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The Minor Theater: The Oldest Movies-Only Theater in the United States
posted by
Donaldvf
on
January 27, 2004 at 5:21 am
ARCATA, CA — A beautiful old theater still exists in our area, albeit the inside has been modernized. For those who aren’t familiar with this theater, here’s a link to a nice story about the Minor Theater on the theater’s official website…
Comments (3)
There are several movies-only theatres in the United States which are older than the Minor Theater. And unlike the Minor, the following two listing have been in continuous operation since their respective openings:
1) The Elks Theatre (formerly The Realty Theatre) in Middletown, Pennsylvania which opened on October 24, 1911 found on the web at www.elkstheatremiddletown.com
2) The State Theatre in Boyertown, Pennsylvania which opened in 1913.
Thank you so much for a wonderful read. I enjoyed reading the history of the Minor. I especially enjoyed the interview with Bill the projectionist that I found also on their website. Sharing such stories may be the only way those stories can survive the passing of time.
I understand that Arcata’s population in 1914 was just over a thousand, and there were 524 seats at the Minor. How was it back in those years? Did everybody in Arcata and other small towns go to the movies 3-4 times a week? or did they use movie theatres for other purposes – legit theatre, local school graduation ceremony, political gatherings?