A Toys R Us store occupied the building before that. “National chains do this all the time to us,” Glover said. “We have to stop depending on them for our goods and services and start focusing on individual entrepreneurs.” Cinema Chatham’s closing leaves South Side moviegoers with only two easily accessible theaters: The Harper Theater, 5238 S. Harper, and AMC Ford City 14, 7601 S. Cicero Ave. Glover would like to see another movie chain set up shop in the 87th Street building, he said. Developers could pair the theater with a sit-down restaurant — another amenity lacking in the community, Glover said. “Hopefully, another operator will come in and open it back up with a new plan,” Glover said. “I’d like to see something fast casual there, too, like a Chili’s. That would be a big improvement.” (© 2024 Block Club Chicago)

The Lyric Theater: A reminder of an age gone by (Paul S. Peterson, Managing Editor, originally published in the Dec. 17, 1975 edition of the Daily News) —- The Lyric Theater is a reminder of an age gone by, a time when the motion picture was the social event of a Saturday evening and the last word — and only word — in the land of make-believe entertainment for youngsters. Today, the old theater is a victim of a different culture and the movies themselves, as well as the building, reflect the change. So do the audiences. “We are getting a lot younger audience than we did years ago,” says Ray Bowen, who just recently retired after more than 50 years as operator of the Lyric’s projectors. “And the audience doesn’t seem as concerned with the plot or with the acting as it did 10 or 15 years ago,” he added. Whether it is because of the change in the make-up of the audience today or simply because of the impact of television or simply because people are more inclined toward out-of-door activities, the Lyric Theater is a far cry from the Lyric that is remembered from the late 1950s. Even as late as 1960, the Lyric was playing to good-sized audiences during the week and to full houses on Sundays and for the two shows on Friday and Saturday nights. Today, the Lyric is barely keepings its financial head above water. Rod Grams, who resigned as the theater’s manager earlier this year to become director of Dial-A-Ride Transportation in Ludington, said it takes a gross income of $1,000 a week to keep the Lyric out of the red. “Right now the theater is breaking even and actually will show a profit of about $5,000 for the year,” Grams said. “If this continues, if the theater doesn’t fall into the red, then it is possible some repairs may be made soon.” And most important repair to be faced in the immediate future is to the boiler, an item of no small expense. “I really don’t know if Butterfield (Butterfield Theaters, Inc. of Detroit) will authorize the repairs or not,” Grams said. “If things keep going the way they are, it is possible Butterfield will OK it and the theater will continue to operate. If not, the theater will have to close.” The decline of the Lyric is not unique among movie theaters in small towns. The income is no longer there to make the Lyric the movie palace it once was. Costs continue to rise; the staff has been drastically reduced; there is little chance of getting good release dates for quality films and the building is having aesthetic, as well as mechanical, problems. “When I started there,” Grams said, “We had two doormen, two ushers, a person to handle the concession stand and the manager on duty all the time.” Now the manager doubles as ticket-taker and there is usually just one other employee to handle the rest of the work during an evening. And the cutback in personnel shows up in a hurry when the movie begins. Patrons at times are fortunate if they can hear the sound or escape being trampled by kids running up and down the aisles. And the theater itself is far from a “sparkling movie palace,” as it was once billed. Grams’ daughter, Mrs. Sally Taylor, is the new manager — and only the fourth — and she and her skeleton crew can only do so much. But she has received permission from Butterfield, the moviehouse chain that owns the Lyric, to hire special police to help patrol the theater during Friday nights in particular. So if this is the Lyric Theater today, what was it like in its heyday? It was, in an understatement, an altogether different place. The Lyric, as we know it today, was opened to the public on Oct. 28, 1925. Its predecessor was the Opera House, which later become known as the Lyric Theater, and was located right alongside the present Lyric. The Opera House was the scene of numerous performances of the legitimate stage. Traveling troupes came to Ludington at regular intervals to perform many of the top plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With the arrival of the silent films, the Opera House, which by that time had become the Lyric Theater, underwent the necessary modification so that such pictures at James Oliver Curwood’s “The Trail’s End,” could be seen. On Feb. 15, 1922, one of the all-time great silent films came to the Lyric for a three-day stand. It was “The Sheik,” starring Rudolph Valentino and Agnes Ayres. Shortly after World War I, Ludington opened its second movie theater, the Kozy — Shrine of Silent Art. For the next 35 years or better, the two theaters operated in the city, each drawing its own special audience. By 1925, the popularity of the motion pictured had increased to such a pitch that certain movies earned a front page story in the Daily News. Early in 1925, the Ludington firm of Fitzpatrick & McElroy Co. decided to go ahead with plans for the new Lyric Theater and on April 18 of that year construction on the building began. It was completed six months later, on Oct. 25, 1925. The Daily News carried a big front page story about the new theater. The headline read: “New Lyric, Fire-Proof, Artistic, Rich in Coloring and Commodious, Opens to Ludington Folk Thursday.” With Frank W. Hawley as its manager, the Lyric opened amid a gala celebration that included organ and violin solos. The following is the text of the front page ad on Oct. 23 that told about the first movie, a silent film, to be shown in the new theater: “Monte Blue in ‘Hogan’s Alley,’ thrills, comedy, pathos, drama, romance. The heartbeats of genuine folks throbbing through a thrilling story. Matinee at 2:30 p.m. Special children’s matinee at 4 p.m. All seats on opening night will be 30 cents. No children will be admitted at evening shows without their parents; baby cabs will not be permitted to be brought into the new Lyric Theater.” The day after the opening of the theater, the Daily News front page coverage was headlined “Auspicious Opening At Lyric Theater.” Organ and violin solos by Miss Marie Litka and Mrs. M.F. Mangrum helped making opening night a smashing success. The theater itself was described by the Daily News in the most glowing terms. The article said, in part: “Entrance to the large lobby is gained through French doors on either side of the ticket booth. Two hand-wrought circular chandelier in bronze, with crystal decorations, furnish light for the lobby. On one side of the lobby is the ladies’ waiting room, a daintily furnished room, a tribute to feminine vanity. The walls are blue while the woodwork is oyster white. Pretty tables and a writing desk, all of French design, and two floor lamps give a homelike touch to the room. Between the lobby and the foyer are French windows and the doors of mirror glass.” That hardly sounds like the Lyric Theater today. The year the Lyric opened, Hawley formed a company with Butterfield Theaters as joint owners and operators of the Lyric and Kozy theaters: It was at about this time that Ray Bowen began working at the Lyric. “That was, of course, still during the time of silent movies,” Bowen said. “And we had to crank the projector by hand. The big thing about doing it by hand was to make sure you kept the frames moving at a uniform speed or else the picture became jerky.” But the first big improvement in the Lyric’s equipment came not too long after Bowen started work. During the spring of 1929 Frank Hawley installed the equipment necessary to bring the “talkies” to Ludington. That, too, was page one news in the Daily News in May of that year. “Lyric Theater Installs Movietone, Vitaphone; First ‘Talkie’ Will be Sunday,” said the headline. The first “talkie,” shown on May 19, 1939, starred the great Broadway tenor, Morton Downey, in “Mother’s Boy.” “When the ‘talkies’ came,” Bowen recalled, “We had records for the soundtrack and we played them on a huge turntable. You hoped to heck you had enough feet of film to go with the amount of sound record you had left.” It didn’t always work out that way. “I remember one time,” Bowen said, “We were showing a film in which soldiers were marching up the ramp to their ship. When they got to the rail, the hero turned to say something and at that moment came the sound of marching feet.” In those days, Bowen said, the reels had 10 minutes of film and about the time you got one projector set up for running the other was about out of film and you had to get that one set up. Today, the reels run 22 minutes. The Lyric and the Kozy continued to share the entertainment spotlight for the next three decades, although in early 1942 the Kozy closed for extensive remodeling. It reopened as the Center Theater on Saturday, June 5, 1942, with Tim Holt and Jane Withers sharing the double feature billing. But the first concession to, and indication of, a different public attitude toward the movies came with the Center. Instead of being a six-day a week operation, the Center would now be open on Saturdays and Sundays. Frank Hawley, who Bowen said ran the Lyric and Kozy with an iron hand, continued to run both theaters until his death on Oct. 9, 1941. During the time Hawley ran the theaters no food or beverages were sold in either theater. “He wouldn’t allow even chewing gum inside the Lyric,” Bowen said. and the tight discipline showed up in well behaved, orderly audiences that probably never though of intentionally damaging any part of the theater. When Hawley died in 1941, Butterfield Theaters took over complete control of the Lyric and Kozy. The firm immediately installed W.C. Green as the new manager of both the Lyric and Kozy. Green, who later was to serve for years as a city commissioner-at-large and member of the county board of supervisors, carried on the strict tradition of Frank Hawley. But in a short time he did make some concessions, allowing a candy machine to be installed in the Kozy and finally bringing in a popcorn machine in the Lyric. As World War II swept the nation, the movies did a great business and the Center Theater soon added Friday nights to its weekend schedule. It was during the early 1940s that the Lyric came up with its major change from the time the theater opened. New seats were bought in 1944, the same ones that are in use today, and a new heating plant was installed. “There were good actors and actresses in those days,” Bowen said. “And movie plots themselves were good. People would even give up their Sunday night radio programs to see a movie and that was a major concession in those days.” But after the war ended and technology that had been born in the war or delayed because of it came into its own — namely television. The Center Theater cut back to a two-day operation in 1953 and on Sunday, March 14, 1954, it closed its doors for the final time. Ludington was now a one-moviehouse town, something that it hadn’t known in over 35 years. But the Lyric was experiencing problems of its own and in 1960 the theater was forced to cut back from three to two movies a week. Green resigned as manager of the Lyric on Sept. 11, 1961 to join the advertising staff at the Daily News. A short time later, Rod Grams became the manager and began the difficult task of trying to keep the Lyric ahead of financial problems. Grams, whose father-in-law, William Griffin, owned theaters in Frankfort, Manton, Lake City and Honor, says that if he owned the Lyric he would make some drastic changes..“I would pull the screen about a third of the way in toward the seats and divide the theater in two parts. That way I could show films geared to youngsters and at the same time have movies designed more toward an adult audience,” he said. “The theater has to take in $52,000 a year just to break even,” he said. “And it is just barely doing that now. The Disney movies, for instance, have a big audience on Friday and Saturday nights but during the remainder of the week they don’t do a thing. And it is hard to get a good release date for quality pictures. Wisconsin theaters may get them ahead of us and ads for them on television are seen here long before we get the film.” Another thing Grams would like to see, if he were still running it and had the authority to do so, would be to bring back some of the selected shorts that were seen years ago. “We dropped the newsreels whenI first took over,” Grams said. “And then they stopped filming ‘The March of Time’ and ‘Pete Smith Specialities.’ I think both of those were very good and should be resumed. The newsreels, of course, no longer have a place in the movie theater.” Now the Lyric is down to one feature film a week and some of those aren’t very good to start with. “Neither Sally nor I have anything to say about what pictures come to the Lyric,” said Grams, who acts as an advisor to his daughter. “The bookings are handled by Butterfield and at this time of the year we are booked about three to four weeks in advance. During the summer we would have the schedule for three months at a time.” A lot of things are wrong with the Lyric today but then a lot of things seem wrong with Hollywood and the type of pictures being produced. Bowen, who has seen more films, more actors and actresses than any other person in Ludington, says it is evident that the quality of movies is poorer. “Look at the background in some of today’s films for instances,” says Ray. “You can’t see much because they want it dark. They don’t want you to see how cheaply they are made. In the old days a lot of money went into making a film but not today.” Bowen said the biggest movie, from the standpoint of the audience, has been “Gone With the Wind.” “It has played here four or five times and is the biggest by far,” he said. “The Sting,” however, is the biggest thing that has happened to the Lyric in recent years. Grams said the theater was packed for all performances every night the show played. “I don’t agree with the emphasis now placed on the amount of money a film makes,” Grams said. “I think the true test of a picture should be the number of people who go to see it, not how much it earns.” Movie buffs, those who remember the “way it used to be” at the Lyric, yearn for the old, simple movie that was entertainment — not a sermon on the ills, real or imagined, that plague society. The man who has seen just about all of them since the birth of the “talkies” — Ray Bowen — still gets his biggest kick out of watching a Western. “The Westerns are my favorites,” he said. “I enjoyed them. They were a lot of entertainment.” And Ray Bowen’s favorite actor? John Wayne. There is strong evidence that movies are making a comeback. But whether their revival will come in time to save the Lyric is doubtful. Just as it it is doubtful the screen will ever again see the likes of Bogart, Gable, Crawford or Davis. But those of us who wept for Lassie and laughed with the Bowery Boys are still hoping. (© Copyright 2024 Shoreline Media Group 202 N. Rath Ave., Ludington, MI)

BEAUTIFUL WISCONSIN THEATRE OPENS MAR. 28 The Wisconsin theatre, largest and most beautiful showhouse in the Northwest, will open in Milwaukee, March 28th. This massive structure, Saxe’s $2,000,000 picture palace, houses not only the theatre proper, with its 3,500 seats, but also the largest ball room in the United States in roof garden on top, and recreation parlors containing billiard and pool tables and bowling alleys in the sub-levels. The building contains every improvement known to modern theatre-craft which can add to the pleasure, comfort and safety of the public.

The theatre will be primarily devoted to motion pictures. However, a large part of each program will be given to stage presentations and musical offerings by the organists and symphony concert orchestra. A feature of the theatre is the $50,000 organ, which when played by two organists at the same time rise from three floors below into full view of the auditors, and later sink from sight. The symphony concert or chestra is the largest in the North west. Each of the 3,500 seats affords an uninterrupted view of the stage.

They are most comfortably designed, con taining specially constructed up holstery and double springs in seat and back. Patrons will breathe pure air at proper temperatures. A re cently designed ventilating system will wash the air, heating or cooling it at the same time, as need be. The cooling system, alone, was installed at a cost of more than $65,000. The plan of decoration throughout the house is artistic and elaborate.

Rare oil paintings, marble pillars and rich drapes lend an atmosphere of grandeur to the lobby. Patrons may keep appointments with friends on the handsomely appointed mezzanine promenade which surrounds the lobby. An orchestra on the mezzanine will play softly for those resting there. The lighting system of the theatre is a triumph of electrical artistry. Light colors will be blended, increasing or decreasing automatically to synchronize with the theme of the production.

The 75-foot electric sign in front of the building is admitted by sign makers to be the largest theatrical sign in the United States, each letter being larger than an ordinary man. The name “Wisconsin” will flash on Grand avenue with a blaze of light which can be seen for more than twenty miles. The ladies' lounging rooms luxuriously furnished, contain many innovations. Maids will direct patrons past full length mirrors to chiffoniers containing every known cosmetic, where they may “see that their powder is on straight.” Three floors beneath the building is the “Laboratory theatre,” a diminutive theatre, not open to the public, where directors and executives will rehearse coming attractions while thousands are enjoying productions in the main theatre above. The stage is of such unusual proportions that the largest spectacle can be presented.

Within 24 hours it can be converted for grand opera or any desired attraction. No possible stage requirement has been overlooked, even to the steel animal rooms, which will house wild beasts during jungle productions. The theatre and roof garden are operated by the Saxe Operating corporation of Milwaukee, the largest operators of theatres in Wisconsin. This corporation conducts eight Milwaukee theatres and fourteen theatres in other Wisconsin towns. The purchasing power of these twenty-two theatres assures patrons of the best productions at the lowest possible rates. (The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, 3/14/1924)

JW Hodge (L) and Merl Reynolds at the Bonn Theatre.

Rita Rinelli gets into the act at the do-it-yourself HITCHCOCK poster in the grand lobby of the ORIENTAL Theatre.