Frank T. Montgomery opened here as Montgomery’s Majestic Theater on March 4, 1912 with the Edison film, “Children Who Labor” and other selected shorts accompanied by an orchestra. Montgomery operated theatres in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. Montgomery left the Dayton location in 1915 with the Majestic going to William Rudolph. He departed in 1916 and new operator H.H. Bradbury took on the venue. The Majestic was next sold to two new operators who closed the venue for a refresh and name change at the end of August 1919.
Manager John Seifert of the Ideal decided to remove the Majestic’s “dated” Egyptian theme - of course, it was dated on purpose - which was “painted over” on the theater’s exterior and interior. The old Rialto at Richard and St. Paul closed. The New Rialto Theatre launched on October 4, 1919 with J. Warren Kerrigan in “A White Man’s Chance” and supported by “Dangerous Dan McGraw.” The Rialto later converted to sound to stay relevant.
The Rialto Theatre closed in February of 1955 and it looked like for the final time. It was operating as a sub-run double feature house but when the Columbia Theatre a block a way announced its closure in May of 1955 followed by demolition, the Rialto was reopened. As the city’s longest running movie theater built for film, the news was received well. The Rialto continued with a double feature grind policy all the way to October 1967.
Under a new operator, it had a brief run beginning in December of 1967 as the Rialto Adult Theatre. But the City of Dayton wasn’t thrilled with its operation and it was closed on May 26, 1968. The city closed down the Rialto as part of urban renewal; it was razed six months later.
The Columbia Theatre was built in 1913 launching December 6, 1913 with Helen Gardner as “The Princess of Bagdad” with music from the Wurlitzer Motion Picture Orchestra organ. It was just a block away from the Rialto Theatre which had opened in 1912. The Columbia was the deluxe first-run house at the time. Both theaters converted to sound to stay relevant.
The Columbia outlasted the neighboring Rialto Theatre which closed in February of 1955 and it looked like for the final time. But when the Columbia announced its closure in May of 1955 followed by demolition for a parking lot, the Rialto was reopened and it would well outlive the superior Columbia surviving more than 12 years.
Grand Opening of the Salem Theatre on February 16, 1928 with Bebe Daniels in “She’s a Sheik” with Johanna Grosse at the mighty Wurlitzer organ supported by a Pathé newsreel. H&K Cinema Enterprises took on the venue in January of 1964. It dropped it a year later and the venue continued independently until December 19, 1965 closing with José Ferrer in “Ship of Fools.”
Gebhart’s Opera House launched as a replacement to the burned Turner Opera House on March 12, 1877. In 1889, the theatre received a major refresh and renamed the Park Theatre. It’s where many Daytonians saw their first moving picture. The Park seemed dated and was closed in December of 1906. New operators Hurtig and Seamon Circuit gave the building a shocking $170,000 makeover kicking out the tenants to create a more spectacular venue. The Lyric launched September 2, 1907, as noted, with live vaudeville.
The Lyric added motion pictures to have shows featuring both live and filmed content. It converted to sound to stay current. The Lyric closed as a movie plus vaudeville venue on May 28, 1933. Homer V. Guy of the Columbia Theatre took on the location changing it to full time, sub-run double feature discount house called the Mayfair Theatre in June of 1933.
The Mayfair made a major change beginning on Spetember 9, 1939 when the Hirst Burlesque Circuit brought full-time burlesque to the stage in Dayton for the first time since 1934. Hirst had operations in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Detroit. It was said to be the last true burly circuit sending out full-fledged 16-female performer shows.
The building was purchased in 1944 and received a new 25-year lease. The burly shows would be augmented by adult films as the porno chic era became fashionable. The Mayfair ended operation on December 1, 1968 with Cindy Embers in “The Case of the Stripping Wives” and Morganna live on stage. What a farewell show in Dayton. In January of 1969, the “Mayfair Lady” (actual name, Goddess of Liberty) - the 12' high, 500 pound 90-year old zinc statue that had been atop of the structure since the opera house unveiled her on July 4, 1879 - was removed and - despite the theater’s fire in January of 1969, hail, floods, high winds - was in excellent condition on her way to the Dayton Art Institute. That is, minus the wreath held in her left hand that went missing some 87 years earlier.
The RKO Colonial Theatre closed on January 30, 1965 with a double feature of “Walls of Hell” and “Blood Creature.” A salvage sale was held which included the stone goddesses at just $200 per goddess. A bargain.
The Royal 5¢ Theater opened on May 3, 1911. It became the Royal Feature Theater so that it could charge a dime at prime times. It closed February 24, 1923 and had an equipment sale the next day. It was converted to a retail store.
In its final year of operation, the Palace was busy with simulcast boxing, movies and live stage presentations including concerts that included acts such as Kiss, Queen and Barry Manilow. The theater went out in style with a vaudeville burlesque show on September 28, 1975. A salvage sale accompanied its demolition in October and November of 1975.
The Marro Theatre was at this address as a small theater. But when Ed Banker took on the venue in 1912, he decided to build an all new theater which opened as the Mirror Theatre in 1913. The Mirror closed as a silent house on January 27, 1929 with “Oh, Where is My Wandering Boy Tonight?” likely at end of lease. It appears to have been converted to a supermarket.
The “new” Grand Theatre launched here on November 26, 1906. The Grand under new operators became the Jewel Theater on November 26, 1908. Ben Wheeler took on the Jewel which was destroyed by a fire as a result of the flood making March 20, 1913 its last day of operation.
The Miller’s Grove Drive-In opened June 11, 1949 with a soft launch showing Ann Sothern and Jack Carson in “April Showers” and supported by a cartoon, newsreel and the short, “So You Want to Hold Your Wife” starring George O'Hanlon. The ozoner then went with its big splash in a full-fledged Grand Opening with Humphrey Bogart in “The Treasure of Sierra Madre” on June 24, 1949 where you could go for a swim and then enjoy a movie on the 56' x 56' screen.
22-year old Theodore C. Chifos launched the Apollo Theatre on February 28, 1914 with the film, “The Conspiracy” starring John Emerson. Its motto was “Pleasing pictures properly presented.” The Apollo converted to Western Electric sound on April 19, 1931 along with the Columbia Theatre. The Apollo closed likely due to its owner Henry Burkhardt’s passing on December 19, 1935 with, “We’re in the Money.” Herbert Byrd relaunched there as the Little Playhouse opening it as a 356-seat art house on January 11, 1936 with Douglas Fairbanks in “Mimi.” It was also going to have live plays in the mix. The Little Playhouse then closed with “Dodge City” on June 9, 1940. A salvage sale by the Cleveland Wrecking Company starting three days later.
Became the Regal Theatre on December 30, 1940 with a formal Grand Opening launch by operator Floyd Williamson in January of 1941. Went out of business in 1966.
(Typo by the trade press of the day. Eagle eye’s will spot the “Majestic Theatre” sign just beyond the Montgomery’s banner on the pole at right. The Dayton was elsewhere in downtown.)
The Corazon Cinema & Cafe closed temporarily on March 20, 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened May 22, 2020. Unfortunately, the venue was closed permanently on January 28, 2021.
The Palace opened Christmas Day with a live stage show plus a film, “Alias the Deacon,” on Christmas Day 1927. It converted to sound to stay relevant and added live events to become the leading entertainment venue for African American audiences ahead of the Classic Theatre. The Palace completed its film run at the end of its thirty-year lease on December 19, 1957 with “The Scarlet Hour” and “Goodbye, My Lady.” In the 1960s, it held sporadic screenings and speeches until being sold in 1965 to convert the upper floors to apartments and create a live music venue space that failed to open. It did relaunch as a live sports venue for boxing in 1967.
In 1973, William “Wally” Ahmed Sababu took on the venue for religious services under the moniker of the Ghetto Palace. The venue’s “Palace” moniker had been usurped by the former Loew’s Theatre turned concert hall called the Palace Theatre in downtown Dayton. (That is where Queen and Kiss played rock concerts… not here.) A fire in early August of 1975 ended the Ghetto Palace’s run there and it moved two times thereafter. Many efforts were made to save the legendary African American theater which was vacant from 1975 to 2002. Despite its historical designation, the Palace was razed in 2002 just as its contemporary, the Classic Theatre, had been in 1991 ending Dayton’s vibrant legacy of African American cinema and live entertainment venues.
When Albertson’s grocery chain closed the majority of its locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, it was theater-goers who benefited as two closed Albertson’s were transformed into cinemas. The Studio Movie Grill: Royal in Dallas was the first and this location, the Venetian Movie Bar & Grill, was the second. The quirky theatre was a nice rebirth of movie going in Carrollton which once had multiple, multi-screen operations but had been left theatre-less for ten years since 2002.
The Venetian launched on September 4, 2012 and it initally drew on weekends but aged quickly with theatre chairs not up to the task. Further, off-putting elements including not having features on the phone, a subpar location sandwiched within a nondescript shopping strip, and a website that was often down would quickly catch-up to the indy theater. It closed for a brief period.
Ciné America came in to operate the theatre to prevent a death spiral. A changed menu with higher prices rankled what was left of its core patrons. C-A was likely considering transforming it to a Hispanic-based operation as it operated the theatre in Fort Worth’s La Gran Plaza. The circuit gave independent films and four-wallers a shot in the Venetian’s final days giving DFW-area exclusive presentations of a handful of features. But on May 8, 2016 – shy of its fourth anniversary – the theatre was mercifully closed.
But a new operator was identified hoping to reverse the fortunes. Andrew Thomas' second location of a Wellborne Spotlight Cinema and Grill (Alvin, TX being the other) came in to operate as of the July 4th weekend, 2016 with a soft launch of repertory/recent films and its full launch with new films on July 8, 2016. After trying Groupon incentives to get more foot traffic, the location closed after four months.
In April of 2017, it reopened as a Bollywood venue known as the Venetian Cinemas with occasional American movie hits. Final operators, the Fun Movie Grill added the Carrollton location to its Richardson and shared-lease location with Regal Cinemas in Irving. It relaunched as the Fun Movie Grill Carrollton on September 19, 2018 with a launch party. Fun would then take over the entire Macarthur Marketplace when Regal left in May/June of 2019.
The Fun locations all closed after screenings on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic along with many other theaters. Fun Carrollton was one of the first four hardtop theatres to relaunch in the DFW area on May 15, 2020 along with its Fun Macarthur Marketplace Irving, iPic Fairview and America Cinemas in Fort Worth. The Fun Carrollton closed again October 31, 2020 temporarily but then was announced as a permanent closure in January of 2021. With five operators in less than ten years of business, the location did not appear to be a fun venture.
The Mecca theater opened on August 26, 1914 with “The Oubliette” featuring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush. It was equipped with a Seeburg Motion Picture Player. The Mecca closed July 27, 1952 with a double feature of “Silver City” with Yvonne de Carlo and Lana Turner in “Mr.Imperium.” The building was sold becoming the Club Blue Angel nighT club for one year in 1953. It ceased operations and was taken on by the Good Samaritan Church in 1954.it was said to be vacant during a 1955 fire that damaged the building and became a car dealer lot.
The Wesda Theatre was a Post-War neighborhood venue completed in September of 1946 with a delayed opening due to lack of seats due to a manufacturing strike. The 476 seats finally arrived and launched with a pay-what-you-can show on January 30, 1947 by Harry Good and Raymond Unger. All proceeds went to the March of Dimes Polio Fund. Their opening film of “Three Little Girls in Blue” with June Haver. Good and Unger closed the Theatre and Fred Krimm ran it on a sublease. Good and Unger returned to the struggling Wesda venue closing it on January 3, 1954 with “Destination Gobi” supported by a Bowery Boys second feature. The operators converted the space to a shoe store.
The Wayne Theatre launched April 18, 1921 with “Scarmbled Wives” and a note from its stars, Marugerite Clark and Norman and Constance Talmadge. It also had a Fotoplayer Orchestral Organ at the launch.
George Gardner of Cinema Twenty launched what was to be the first of several Jerry Lewis Cinema locations in southern Ohio. It opened at the Imperial Shopping Center with its first film of “Airport” on September 13 1972. “The Poseidon Adventure” was the longest running film during the short run under the Jerry Lewis moniker. With the Jerry Lewis circuit going bankrupt and then defunct, the name was changed to the Huber Heights Cinema beginning May 10, 1974.
Randolph H. Haun took on the venue in February of 1976 running it as a family discount house closing it and the County Square Cinema in October of 1978. Carolee Austin took on the venue on November 3, 1978 as the Flicker Palace with “Hooper.” It ended on October 26, 1995 at end of lease with “Apollo 13.” It relaunched as the Huber Heights Movie Palace with a second run policy and “Independence Day” on October 18, 1996. It closed February 1, 2001 with “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
The Far Hills Theatre launched in 1937. It closed at the end of lease and was taken on by Jewel Theatre Circuit of Brooklyn which became a lightning rod of controversy in the conservative city. In 1958, it showed Brigitte Bardot films which weren’t well received in the neighborhood. In October of 1960, obscenity charges were brought against the theatre. Six films led to raids in 1961. All of the charges were dropped by the Ohio Supreme Court. That was followed by six weeks of “and God Created Women” with bomb scares that led to the theatre’s policy change in 1963 to less risqué fare.
Under new operators, Sanval Corporation of New York, the theatre rebranded as Cinema South on February 15, 1964 with John Wayne in “McLintock.” But the film it became known for was “Billy Jack.” So popular was “Billy Jack” at Cinema East that it played over a year. During its 60-week run, star Tom Laughlin and his wife, actress Dolores Taylor, made a personal appearance.
For old time’s sake, Bob Mills got the theatre in trouble again in 1975 with the X-rated “Last Tango in Paris.” But, again, the theatre won its court challenge. Mills closed Cinema South on February 18, 1979 with “Pardon Mon Affaire.” Chakeres Theatre Circuit then took on the venue reopening it with “Meteor” on October 18, 1979. It closed at the end of lease on Deptember 30, 1984 with “Never Ending Story.” But the story did end in December of 1984 when the theatre was razed.
Frank T. Montgomery opened here as Montgomery’s Majestic Theater on March 4, 1912 with the Edison film, “Children Who Labor” and other selected shorts accompanied by an orchestra. Montgomery operated theatres in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. Montgomery left the Dayton location in 1915 with the Majestic going to William Rudolph. He departed in 1916 and new operator H.H. Bradbury took on the venue. The Majestic was next sold to two new operators who closed the venue for a refresh and name change at the end of August 1919.
Manager John Seifert of the Ideal decided to remove the Majestic’s “dated” Egyptian theme - of course, it was dated on purpose - which was “painted over” on the theater’s exterior and interior. The old Rialto at Richard and St. Paul closed. The New Rialto Theatre launched on October 4, 1919 with J. Warren Kerrigan in “A White Man’s Chance” and supported by “Dangerous Dan McGraw.” The Rialto later converted to sound to stay relevant.
The Rialto Theatre closed in February of 1955 and it looked like for the final time. It was operating as a sub-run double feature house but when the Columbia Theatre a block a way announced its closure in May of 1955 followed by demolition, the Rialto was reopened. As the city’s longest running movie theater built for film, the news was received well. The Rialto continued with a double feature grind policy all the way to October 1967.
Under a new operator, it had a brief run beginning in December of 1967 as the Rialto Adult Theatre. But the City of Dayton wasn’t thrilled with its operation and it was closed on May 26, 1968. The city closed down the Rialto as part of urban renewal; it was razed six months later.
The Columbia Theatre was built in 1913 launching December 6, 1913 with Helen Gardner as “The Princess of Bagdad” with music from the Wurlitzer Motion Picture Orchestra organ. It was just a block away from the Rialto Theatre which had opened in 1912. The Columbia was the deluxe first-run house at the time. Both theaters converted to sound to stay relevant.
The Columbia outlasted the neighboring Rialto Theatre which closed in February of 1955 and it looked like for the final time. But when the Columbia announced its closure in May of 1955 followed by demolition for a parking lot, the Rialto was reopened and it would well outlive the superior Columbia surviving more than 12 years.
Grand Opening of the Salem Theatre on February 16, 1928 with Bebe Daniels in “She’s a Sheik” with Johanna Grosse at the mighty Wurlitzer organ supported by a Pathé newsreel. H&K Cinema Enterprises took on the venue in January of 1964. It dropped it a year later and the venue continued independently until December 19, 1965 closing with José Ferrer in “Ship of Fools.”
The Orpheum launched June 24, 1913 with “The Rajahs” and “A Living Tomb.”
Gebhart’s Opera House launched as a replacement to the burned Turner Opera House on March 12, 1877. In 1889, the theatre received a major refresh and renamed the Park Theatre. It’s where many Daytonians saw their first moving picture. The Park seemed dated and was closed in December of 1906. New operators Hurtig and Seamon Circuit gave the building a shocking $170,000 makeover kicking out the tenants to create a more spectacular venue. The Lyric launched September 2, 1907, as noted, with live vaudeville.
The Lyric added motion pictures to have shows featuring both live and filmed content. It converted to sound to stay current. The Lyric closed as a movie plus vaudeville venue on May 28, 1933. Homer V. Guy of the Columbia Theatre took on the location changing it to full time, sub-run double feature discount house called the Mayfair Theatre in June of 1933.
The Mayfair made a major change beginning on Spetember 9, 1939 when the Hirst Burlesque Circuit brought full-time burlesque to the stage in Dayton for the first time since 1934. Hirst had operations in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Detroit. It was said to be the last true burly circuit sending out full-fledged 16-female performer shows.
The building was purchased in 1944 and received a new 25-year lease. The burly shows would be augmented by adult films as the porno chic era became fashionable. The Mayfair ended operation on December 1, 1968 with Cindy Embers in “The Case of the Stripping Wives” and Morganna live on stage. What a farewell show in Dayton. In January of 1969, the “Mayfair Lady” (actual name, Goddess of Liberty) - the 12' high, 500 pound 90-year old zinc statue that had been atop of the structure since the opera house unveiled her on July 4, 1879 - was removed and - despite the theater’s fire in January of 1969, hail, floods, high winds - was in excellent condition on her way to the Dayton Art Institute. That is, minus the wreath held in her left hand that went missing some 87 years earlier.
The RKO Colonial Theatre closed on January 30, 1965 with a double feature of “Walls of Hell” and “Blood Creature.” A salvage sale was held which included the stone goddesses at just $200 per goddess. A bargain.
The Royal 5¢ Theater opened on May 3, 1911. It became the Royal Feature Theater so that it could charge a dime at prime times. It closed February 24, 1923 and had an equipment sale the next day. It was converted to a retail store.
In its final year of operation, the Palace was busy with simulcast boxing, movies and live stage presentations including concerts that included acts such as Kiss, Queen and Barry Manilow. The theater went out in style with a vaudeville burlesque show on September 28, 1975. A salvage sale accompanied its demolition in October and November of 1975.
J.D Hill closed the Ideal on August 18, 1945 with a double feature that included a western - something it had done for Hill’s 13 years of programming.
The Marro Theatre was at this address as a small theater. But when Ed Banker took on the venue in 1912, he decided to build an all new theater which opened as the Mirror Theatre in 1913. The Mirror closed as a silent house on January 27, 1929 with “Oh, Where is My Wandering Boy Tonight?” likely at end of lease. It appears to have been converted to a supermarket.
The “new” Grand Theatre launched here on November 26, 1906. The Grand under new operators became the Jewel Theater on November 26, 1908. Ben Wheeler took on the Jewel which was destroyed by a fire as a result of the flood making March 20, 1913 its last day of operation.
The Miller’s Grove Drive-In opened June 11, 1949 with a soft launch showing Ann Sothern and Jack Carson in “April Showers” and supported by a cartoon, newsreel and the short, “So You Want to Hold Your Wife” starring George O'Hanlon. The ozoner then went with its big splash in a full-fledged Grand Opening with Humphrey Bogart in “The Treasure of Sierra Madre” on June 24, 1949 where you could go for a swim and then enjoy a movie on the 56' x 56' screen.
22-year old Theodore C. Chifos launched the Apollo Theatre on February 28, 1914 with the film, “The Conspiracy” starring John Emerson. Its motto was “Pleasing pictures properly presented.” The Apollo converted to Western Electric sound on April 19, 1931 along with the Columbia Theatre. The Apollo closed likely due to its owner Henry Burkhardt’s passing on December 19, 1935 with, “We’re in the Money.” Herbert Byrd relaunched there as the Little Playhouse opening it as a 356-seat art house on January 11, 1936 with Douglas Fairbanks in “Mimi.” It was also going to have live plays in the mix. The Little Playhouse then closed with “Dodge City” on June 9, 1940. A salvage sale by the Cleveland Wrecking Company starting three days later.
Became the Regal Theatre on December 30, 1940 with a formal Grand Opening launch by operator Floyd Williamson in January of 1941. Went out of business in 1966.
(Typo by the trade press of the day. Eagle eye’s will spot the “Majestic Theatre” sign just beyond the Montgomery’s banner on the pole at right. The Dayton was elsewhere in downtown.)
The Corazon Cinema & Cafe closed temporarily on March 20, 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened May 22, 2020. Unfortunately, the venue was closed permanently on January 28, 2021.
The Palace opened Christmas Day with a live stage show plus a film, “Alias the Deacon,” on Christmas Day 1927. It converted to sound to stay relevant and added live events to become the leading entertainment venue for African American audiences ahead of the Classic Theatre. The Palace completed its film run at the end of its thirty-year lease on December 19, 1957 with “The Scarlet Hour” and “Goodbye, My Lady.” In the 1960s, it held sporadic screenings and speeches until being sold in 1965 to convert the upper floors to apartments and create a live music venue space that failed to open. It did relaunch as a live sports venue for boxing in 1967.
In 1973, William “Wally” Ahmed Sababu took on the venue for religious services under the moniker of the Ghetto Palace. The venue’s “Palace” moniker had been usurped by the former Loew’s Theatre turned concert hall called the Palace Theatre in downtown Dayton. (That is where Queen and Kiss played rock concerts… not here.) A fire in early August of 1975 ended the Ghetto Palace’s run there and it moved two times thereafter. Many efforts were made to save the legendary African American theater which was vacant from 1975 to 2002. Despite its historical designation, the Palace was razed in 2002 just as its contemporary, the Classic Theatre, had been in 1991 ending Dayton’s vibrant legacy of African American cinema and live entertainment venues.
When Albertson’s grocery chain closed the majority of its locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, it was theater-goers who benefited as two closed Albertson’s were transformed into cinemas. The Studio Movie Grill: Royal in Dallas was the first and this location, the Venetian Movie Bar & Grill, was the second. The quirky theatre was a nice rebirth of movie going in Carrollton which once had multiple, multi-screen operations but had been left theatre-less for ten years since 2002.
The Venetian launched on September 4, 2012 and it initally drew on weekends but aged quickly with theatre chairs not up to the task. Further, off-putting elements including not having features on the phone, a subpar location sandwiched within a nondescript shopping strip, and a website that was often down would quickly catch-up to the indy theater. It closed for a brief period.
Ciné America came in to operate the theatre to prevent a death spiral. A changed menu with higher prices rankled what was left of its core patrons. C-A was likely considering transforming it to a Hispanic-based operation as it operated the theatre in Fort Worth’s La Gran Plaza. The circuit gave independent films and four-wallers a shot in the Venetian’s final days giving DFW-area exclusive presentations of a handful of features. But on May 8, 2016 – shy of its fourth anniversary – the theatre was mercifully closed.
But a new operator was identified hoping to reverse the fortunes. Andrew Thomas' second location of a Wellborne Spotlight Cinema and Grill (Alvin, TX being the other) came in to operate as of the July 4th weekend, 2016 with a soft launch of repertory/recent films and its full launch with new films on July 8, 2016. After trying Groupon incentives to get more foot traffic, the location closed after four months.
In April of 2017, it reopened as a Bollywood venue known as the Venetian Cinemas with occasional American movie hits. Final operators, the Fun Movie Grill added the Carrollton location to its Richardson and shared-lease location with Regal Cinemas in Irving. It relaunched as the Fun Movie Grill Carrollton on September 19, 2018 with a launch party. Fun would then take over the entire Macarthur Marketplace when Regal left in May/June of 2019.
The Fun locations all closed after screenings on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic along with many other theaters. Fun Carrollton was one of the first four hardtop theatres to relaunch in the DFW area on May 15, 2020 along with its Fun Macarthur Marketplace Irving, iPic Fairview and America Cinemas in Fort Worth. The Fun Carrollton closed again October 31, 2020 temporarily but then was announced as a permanent closure in January of 2021. With five operators in less than ten years of business, the location did not appear to be a fun venture.
The Mecca theater opened on August 26, 1914 with “The Oubliette” featuring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush. It was equipped with a Seeburg Motion Picture Player. The Mecca closed July 27, 1952 with a double feature of “Silver City” with Yvonne de Carlo and Lana Turner in “Mr.Imperium.” The building was sold becoming the Club Blue Angel nighT club for one year in 1953. It ceased operations and was taken on by the Good Samaritan Church in 1954.it was said to be vacant during a 1955 fire that damaged the building and became a car dealer lot.
The Wesda Theatre was a Post-War neighborhood venue completed in September of 1946 with a delayed opening due to lack of seats due to a manufacturing strike. The 476 seats finally arrived and launched with a pay-what-you-can show on January 30, 1947 by Harry Good and Raymond Unger. All proceeds went to the March of Dimes Polio Fund. Their opening film of “Three Little Girls in Blue” with June Haver. Good and Unger closed the Theatre and Fred Krimm ran it on a sublease. Good and Unger returned to the struggling Wesda venue closing it on January 3, 1954 with “Destination Gobi” supported by a Bowery Boys second feature. The operators converted the space to a shoe store.
The Wayne Theatre launched April 18, 1921 with “Scarmbled Wives” and a note from its stars, Marugerite Clark and Norman and Constance Talmadge. It also had a Fotoplayer Orchestral Organ at the launch.
George Gardner of Cinema Twenty launched what was to be the first of several Jerry Lewis Cinema locations in southern Ohio. It opened at the Imperial Shopping Center with its first film of “Airport” on September 13 1972. “The Poseidon Adventure” was the longest running film during the short run under the Jerry Lewis moniker. With the Jerry Lewis circuit going bankrupt and then defunct, the name was changed to the Huber Heights Cinema beginning May 10, 1974.
Randolph H. Haun took on the venue in February of 1976 running it as a family discount house closing it and the County Square Cinema in October of 1978. Carolee Austin took on the venue on November 3, 1978 as the Flicker Palace with “Hooper.” It ended on October 26, 1995 at end of lease with “Apollo 13.” It relaunched as the Huber Heights Movie Palace with a second run policy and “Independence Day” on October 18, 1996. It closed February 1, 2001 with “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
The Far Hills Theatre launched in 1937. It closed at the end of lease and was taken on by Jewel Theatre Circuit of Brooklyn which became a lightning rod of controversy in the conservative city. In 1958, it showed Brigitte Bardot films which weren’t well received in the neighborhood. In October of 1960, obscenity charges were brought against the theatre. Six films led to raids in 1961. All of the charges were dropped by the Ohio Supreme Court. That was followed by six weeks of “and God Created Women” with bomb scares that led to the theatre’s policy change in 1963 to less risqué fare.
Under new operators, Sanval Corporation of New York, the theatre rebranded as Cinema South on February 15, 1964 with John Wayne in “McLintock.” But the film it became known for was “Billy Jack.” So popular was “Billy Jack” at Cinema East that it played over a year. During its 60-week run, star Tom Laughlin and his wife, actress Dolores Taylor, made a personal appearance.
For old time’s sake, Bob Mills got the theatre in trouble again in 1975 with the X-rated “Last Tango in Paris.” But, again, the theatre won its court challenge. Mills closed Cinema South on February 18, 1979 with “Pardon Mon Affaire.” Chakeres Theatre Circuit then took on the venue reopening it with “Meteor” on October 18, 1979. It closed at the end of lease on Deptember 30, 1984 with “Never Ending Story.” But the story did end in December of 1984 when the theatre was razed.
The Eastwood opened in November of 1916. It closed in 1934 and after unsuccessfully listing it for sale, it was auctioned off in 1937.
The Da-Bel closed September 29, 1992 with “Honey, I Blew Up the Kids.” It was razed one week later.