Imperial Theatre
513 Main Street,
Zanesville,
OH
43701
513 Main Street,
Zanesville,
OH
43701
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Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
Irvin Johnson arrested for robbery in 1936. Not the Lakers star of years past:
Boy Arrested For Theater Robbery
Irvin Johnson, 12, 227 ½ Main Street, today was in custody of probate court authorities facing a charge of theft of $50 from the Imperial Theater Saturday. Johnson was arrested Saturday afternoon when he attempted to purchase a new bicycle with the stolen money. Bernard J. Mechling reported to police that a total of $50 was taken from the theater. A total of $47.50 was found in Johnson’s possession at the time of the arrest.
A Hillgreen-Lane theater organ opus 608 size 2/10 was installed in the Imperial Theater in 1920 at a cost of $4,200.
Here is a photo, circa 1948. “Naked City” is the feature.
http://tinyurl.com/ytsnn7
Well, a movie titled The Naked City was released in 1948. I don’t know if its that one or not.
I’ve seen the poster for the 1948 film. It resembles the one posted outside the theater. Of course, it could have been a re-release. I’ll say that the photo may be circa 1948, but no confirmation on that.
Here is part of a March 1931 article from the Zanesville Signal:
At the Imperial Theater for five days starting Tuesday comes “Africa Speaks.” This is the thrilling adventure in the unexplored regions of equatorial Africa taken by the Colorado African Expedition, Inc. and hailed by critics as one of the greatest entertainments of its kind. The educational value or seeing “Africa Speaks†is of the highest and should be witnessed by young and old during its Imperial engagement.
Something unusual in added attractions comes to the Imperial Theater on Saturday afternoons only, starting next Saturday, March 7. It is the all-talking serial “The Indians are Coming” with Tim McCoy in the leading role. This serial played the Roxy Theater on Broadway a short time ago and brought favorable comment from the metropolitan critics. It is in 13 episodes and one will be shown each Saturday afternoon for the next 12 weeks.
There were two theaters called the Imperial in Zanesville. This one was the first. It was located at 513 Main Street was in operation in 1916. I’ve been unable to determine when the name was moved to the former first Liberty Theatre, but the Liberty occupied that location until at least September, 1927, when the new Liberty opened.
The first Liberty might have operated under one or more other names before becoming the second Imperial. The Imperial in the 1948 photo linked in ken mc’s comment of March 21, 2008, was not the one on Main Street, but the former Liberty on North Fifth Street, so this house on Main Street had either been closed or renamed by that year.
I’ve found a photo in the book Zanesville, part of the Arcadia Publishing Company’s Images of America series, which shows N.Fifth Street in the early 1930s, and a vertical sign saying Imperial is displayed on the former Schultz Opera House, so the original Imperial on Main Street must have been closed or renamed by that time.
This was the home of Sherwin-Williams for quite a while. “Imperial” spelled in tile remains on the sidewalk. I was told by relatives they showed mostly ‘B’ movies, focusing on westerns.