In photos is the March 17, 1933 Grand Opening ad of the Uptown Theatre with Kate Smith in “Hello, Everybody.” Earl and Inez VanHyning were in charge of the new Uptown. (The previous, short-lived Uptown was bought out by the Dickinson Circuit becoming the Plaza.)
Tim Holt visited the theatre in person on November 8, 1952. The Uptown closed on November 3, 1953 with “Sailor of the King” and “City That Never Sleeps. After closure, it was retrofitted for a Gambles chain store.
The Pic Theatre launched here by W.A. Weaver on March 5, 1939 as a sub-run discount house with Ralph Bellamy in “It Can’t Last Forever” supported by The Three Stooges short, “Grips, Grunts and Groans,” a cartoon, and two more short subjects. The theatre closed at the end of a 20-year lease on March 16, 1959 with a double-feature of Rhonda Fleming in “Odonga” and Glenn Ford in “3:10 to Yuma.” Future bookings were moved to the 54 Drive-In.
The theatre was almost completely destroyed by fire on December 20, 1924 ending its operation. The building’s foundation and some elements were used in its rebuilding as the Grand Garage.
The architect was Walter H. Simon and the Mayflower had a space for Curry & Olson Confectioner which sold candy to patrons. The Mayflower opened on October 14, 1920 with Matt Moore in “Don’t Ever Marry.” Karl Gaston owned the theatre and its previous location from 1913 to the Mayflower’s 1920 opening all the way to 1939. The theatre was ravaged by a flood in 1951 closing for five months.
The Lyric Theatre launched March 21, 1913 in Independent Order of Odd Fellows fraternal hall with live vaudeville. By 1919, the venue had switched to full time motion picture exhibition. The theatre closed on July 31, 1927 with Gilda Gray in “Cabaret" supported by Al Cook and Kit Guard in “Chin He Loved to Touch.”
The closing of the theatre uncovered stacks of 1910s movie advertisements and posters throughout the 1910s dating back to the first days of the theatre. The “New Theatre” (later Trail Theatre) opened on September 25, 1927 ostensibly replacing the Lyric.
On April 1, 1955, the Sunset Drive-in Theater in Bridgeport was opened by Ted and Johnny Vossos with Maureen O'Hara and Errol Flynn in “Against All Flags.” The theatre closed in July of 1963 and was offered for sale in 1963-1965. Alma and Johnny Vossos reopened the theatre on May 7, 1965 continuing a 4-day a week schedule.
Dorrance Schmidt, who was running the downtown Trail Theatre, launched Centre Drive-In Theatre with “The High and the Mighty” supported by “Bugs Bunny’s Cartoon Revue” on May 1, 1955. After two unsuccessful seasons, Schmidt closed the Centre on July 30, 1955 with Barbara Hale in “Unchained” and Wild Bill Elliot in “Hellfire” supported by a cartoon. Instead of reopening for a third season, in May of 1956, the Drive-In concession stand and equipment were offered for sale as the venue was permanently closed.
(And it was only marketed as the Centre Drive-In and not the Center Drive-In)
Sallows and Hughes Amusement Enterprises Circuit luanched the New Theatre in Bridgeport on September 25, 1927 with Mildred Davis in “Too Many Crooks.” Customers were impressed with the Robert Morton pipe organ. On December 9, 1927, the theatre was named the Trail Theatre. The Circuit added talkies on April 1, 1930 with the film, “Why Leave Home.”
New operators came in 1934 giving the theatre a streamline moderne makeover and improved sound system. Lloyd Gladson would take on the venue switching the Trail to widescreen for CinemaScope presentations with 10-speaker “moving sound” beginning with “The Robe” on March 25, 1954.
Robert L. Weller and Fred Roberts were so pleased with their booking for the opening of the Queen Theatre on October 19, 1916 - “Birth of a Nation” - that they didn’t even have the theatre finished in time. To honor the booking, they used benches and plank seating that and each of the next two nights. The formal opening then came with a live stage play - “The Story of Marion Grey” - on November 13, 1916.
Harry Dubuque then took on the theatre a short time later renaming it was the Orpheum Theatre on February 12, 1917. Two years later, William H. Ostenberg took on the venue and would equip it with the hand-me-down underachieving sound system from the Egyptian beginning on November 5, 1929 with “Why Leave Home?”
Ostenberg then gutted the Orpheum in 1936 reopening to the plans of architect Lynn McReynolds as the Bluffs Theatre. By then the Gibraltar Circuit had become the Midwest Amusement Circuit. The Bluffs Theatre now sported a rustic look to the plans of architect Lynn McReynolds with pine logs and knotty wood to celebrate its plains setting. it was Scottsbluff’s second-tier theater to the Egyptian and launched with a double feature on August 1, 1936 with The Jones Family in “Educating Father” and Henry Hunter in “Parole” The Oto Theatre was the third-tier, subrun house.
The Bluffs was elevated to top tier house after a fire destroyed the Egyptian on October 5, 1945. The projectionist took the films out of the venue before it was a total loss and - that night - had the Egyptian’s booking of Rita Hayworth in “Tonight and Every Night” supported by the March of Time short, “The Unknown Battle" at the Bluffs. That’s effort! The Bluffs' bookings were bounced down to the Oto Theatre. The circuit would then replace the Egyptian with a new first-tier house, the Midwest, and returned the Bluffs to second-tier status into the 1960s.
It took an entire railroad car to bring the $23,500 three-manual Marr-Colton pipe organ from Warsaw, New York to the Egyptian Theatre. The Egyptian opened with Billie Dove in “American Beauty” with Helen Whitehead at the hoseshoe-shaped organ console. On March 23, 1929, the Egyptian became the first theatre in the Oklahoma panhandle to show talkies with Richard Barthelmess in “Weary River.”
The final show took place on October 4, 1945 with Rita Hayworth in “Tonight and Every Night” supported by the March of Time short, “The Unknown Battle.” A short circuit the next morning in the curtain rigging led to a fire that destroyed the building and led to its razing. In one of the more amazing stories, the projectionist saved both of the prints before the first got out of hand - worried that they would explode and stoke the flames. They would be carried to the Bluffs theatre with normal presentations that night through Wednesday. That’s effort!
Bigger’s Twin Acres Drive-In Theatre launched October 17, 1948 with Danny Kaye in “The Kid From Brooklyn” (ad in photos). “Twin Acres” was dropped after the first season.
The Hiway Theatre Drive-In launched likely on this parcel or very close by on May 22, 1949 with “Julia Misbehaves.” It opened for another season on April 9, 1950 but was partially destroyed by a wind storm on June 8, 1950. The owner had no insurance and likely did not reopen.
The Mitchell Drive-In Theatre then launched here on April 9, 1955 with Robert Mitchum in “Blood on the Moon” followed by a formal opening on April 29, 1955.
The Oto Theatre launched for Midwest Amusement Circuit on November 26, 1936 with Doris Nolan in “The Man I Marry.” Commonwealth closed the venue in 1962.
The Pineview Drive-In launched May 19, 1955 with Gary Cooper in “Garden of Evil.“ Owner Dave Cole was open through 1997 but a wind storm ripped off part of the screen and - because of the expense of repairs - he did not reopen in 1998.
The Alamo Drafthouse Denton resumed operations on September 10, 2021 after an extended COVID-19 pandemic hiatus. The theatre had closed along with the rest of the locations on March 16, 2020. It briefly reopened in August of 2020 before closing for a year during the pandemic.
The Elite appears to have opened on June 16, 1911 with movies. The theatre switched to talkies and played “The Jazz Singer” on June 16, 1930. James W.Crouch sold the Elite Theatre to Fred Jungclaus taking ownership following the February 28, 1930 shows. Jungclaus renamed the venue as the Riviera Theatre beginning March 2, 1930 with Bebe Daniels in “Rio Rita.”
Though the Riviera was active into the 1960s, regular operation ceased following the September 15, 1954 showing of “Francis Joins the Wacs.” Chamber of Commerce, special interest commercial and public service screenings and holiday films appeared into at least 1966 at the Riviera.
The Ponca was closed July 31, 1954 by owner Glenn Hiatt. A new operator was identified in 1955 planning to reopen the theatre but appears to have not done so.
The Studio Movie Grill - Prosperity Village closed March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic after just three months of operation. The theatre had stated intent to reopen but, in bankruptcy court documents released in 2021, the circuit made the closure permanent on August 29, 2021 when the lease could not be renegotiated and was terminated.
A 1953 article says that the theatre had three different towers within its opening month. The first blew down in a major storm just hours after its grand opening on July 1st. The second screen was being installed when it was destroyed by a second storm. The third tower was installed in time for the Center’s grand reopening on July 12, 1953 - marking three screens for two nights of operation. Something of a record for a one-screen drive-in.
H.T. Hayes launched the 425-seat Rivoli on May 3, 1920 with Doris May in “23 ½ Hours' Leave.” On May. 7, 1929, the theatre began showing talkies on June 7, 1929 with a Gus Van and Joe Schenck short and a partial talkie.
Owned and operated by the Wisehart family since 1979, the theatre was twinned with Theatre One holding 231 patrons and Theatre Two with 70 seats for 301 total capacity. It celebrated its 100th anniversary with a short parade. It was still going in the 2020s.
The U.S.A. Theatre launched August 11, 1917 with William Night in “The Blue Streak” supported by Billie Ritchie in “The House of Terrible Scandals.” The improved theatre had a grand reopening on February 8, 1919 by Noah G. Brewer. The opening film was Dorothy Phillips in “Heart of Humanity” supported by Professor Manby on the Wurlitzer pipe organ. Fox Circuit took over the venue briefly as the Fox U.S.A. Theatre. The Fox U.S.A. closed on November 15, 1929 and relaunched on Thanksgiving now with Western Electric Sound and under the Fox Theatre nameplate.
The Fox received a major streamline moderne makeover reopening on June 7, 1940 with a Grand Reopening and Wallace Beery in “Twenty Mule Team.” The Fox closed October 15, 1951 with Hedy Lamarr in “Samson and Delilah.” The next night the New Fox Theatre opened and it has its own CinemaTreasure entry.
November 6, 2001 opening ad in photos.
In photos is the March 17, 1933 Grand Opening ad of the Uptown Theatre with Kate Smith in “Hello, Everybody.” Earl and Inez VanHyning were in charge of the new Uptown. (The previous, short-lived Uptown was bought out by the Dickinson Circuit becoming the Plaza.)
Tim Holt visited the theatre in person on November 8, 1952. The Uptown closed on November 3, 1953 with “Sailor of the King” and “City That Never Sleeps. After closure, it was retrofitted for a Gambles chain store.
The Pic Theatre launched here by W.A. Weaver on March 5, 1939 as a sub-run discount house with Ralph Bellamy in “It Can’t Last Forever” supported by The Three Stooges short, “Grips, Grunts and Groans,” a cartoon, and two more short subjects. The theatre closed at the end of a 20-year lease on March 16, 1959 with a double-feature of Rhonda Fleming in “Odonga” and Glenn Ford in “3:10 to Yuma.” Future bookings were moved to the 54 Drive-In.
Opening film was Wallace Reid in “Nice People” on March 15, 1923
The theatre was almost completely destroyed by fire on December 20, 1924 ending its operation. The building’s foundation and some elements were used in its rebuilding as the Grand Garage.
The architect was Walter H. Simon and the Mayflower had a space for Curry & Olson Confectioner which sold candy to patrons. The Mayflower opened on October 14, 1920 with Matt Moore in “Don’t Ever Marry.” Karl Gaston owned the theatre and its previous location from 1913 to the Mayflower’s 1920 opening all the way to 1939. The theatre was ravaged by a flood in 1951 closing for five months.
Opened as the Diamond Theatre in 1921.
The Lyric Theatre launched March 21, 1913 in Independent Order of Odd Fellows fraternal hall with live vaudeville. By 1919, the venue had switched to full time motion picture exhibition. The theatre closed on July 31, 1927 with Gilda Gray in “Cabaret" supported by Al Cook and Kit Guard in “Chin He Loved to Touch.”
The closing of the theatre uncovered stacks of 1910s movie advertisements and posters throughout the 1910s dating back to the first days of the theatre. The “New Theatre” (later Trail Theatre) opened on September 25, 1927 ostensibly replacing the Lyric.
On April 1, 1955, the Sunset Drive-in Theater in Bridgeport was opened by Ted and Johnny Vossos with Maureen O'Hara and Errol Flynn in “Against All Flags.” The theatre closed in July of 1963 and was offered for sale in 1963-1965. Alma and Johnny Vossos reopened the theatre on May 7, 1965 continuing a 4-day a week schedule.
Dorrance Schmidt, who was running the downtown Trail Theatre, launched Centre Drive-In Theatre with “The High and the Mighty” supported by “Bugs Bunny’s Cartoon Revue” on May 1, 1955. After two unsuccessful seasons, Schmidt closed the Centre on July 30, 1955 with Barbara Hale in “Unchained” and Wild Bill Elliot in “Hellfire” supported by a cartoon. Instead of reopening for a third season, in May of 1956, the Drive-In concession stand and equipment were offered for sale as the venue was permanently closed.
(And it was only marketed as the Centre Drive-In and not the Center Drive-In)
Sallows and Hughes Amusement Enterprises Circuit luanched the New Theatre in Bridgeport on September 25, 1927 with Mildred Davis in “Too Many Crooks.” Customers were impressed with the Robert Morton pipe organ. On December 9, 1927, the theatre was named the Trail Theatre. The Circuit added talkies on April 1, 1930 with the film, “Why Leave Home.”
New operators came in 1934 giving the theatre a streamline moderne makeover and improved sound system. Lloyd Gladson would take on the venue switching the Trail to widescreen for CinemaScope presentations with 10-speaker “moving sound” beginning with “The Robe” on March 25, 1954.
The Midwest Theatre launched May 3, 1946 with “Gilda” to the plans of architect Charles D. Strong.
Robert L. Weller and Fred Roberts were so pleased with their booking for the opening of the Queen Theatre on October 19, 1916 - “Birth of a Nation” - that they didn’t even have the theatre finished in time. To honor the booking, they used benches and plank seating that and each of the next two nights. The formal opening then came with a live stage play - “The Story of Marion Grey” - on November 13, 1916.
Harry Dubuque then took on the theatre a short time later renaming it was the Orpheum Theatre on February 12, 1917. Two years later, William H. Ostenberg took on the venue and would equip it with the hand-me-down underachieving sound system from the Egyptian beginning on November 5, 1929 with “Why Leave Home?”
Ostenberg then gutted the Orpheum in 1936 reopening to the plans of architect Lynn McReynolds as the Bluffs Theatre. By then the Gibraltar Circuit had become the Midwest Amusement Circuit. The Bluffs Theatre now sported a rustic look to the plans of architect Lynn McReynolds with pine logs and knotty wood to celebrate its plains setting. it was Scottsbluff’s second-tier theater to the Egyptian and launched with a double feature on August 1, 1936 with The Jones Family in “Educating Father” and Henry Hunter in “Parole” The Oto Theatre was the third-tier, subrun house.
The Bluffs was elevated to top tier house after a fire destroyed the Egyptian on October 5, 1945. The projectionist took the films out of the venue before it was a total loss and - that night - had the Egyptian’s booking of Rita Hayworth in “Tonight and Every Night” supported by the March of Time short, “The Unknown Battle" at the Bluffs. That’s effort! The Bluffs' bookings were bounced down to the Oto Theatre. The circuit would then replace the Egyptian with a new first-tier house, the Midwest, and returned the Bluffs to second-tier status into the 1960s.
It took an entire railroad car to bring the $23,500 three-manual Marr-Colton pipe organ from Warsaw, New York to the Egyptian Theatre. The Egyptian opened with Billie Dove in “American Beauty” with Helen Whitehead at the hoseshoe-shaped organ console. On March 23, 1929, the Egyptian became the first theatre in the Oklahoma panhandle to show talkies with Richard Barthelmess in “Weary River.”
The final show took place on October 4, 1945 with Rita Hayworth in “Tonight and Every Night” supported by the March of Time short, “The Unknown Battle.” A short circuit the next morning in the curtain rigging led to a fire that destroyed the building and led to its razing. In one of the more amazing stories, the projectionist saved both of the prints before the first got out of hand - worried that they would explode and stoke the flames. They would be carried to the Bluffs theatre with normal presentations that night through Wednesday. That’s effort!
Bigger’s Twin Acres Drive-In Theatre launched October 17, 1948 with Danny Kaye in “The Kid From Brooklyn” (ad in photos). “Twin Acres” was dropped after the first season.
The Hiway Theatre Drive-In launched likely on this parcel or very close by on May 22, 1949 with “Julia Misbehaves.” It opened for another season on April 9, 1950 but was partially destroyed by a wind storm on June 8, 1950. The owner had no insurance and likely did not reopen.
The Mitchell Drive-In Theatre then launched here on April 9, 1955 with Robert Mitchum in “Blood on the Moon” followed by a formal opening on April 29, 1955.
The Oto Theatre launched for Midwest Amusement Circuit on November 26, 1936 with Doris Nolan in “The Man I Marry.” Commonwealth closed the venue in 1962.
The Pineview Drive-In launched May 19, 1955 with Gary Cooper in “Garden of Evil.“ Owner Dave Cole was open through 1997 but a wind storm ripped off part of the screen and - because of the expense of repairs - he did not reopen in 1998.
The Alamo Drafthouse Denton resumed operations on September 10, 2021 after an extended COVID-19 pandemic hiatus. The theatre had closed along with the rest of the locations on March 16, 2020. It briefly reopened in August of 2020 before closing for a year during the pandemic.
The Elite appears to have opened on June 16, 1911 with movies. The theatre switched to talkies and played “The Jazz Singer” on June 16, 1930. James W.Crouch sold the Elite Theatre to Fred Jungclaus taking ownership following the February 28, 1930 shows. Jungclaus renamed the venue as the Riviera Theatre beginning March 2, 1930 with Bebe Daniels in “Rio Rita.”
Though the Riviera was active into the 1960s, regular operation ceased following the September 15, 1954 showing of “Francis Joins the Wacs.” Chamber of Commerce, special interest commercial and public service screenings and holiday films appeared into at least 1966 at the Riviera.
The Ponca was closed July 31, 1954 by owner Glenn Hiatt. A new operator was identified in 1955 planning to reopen the theatre but appears to have not done so.
The Studio Movie Grill - Prosperity Village closed March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic after just three months of operation. The theatre had stated intent to reopen but, in bankruptcy court documents released in 2021, the circuit made the closure permanent on August 29, 2021 when the lease could not be renegotiated and was terminated.
A 1953 article says that the theatre had three different towers within its opening month. The first blew down in a major storm just hours after its grand opening on July 1st. The second screen was being installed when it was destroyed by a second storm. The third tower was installed in time for the Center’s grand reopening on July 12, 1953 - marking three screens for two nights of operation. Something of a record for a one-screen drive-in.
H.T. Hayes launched the 425-seat Rivoli on May 3, 1920 with Doris May in “23 ½ Hours' Leave.” On May. 7, 1929, the theatre began showing talkies on June 7, 1929 with a Gus Van and Joe Schenck short and a partial talkie.
Owned and operated by the Wisehart family since 1979, the theatre was twinned with Theatre One holding 231 patrons and Theatre Two with 70 seats for 301 total capacity. It celebrated its 100th anniversary with a short parade. It was still going in the 2020s.
The U.S.A. Theatre launched August 11, 1917 with William Night in “The Blue Streak” supported by Billie Ritchie in “The House of Terrible Scandals.” The improved theatre had a grand reopening on February 8, 1919 by Noah G. Brewer. The opening film was Dorothy Phillips in “Heart of Humanity” supported by Professor Manby on the Wurlitzer pipe organ. Fox Circuit took over the venue briefly as the Fox U.S.A. Theatre. The Fox U.S.A. closed on November 15, 1929 and relaunched on Thanksgiving now with Western Electric Sound and under the Fox Theatre nameplate.
The Fox received a major streamline moderne makeover reopening on June 7, 1940 with a Grand Reopening and Wallace Beery in “Twenty Mule Team.” The Fox closed October 15, 1951 with Hedy Lamarr in “Samson and Delilah.” The next night the New Fox Theatre opened and it has its own CinemaTreasure entry.