Town Theatre
265 E. Flagler Street,
Miami,
FL
33131
265 E. Flagler Street,
Miami,
FL
33131
2 people
favorited this theater
One of many theatres on fashionable Flagler Street in downtown Miami. Run by Wometco, this theatre showed many ‘B’ and exploitation films during the 1950’s.
Contributed by
Bob Berg
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 45 comments)
This is from Boxoffice magazine, April 1960:
MIAMI-Miami is expected soon to have its first theater equipped to provide odors with motion pictures. Tests were made at Wometco’s Town Theater on Flagler Street by engineers, and a spokesman for Wometco said negotiations were under way with Walter Reade, producer of Aromarama.
Preliminary tests have been sucessful at the Town, with equipment being installed in the projection booth and other points, which operates through the air-conditioning system. The odors are emitted to correspond with pictures on the screen, and are exhausted through air vents. The first production by Aromarama will be “Behind the Great Wall”.
Ken,
Great post! I never saw or witnessed Aromarama, however I remember reading something about it somewhere, and I think that it was one of Al Alvarez’s fantastic posts. Given the year, I am surprised that they didn’t try this out in some of the larger theatres such as the Paramount, Olympia, or the Miami theatre.
This Christmas 1942 Wometco ad shows the old Miami theatre which may or may not have been the Town (see April 17, 2008 7:41am post). It opened in 1937 and disappeared from ads when the Town opened in 1946.
View link
Al,
This is yet another fantabulous post. Did you notice that there is an ad for The Strand Theatre for “Moonlight in Havana” a 1942 film. I also noted that it was general ad for Wometco, and it was a double feature to boot! Good stuff, very good. I love it. Thanks!!!!!
I found confirmation in a May 18, 1946 Boxoffice Magazine that the Town was indeed the same as the old Miami. The name change came after a Wometco renaming contest. The move was decided once Wometco started construction on a larger theatre on Flagler street and decided to transfer the name away from this location.
http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_051846
This listing should included MIAMI as an aka name.
The Miami opened in 1937 and became the Town in 1946. This would mean it was never a silent house as I previously thought.
“Town was indeed the same as the old Miami”
Excellent news, Al. I was just sitting here looking at Google Map’s “street view” function trying to figure out if both theaters were at the same location. Now we know!
Here is a 1954 postcard:
http://tinyurl.com/ylzzwmj
When I was collecting old Miami photos back in 1984, I met the late Stanley Stern of Wometco Theaters. He showed me a great scrapbook, which included pictures of a sign company changing the name of the Miami Theater to the Town in advance of the opening of the new Miami Theater west of that location. He also shared a few photos with me, including an old color shot of the Town Theater.
Those photos are now part of the collection of my friend – South Florida historian Seth Bramson… however a digital print of that photo of the Town is on Don Boyd’s site…
Wometco place no grand opening ad on June 29th, 1946 except for its regular listings.