The Rex Theater launched on December 14, 1914 with live stage plays. On May 8, 1926, new operator J.W. Davis renamed it the Royal Theatre. It closed briefly at the end of its 15 year lease for a transition to sound. The “new” Royal relaunched on February 14, 1930 with sound films. Davis would create a new Davis Theatre closing up the Royal on April 8, 1934 with Clark Gable in “Men in White.” The local paper headline was, “Farewell, Old Theater.” And if the headline were longer it would say, “And Hello, Piggly Wiggly” as the grocery store chain took on the building.
The Starlight Drive-In was opened on July 27, 1952 with Greer Garson in “Blossoms in the Dust”. It was operated by Paul D. Neal throughout the 1958 season. In 1962, it reopened as the the Hillcrest Drive-In by R.L. Adkins for at least three seasons.
The Skyway Drive-In opened late in 1950. It reopened for the 1952 season as the Highway 13 Drive-In Theatre with “Dakota Lil” and “Ghost Chasers.” It was renamed as the Hi-Way 13 Drive-In during its next season.
The Wick Theatre opened on March 20, 1940 with “Brother Rat and a Baby”. Owner D.B. Stout closed it permanently following a December 21, 1954 Christmas show and the last paid show was December 18, 1954 with “Killer Ape.”
The Duncan Theatre opened on January 29, 1915 by R.D. Stabler. The Duncan Theatre under Joe L. Belew, Jr. became the Kentucky Theatre on May 22, 1930 as it transitioned to sound. The Kentucky Theatre became the Pastime Theatre on December 24, 1931. It closed in May of 1934. It reopened in November dubbed the Pastime Theatre with a marketing slogan of “Max’s Show.” In 1937, its marketing slogan is “Holmes' Show”. It’s then called the New Pastime Theatre in 1947 with a more austere, streamlined look..
Grand opening was November 17, 1916. It operated with the neighboring confectionery, the Palace of Sweets as its de facto concessionaire. After 41 years of continuous operation, the Palace is dropped and appears to have closed with “The Ten Commandments” on October 27, 1957. Live events are booked into the Palace through 1961. The theater is targeted for demolition which occurs in 1978.
Just a few more specifics on the timeline: The Mandan Theatre was launched by Frank Wetzstein on September 9, 1936 with “The Poor Little Rich Girl.”
Wetzstein sold the theatre in 1974 to Jerry Brekke. He converted it to the Showboat Cinema relaunching November 8, 1974 with “That’s Entertainment.” The color scheme was bathed in red. In December of 1976, it became the Showboat Twin Cinema I & II. The second cinema color scheme was blue and purple with blue shag carpeting on the wall. The venue closed on Christmas of 1986.
The Midcontinent Theatre Co. Circuit (aka MidCo) took on the Showboat and converted it into a discount sub-run operation called Academy Theatre beginning on June 12, 1987. That came to an end on September 12, 1993 with “Cliffhanger” and “Aladdin.”
It relaunched as the Mysteria Theatre in November of 2008 until 2011. It then rebranded as a live venue called Organized Noise Entertainment or O.N.E. in 2012 before reverting back to the Mysteria briefly in 2013 and 2014. It was converted as a restaurant and sports bar thereafter.
This corner lot was home to the Rex Theatre which opened March 4, 1914 with Mutual movies. Mrs. Hugh McAfee of the Rex also had control of the Airdrome. She had the Airdrome torn down after five seasons of summer usage selling the lumber to H.D. Gillet who repurposed the lumber in sheds.
The management of the Rex’s only remaining local competitor, the Auditorium Theatre, bought out the competition not long after the Rex’s final November 15, 1922 showing of “The Call of Home.” Claude McBray, operator of the Auditorium, even took out the equipment moving it to Polo, Mo. to create a new theater there. This venue became home to the Gilbert Brothers store and later was a package store and grocer.
The Airdrome launched May 23, 1913 by C.S. Burger. It operated five summer seasons. But the operator of the Rex Theater, Mrs. Hugh McFee was happy enough with the ventilation of the Rex that she sold the lumber to H.D. Gillet in April of 1918 ending the Airdome’s run. That Airdome lumber was repurposed in country sheds.
T.D. Block announced his new theater in 1923 with a naming contest. In the interim, folks of Odessa were watching movies at Lee Nichols' Skydome, then in its third summer of operation. The winning name, Dixie, was chosen in time for its December 27, 1923 with “The Church Around the Corner” after the live band had played, “Dixie” as the opening song.
Sound conversion proved to be a challenge and, in 1929, Glenn W. Dickinson Amusement took on the venue changing it to the Dickinson Theatre. It then converted it to sound to remain viable. Block re-assumed control of the operation re-renaming it as the Dixie Theatre on January 31, 1932.
After a special opening dance event, the first film at the new Michael Theatre was on April 1, 1933 with Buster Keaton in “What! No Beer?” E.P. Michael announced that the Michael Theatre moniker was only temporary and he would have a naming contest. On June 7, 1933 the winner was Mrs. J.R. Crank of Braymer who went with “Michlo.” The last regular film to play there was December10, 1961 with “Wald Disney’s The Absent Minded Professor.”
The last event was a John Deere Tractor Day tie-up that included a free film screening on January 26, 1962. The theatre building was sold on March 15, 1962 and converted to a graocery store. The new Braymer Theatre would open on March 17, 1962 and another naming contest to rename the venue. Spoiler alert: It was the B-Bi Theater.This one has been demolished.
The Artilla Theatre was just north of the depot and its name fused the names of its owners including Mr. and Mrs. Harry Till. The Artilla namesake is the sixth for the venue but on February 5, 1949, it’s all over as the Artilla Theatre.
The new Till Theatre would be built to replace it. It was a new-build venue costing $50,000 and opening here on June 2, 1949. On February 5, 1955, the venue is equipped for widescreen to present CInemaScope titles. Mr. Till dies and R.L. Adkins and Larry Allen operate the theater until its closure on April 22, 1961. A group of local business owners decide to cooperatively operate the venue because they appreciated the foot traffic of the theater. They rename it as the Civic Theatre September 7, 1961 rebooting with “G.I. Blues” with Elvis Presley.
If you read the town history, this venue started as the Hamilton Auditorium opening by Mark E. Feltis on July 1, 1922 launching with Wallace Reid in “Too Much Speed” supported by the Mack Sennett comedy, “Beware of the Borders.” Movies were shown on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Live events could be booked the other days. Dancing and roller skating were among them because the Hamilton Auditorium had a flat maple floor. The Rex Theatre was the town’s other silent movie house at that time ceased operations in November of that same year.
Claude McBrayer took on operation of the venue renaming it as the. Auditorium Theatre and sometimes the McBrayer Auditorium Theatre. The Royal Theatre in Cameron, just 14 miles away converted to sound and the operators of the Plaza closed the venue with silent films on November 30, 1929 unable to make the conversion. Fred Greenberg and Frank Cassil take on the venue in 1930 wiring it for sound, sloping the floor, giving it a modern lobby, installing a fireproof projection booth, and giving it a modern sign reading, Plaza Theatre. The Plaza would have Indianapolis-based Sonofilm sound equipment. The new Plaza Theatre launched on May 28, 1930 and people liked the elevated 450 seats and Rin Tin Tin in “On the Border.”
John E. Courter and Earl J. Courter of Gallatin took on the Plaza in 1933. On Sept. 21, 1933, the venue was renamed as The Courter Theatre with “Moonlight and Pretzels.” Harry T Till took over as manager in 1936 while Courter passed away in 1945. The Tills and Roy Huey take on the venue and give it a drastic streamline makeover in 1948. J.R. Henry took part in the Till renaming contest choosing Artilla. He says he’s fused the names of the theater operators. It relaunches with that name on Sept. 9, 1948 with “Gun Town.” On February 5, 1949, it’s all over as the Artilla Theatre (former Courter Theatre, Plaza Theatre, Hamilton Auditorium, McBrayer Auditorium and Auditorium Theatre) and the Kavanaugh Motor Company are wiped out by fire.
The new Till Theatre would be built to replace it. It was a new-build venue costing $50,000 and opening on June 2, 1949. The information above attributed to Chuck is simply not accurate but should be left as is in his name in case that is the preferred history for this theater by him.
The Braymer Theatre opened on March 17, 1962 with Dean Martin in “Oceans 11” and all opening night customers receiving free popcorn. On that night, operator Wayne Griffin running a “name the theater” contest.
The name chosen was B-Bi Theatre. Nancy Clevenger won the contest explaining that the venue was “Braymer’s Jewel” with the B short for Braymer to Bi for jewel as in bijou. There you have it - the B-Bi Theatre - officially changing to that April 20, 1962. (It’s the only known theater with particular name!) That same month, Griffin installed air conditioning.
This closed as the AMC Clearwater Crossing 12 - and should be the entry’s name. It became the Latitude 360 without playing films and it became a Main Event that didn’t play films. And, also, it went out of business as a Main Event. So closed
The Northwestern Theatre was a largely silent theater that operated in the middle of the bustling Indiana Avenue and Illinois Street African American commercial districts. With the Walker Theatre and Indiana Theatres opening in the 1920s and less than a mile away, they were the first to convert to sound.
The Northwestern was initially unable to make the conversion closing in 1930. But if the local paper account is accurate, it was later able to convert to sound - likely getting a second-hand sound system that had been replaced by another theater - and able to continue to the expiry of its lease in 1935.
The fate of the Northwestern Theater Building was decided in the late 1950s when a plan was unveiled that would create an Interstate highway drawn up to run right through the business district. It was a playbook run in many other major cities with African American business districts. In Indianapolis, however, an alternate plan was suggested causing far less disruption to the area which housed the former Northwestern building and lots of commercial businesses and residential housing. That message was received and before it could gain traction, the entire area was quickly plowed under in the 1960s. This stretch of Northwestern Avenue would be changed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street up to 38th Street.
The Stratford Theater launched here in 1913 and was operated by Gustav G. Schmidt who also operated the Atlas Theatre at 19th and Martingale and the Crystal Theatre on North Illinois Street. He converted the Stratford to sound to remain viable.
On Christmas Day 1948, the Stratford became the Star Theater with its Grand Opening showing “Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!” With June Havner and Jane Powell in “Luxury Liner.” I would suggest that the theater closed on December 2, 1956 with Martin and Lewis in “Artists and Models” supported by “Secret of Treasure Mountain.” I would also suggest that the theater wasn’t an African American Theater due to the fact that it always advertised in the mainstream press and was never mentioned in the African American press.
In the 21st Century, it became home to the Kountry Kitchen Soul Food Restaurant.
In 1947, the Lido Theatre is ready for its new streamlined look to the plans of Lee Burns and Edward D. James of Burns & James Architects. Unfortunately, as the equipment is updated, it does not appear that the Lido received the above look as concerns about the impact of TV and the direction of the neighborhood cause a tapping of the brakes.
The Senate Theatre was a silent African American cinema located at 1319 North Senate. The Senate was opened in December of 1910 by Charles Bernstein at the end of the nickelodeon era. Housed in an existing retail building, the Senate was designed for film exhibition with admission price just a nickel. James and Louis Hill, who had opened the Columbia Theatre on Indiana Avenue, took on the Senate in March of 1911.
The theater appears to have closed at the end of a ten-year lease in 1920. The building was located just west of the bustling Illinois Street commercial district that, unlike the declining Indiana Avenue business district, was still bustling. But the City of Indianapolis craftily drew up urban renewal plans in the late 1950s and early 1960s that would decimate the Illinois Street commercial district ultimately taking the former Senate Theatre building and all of its neighbors with it.
20 South Illinois is the correct address for this theater. And it likely had a chalkboard for its signage as it changes names more than any other local theater. It starts as the Family Theatre to Rialto Theatre (July 2, 1916) to Lincoln Square (Nov. 11, 1923) back to Family (1931) to Roxy (January 24, 1932) to Goulden’s Tower (Nov. 24, 1934) to 1956 demolition.
The name change of 1931 from Lincoln Square to Family was due to a Feb. 1931 Burlesque show gone wrong when three 15-year olds narc on the nature of the stage show. The theater is charged and heads back to the Family banner to correct the issue. Its change to the Roxy was due to new operator Louis B. Goulden Theatre Corporation which had the Capitol, Orpheum and Gayety. Its name change to the Roxy on January 24, 1932 was the Jean Harlow in “Hell’s Angels.”
Goulden revamped the venue in 1934 moving away from Vitaphone discs to electric sound on film and becoming Goulden’s Tower Theater on November 24, 1934. Closed in the 1940s and torn down in 1956/7.
The Rex Theater launched on December 14, 1914 with live stage plays. On May 8, 1926, new operator J.W. Davis renamed it the Royal Theatre. It closed briefly at the end of its 15 year lease for a transition to sound. The “new” Royal relaunched on February 14, 1930 with sound films. Davis would create a new Davis Theatre closing up the Royal on April 8, 1934 with Clark Gable in “Men in White.” The local paper headline was, “Farewell, Old Theater.” And if the headline were longer it would say, “And Hello, Piggly Wiggly” as the grocery store chain took on the building.
Status: demolished.
The Starlight Drive-In was opened on July 27, 1952 with Greer Garson in “Blossoms in the Dust”. It was operated by Paul D. Neal throughout the 1958 season. In 1962, it reopened as the the Hillcrest Drive-In by R.L. Adkins for at least three seasons.
The Skyway Drive-In opened late in 1950. It reopened for the 1952 season as the Highway 13 Drive-In Theatre with “Dakota Lil” and “Ghost Chasers.” It was renamed as the Hi-Way 13 Drive-In during its next season.
The Wick Theatre opened on March 20, 1940 with “Brother Rat and a Baby”. Owner D.B. Stout closed it permanently following a December 21, 1954 Christmas show and the last paid show was December 18, 1954 with “Killer Ape.”
The Duncan Theatre opened on January 29, 1915 by R.D. Stabler. The Duncan Theatre under Joe L. Belew, Jr. became the Kentucky Theatre on May 22, 1930 as it transitioned to sound. The Kentucky Theatre became the Pastime Theatre on December 24, 1931. It closed in May of 1934. It reopened in November dubbed the Pastime Theatre with a marketing slogan of “Max’s Show.” In 1937, its marketing slogan is “Holmes' Show”. It’s then called the New Pastime Theatre in 1947 with a more austere, streamlined look..
Grand opening was November 17, 1916. It operated with the neighboring confectionery, the Palace of Sweets as its de facto concessionaire. After 41 years of continuous operation, the Palace is dropped and appears to have closed with “The Ten Commandments” on October 27, 1957. Live events are booked into the Palace through 1961. The theater is targeted for demolition which occurs in 1978.
Just a few more specifics on the timeline: The Mandan Theatre was launched by Frank Wetzstein on September 9, 1936 with “The Poor Little Rich Girl.”
Wetzstein sold the theatre in 1974 to Jerry Brekke. He converted it to the Showboat Cinema relaunching November 8, 1974 with “That’s Entertainment.” The color scheme was bathed in red. In December of 1976, it became the Showboat Twin Cinema I & II. The second cinema color scheme was blue and purple with blue shag carpeting on the wall. The venue closed on Christmas of 1986.
The Midcontinent Theatre Co. Circuit (aka MidCo) took on the Showboat and converted it into a discount sub-run operation called Academy Theatre beginning on June 12, 1987. That came to an end on September 12, 1993 with “Cliffhanger” and “Aladdin.”
It relaunched as the Mysteria Theatre in November of 2008 until 2011. It then rebranded as a live venue called Organized Noise Entertainment or O.N.E. in 2012 before reverting back to the Mysteria briefly in 2013 and 2014. It was converted as a restaurant and sports bar thereafter.
This corner lot was home to the Rex Theatre which opened March 4, 1914 with Mutual movies. Mrs. Hugh McAfee of the Rex also had control of the Airdrome. She had the Airdrome torn down after five seasons of summer usage selling the lumber to H.D. Gillet who repurposed the lumber in sheds.
The management of the Rex’s only remaining local competitor, the Auditorium Theatre, bought out the competition not long after the Rex’s final November 15, 1922 showing of “The Call of Home.” Claude McBray, operator of the Auditorium, even took out the equipment moving it to Polo, Mo. to create a new theater there. This venue became home to the Gilbert Brothers store and later was a package store and grocer.
The Airdrome launched May 23, 1913 by C.S. Burger. It operated five summer seasons. But the operator of the Rex Theater, Mrs. Hugh McFee was happy enough with the ventilation of the Rex that she sold the lumber to H.D. Gillet in April of 1918 ending the Airdome’s run. That Airdome lumber was repurposed in country sheds.
T.D. Block announced his new theater in 1923 with a naming contest. In the interim, folks of Odessa were watching movies at Lee Nichols' Skydome, then in its third summer of operation. The winning name, Dixie, was chosen in time for its December 27, 1923 with “The Church Around the Corner” after the live band had played, “Dixie” as the opening song.
Sound conversion proved to be a challenge and, in 1929, Glenn W. Dickinson Amusement took on the venue changing it to the Dickinson Theatre. It then converted it to sound to remain viable. Block re-assumed control of the operation re-renaming it as the Dixie Theatre on January 31, 1932.
After a special opening dance event, the first film at the new Michael Theatre was on April 1, 1933 with Buster Keaton in “What! No Beer?” E.P. Michael announced that the Michael Theatre moniker was only temporary and he would have a naming contest. On June 7, 1933 the winner was Mrs. J.R. Crank of Braymer who went with “Michlo.” The last regular film to play there was December10, 1961 with “Wald Disney’s The Absent Minded Professor.”
The last event was a John Deere Tractor Day tie-up that included a free film screening on January 26, 1962. The theatre building was sold on March 15, 1962 and converted to a graocery store. The new Braymer Theatre would open on March 17, 1962 and another naming contest to rename the venue. Spoiler alert: It was the B-Bi Theater.This one has been demolished.
The Artilla Theatre was just north of the depot and its name fused the names of its owners including Mr. and Mrs. Harry Till. The Artilla namesake is the sixth for the venue but on February 5, 1949, it’s all over as the Artilla Theatre.
The new Till Theatre would be built to replace it. It was a new-build venue costing $50,000 and opening here on June 2, 1949. On February 5, 1955, the venue is equipped for widescreen to present CInemaScope titles. Mr. Till dies and R.L. Adkins and Larry Allen operate the theater until its closure on April 22, 1961. A group of local business owners decide to cooperatively operate the venue because they appreciated the foot traffic of the theater. They rename it as the Civic Theatre September 7, 1961 rebooting with “G.I. Blues” with Elvis Presley.
If you read the town history, this venue started as the Hamilton Auditorium opening by Mark E. Feltis on July 1, 1922 launching with Wallace Reid in “Too Much Speed” supported by the Mack Sennett comedy, “Beware of the Borders.” Movies were shown on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Live events could be booked the other days. Dancing and roller skating were among them because the Hamilton Auditorium had a flat maple floor. The Rex Theatre was the town’s other silent movie house at that time ceased operations in November of that same year.
Claude McBrayer took on operation of the venue renaming it as the. Auditorium Theatre and sometimes the McBrayer Auditorium Theatre. The Royal Theatre in Cameron, just 14 miles away converted to sound and the operators of the Plaza closed the venue with silent films on November 30, 1929 unable to make the conversion. Fred Greenberg and Frank Cassil take on the venue in 1930 wiring it for sound, sloping the floor, giving it a modern lobby, installing a fireproof projection booth, and giving it a modern sign reading, Plaza Theatre. The Plaza would have Indianapolis-based Sonofilm sound equipment. The new Plaza Theatre launched on May 28, 1930 and people liked the elevated 450 seats and Rin Tin Tin in “On the Border.”
John E. Courter and Earl J. Courter of Gallatin took on the Plaza in 1933. On Sept. 21, 1933, the venue was renamed as The Courter Theatre with “Moonlight and Pretzels.” Harry T Till took over as manager in 1936 while Courter passed away in 1945. The Tills and Roy Huey take on the venue and give it a drastic streamline makeover in 1948. J.R. Henry took part in the Till renaming contest choosing Artilla. He says he’s fused the names of the theater operators. It relaunches with that name on Sept. 9, 1948 with “Gun Town.” On February 5, 1949, it’s all over as the Artilla Theatre (former Courter Theatre, Plaza Theatre, Hamilton Auditorium, McBrayer Auditorium and Auditorium Theatre) and the Kavanaugh Motor Company are wiped out by fire.
The new Till Theatre would be built to replace it. It was a new-build venue costing $50,000 and opening on June 2, 1949. The information above attributed to Chuck is simply not accurate but should be left as is in his name in case that is the preferred history for this theater by him.
The Braymer Theatre opened on March 17, 1962 with Dean Martin in “Oceans 11” and all opening night customers receiving free popcorn. On that night, operator Wayne Griffin running a “name the theater” contest.
The name chosen was B-Bi Theatre. Nancy Clevenger won the contest explaining that the venue was “Braymer’s Jewel” with the B short for Braymer to Bi for jewel as in bijou. There you have it - the B-Bi Theatre - officially changing to that April 20, 1962. (It’s the only known theater with particular name!) That same month, Griffin installed air conditioning.
The Nov. 10, 1995 grand opening ad as a 12-screener in photos. The June 30, 2000 - expansion to 18 screen ad is also in photos.
This closed as the AMC Clearwater Crossing 12 - and should be the entry’s name. It became the Latitude 360 without playing films and it became a Main Event that didn’t play films. And, also, it went out of business as a Main Event. So closed
The Northwestern Theatre was a largely silent theater that operated in the middle of the bustling Indiana Avenue and Illinois Street African American commercial districts. With the Walker Theatre and Indiana Theatres opening in the 1920s and less than a mile away, they were the first to convert to sound.
The Northwestern was initially unable to make the conversion closing in 1930. But if the local paper account is accurate, it was later able to convert to sound - likely getting a second-hand sound system that had been replaced by another theater - and able to continue to the expiry of its lease in 1935.
The fate of the Northwestern Theater Building was decided in the late 1950s when a plan was unveiled that would create an Interstate highway drawn up to run right through the business district. It was a playbook run in many other major cities with African American business districts. In Indianapolis, however, an alternate plan was suggested causing far less disruption to the area which housed the former Northwestern building and lots of commercial businesses and residential housing. That message was received and before it could gain traction, the entire area was quickly plowed under in the 1960s. This stretch of Northwestern Avenue would be changed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street up to 38th Street.
The Stratford Theater launched here in 1913 and was operated by Gustav G. Schmidt who also operated the Atlas Theatre at 19th and Martingale and the Crystal Theatre on North Illinois Street. He converted the Stratford to sound to remain viable.
On Christmas Day 1948, the Stratford became the Star Theater with its Grand Opening showing “Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!” With June Havner and Jane Powell in “Luxury Liner.” I would suggest that the theater closed on December 2, 1956 with Martin and Lewis in “Artists and Models” supported by “Secret of Treasure Mountain.” I would also suggest that the theater wasn’t an African American Theater due to the fact that it always advertised in the mainstream press and was never mentioned in the African American press.
In the 21st Century, it became home to the Kountry Kitchen Soul Food Restaurant.
Opened with Geraldine Farrar in “Carmen” on December 24, 1915
In 1947, the Lido Theatre is ready for its new streamlined look to the plans of Lee Burns and Edward D. James of Burns & James Architects. Unfortunately, as the equipment is updated, it does not appear that the Lido received the above look as concerns about the impact of TV and the direction of the neighborhood cause a tapping of the brakes.
The Senate Theatre was a silent African American cinema located at 1319 North Senate. The Senate was opened in December of 1910 by Charles Bernstein at the end of the nickelodeon era. Housed in an existing retail building, the Senate was designed for film exhibition with admission price just a nickel. James and Louis Hill, who had opened the Columbia Theatre on Indiana Avenue, took on the Senate in March of 1911.
The theater appears to have closed at the end of a ten-year lease in 1920. The building was located just west of the bustling Illinois Street commercial district that, unlike the declining Indiana Avenue business district, was still bustling. But the City of Indianapolis craftily drew up urban renewal plans in the late 1950s and early 1960s that would decimate the Illinois Street commercial district ultimately taking the former Senate Theatre building and all of its neighbors with it.
Permanently closed on September 29, 2024. A Planet Fitness and a grocery store will take the Regal Fishkill’s spot.
Meloy Brothers opened the Park Theatre in 1938 on a 20-year lease. The theater closed in 1958 and was converted to a funeral parlor.
20 South Illinois is the correct address for this theater. And it likely had a chalkboard for its signage as it changes names more than any other local theater. It starts as the Family Theatre to Rialto Theatre (July 2, 1916) to Lincoln Square (Nov. 11, 1923) back to Family (1931) to Roxy (January 24, 1932) to Goulden’s Tower (Nov. 24, 1934) to 1956 demolition.
The name change of 1931 from Lincoln Square to Family was due to a Feb. 1931 Burlesque show gone wrong when three 15-year olds narc on the nature of the stage show. The theater is charged and heads back to the Family banner to correct the issue. Its change to the Roxy was due to new operator Louis B. Goulden Theatre Corporation which had the Capitol, Orpheum and Gayety. Its name change to the Roxy on January 24, 1932 was the Jean Harlow in “Hell’s Angels.”
Goulden revamped the venue in 1934 moving away from Vitaphone discs to electric sound on film and becoming Goulden’s Tower Theater on November 24, 1934. Closed in the 1940s and torn down in 1956/7.
Closed in 1956 and became a house of worship.