he Crystal Theatre launched in February of 1910. The theatre appears to have been renamed the Lyric which then moved to a new location in 1916 by Empress owner M.M. Moore.
The silent venue closed in 1929 when Harry Day took on the venue launching it as the “New” Lyric Theatre on September 24, 1929 with Ruth Chatterton in “Madame X.” It was the wiring of the previous Lyric for sound.
Andrew Majek and H.J. Hartung, Jr., opened the Winter Garden Drive-In on April 19, 1950. The theatre’s moniker was derived from the city’s nickname as the"Winter Garden District" leading to its fame once known as the “Spinach Capital of the World.”
Opened as the Dixie Theatre. Then the McNeese Palace Theatre. Then to a new location as the Palace Theatre. Then equipped for sound as the Majestic Theatre on October 21, 1930. Then made a deal to split the week with English language films on Friday-Monday with Spanish language films programmed by the Juncos in an agreement that appears to have lasted from 1934 to 1939. The Majestic then went back to an English-language exclusive film policy.
This theatre launched as the Dixie Theatre in the silent era likely well before 1922. On December 5, 1925, it was taken over by the McNeese Brothers Circuit under the name of the McNeese Palace Theatre with Harold Lloyd in “The Freshman.” It moved to a new-build location on June 15, 1928 as the Palace Theatre. The Palace closed in the summer of 1930 as a silent operation.
Under a new operator, Milton L. Dubose, it was equipped for sound relaunching as the Majestic Theatre on October 21,1930 with Jack Oakie in, “Let’s Go Native” supported by newsreels, comedies and more. The Majestic made what appears to be a sub-leasing agreement with the operators of Teatro Junco de la Vega to split the week with English language films on Friday-Monday and Spanish language sound films on up to three other days.
The Majestic was the first place anyone got to see the film, “The Texans” as the film was shot there and a rough cut was played for the townspeople before the film’s final release. The Majestic’s final ads appear in 1974 which may be the end of the operation.
Teatro Colon appears to have gone out of business after over 60 years of operation on December 31, 1980 although could have continued past that date. Eduardo Diaz, Sr. served as its main projectionist there for over 40 years. It also housed a district office of Azteca Films Distributing which sent Spanish language films to theaters in the Southwest. Much as happened with the Hollywood studios, Azteca was sued when a competing theater in another city said the Azteca run theatre controlled 90% of its own bookings which they felt was an antitrust violation.
Closed at the end of a leasing period on March 31, 1964 with a double feature of Otto Preminger’s and “Queen of the Pirates.” following a nearly 60-year run. The Crawford and neighboring Angelus Hotel were bulldozed days later.
J.M. Lewis and Vincent Adreas launched the Ellanay on November 9, 1918 as a fusion of their last initials, L&A. The opening film was propaganda title, “Stolen Orders.” The Ellanay was probably best known for its striking Terra Cotta exterior known for its bas-relief visualization entitled, “The Dance” by architect Huss M. Beutell.The Ellanay’s Hope-Jones Organ did not arrive at the opening but would get its own “grand opening” styled promotion and is featured in photos. Dent Theatres Circuit took on the venue and It became only the second theater in Texas to get a “permanent” Vitaphone system for sound films. Dallas' Arcadia Theatre had been the first. The Ellanay installed its new $20,000 system for talkies beginning with in February of 1928 leading to its successful multi-week run of “The Jazz Singer.” The next year Paramount-Famous-Lasky took over the Dent Theatres in El Paso.
Paramount sold/transferred the theatre to Texas Consolidated in 1936. The circuit closed the Ellanay for a major refresh relaunching on Valentine’s Day 1941. Soon Texas Consolidated consolidated under the name Interstate Theatres. During the Paramount Decree, the Ellanay was one of many locations divested by Interstate which Trans-Texas took on. This was effective September 3, 1954. Trans-Texas upgraded the facility to widescreen for CinemaScope presentations. It then did the shocking transformation in 1961 to the Capri Theatre covering the theater’s detailed interior work with a drop ceiling and lots of paneling. Likely at end of a 20-year leasing agreement, Trans-Texas dropped the Capri in January of 1975.
Movie One Theatres took on the venue changing the venue policy to a sub-run dollar house in 1975. It vacillated between low-price first run and suborn in the 1970s before its final era as a sub-run grind house showing double and sometimes triple features. The theater’s final booking was a four-wall weekend screening of “Pink Flamingos” on March 25 and 26, 1983, arranged by sculptor Ho Baron, then a student at UTEP. The removal of the 1961 refresh during the August 1983 demolition uncovered the largely untouched architectural splendor of the original Ellany Theatre and architect H.M. Betell’s detailed work.
The New Moon replaced the previous Moon Theatre opening on September 28, 1944. The original Moon Theatre suffered an explosion on March 10, 1944 that destroyed the west side of Main Street taking it, the J.C. Penney store, a jewelery store and a drug store. Witnesses said the roof of the Moon was lifted off by ten feet and window damage was a block away. Operator Walt Bradley moved future screenings to nearby Clearwater’s Palace Theatre until the New Moon’s launch.
The building’s entertainment roots date back to its origin as an opera house located on its second floor at opening. Banker William Brownsfield Thorpe’s Opera House is located at 467 D Street was built in 1889 launching December 24, 1889 with an opera by the Andrews Company. That venue was closed and its first floor was the retail home of a long-running Coast to Coast Hardware store. The store vacated and the ground floor space was remodeled as the State Theater launching with Dorothy Lamour in “On Our Merry Way” on October 10, 1948.
The State closed but got one final shot as an entertainment venue when, on October 8, 1965, Adolph Rozanek resumed operations at the State as the Astro Theater with “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte.” He closed the Astro at the end of a 20-year lease in February 11, 1968 with Tony Curtis in “Don’t Make Waves.” It was purchased and remodeled for other purposes though at that time the unused opera house was still on the second floor. The building still is in use on the South Side of the Square as of 2020s and was undergoing renovation.
After the Gem closed in 1944, the town of Beemer was theatre-less. Rose Nebuda found a new spot for a new build facility launching after the War on May 1, 1946 as the Bee Theatre. It opened with Joan Leslie in “Cinderella Jones” supported by a cartoon short.
A. J. Weaver announced the new theatre in 1925 as Falls City new courthouse and new Hotel Weaver were completed. The two-story brick and reinforced concrete theatre cost $75,000 for Blaine Cook’s Cook Theatre Circuit. It was one of two Rivoli Theatres for the Circuit scheduled to open in 1926 along with the Beatrice location. During construction, George Monroe took over the Cook Circuit and the Rivoli launched in 1927.
The Besse Auditorium opened as an 840-seat venue at opening on May 3, 1920, and the special guest of honor was opera singer Frieda Hempel. In 1912 she had made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. 160 extra chairs were brought in for the performance and a crowd of 1,000. The $100,000 theatre impressed patrons. Motion pictures also were worked into the mix of live events.
Bert Beams took over the venue renaming it the Beams Auditorium in 1926 and the venue was more heavily used as a motion picture theatre. The big news at the 10th anniversary of the venue was installation of an air conditioning system as well as a refresh, reduction of seating to 500, and a name change to the Sunbeam Theatre under the operation of Harry Gould but still owned by Beams. The name was changed to the Auditorium Theatre in 1935. In 1945, Beams lowered the very high ceiling of the auditorium.
In June of 1947, Carl P. Knutson purchased the Auditorium renaming it the State Theatre with a new lobby and a new front. He also re-equipped the projection booth moving out the Simplex Acme projectors replacing it with Motiograph AA projection. A year later Marvin P Jones took on the State Theatre. It appears to have gone out of business at the end of its second, 20-year leasing period as the State Theatre on March 29, 1960 with Michael Callan in “The Flying Fontaines.”
Orrin W. Taber, already known for his pool hall, outfitted the first electric theatre in downtown Red Cloud in 1908. Credit Miss Ella Cook who won Taber’s “name the new electric theater contest” with her suggestion of “Tepee.” The Tepee launched on a ten-year lease on March with illustrated songs sung by Frank Wick, a short film, and a live act. The theatre went out of business on November 10, 1917 with screenings moved to the Orpheum which was doing vaudeville mixed in with films.
M.N Garber took over the store for his paint and wallpaper store in September of 1918.
AMC closed the AMC Classic Big Rapids 4 on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The circuit made the closure permanent that summer becoming one of many theatres closed by a circuit during the pandemic.
AMC closed the AMC Classic Middlesboro 4 on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The circuit made the closure permanent that summer becoming one of many theatres closed by a circuit during the pandemic.
AMC closed the AMC Parkway Pointe on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The circuit made the closure permanent that summer becoming one of many theatres closed by a circuit during the pandemic.
The Zorn Theatre launched on February 8, 1928 with Mrs. Wallace Reid in “The Satin Woman.”
he Crystal Theatre launched in February of 1910. The theatre appears to have been renamed the Lyric which then moved to a new location in 1916 by Empress owner M.M. Moore.
The silent venue closed in 1929 when Harry Day took on the venue launching it as the “New” Lyric Theatre on September 24, 1929 with Ruth Chatterton in “Madame X.” It was the wiring of the previous Lyric for sound.
Launched April 14, 2017 with “Boss Baby” and the “F8: The Fate of the Furious.”
February 14, 1930 Grand Opening of the former Community Theatre now wired for sound as the City Theatre in David City playing “Hottentot.”
Had a brief run in 1920 as the Palm Theatre.
March 14, 1918 ad for Teatro Rex in El Paso
W.B. Guillaudeu launched the Guild following a naming contest on July 23, 1928. Miss Johnnie Peek won the naming contest.
Andrew Majek and H.J. Hartung, Jr., opened the Winter Garden Drive-In on April 19, 1950. The theatre’s moniker was derived from the city’s nickname as the"Winter Garden District" leading to its fame once known as the “Spinach Capital of the World.”
Opened as the Dixie Theatre. Then the McNeese Palace Theatre. Then to a new location as the Palace Theatre. Then equipped for sound as the Majestic Theatre on October 21, 1930. Then made a deal to split the week with English language films on Friday-Monday with Spanish language films programmed by the Juncos in an agreement that appears to have lasted from 1934 to 1939. The Majestic then went back to an English-language exclusive film policy.
This theatre launched as the Dixie Theatre in the silent era likely well before 1922. On December 5, 1925, it was taken over by the McNeese Brothers Circuit under the name of the McNeese Palace Theatre with Harold Lloyd in “The Freshman.” It moved to a new-build location on June 15, 1928 as the Palace Theatre. The Palace closed in the summer of 1930 as a silent operation.
Under a new operator, Milton L. Dubose, it was equipped for sound relaunching as the Majestic Theatre on October 21,1930 with Jack Oakie in, “Let’s Go Native” supported by newsreels, comedies and more. The Majestic made what appears to be a sub-leasing agreement with the operators of Teatro Junco de la Vega to split the week with English language films on Friday-Monday and Spanish language sound films on up to three other days.
The Majestic was the first place anyone got to see the film, “The Texans” as the film was shot there and a rough cut was played for the townspeople before the film’s final release. The Majestic’s final ads appear in 1974 which may be the end of the operation.
Teatro Colon appears to have gone out of business after over 60 years of operation on December 31, 1980 although could have continued past that date. Eduardo Diaz, Sr. served as its main projectionist there for over 40 years. It also housed a district office of Azteca Films Distributing which sent Spanish language films to theaters in the Southwest. Much as happened with the Hollywood studios, Azteca was sued when a competing theater in another city said the Azteca run theatre controlled 90% of its own bookings which they felt was an antitrust violation.
Closed at the end of a leasing period on March 31, 1964 with a double feature of Otto Preminger’s and “Queen of the Pirates.” following a nearly 60-year run. The Crawford and neighboring Angelus Hotel were bulldozed days later.
The Yandell Theatre launches with Gary Cooper in “Along Came Jones” on October 6, 1946.
J.M. Lewis and Vincent Adreas launched the Ellanay on November 9, 1918 as a fusion of their last initials, L&A. The opening film was propaganda title, “Stolen Orders.” The Ellanay was probably best known for its striking Terra Cotta exterior known for its bas-relief visualization entitled, “The Dance” by architect Huss M. Beutell.The Ellanay’s Hope-Jones Organ did not arrive at the opening but would get its own “grand opening” styled promotion and is featured in photos. Dent Theatres Circuit took on the venue and It became only the second theater in Texas to get a “permanent” Vitaphone system for sound films. Dallas' Arcadia Theatre had been the first. The Ellanay installed its new $20,000 system for talkies beginning with in February of 1928 leading to its successful multi-week run of “The Jazz Singer.” The next year Paramount-Famous-Lasky took over the Dent Theatres in El Paso.
Paramount sold/transferred the theatre to Texas Consolidated in 1936. The circuit closed the Ellanay for a major refresh relaunching on Valentine’s Day 1941. Soon Texas Consolidated consolidated under the name Interstate Theatres. During the Paramount Decree, the Ellanay was one of many locations divested by Interstate which Trans-Texas took on. This was effective September 3, 1954. Trans-Texas upgraded the facility to widescreen for CinemaScope presentations. It then did the shocking transformation in 1961 to the Capri Theatre covering the theater’s detailed interior work with a drop ceiling and lots of paneling. Likely at end of a 20-year leasing agreement, Trans-Texas dropped the Capri in January of 1975.
Movie One Theatres took on the venue changing the venue policy to a sub-run dollar house in 1975. It vacillated between low-price first run and suborn in the 1970s before its final era as a sub-run grind house showing double and sometimes triple features. The theater’s final booking was a four-wall weekend screening of “Pink Flamingos” on March 25 and 26, 1983, arranged by sculptor Ho Baron, then a student at UTEP. The removal of the 1961 refresh during the August 1983 demolition uncovered the largely untouched architectural splendor of the original Ellany Theatre and architect H.M. Betell’s detailed work.
The New Moon replaced the previous Moon Theatre opening on September 28, 1944. The original Moon Theatre suffered an explosion on March 10, 1944 that destroyed the west side of Main Street taking it, the J.C. Penney store, a jewelery store and a drug store. Witnesses said the roof of the Moon was lifted off by ten feet and window damage was a block away. Operator Walt Bradley moved future screenings to nearby Clearwater’s Palace Theatre until the New Moon’s launch.
The building’s entertainment roots date back to its origin as an opera house located on its second floor at opening. Banker William Brownsfield Thorpe’s Opera House is located at 467 D Street was built in 1889 launching December 24, 1889 with an opera by the Andrews Company. That venue was closed and its first floor was the retail home of a long-running Coast to Coast Hardware store. The store vacated and the ground floor space was remodeled as the State Theater launching with Dorothy Lamour in “On Our Merry Way” on October 10, 1948.
The State closed but got one final shot as an entertainment venue when, on October 8, 1965, Adolph Rozanek resumed operations at the State as the Astro Theater with “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte.” He closed the Astro at the end of a 20-year lease in February 11, 1968 with Tony Curtis in “Don’t Make Waves.” It was purchased and remodeled for other purposes though at that time the unused opera house was still on the second floor. The building still is in use on the South Side of the Square as of 2020s and was undergoing renovation.
After the Gem closed in 1944, the town of Beemer was theatre-less. Rose Nebuda found a new spot for a new build facility launching after the War on May 1, 1946 as the Bee Theatre. It opened with Joan Leslie in “Cinderella Jones” supported by a cartoon short.
A. J. Weaver announced the new theatre in 1925 as Falls City new courthouse and new Hotel Weaver were completed. The two-story brick and reinforced concrete theatre cost $75,000 for Blaine Cook’s Cook Theatre Circuit. It was one of two Rivoli Theatres for the Circuit scheduled to open in 1926 along with the Beatrice location. During construction, George Monroe took over the Cook Circuit and the Rivoli launched in 1927.
The Besse Auditorium opened as an 840-seat venue at opening on May 3, 1920, and the special guest of honor was opera singer Frieda Hempel. In 1912 she had made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. 160 extra chairs were brought in for the performance and a crowd of 1,000. The $100,000 theatre impressed patrons. Motion pictures also were worked into the mix of live events.
Bert Beams took over the venue renaming it the Beams Auditorium in 1926 and the venue was more heavily used as a motion picture theatre. The big news at the 10th anniversary of the venue was installation of an air conditioning system as well as a refresh, reduction of seating to 500, and a name change to the Sunbeam Theatre under the operation of Harry Gould but still owned by Beams. The name was changed to the Auditorium Theatre in 1935. In 1945, Beams lowered the very high ceiling of the auditorium.
In June of 1947, Carl P. Knutson purchased the Auditorium renaming it the State Theatre with a new lobby and a new front. He also re-equipped the projection booth moving out the Simplex Acme projectors replacing it with Motiograph AA projection. A year later Marvin P Jones took on the State Theatre. It appears to have gone out of business at the end of its second, 20-year leasing period as the State Theatre on March 29, 1960 with Michael Callan in “The Flying Fontaines.”
Orrin W. Taber, already known for his pool hall, outfitted the first electric theatre in downtown Red Cloud in 1908. Credit Miss Ella Cook who won Taber’s “name the new electric theater contest” with her suggestion of “Tepee.” The Tepee launched on a ten-year lease on March with illustrated songs sung by Frank Wick, a short film, and a live act. The theatre went out of business on November 10, 1917 with screenings moved to the Orpheum which was doing vaudeville mixed in with films.
M.N Garber took over the store for his paint and wallpaper store in September of 1918.
The State opened with Jack Oakie in “Street Girl” in March of 1930.
A.W. Heyl and C.B Kelly opened this venue on September 8, 1934. The concession stand was subleased to Tom DeLuxe.
AMC closed the AMC Classic Big Rapids 4 on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The circuit made the closure permanent that summer becoming one of many theatres closed by a circuit during the pandemic.
AMC closed the AMC Classic Middlesboro 4 on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The circuit made the closure permanent that summer becoming one of many theatres closed by a circuit during the pandemic.
AMC closed the AMC Parkway Pointe on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The circuit made the closure permanent that summer becoming one of many theatres closed by a circuit during the pandemic.