Use this Address on Google to get a better street view: 1720 North El Camino Real, San Clemente, Calif. It is across the street from Knuckleheads, whose listed address is 1717 North El Camino Real.
At a cost of $5 million, the 2,600-seat Edwards Simi Valley 10 opened on June 24, 1994. The Daily News of Los Angeles said the complex would have two 400-seat auditoriums, two with 300 seats and six with 200 seats.
“The 38,000-square-foot building features a 65-foot snack bar and trendy decor, including granite and carpeted floors, bright colors and neon lights, and high ceilings with a rotunda.”
Regal Theaters closed the theater on November 30, 2009. Tristone Cinema Group reopened the theater on December 4, 2009 as a discount house.
Terry Ommen writing in the Fresno Bee on November 2, 2007 related a slice of history of the Hyde Theatre. Two thugs held up the manager of the theater on Saturday evening, December 4, 1937. The $221 (about $3,500 in 2012) hold up happened outside of the nearby Fox Theatre where the manager had taken the daily receipts.The case was finally solved in February of 1938 with the arrest of the two men (boys? men children?), 19 and 20 years of age. Compliments of the state, they were given a new home at San Quentin.
The address of the Grand Theatre was 118 West Jackson.
Archives of the Iola Daily Register say that the 1,291-seat, $40,000 Grand Theatre opened on January 8, 1904. The main floor seated 545 with 449 in the balcony, 237 in the gallery and 10 box seats, which seated 60. The size of the three-story opera house left room for auxiliary stores and businesses.
Admission for the opening night pre-sold seats came with a stiff price. 800 people ended up attending, which brought the opening night receipts to $6,680. (This would be more than $85,000 today)
By 1915 the Grand was showing silent films in addition to vaudeville and stage plays.
The Register covered the fire that burned down the Grand on December 20, 1924. It was said that damage was so bad that it was unlikely that the Grand would ever be rebuilt. Iola wasn’t left without a show house as by then the Kelley Theatre was in operation.
However there are later news references to other business occupying the old Grand Theatre building. One such enterprise in 1931 was, believe it or not, an 18 hole indoor golf course called The Winter Greens.
On January 29, 1951 the former theater building, home to Sifer’s Candy factory, suffered another fire that “virtually” destroyed the building. A few days later Mr. Sifer said in the Register that a new structure would be erected on the site.
San Marino, California has always been a small exclusive enclave that makes nearby Pasadena look like a bedroom community. But Pasadena, South Pasadena, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Arcadia and all neighboring cities had movie theaters. Why not San Marino? Well, one did almost get built once.
A March 20, 1937 Los Angeles Times story said that James Edwards Jr. had decided to abandon his proposal to build a $50,000 theater in San Marino, population 7,500. Edwards said he wanted to operate a high-class house featuring first run movies, single bills and no bank night. He also offered the use of the theater as a community center. Edwards was the object of an attack (verbal I’m sure) at a city council meeting by a group who wanted to keep the city without motion pictures. Edwards said he made his decision “rather than start a dog fight among San Marinans.”
Evidently after dealing with Edwards, who was considered an upstart, the San Marino city council decided to take action. The April 30, 1937 edition of the Times said the council unanimously adopted an ordinance that by its stringent rules effectively barred motion picture theaters or even thinking about building one.
The ordinance provided for Sunday closing, a high license fee limited to $300 and prohibition within 600 feet of any residence or 1200 yards of a public school. For every two seats the parking lot must have enough room to accommodate a car with a 112” wheelbase. (The wheelbase of the 1937 Ford happened to be 112”. If they really wanted to be strict, they could have used the 1937 Cadillac whose models ranged from 124-138” wheelbases). Klieg lights or any type of spotlight would be banned. Sign or advertising would not be permitted on the sidewalks. Bank night, lotteries and the distribution of merchandise were also forbidden.
The films must be “moral, amusing, educational and harmless in character” and not “corrupt the morals of the theatergoers.” No seats could be sold unless a seat was available (this alone would prevent the pre-selling of tickets until the previous crowd had left the building). Any violation would put the perpetrator in danger of a $500 fine, six months in jail or both.
While the constitutionality of the measure was brought up, the city attorney said that he decided to abide by the council’s action and take a chance in court.
There is no evidence that the law was ever challenged in court and it appears no one every attempted to build a movie theater in San Marino again.
Mr. Edwards would in 1939 be in good company when the proposed building of two well-known churches was protested and sent to the city council for debate.
Their website says it is on “Red Cliff” Drive while the sign on the building says “Red Cliffs.” This may have been a typo on their website because the nearby LHM Pineview 10 is on “Red Cliffs” Drive.
On July 18, 1938 the Oakland Tribune noted that the Golden State Theater Circuit had purchased the Del Rio from William Peters. Extensive renovations were planned.
The Modesto Bee on December 1, 1970 published a photograph of the Del Rio, which was in the process of being torn down. The last manager, Amelia Silva, pictured in a photograph, said she worked there from 1934 to 1964. Mrs. Silva was also the manager of the Crest Theatre, which opened in 1949. From the marquee, it appears that they showed Spanish language films in its last days
The Film Daily Yearbook of 1950-51 lists it with 680 seats.
Today it is a parking lot next to the historic Bank of America building.
Here is information on the fire, which was covered in the Theatre Historical Society news.
The theater was damaged by smoke and water on January 20th 2010 when fire gutted an adjoining building. On December 17, 2011 the Riverside Press-Enterprise noted that the non-profit Valley View Foundation was in escrow to purchase the theater. Earlier reports said that they wanted to turn the theater into a performing arts center.
The selling owners are Emerson Bixby and Dave Bernal, who purchased the theater in 2003 for $315,000. Before then it had been closed since October 26, 1995. They reopened the 442-seat in May of 2004 with plans to screen classic movies. They said that they even purchased a 70-mm projector to properly show some of these films.
The theater originally dates back to its opening on Thanksgiving day 1921. The owner was William Martin, whose brother James served as the contractor of the $300,000 theater.
Archives of the Press-Enterprise note that from 1987 until 1995 it was owned by Harold Martin, whose daughter Julie Burgard operated the theater. According to the Film Daily Yearbook, the theater at one time had up to 650 seats. The foundation held its latest fundraiser in the theater on April 3. The Valley View Foundation is now accepting all donations.
The chain that was originally going to open the Wardman before the building’s owner and architect took over was Hughes-Franklin Theatres. One of its principals was Harold B. Franklin, a former director of Paramount’s Publix chain and later the president of Fox West-Coast Theatres. His partner, the Hughes in the chain’s name, was the famous Hughes known as Howard. Franklin left the Hughes-Franklin presidency in 1932 after only two years but went on to other positions in the business. He died at the relatively young age of 52 in 1941 while in Mexico City on business. More information on the role Franklin played in the exhibition industry can be found at the Margaret Herrick Library.
The start of construction of the Lyric Theatre was announced in the Modesto Evening News on April 10, 1922. At a cost of $37,500 the former building had to be completely remodeled, which included the raising of the roof. The owners were listed as Frank Parker and P.W. Brubeck, owners of the Lyric in Stockton. The theatre, which would play Paramount pictures exclusively, opened on July 26, 1922. The Evening News lauded it for its comfortable seating, its ventilation system and the small smoking balcony.
On July 16, 1949 it reopened as the Esquire after a $25,000 remodeling, which included a new marquee. The 600-seat first-run theater was owned by George Mann.
On August 20, 1953, the Modesto Bee mentioned the recently closed Esquire and that it probably would not reopen.
On May 12, 1966 the Bee mentioned that a parking lot would be put where the Esquire theatre once stood.
The Buena Park Drive-In opened on April 24, 1970. It was built by Pacific Theatres on property adjacent to the Lincoln Drive-In but had its own entrance, box-office and facilities and was billed as a twin to the Lincoln. The Lincoln, which was previously called the Cine-Car, with a capacity of 375 cars and Orange County’s second drive-In, began to appear in newspaper listings on May 16, 1949. In the early 1960s, when it was called the Lincoln, it and the Warner Drive-In, was listed as a Family Drive-In Theatre and charged $1.50 a carload for a second-run double bill. On February 14, 1962, the Lincoln and Warner Drive-Ins were placed under Pacific Theatre’s banner, showing first-run movies at an increased admission.
In March of 1952 Al Hager, who had owned the Rex since 1917, passed away.
In August the Post-Register reported that the Rex theatre was being renovated. The building was gutted with only the sidewalls and a portion of the floor remaining. It was said the cost of the new theatre with its glass and aluminum facade came in at around $30,000. Basically the theater, designed by H.M Sundberg and Howard Sundberg, Jr. of Idaho Falls, was completely new and modern.
Operated by DeMordaunt and Drennan it opened as the Falls Theatre on November 25, 1952 with “Red Ball Express.” The 450-seat theater, with a balcony, had a first-run policy and sometimes second-runs of the more popular movies.
Its opening ad touted the features of the theatre:
Latest in theatre chairs (spaced for relaxation).
Best in sound and projection equipment.
Cycloramic screen (easy on the eyes).
Pleasant appointments throughout— effective air conditioning.
Yes Chuck, the zip code for the city of Salmon is 83467. My error. As it is adjusted now, my Google street view takes me over 100 miles away to Mountain Home. Sometimes these Google maps are confusing. For Instance in Burley, Idaho the Century Theatre street view is correct while the street view of the old Alfresco Drive-In, in back of the Century, takes you nearly 184 miles away to Caldwell, Idaho.
I Can’t explain the situation for Burley because the zip code is the same for both theaters.
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune noted in 2006 that The Glendora Historical Society had selected the Mission Theatre Building as the first phase of its “Historical Pride Project.” This entailed placing pictured plaques with a history at 10 locations around town.
The Mission’s plaque reads: “One of Glendora’s most distinguished landmarks was the Mission Building. This Foothill Boulevard façade featured a covered walkway shared by several storefronts. A popular malt shop was located on the corner and a theater occupied most of the building space. In the 1930’s, Richard and Maurice McDonald, of McDonald’s Restaurant fame, operated the theater.”
The Mission Theater goes back to at least 1923 in Covina Argus listings and a mention in the Los Angeles Times. The Argus says the first talking picture at the Mission was (Fox Movietone) “Follies of 1929,” which started on September 4 1929.
From 1932 to 1937 ads in the Argus for the theater reflected a name change to the Beacon and sometime after 1937 to the Glendora Theatre. In the Film Daily Yearbook of 1936-37 it was listed as the Beacon with 600 seats. The FDY of 1946-48 listed it as the Glendora also with 600 seats. What may have happened to the theatre in the late 1940s is open to speculation as the FDY of 1949-50 lists it with 750 seats.
This is a revised version of an April 2004 post, which I removed)
Information on file at the Riverside Public Library says that the Golden State, built by Charles Loring, opened as the Loring Opera House on January 8, 1890.
Seating was put at around 1,000 and it showed its first silent film in 1910.
The nearby Fox Riverside is remembered, as having the first sneak preview of “Gone With The Wind” in 1939 but the Loring was the first in the nation to screen D.W. Griffith’s “The Clansman” before it was renamed “The Birth Of A Nation.” A Riverside newspaper ad from that time announced the showing on January 1 and 2, 1915. It read “ ‘The Clansman’ is being shown in Riverside for the first time in any theater. It will go direct to New York, where it will be shown at the same prices of the higher class dramatic productions.” The film was later called racist in its depiction of African Americans and was banned in many cities.
In 1918 the opera house became the Loring Theatre and it received a modernization, which included removing the entire balcony and replacing it with one supported by steel
In 1928 its operation was later taken over by veteran Riverside exhibitor, Roy Hunt who entered into a joint partnership with Fox West Coast in 1933 to run it along with the Fox and Rubidoux theatres. In 1938 it was renamed the Golden State Theatre.
It is not known how long the theater had been closed up to 1950 when it made the news again. A Boxoffice Magazine article from October 14, 1950 said that Fox was reopening the Golden State with a new marquee, seating, carpeting curtains and equipment.
The Golden State, then a National General Theatre, closed in January of 1973 after playing a double bill of “Suburban Wives” and “Trader Hornee.” Fire destroyed the more than 100-year-old Golden State in October of 1990 and it was leveled by the city.
The Address was 34 S. State Street.
A story from the Preston Booster from August 3, 1912 said that the new Isis Theatre had opened, even though it wasn’t completely finished. There was an old Isis Theatre that was being converted to a pool hall. The Isis also had a sister theater called the Zeus. The Franklin County Citizen announced on February 20, 1919, that after several month of darkness the Isis was opening again. The closing was due to the worldwide flu pandemic where public gatherings were banned. The Citizen suggested that crowding in the aisles be avoided and those who haven’t had the flu to be cautious.
The Provo Evening Herald noted on May 12, 1936, that Intermountain Theatres had taken out a lease on the Isis Theatre. The previous February they finalized a lease on the other theater in town, the Grand.
The 1928 Film Daily Yearbook listed seating of the Isis at 600 so by 1951 it had gained 146 seats. On Google street views it is the building with the patterned brick above the entrance.
(No Swine Flu scare! The 1918-1919 flu pandemic, as mentioned above, according to the National Archives, killed 50 million worldwide. American estimates range from 500,000 to 675,000.)
This is a revision of a previous post, which I removed.
The Lewiston Morning Tribune archives say that Harry Wall exited the Lewiston Theatre business in 1979 after more than 30 years. Wall at one time operated five indoor and three outdoor theaters in the area. In addition to his farms and ranches, Wall was also a state senator from 1944 to 1950. He sold his holding to Landmark Cinemas of Calgary Alberta. Those theaters included the Liberty, Roxy (Theatorium), Orchards Cinema and the Orchards Auto Theatre. The new owner planned renovation of the Auto Theatre and a redecoration of the Liberty but the Roxy would not be reopening.
The Tribune said that Wall was was married to Mildred, the daughter of Mary Pulver. Pulver was a partner with Ike Binnard, the builder of the Liberty Theatre, built in 1921. Binnard died in 1933 and Pulver bought controlling interest. Mary, who passed on in 1950, became one of the best-known theater operators in the West. In addition to Harry Wall’s theaters, mentioned aboved, Mary at one time ran the Granada and Temple Theaters and the Pix in Clarkston. In 1951 her Daughter Mildred celebrated 15 years as the only woman on the board of directors of the Independent Theatre Owners of Washington, Northern Idaho and Alaska. Mildred passed away in 1955, leaving an estate of $428,520, which according to the CPI would be over $3,500,000 in 2011 dollars. Harry Wall passed on in 1981 at the age of 78. Landmark Cinemas never made a go of the Liberty and in the late 80s it ended up a 99 cent theater. In September of 1998 the Tribune said that Regal Cinemas was now the operator of the Liberty after a merger with the previous operator, Act III Theatres of Portland.The Tribune said the Liberty closed on March 10, 2005. The opening of the 12-screen theater in Nez Perce Plaza was the deciding factor. The theatre was up for sale for $125,000. It was later converted to office space.
Excerpt from James Edwards interview in Orange County Register, 9/25/90.
Edwards was born in Los Angeles on Nov. 23, 1906, lived in Alhambra and graduated from Alhambra High School.
“I spent one day at college just to look around,” he said. Then he went out the next day and got a job.
He had odd jobs for a while — including selling vacuum cleaners — then owned
a small chain of parking lots in Los Angeles. But he was looking around for something to do at night, Edwards explained.
“There was a theater in Monterey Park right near my home that had closed,” he said. “I was able to make a moderate lease on the theater and that’s how we started. I found out then that what I felt would just be a nighttime business was day and night.”
The Monterey Park theater opened on Oct. 9, 1930. Edwards , then 23, had found his true calling.
In those days, vaudeville acts preceded the movies, instilling a love for live theater in the young man. The glamour of the movies fascinated him, and Tuesday at the Garfield was “stars night.” Edwards rented a limousine to pick up the star of the week.
“I got so I found that was difficult to do,” he recalled. “You had to talk to them more and more, and butter them up. So temperamental: `Why did you send a black limousine, why didn’t you send a white one?‘ ”
He knew some of Hollywood’s big names, including Howard Hughes. On Wednesday nights, he played poker with Bill Paley, who had just founded the Columbia Broadcasting System, and Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal Pictures.
“Carl Laemmle would come to the Alhambra Theater for his previews,” Edwards said. “I rigged up a headset for him in the back row of the loge because he was kind of deaf. He’d sit in his seat, put on his headset and promptly go to sleep.
“And when the picture was over, he’d walk into the foyer and all his aides would pat him on the back and say, `Well, you did it again Uncle Carl.'
I originally submitted this theatre as the Fairyland because of it’s interesting and original name. Also, I thought it was more historically accurate than than just plain “Anaheim Theatre.” The Disney-esque name was unintentionally 38 years ahead of Disneyland.
Let me correct myself. The old Krikorian 7 Theatre was closed, but it was never converted.
Currently it is a discount house operated by Interstate Theatres, based in Dallas, Texas.
Another photo of Craigmont Theatre on Flickr, listed under Craigmont, Idaho. http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlys_dad/374090507/
A map of Historic Casa Grande published in the Casa Grande Dispatch on August 11, 1971 places the Chief at approximately 208 West Main Street.
Use this Address on Google to get a better street view:
1720 North El Camino Real, San Clemente, Calif.
It is across the street from Knuckleheads, whose listed address is 1717 North El Camino Real.
The 2,800-seat Regal Civic Center Plaza 16 opened on November 19, 1999.
At a cost of $5 million, the 2,600-seat Edwards Simi Valley 10 opened on June 24, 1994. The Daily News of Los Angeles said the complex would have two 400-seat auditoriums, two with 300 seats and six with 200 seats.
“The 38,000-square-foot building features a 65-foot snack bar and trendy decor, including granite and carpeted floors, bright colors and neon lights, and high ceilings with a rotunda.”
Regal Theaters closed the theater on November 30, 2009. Tristone Cinema Group reopened the theater on December 4, 2009 as a discount house.
Terry Ommen writing in the Fresno Bee on November 2, 2007 related a slice of history of the Hyde Theatre. Two thugs held up the manager of the theater on Saturday evening, December 4, 1937. The $221 (about $3,500 in 2012) hold up happened outside of the nearby Fox Theatre where the manager had taken the daily receipts.The case was finally solved in February of 1938 with the arrest of the two men (boys? men children?), 19 and 20 years of age. Compliments of the state, they were given a new home at San Quentin.
The address of the Grand Theatre was 118 West Jackson.
Archives of the Iola Daily Register say that the 1,291-seat, $40,000 Grand Theatre opened on January 8, 1904. The main floor seated 545 with 449 in the balcony, 237 in the gallery and 10 box seats, which seated 60. The size of the three-story opera house left room for auxiliary stores and businesses.
Admission for the opening night pre-sold seats came with a stiff price. 800 people ended up attending, which brought the opening night receipts to $6,680. (This would be more than $85,000 today)
By 1915 the Grand was showing silent films in addition to vaudeville and stage plays.
The Register covered the fire that burned down the Grand on December 20, 1924. It was said that damage was so bad that it was unlikely that the Grand would ever be rebuilt. Iola wasn’t left without a show house as by then the Kelley Theatre was in operation.
However there are later news references to other business occupying the old Grand Theatre building. One such enterprise in 1931 was, believe it or not, an 18 hole indoor golf course called The Winter Greens.
On January 29, 1951 the former theater building, home to Sifer’s Candy factory, suffered another fire that “virtually” destroyed the building. A few days later Mr. Sifer said in the Register that a new structure would be erected on the site.
The Town That Banned Movie Theaters
(Research from Los Angeles Times archives.)
San Marino, California has always been a small exclusive enclave that makes nearby Pasadena look like a bedroom community.
But Pasadena, South Pasadena, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Arcadia and all neighboring cities had movie theaters. Why not San Marino? Well, one did almost get built once.
A March 20, 1937 Los Angeles Times story said that James Edwards Jr. had decided to abandon his proposal to build a $50,000 theater in San Marino, population 7,500. Edwards said he wanted to operate a high-class house featuring first run movies, single bills and no bank night. He also offered the use of the theater as a community center. Edwards was the object of an attack (verbal I’m sure) at a city council meeting by a group who wanted to keep the city without motion pictures. Edwards said he made his decision “rather than start a dog fight among San Marinans.”
Evidently after dealing with Edwards, who was considered an upstart, the San Marino city council decided to take action. The April 30, 1937 edition of the Times said the council unanimously adopted an ordinance that by its stringent rules effectively barred motion picture theaters or even thinking about building one.
The ordinance provided for Sunday closing, a high license fee limited to $300 and prohibition within 600 feet of any residence or 1200 yards of a public school. For every two seats the parking lot must have enough room to accommodate a car with a 112” wheelbase. (The wheelbase of the 1937 Ford happened to be 112”. If they really wanted to be strict, they could have used the 1937 Cadillac whose models ranged from 124-138” wheelbases). Klieg lights or any type of spotlight would be banned. Sign or advertising would not be permitted on the sidewalks. Bank night, lotteries and the distribution of merchandise were also forbidden.
The films must be “moral, amusing, educational and harmless in character” and not “corrupt the morals of the theatergoers.” No seats could be sold unless a seat was available (this alone would prevent the pre-selling of tickets until the previous crowd had left the building). Any violation would put the perpetrator in danger of a $500 fine, six months in jail or both.
While the constitutionality of the measure was brought up, the city attorney said that he decided to abide by the council’s action and take a chance in court. There is no evidence that the law was ever challenged in court and it appears no one every attempted to build a movie theater in San Marino again.
Mr. Edwards would in 1939 be in good company when the proposed building of two well-known churches was protested and sent to the city council for debate.
Their website says it is on “Red Cliff” Drive while the sign on the building says “Red Cliffs.” This may have been a typo on their website because the nearby LHM Pineview 10 is on “Red Cliffs” Drive.
On July 18, 1938 the Oakland Tribune noted that the Golden State Theater Circuit had purchased the Del Rio from William Peters. Extensive renovations were planned.
The Modesto Bee on December 1, 1970 published a photograph of the Del Rio, which was in the process of being torn down. The last manager, Amelia Silva, pictured in a photograph, said she worked there from 1934 to 1964. Mrs. Silva was also the manager of the Crest Theatre, which opened in 1949. From the marquee, it appears that they showed Spanish language films in its last days
The Film Daily Yearbook of 1950-51 lists it with 680 seats. Today it is a parking lot next to the historic Bank of America building.
Here is information on the fire, which was covered in the Theatre Historical Society news.
The theater was damaged by smoke and water on January 20th 2010 when fire gutted an adjoining building. On December 17, 2011 the Riverside Press-Enterprise noted that the non-profit Valley View Foundation was in escrow to purchase the theater. Earlier reports said that they wanted to turn the theater into a performing arts center.
The selling owners are Emerson Bixby and Dave Bernal, who purchased the theater in 2003 for $315,000. Before then it had been closed since October 26, 1995. They reopened the 442-seat in May of 2004 with plans to screen classic movies. They said that they even purchased a 70-mm projector to properly show some of these films.
The theater originally dates back to its opening on Thanksgiving day 1921. The owner was William Martin, whose brother James served as the contractor of the $300,000 theater.
Archives of the Press-Enterprise note that from 1987 until 1995 it was owned by Harold Martin, whose daughter Julie Burgard operated the theater. According to the Film Daily Yearbook, the theater at one time had up to 650 seats. The foundation held its latest fundraiser in the theater on April 3. The Valley View Foundation is now accepting all donations.
http://www.historichemettheatre.com/
The chain that was originally going to open the Wardman before the building’s owner and architect took over was Hughes-Franklin Theatres. One of its principals was Harold B. Franklin, a former director of Paramount’s Publix chain and later the president of Fox West-Coast Theatres. His partner, the Hughes in the chain’s name, was the famous Hughes known as Howard. Franklin left the Hughes-Franklin presidency in 1932 after only two years but went on to other positions in the business. He died at the relatively young age of 52 in 1941 while in Mexico City on business. More information on the role Franklin played in the exhibition industry can be found at the Margaret Herrick Library.
The start of construction of the Lyric Theatre was announced in the Modesto Evening News on April 10, 1922. At a cost of $37,500 the former building had to be completely remodeled, which included the raising of the roof. The owners were listed as Frank Parker and P.W. Brubeck, owners of the Lyric in Stockton. The theatre, which would play Paramount pictures exclusively, opened on July 26, 1922. The Evening News lauded it for its comfortable seating, its ventilation system and the small smoking balcony.
On July 16, 1949 it reopened as the Esquire after a $25,000 remodeling, which included a new marquee. The 600-seat first-run theater was owned by George Mann.
On August 20, 1953, the Modesto Bee mentioned the recently closed Esquire and that it probably would not reopen.
On May 12, 1966 the Bee mentioned that a parking lot would be put where the Esquire theatre once stood.
The Buena Park Drive-In opened on April 24, 1970. It was built by Pacific Theatres on property adjacent to the Lincoln Drive-In but had its own entrance, box-office and facilities and was billed as a twin to the Lincoln. The Lincoln, which was previously called the Cine-Car, with a capacity of 375 cars and Orange County’s second drive-In, began to appear in newspaper listings on May 16, 1949. In the early 1960s, when it was called the Lincoln, it and the Warner Drive-In, was listed as a Family Drive-In Theatre and charged $1.50 a carload for a second-run double bill. On February 14, 1962, the Lincoln and Warner Drive-Ins were placed under Pacific Theatre’s banner, showing first-run movies at an increased admission.
Could this be the theater where I saw the “Grapes of Wrath” in the summer of 1965? I also saw “Halleujah Trail” at one of the larger theaters.
In March of 1952 Al Hager, who had owned the Rex since 1917, passed away. In August the Post-Register reported that the Rex theatre was being renovated. The building was gutted with only the sidewalls and a portion of the floor remaining. It was said the cost of the new theatre with its glass and aluminum facade came in at around $30,000. Basically the theater, designed by H.M Sundberg and Howard Sundberg, Jr. of Idaho Falls, was completely new and modern.
Operated by DeMordaunt and Drennan it opened as the Falls Theatre on November 25, 1952 with “Red Ball Express.” The 450-seat theater, with a balcony, had a first-run policy and sometimes second-runs of the more popular movies.
Its opening ad touted the features of the theatre:
Latest in theatre chairs (spaced for relaxation). Best in sound and projection equipment. Cycloramic screen (easy on the eyes). Pleasant appointments throughout— effective air conditioning.
Yes Chuck, the zip code for the city of Salmon is 83467. My error. As it is adjusted now, my Google street view takes me over 100 miles away to Mountain Home. Sometimes these Google maps are confusing. For Instance in Burley, Idaho the Century Theatre street view is correct while the street view of the old Alfresco Drive-In, in back of the Century, takes you nearly 184 miles away to Caldwell, Idaho. I Can’t explain the situation for Burley because the zip code is the same for both theaters.
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune noted in 2006 that The Glendora Historical Society had selected the Mission Theatre Building as the first phase of its “Historical Pride Project.” This entailed placing pictured plaques with a history at 10 locations around town. The Mission’s plaque reads: “One of Glendora’s most distinguished landmarks was the Mission Building. This Foothill Boulevard façade featured a covered walkway shared by several storefronts. A popular malt shop was located on the corner and a theater occupied most of the building space. In the 1930’s, Richard and Maurice McDonald, of McDonald’s Restaurant fame, operated the theater.” The Mission Theater goes back to at least 1923 in Covina Argus listings and a mention in the Los Angeles Times. The Argus says the first talking picture at the Mission was (Fox Movietone) “Follies of 1929,” which started on September 4 1929. From 1932 to 1937 ads in the Argus for the theater reflected a name change to the Beacon and sometime after 1937 to the Glendora Theatre. In the Film Daily Yearbook of 1936-37 it was listed as the Beacon with 600 seats. The FDY of 1946-48 listed it as the Glendora also with 600 seats. What may have happened to the theatre in the late 1940s is open to speculation as the FDY of 1949-50 lists it with 750 seats.
This is a revised version of an April 2004 post, which I removed)
Information on file at the Riverside Public Library says that the Golden State, built by Charles Loring, opened as the Loring Opera House on January 8, 1890.
Seating was put at around 1,000 and it showed its first silent film in 1910. The nearby Fox Riverside is remembered, as having the first sneak preview of “Gone With The Wind” in 1939 but the Loring was the first in the nation to screen D.W. Griffith’s “The Clansman” before it was renamed “The Birth Of A Nation.” A Riverside newspaper ad from that time announced the showing on January 1 and 2, 1915. It read “ ‘The Clansman’ is being shown in Riverside for the first time in any theater. It will go direct to New York, where it will be shown at the same prices of the higher class dramatic productions.” The film was later called racist in its depiction of African Americans and was banned in many cities.
In 1918 the opera house became the Loring Theatre and it received a modernization, which included removing the entire balcony and replacing it with one supported by steel
In 1928 its operation was later taken over by veteran Riverside exhibitor, Roy Hunt who entered into a joint partnership with Fox West Coast in 1933 to run it along with the Fox and Rubidoux theatres. In 1938 it was renamed the Golden State Theatre.
It is not known how long the theater had been closed up to 1950 when it made the news again. A Boxoffice Magazine article from October 14, 1950 said that Fox was reopening the Golden State with a new marquee, seating, carpeting curtains and equipment.
The Golden State, then a National General Theatre, closed in January of 1973 after playing a double bill of “Suburban Wives” and “Trader Hornee.” Fire destroyed the more than 100-year-old Golden State in October of 1990 and it was leveled by the city.
The Address was 34 S. State Street. A story from the Preston Booster from August 3, 1912 said that the new Isis Theatre had opened, even though it wasn’t completely finished. There was an old Isis Theatre that was being converted to a pool hall. The Isis also had a sister theater called the Zeus. The Franklin County Citizen announced on February 20, 1919, that after several month of darkness the Isis was opening again. The closing was due to the worldwide flu pandemic where public gatherings were banned. The Citizen suggested that crowding in the aisles be avoided and those who haven’t had the flu to be cautious. The Provo Evening Herald noted on May 12, 1936, that Intermountain Theatres had taken out a lease on the Isis Theatre. The previous February they finalized a lease on the other theater in town, the Grand. The 1928 Film Daily Yearbook listed seating of the Isis at 600 so by 1951 it had gained 146 seats. On Google street views it is the building with the patterned brick above the entrance. (No Swine Flu scare! The 1918-1919 flu pandemic, as mentioned above, according to the National Archives, killed 50 million worldwide. American estimates range from 500,000 to 675,000.)
This is a revision of a previous post, which I removed. The Lewiston Morning Tribune archives say that Harry Wall exited the Lewiston Theatre business in 1979 after more than 30 years. Wall at one time operated five indoor and three outdoor theaters in the area. In addition to his farms and ranches, Wall was also a state senator from 1944 to 1950. He sold his holding to Landmark Cinemas of Calgary Alberta. Those theaters included the Liberty, Roxy (Theatorium), Orchards Cinema and the Orchards Auto Theatre. The new owner planned renovation of the Auto Theatre and a redecoration of the Liberty but the Roxy would not be reopening. The Tribune said that Wall was was married to Mildred, the daughter of Mary Pulver. Pulver was a partner with Ike Binnard, the builder of the Liberty Theatre, built in 1921. Binnard died in 1933 and Pulver bought controlling interest. Mary, who passed on in 1950, became one of the best-known theater operators in the West. In addition to Harry Wall’s theaters, mentioned aboved, Mary at one time ran the Granada and Temple Theaters and the Pix in Clarkston. In 1951 her Daughter Mildred celebrated 15 years as the only woman on the board of directors of the Independent Theatre Owners of Washington, Northern Idaho and Alaska. Mildred passed away in 1955, leaving an estate of $428,520, which according to the CPI would be over $3,500,000 in 2011 dollars. Harry Wall passed on in 1981 at the age of 78. Landmark Cinemas never made a go of the Liberty and in the late 80s it ended up a 99 cent theater. In September of 1998 the Tribune said that Regal Cinemas was now the operator of the Liberty after a merger with the previous operator, Act III Theatres of Portland.The Tribune said the Liberty closed on March 10, 2005. The opening of the 12-screen theater in Nez Perce Plaza was the deciding factor. The theatre was up for sale for $125,000. It was later converted to office space.
That’s because when Mel Morris assumed management for the 1952 season he renamed it the Sunset Drive-In.
Excerpt from James Edwards interview in Orange County Register, 9/25/90.
Edwards was born in Los Angeles on Nov. 23, 1906, lived in Alhambra and graduated from Alhambra High School.
“I spent one day at college just to look around,” he said. Then he went out the next day and got a job.
He had odd jobs for a while — including selling vacuum cleaners — then owned
a small chain of parking lots in Los Angeles. But he was looking around for something to do at night, Edwards explained.
“There was a theater in Monterey Park right near my home that had closed,” he said. “I was able to make a moderate lease on the theater and that’s how we started. I found out then that what I felt would just be a nighttime business was day and night.”
The Monterey Park theater opened on Oct. 9, 1930. Edwards , then 23, had found his true calling.
In those days, vaudeville acts preceded the movies, instilling a love for live theater in the young man. The glamour of the movies fascinated him, and Tuesday at the Garfield was “stars night.” Edwards rented a limousine to pick up the star of the week.
“I got so I found that was difficult to do,” he recalled. “You had to talk to them more and more, and butter them up. So temperamental: `Why did you send a black limousine, why didn’t you send a white one?‘ ”
He knew some of Hollywood’s big names, including Howard Hughes. On Wednesday nights, he played poker with Bill Paley, who had just founded the Columbia Broadcasting System, and Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal Pictures.
“Carl Laemmle would come to the Alhambra Theater for his previews,” Edwards said. “I rigged up a headset for him in the back row of the loge because he was kind of deaf. He’d sit in his seat, put on his headset and promptly go to sleep.
“And when the picture was over, he’d walk into the foyer and all his aides would pat him on the back and say, `Well, you did it again Uncle Carl.'
“And they were right; it was another stinker.”
I originally submitted this theatre as the Fairyland because of it’s interesting and original name. Also, I thought it was more historically accurate than than just plain “Anaheim Theatre.” The Disney-esque name was unintentionally 38 years ahead of Disneyland.
Let me correct myself. The old Krikorian 7 Theatre was closed, but it was never converted.
Currently it is a discount house operated by Interstate Theatres, based in Dallas, Texas.