The March 16, 1970 issue of Boxoffice said that United Artists' Sherwood 1 and 2 project, then under construction, had been designed by Dallas architect William H. Hidell. Each of the true twin auditoriums would seat 350. The project occupied part of the site of the Jet Drive-In which had been destroyed by fire in 1968.
Boxoffice of March 16, 1970 said that the new cinema being built at Cape Coral had been designed by the Miami architectural firm of Bouterse, Borelli & Albasia.
The UA 4 was designed by Dallas architect William Henry Hidell, who also designed a UA multiplex at Hurst, Texas, and the Cinema Plaza at Del Rio, Texas, and probably some others, though I haven’t yet been able to track them down.
The March 16, 1970 issue of Boxoffice said that the Columbia Theatre, last of Evansville’s old neighborhood houses, had been bought by Theatre A Corp., and was being remodeled and would reopen near the end of March as the 650-seat Cinema West. Theatre A planned to follow a family-friendly policy at the house, offering children’s matinees and occasional live performances. Evansville’s penultimate neighborhood house, the Franklin Theatre, had recently been turned into an adult movie theater.
A March 16, 1970 Boxoffice article about the Parkway Theatre said that it would have 736 seats. They were of the rocking chair type, upholstered in deep blue with black accents.
The August 26, 1916 Moving Picture World mentions the Comus Theatre in Tupelo. The Comus was listed in the 1912-1913 Cahn guide with 900 seats plus 12 boxes. It was also listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. The July 6, 1922 issue of Manufacturers Record reported a $100,000 loss from a fire at the Comus Theatre, Tupelo. The house had been under lease to the Hatcher Amusement Company.
The Family Dollar is at 604 N. Main St., which is about 12 blocks north of the former theater’s location. Search Google Maps for 604 Main and it defaults to 604 N. If you search it for 604 S. it goes to an entirely different neighborhood. That must have been the source of the confusion.
I’ve been looking at the Google Street View of this building, and see behind it, and between its wings, an area now filled with large trees. On the Historic Aerials web site it is clear that there was once a building in that area, though the images are very blurry. But the remaining space that would have been available for a theater in the surviving part of the hotel building itself does not look large enough to have ever housed an 800-seat theater, so my suspicion is that the auditorium, or at least part of it, was in that space where the trees are now, and was demolished sometime between 1982 (the date of the last available aerial in which a building appears in that area) and 1994, though I’ve been unable to find confirmation of this surmise from any online source.
Since we don’t have a later map, I was thinking there could have been alterations to the building at some point after 1917. Partial reconstruction was not rare for successful early theaters.
The Grand Theatre is mentioned in the November 10, 1917 issue of The Moving Picture Weekly, and there is a family web site claiming that a Mr. William S. Gabel built the Grand in 1913, and it opened in 1914. The Gabel family owned the building until 1929, when it was sold to Dickinson Theatres. But if there are no other theaters in Beloit (aside from the Opera House, which we know to be older) on the 1917 Sanborn, this must be the Grand, however poor the sight lines must have been.
In November, 1941, Dream Theatre operator Morris V. Beisner had several capsule movie reviews published by Motion Picture Herald.
Film Daily’s issue of January 7, 1947 had this item: “Glasco, Kas.—A son named Robert Rex has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Morris V. Beisner. He is the operator of the Dream Theater here and the Delpheum in Delphus, Kas.”
The August 20, 1949 issue of Boxoffice noted the sale of the Dream Theatre at Glasco, Kansas to Ed McCellan by H. W. Baldwin.
The November 8, 1916 Moving Picture World mentions a house called the Grant Theatre in Beloit, run by an E. T. Burgan. By 1926, the only theater listed at Beloit in the FDY was a 700-seat house called the Grand, still listed in 1929. Grant/Grand makes me stroke my chin whiskers. Hmmm.
Boxoffice of July 8, 1950 had a brief item noting that the Werts Brothers were celebrating the 22nd anniversary of their Mainstreet Theatre in Beloit. George and Bert Werts had opened the house on June 28, 1928. In 1950, an air conditioning system and new projection equipment were being installed, and the theater was being repainted.
A 1904 Polk directory lists the 500-seat Cooper’s Opera House at Beloit. Cooper’s Opera House was listed in the 1889 Jeffrey Guide with 600 seats. Also listed with 600 seats on the 1894 Donaldson guide. There is a drawing of the house dated 1887 on page four of this PDF.
Why would H. D. Heard promote two fairly large theaters in the same very small town at the same time? Despite the repeated appearance of both names in the FDY, I suspect that the Pfohl was a phantom theater, and only the Paula actually existed.
The Paula Theatre building is on S. Main Street. The address is not displayed on the building, but the building to the north houses a spa with the address 1476. If the northernmost storefront in the theater building is 1478, then the theater entrance would be at 1480 S. Main. The theater is one of a number of downtown Mount Pleasant buildings under renovation, and some photos of the project, including some interior shots, can be seen on this Facebook page.
The August 21, 1915 issue of Moving Picture Worldhad this item which was certainly about the house that would soon open as the DeLux: “Work is progressing on the new moving picture theater being erected on Oneida square, Utica, N. Y., by H. G. and A. G. Lux, owners of the Alhambra theater in that city. Names for the theater will be submitted in a public contest, and prizes will be offered. The house will seat 1400 persons.”
The DeLux was one of eleven houses listed at Utica in the 1926 FDY, and one of six listed in all capital letter, indicating first-run theaters.
The caption of the photo showing the Princess Theatre in 1940, on page 34 of Morristown, by Larry Michael Hobby, says that the theater closed on April 7, 1983. The last movie shown was “The Outsiders.” The building was demolished in 1995.
The new organ recently installed in the Bender Theater is mentioned in the September 11, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World: “At the Bender theater, Utica, N. Y., a new $10,000 symphony organ was heard for the first time last week. The organist is Paul Forrester, who also directs the orchestra.”
This house became the Colonia in 1915, but it had the earlier aka of Buckley Theatre. This item is from the July 31, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World: “UTICA, N. Y.—The Utica Hippodrome Amusement Company has taken over the Bulkley [sic] theater located at the corner of Lansing and Nicholas [sic] streets. The structure will be completely renovated and have seating capacity for 800 persons.”
The August 7, 1915 MPW had this update: “THE Colonia theater, at Lansing and Nichols streets, Utica, N. T., has been extensively remodeled and reopened. The Colonia, formerly the Buckley, is owned by the Hippodrome Amusement Co. and is managed by Peter Karl, vice-president of the concern. The house has been made cozy and beautiful. The other improvements include a new ventilating system. High class moving pictures are featured at the Colonia.”
The Buckley Theatre is not listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, but is listed in the Polk company’s 1914 Utica directory, so the AMPD probably just missed it.
This item about the Alhambra Theatre is from the April 21, 1915 issue of Engineering and Contracting: “Utica, N. Y. H. & A. Lux, of the Alhambra Amusement Co., Alhambra Theater, city, will let contracts about May 1 for erection of a theater, 68x120-ft., and to cost about $75,000. E. A. Howard & Son, 503 The Bastable, Syracuse, N. Y., are the architects. Type of construction follows: Foundations, concrete; wall, tile, steel frame; floor, reinforced concrete; partitions, tile; exterior finish, tile, front enamel brick.”
Although that sounds like it would be a major rebuilding, this item from Moving picture World of July 31, 1915 calls the project a remodeling: “The Alhambra moving picture theater of Utica, N. Y., is being remodeled and will reopen in a few weeks. Patrons will be given much higher grade of pictures than before. The interior of the playhouse will be one of the most attractive and comfortable in the city.”
So we can finally confirm that the Alhambra Theatre was the house that, according to that day’s issue of The Utica Herald Dispatch, first opened on December 21, 1907.
A paragraph about Cunningham Auditorium is found way down this web page. There is also a photo. It was quit a handsome building of rusticated stone. The text says it was built in 1904 and was often used for basketball games and roller skating in it’s early days, and it later became an armory and was used as a garage. It must have had a flat floor, so would not have been ideal for a movie house. It was destroyed when its roof collapsed from a heavy snowfall in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
The Family Theatre was opened in the fall of 1911 in a former gymnasium on the second floor of the Dawson Amateur Athletic Association building by Walter Creamer, director of the D.A.A.A.. The house was not wired for sound until 1932, and competed only sporadically with the Orpheum Theatre in its last few years. The D.A.A.A. building was located on Fifth Avenue at the northwest corner of Queen Street. There are conflicting reports of the construction date, but it was some time between the latter half of the 1890s and 1902.
The March 16, 1970 issue of Boxoffice said that United Artists' Sherwood 1 and 2 project, then under construction, had been designed by Dallas architect William H. Hidell. Each of the true twin auditoriums would seat 350. The project occupied part of the site of the Jet Drive-In which had been destroyed by fire in 1968.
Boxoffice of March 16, 1970 said that the new cinema being built at Cape Coral had been designed by the Miami architectural firm of Bouterse, Borelli & Albasia.
The UA 4 was designed by Dallas architect William Henry Hidell, who also designed a UA multiplex at Hurst, Texas, and the Cinema Plaza at Del Rio, Texas, and probably some others, though I haven’t yet been able to track them down.
The March 16, 1970 issue of Boxoffice said that the Columbia Theatre, last of Evansville’s old neighborhood houses, had been bought by Theatre A Corp., and was being remodeled and would reopen near the end of March as the 650-seat Cinema West. Theatre A planned to follow a family-friendly policy at the house, offering children’s matinees and occasional live performances. Evansville’s penultimate neighborhood house, the Franklin Theatre, had recently been turned into an adult movie theater.
A March 16, 1970 Boxoffice article about the Parkway Theatre said that it would have 736 seats. They were of the rocking chair type, upholstered in deep blue with black accents.
*…a full-time horse of worship…?
The August 26, 1916 Moving Picture World mentions the Comus Theatre in Tupelo. The Comus was listed in the 1912-1913 Cahn guide with 900 seats plus 12 boxes. It was also listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. The July 6, 1922 issue of Manufacturers Record reported a $100,000 loss from a fire at the Comus Theatre, Tupelo. The house had been under lease to the Hatcher Amusement Company.
The Family Dollar is at 604 N. Main St., which is about 12 blocks north of the former theater’s location. Search Google Maps for 604 Main and it defaults to 604 N. If you search it for 604 S. it goes to an entirely different neighborhood. That must have been the source of the confusion.
I’ve been looking at the Google Street View of this building, and see behind it, and between its wings, an area now filled with large trees. On the Historic Aerials web site it is clear that there was once a building in that area, though the images are very blurry. But the remaining space that would have been available for a theater in the surviving part of the hotel building itself does not look large enough to have ever housed an 800-seat theater, so my suspicion is that the auditorium, or at least part of it, was in that space where the trees are now, and was demolished sometime between 1982 (the date of the last available aerial in which a building appears in that area) and 1994, though I’ve been unable to find confirmation of this surmise from any online source.
Since we don’t have a later map, I was thinking there could have been alterations to the building at some point after 1917. Partial reconstruction was not rare for successful early theaters.
The Grand Theatre is mentioned in the November 10, 1917 issue of The Moving Picture Weekly, and there is a family web site claiming that a Mr. William S. Gabel built the Grand in 1913, and it opened in 1914. The Gabel family owned the building until 1929, when it was sold to Dickinson Theatres. But if there are no other theaters in Beloit (aside from the Opera House, which we know to be older) on the 1917 Sanborn, this must be the Grand, however poor the sight lines must have been.
In November, 1941, Dream Theatre operator Morris V. Beisner had several capsule movie reviews published by Motion Picture Herald.
Film Daily’s issue of January 7, 1947 had this item: “Glasco, Kas.—A son named Robert Rex has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Morris V. Beisner. He is the operator of the Dream Theater here and the Delpheum in Delphus, Kas.”
The August 20, 1949 issue of Boxoffice noted the sale of the Dream Theatre at Glasco, Kansas to Ed McCellan by H. W. Baldwin.
The Mills Edisonia Theatre was listed at the above address in a guidebook published in 1904.
The November 8, 1916 Moving Picture World mentions a house called the Grant Theatre in Beloit, run by an E. T. Burgan. By 1926, the only theater listed at Beloit in the FDY was a 700-seat house called the Grand, still listed in 1929. Grant/Grand makes me stroke my chin whiskers. Hmmm.
The Beloit Theatre was mentioned in the April 5, 1965 issue of em>Boxoffice.
Boxoffice of July 8, 1950 had a brief item noting that the Werts Brothers were celebrating the 22nd anniversary of their Mainstreet Theatre in Beloit. George and Bert Werts had opened the house on June 28, 1928. In 1950, an air conditioning system and new projection equipment were being installed, and the theater was being repainted.
The Electric was the only theater listed at Beloit in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.
A 1904 Polk directory lists the 500-seat Cooper’s Opera House at Beloit. Cooper’s Opera House was listed in the 1889 Jeffrey Guide with 600 seats. Also listed with 600 seats on the 1894 Donaldson guide. There is a drawing of the house dated 1887 on page four of this PDF.
Why would H. D. Heard promote two fairly large theaters in the same very small town at the same time? Despite the repeated appearance of both names in the FDY, I suspect that the Pfohl was a phantom theater, and only the Paula actually existed.
The Paula Theatre building is on S. Main Street. The address is not displayed on the building, but the building to the north houses a spa with the address 1476. If the northernmost storefront in the theater building is 1478, then the theater entrance would be at 1480 S. Main. The theater is one of a number of downtown Mount Pleasant buildings under renovation, and some photos of the project, including some interior shots, can be seen on this Facebook page.
The August 21, 1915 issue of Moving Picture Worldhad this item which was certainly about the house that would soon open as the DeLux: “Work is progressing on the new moving picture theater being erected on Oneida square, Utica, N. Y., by H. G. and A. G. Lux, owners of the Alhambra theater in that city. Names for the theater will be submitted in a public contest, and prizes will be offered. The house will seat 1400 persons.”
The DeLux was one of eleven houses listed at Utica in the 1926 FDY, and one of six listed in all capital letter, indicating first-run theaters.
The caption of the photo showing the Princess Theatre in 1940, on page 34 of Morristown, by Larry Michael Hobby, says that the theater closed on April 7, 1983. The last movie shown was “The Outsiders.” The building was demolished in 1995.
The new organ recently installed in the Bender Theater is mentioned in the September 11, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World: “At the Bender theater, Utica, N. Y., a new $10,000 symphony organ was heard for the first time last week. The organist is Paul Forrester, who also directs the orchestra.”
This house became the Colonia in 1915, but it had the earlier aka of Buckley Theatre. This item is from the July 31, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World: “UTICA, N. Y.—The Utica Hippodrome Amusement Company has taken over the Bulkley [sic] theater located at the corner of Lansing and Nicholas [sic] streets. The structure will be completely renovated and have seating capacity for 800 persons.”
The August 7, 1915 MPW had this update: “THE Colonia theater, at Lansing and Nichols streets, Utica, N. T., has been extensively remodeled and reopened. The Colonia, formerly the Buckley, is owned by the Hippodrome Amusement Co. and is managed by Peter Karl, vice-president of the concern. The house has been made cozy and beautiful. The other improvements include a new ventilating system. High class moving pictures are featured at the Colonia.”
The Buckley Theatre is not listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, but is listed in the Polk company’s 1914 Utica directory, so the AMPD probably just missed it.
This item about the Alhambra Theatre is from the April 21, 1915 issue of Engineering and Contracting: “Utica, N. Y. H. & A. Lux, of the Alhambra Amusement Co., Alhambra Theater, city, will let contracts about May 1 for erection of a theater, 68x120-ft., and to cost about $75,000. E. A. Howard & Son, 503 The Bastable, Syracuse, N. Y., are the architects. Type of construction follows: Foundations, concrete; wall, tile, steel frame; floor, reinforced concrete; partitions, tile; exterior finish, tile, front enamel brick.”
Although that sounds like it would be a major rebuilding, this item from Moving picture World of July 31, 1915 calls the project a remodeling: “The Alhambra moving picture theater of Utica, N. Y., is being remodeled and will reopen in a few weeks. Patrons will be given much higher grade of pictures than before. The interior of the playhouse will be one of the most attractive and comfortable in the city.”
So we can finally confirm that the Alhambra Theatre was the house that, according to that day’s issue of The Utica Herald Dispatch, first opened on December 21, 1907.
A paragraph about Cunningham Auditorium is found way down this web page. There is also a photo. It was quit a handsome building of rusticated stone. The text says it was built in 1904 and was often used for basketball games and roller skating in it’s early days, and it later became an armory and was used as a garage. It must have had a flat floor, so would not have been ideal for a movie house. It was destroyed when its roof collapsed from a heavy snowfall in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
The Family Theatre was opened in the fall of 1911 in a former gymnasium on the second floor of the Dawson Amateur Athletic Association building by Walter Creamer, director of the D.A.A.A.. The house was not wired for sound until 1932, and competed only sporadically with the Orpheum Theatre in its last few years. The D.A.A.A. building was located on Fifth Avenue at the northwest corner of Queen Street. There are conflicting reports of the construction date, but it was some time between the latter half of the 1890s and 1902.