Empire Theatre

Joe Vogel on June 14, 2012 at 2:32 pm

The Gem Theatre began showing movies in 1916, according to this item in the August 12 issue of The Moving Picture World:

“Billings, Mont.—Arthur Mann, proprietor of the Gem theater here, has succumbed to the lure of pictures. He shortly will reopen his playhouse with a regular offering for film fans.

Mann had only recently acquired the house, as noted in the September 16 issue of the same publication. The item also says that he had changed the name of the house to the American Theatre:

"BILLINGS, MONT.—The Gem theater, recently taken over by Arthur Mann, has been overhauled, the interior redecorated, and renamed the American.”