In 1916, P.G. Armbus purchased the Pastime Theatre from L.J. Cross. Dissatisfied with the Pastime, he began development as the proposed Queen Theatre. It launched as Theatre Royal (after a soft launch with a movie serial) with a live play, “In the Shadow of the Cross” on September 18, 1916 but continued thereafter as a movie theater, the Royal Theatre. Earl Kipp of the competing Gayety Theatre took on the Pastime. The Gayety was closed shortly thereafter followed by the Pastime. Professor Charles L. Henning took over the Royal organist duties thanks to his knowledge of the Wurlitzer and improvisational skills in 1919.
Burr B. “B.B.” and Clara Grove took on the venue relaunching it as the Grove Theatre on April 17, 1932 with George Arliss in “Millionaire.” The theatre’s business dwindled in the TV age dropping to Saturday/Sunday operation in 1957. It closed on December 19, 1957 due to “the continued complete absence of adult attendance.” On October 13, 1962, new operators took on the Grove for one more show with “The Fisherman” at the relaunch with Jim Langford managing for the Commonwealth Circuit. It closed not long thereafter. The building became a shoe store.
The Muse opened November 21. 1923 as a 375-seat theatre by L.J. Cross & Son (Roy) with Colleen Moore in “The Ninety and Nine” at 1531 10th Street. An early problem found Roy Cross admonishing patrons for reading the title cards too loud during screenings. Earnest Holcomb took on the theatre in 1929 deciding not to convert to sound and operating with a heavy mix of live plays until 1931.
George W. Luce took on the venue equipping it with sound and a new deco front. Luce renamed it as the Riviera Theatre on July 5, 1931 with Dorothy Mackaill in “Once a Sinner.” In May of 1933, B.B. & Clara Grove took over the Riviera after foreclosure proceedings citing lack of rent. On October 16, 1937, W.H. Ostenberg took on the Riviera and Grove Theatre after B.B. Grove’s death but Clara Grove stayed on as manager. The Riviera closed in 1942.
After the War, Midwest Amusement Company and W.H. Ostenberg III took on the Riviera on December 25, 1948 renaming it the Valley Theatre after a refresh that included a new front and reduced seating count. LeVern DeBolt changed the policy to Spanish films on Thursday with Friday-Sunday English language films. After that went out of business, Myrl D. Cross leased the theatre in 1959 to the Platte Valley Community Theatre. The building was auctioned in 1963 becoming the Eagles Fraternal Lodge. That building was acquired by the city in 1989 and demolished. In its place was the city’s Gering-Municipal and Retail Complex (G-MARC) that was still in use in the 2020s.
The Pace Theatre opened replacing the Empress Theatre on September 7, 1930 by Mr. and Mrs. James W. Pace. It opened with Will Rogers in “So This is London” supported by a two-reel comedy and newsreel. Clyde Pace managed the venue while his brother, Archie, worked at Chadron’s Pace Theatre.
Black Hills Amusement took on the venue when Pace retired on January 1, 1935. On January 31, 1940, a fire occurred gutting the interior leading to the New Pace. It relaunched on July 12, 1940 with Bob Hope in “The Ghost Breakers.” Just shy of its 30th/40th Anniversary, an April 9, 1970 fire once again gutted the venue. The Pace, therefore, ended with the April 8, 1970 screening on “The Savage Wild.” The building was then demolished.
The Wall Theatre closed February 26, 1936 with a Monogram double-feature of “King Kelly of the U.S.A.” and “Great God Gold.” It did have a religious screening, some agricultural screenings and several free holiday screenings thereafter, however.
The Fremont Drive-In Theatre went out with a bang with July 4, 1988 showings of “Beetlejuice” and “Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach” with a fireworks display between the two shows. Attendance was dwindling due to the popularity of VHS home video and the operator decided to let the 40-year lease lapse.
The Fremont closed June 25, 1975 at end of lease with “What’s Up, Doc?” The theatre had free Christmas screenings and a religious screening before being taken over in 1976 becoming the short-lived Jim Rhodus' Fremont Theatre Restaurant and Lounge. After that failed, it became the Family Fun Center in 1980. The theatre was demolished in February of 1992.
The Vista was announced in February of 1925 at the vacant lot at 2611-2619 Independence last used for a summer carnival. The new Vista opened August 14, 1925 with “The Boomerang” supported by a comedy short and live music of the Sweeney Radio Orchestra. The Spanish architectural plan was drawn by Victor J. DeFoe.
The Roanoke Theater opened January 26, 1913 with “The Little Minister.” After a refresh, it relaunched as the Spillane Theater with Douglas Fairbanks in “Flirting with Fate” and Charlie Chaplin’ in “The Champion” on September 7, 1918. On September 4, 1921, it reverted to the Roanoke moniker. The theater was wired die sound to stay relevant. As Teatro de Tampico, the venue closed with Fernando Fernandez in “Frontera Norte” on May 12, 1955. It then was offered for sale and became a financial agency.
The Summit Theater reopened beginning May 18, 1956 playing Spanish language films by Joseph R. Duran. After closing again, it would become an antique store. In 2006, the theatre was restored and reopened for special events before being converted to condos.
The Empress facts are well documented but sadly not on this site. Just to clear up the key factual errors, the building was not converted to retail or was it demolished in 1956. It began as the primary “A” vaudeville theater in the city with a prestigious 99-year lease. Kinodrome motion picture shorts were featured at the outset with a projection booth from the beginning. But when the Globe opened a year later on August 27, 1911, it would get the “A” vaudeville bookings… but not before Charlie Chaplin wowed crowds with his pantomime act on the Empress stage in week-long runs in December of 1911 and June of 1912.
From there, things get fairly predictable as better theaters are built, the Empress slips rung by rung. Its 99-year prestige lease is renegotiated to fit a more common 30-year leasing cycles with low-priced front-end six-month and one-year financial incentives designed to fill the house quickly at each vacancy. That leasing pattern attracted lesser live plays, third-tier vaudeville and burlesque starting with the upper tier Mutual Burlesque. Then the burlesque became more tawdry with better burlesque moving to better venues. As a burley house, the Empress became a place where arrests and shake downs became common. If nothing else, it got the venue in the newspaper headlines.
True that in 1936, a scheduled 40-week vaudeville run shuttered after just 12 weeks. But things devolved further as the building was then equipped for the first time with sound film gear and became an exploitation film theater with adult-only films. Programmed by Richlynn Amusements, movies began on August 14, 1937 with continuous showings of the silent syphilis film “Damaged Goods” supported by the notorious sound documentary, “Killers of the Sea.” Things devolved further when the flagging theater went full grind house mode adding live African American burley shows in which stage help was recruited with classified ads requiring no previous stage experience (and no union card needed there, obviously). Shows began before noon and ran past midnight.
Union issues and censor board matters hounded the Richlynn’s short existence at the Empress. When the Royal was told not to run the film, “Ecstasy,” the Empress used its biggest ads yet to trumpet the film’s opening in February of 1938. The much needed scrutiny by the city and press did drum up clientele. The lightning rod film, “Baby is Born” was the next major hurdle as the city manager said the Empress could only show the more acceptable, “Birth of a Baby.” Richlynn moved on at the end of a one-year lease in August of 1938 wringing ever last quarter it could from the then-faded location.
The Empress’ reworked 30-year lease was up in 1940 and the building was razed by the Bonded Building Wreckers Inc. after it had a salvage sale. Even the sale seemed tawdry with blue, green and white marble offered cheap, glass beveled doors at ten bucks a throw, and brass railing at 20 cents a foot. The press even followed some pieces such as the theater’s ornate box office to its new location as the Empress still attracted some following. The building was demolished for parking in the Summer of 1940.
Became the Fiesta December 28, 1941 with “Honky Tonk” and “ Hold Back The Dawn” on a twin bill. The Fiesta ended on January 6, 1953, with a triple feature of “Dodge City”, “Beast with Five Fingers” and “Captive Girl.”
This was known to many locals as the Circle Theatre housed in the Circle Theatre Building - the name it had for the majority of its operating years. (When it closed, an article referred to it as the former Circle Theatre.) It did, however, open as the Emerald and close as the Pic.
The Ritz Theatre closed at the end of lease on December 1, 1960 with a triple feature of Kirk Douglas in “Indian Fighter,” “When Comedy Was King,” and Van Johnson in “Enemy General.”
The Mary Lue fulfilled a 20-year lease under two different operators leaving December 9, 1951. But new operators reopened the venue the following weekend on December 15, 1951 as the Comet Theatre with Judy Canova in “Joan of the Ozarks” and Rex Allen in “Redwood Forest Trial.” By May of 1952, it was apparent that television was taking a toll on neighborhood theaters and the Comet disappeared from view.
But in Comet-like fashion, the theatre did reappear after its longer than anticipated vanishing act of 1952. When it re-emerged it now had widescreen projection to accommodate CinemaScope presentations. But it then vanished permanently with a double feature of Joel McCrae in “Wichita” and Tyrone Power in “Untamed” on March 11, 1956. The building then next served as a union meeting hall, a church, and, finally, the Crystal Palace Bar. On November 16, 1984, the tavern building burned down and what little remained was razed just days later.
A September 1966 beautification has the giant Oak Park sign removed from the former theater turned church in a project known as “Scrap Old Signs” and hauled off for free.
The Benton Theater launched September 11, 1913 with what it called “the highest conception in motion pictures” and supported by Professor Pearson’s Orchestra and the Ladies' Apollo Quartet. W.A. Andlauer of the Bonaventure launched the venue which had 917 seats including 60 box seats at opening.
Fox Midwest took on the venue and would convert it to Western Electric sound in 1929.
The circuit closed the Benton on June 10, 1956 following showings of Glenn Ford in “Jubal” in CinemaScope and Barabara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in “There’s Always Tomorrow.” The University of Kansas City studio theatre received the Benton’s seating in February of 1957 ahead of its launch.
In 1916, P.G. Armbus purchased the Pastime Theatre from L.J. Cross. Dissatisfied with the Pastime, he began development as the proposed Queen Theatre. It launched as Theatre Royal (after a soft launch with a movie serial) with a live play, “In the Shadow of the Cross” on September 18, 1916 but continued thereafter as a movie theater, the Royal Theatre. Earl Kipp of the competing Gayety Theatre took on the Pastime. The Gayety was closed shortly thereafter followed by the Pastime. Professor Charles L. Henning took over the Royal organist duties thanks to his knowledge of the Wurlitzer and improvisational skills in 1919.
Burr B. “B.B.” and Clara Grove took on the venue relaunching it as the Grove Theatre on April 17, 1932 with George Arliss in “Millionaire.” The theatre’s business dwindled in the TV age dropping to Saturday/Sunday operation in 1957. It closed on December 19, 1957 due to “the continued complete absence of adult attendance.” On October 13, 1962, new operators took on the Grove for one more show with “The Fisherman” at the relaunch with Jim Langford managing for the Commonwealth Circuit. It closed not long thereafter. The building became a shoe store.
The Muse opened November 21. 1923 as a 375-seat theatre by L.J. Cross & Son (Roy) with Colleen Moore in “The Ninety and Nine” at 1531 10th Street. An early problem found Roy Cross admonishing patrons for reading the title cards too loud during screenings. Earnest Holcomb took on the theatre in 1929 deciding not to convert to sound and operating with a heavy mix of live plays until 1931.
George W. Luce took on the venue equipping it with sound and a new deco front. Luce renamed it as the Riviera Theatre on July 5, 1931 with Dorothy Mackaill in “Once a Sinner.” In May of 1933, B.B. & Clara Grove took over the Riviera after foreclosure proceedings citing lack of rent. On October 16, 1937, W.H. Ostenberg took on the Riviera and Grove Theatre after B.B. Grove’s death but Clara Grove stayed on as manager. The Riviera closed in 1942.
After the War, Midwest Amusement Company and W.H. Ostenberg III took on the Riviera on December 25, 1948 renaming it the Valley Theatre after a refresh that included a new front and reduced seating count. LeVern DeBolt changed the policy to Spanish films on Thursday with Friday-Sunday English language films. After that went out of business, Myrl D. Cross leased the theatre in 1959 to the Platte Valley Community Theatre. The building was auctioned in 1963 becoming the Eagles Fraternal Lodge. That building was acquired by the city in 1989 and demolished. In its place was the city’s Gering-Municipal and Retail Complex (G-MARC) that was still in use in the 2020s.
Opened with “They Call Me Trinity” on March 16, 1972 .
The Pace Theatre opened replacing the Empress Theatre on September 7, 1930 by Mr. and Mrs. James W. Pace. It opened with Will Rogers in “So This is London” supported by a two-reel comedy and newsreel. Clyde Pace managed the venue while his brother, Archie, worked at Chadron’s Pace Theatre.
Black Hills Amusement took on the venue when Pace retired on January 1, 1935. On January 31, 1940, a fire occurred gutting the interior leading to the New Pace. It relaunched on July 12, 1940 with Bob Hope in “The Ghost Breakers.” Just shy of its 30th/40th Anniversary, an April 9, 1970 fire once again gutted the venue. The Pace, therefore, ended with the April 8, 1970 screening on “The Savage Wild.” The building was then demolished.
Launches June 4, 1954 with Audie Murphy in “Gunsmoke” and George Montgomery in “Battle of Rogue River “
Appears to have ceased operations June 22, 1975 with “W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings.”
The theatre closed April 26, 2007 when the building was purchased by a medical center and the lease terminated by agreement.
The Wall Theatre closed February 26, 1936 with a Monogram double-feature of “King Kelly of the U.S.A.” and “Great God Gold.” It did have a religious screening, some agricultural screenings and several free holiday screenings thereafter, however.
The Fremont Drive-In Theatre went out with a bang with July 4, 1988 showings of “Beetlejuice” and “Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach” with a fireworks display between the two shows. Attendance was dwindling due to the popularity of VHS home video and the operator decided to let the 40-year lease lapse.
The Empress Theatre exited with “Freaky Friday” on April 13, 1977.
The Fremont closed June 25, 1975 at end of lease with “What’s Up, Doc?” The theatre had free Christmas screenings and a religious screening before being taken over in 1976 becoming the short-lived Jim Rhodus' Fremont Theatre Restaurant and Lounge. After that failed, it became the Family Fun Center in 1980. The theatre was demolished in February of 1992.
The Vista was announced in February of 1925 at the vacant lot at 2611-2619 Independence last used for a summer carnival. The new Vista opened August 14, 1925 with “The Boomerang” supported by a comedy short and live music of the Sweeney Radio Orchestra. The Spanish architectural plan was drawn by Victor J. DeFoe.
The Roanoke Theater opened January 26, 1913 with “The Little Minister.” After a refresh, it relaunched as the Spillane Theater with Douglas Fairbanks in “Flirting with Fate” and Charlie Chaplin’ in “The Champion” on September 7, 1918. On September 4, 1921, it reverted to the Roanoke moniker. The theater was wired die sound to stay relevant. As Teatro de Tampico, the venue closed with Fernando Fernandez in “Frontera Norte” on May 12, 1955. It then was offered for sale and became a financial agency.
The Summit Theater reopened beginning May 18, 1956 playing Spanish language films by Joseph R. Duran. After closing again, it would become an antique store. In 2006, the theatre was restored and reopened for special events before being converted to condos.
May 8, 1953 grand opening ad in photos
The Empress facts are well documented but sadly not on this site. Just to clear up the key factual errors, the building was not converted to retail or was it demolished in 1956. It began as the primary “A” vaudeville theater in the city with a prestigious 99-year lease. Kinodrome motion picture shorts were featured at the outset with a projection booth from the beginning. But when the Globe opened a year later on August 27, 1911, it would get the “A” vaudeville bookings… but not before Charlie Chaplin wowed crowds with his pantomime act on the Empress stage in week-long runs in December of 1911 and June of 1912.
From there, things get fairly predictable as better theaters are built, the Empress slips rung by rung. Its 99-year prestige lease is renegotiated to fit a more common 30-year leasing cycles with low-priced front-end six-month and one-year financial incentives designed to fill the house quickly at each vacancy. That leasing pattern attracted lesser live plays, third-tier vaudeville and burlesque starting with the upper tier Mutual Burlesque. Then the burlesque became more tawdry with better burlesque moving to better venues. As a burley house, the Empress became a place where arrests and shake downs became common. If nothing else, it got the venue in the newspaper headlines.
True that in 1936, a scheduled 40-week vaudeville run shuttered after just 12 weeks. But things devolved further as the building was then equipped for the first time with sound film gear and became an exploitation film theater with adult-only films. Programmed by Richlynn Amusements, movies began on August 14, 1937 with continuous showings of the silent syphilis film “Damaged Goods” supported by the notorious sound documentary, “Killers of the Sea.” Things devolved further when the flagging theater went full grind house mode adding live African American burley shows in which stage help was recruited with classified ads requiring no previous stage experience (and no union card needed there, obviously). Shows began before noon and ran past midnight.
Union issues and censor board matters hounded the Richlynn’s short existence at the Empress. When the Royal was told not to run the film, “Ecstasy,” the Empress used its biggest ads yet to trumpet the film’s opening in February of 1938. The much needed scrutiny by the city and press did drum up clientele. The lightning rod film, “Baby is Born” was the next major hurdle as the city manager said the Empress could only show the more acceptable, “Birth of a Baby.” Richlynn moved on at the end of a one-year lease in August of 1938 wringing ever last quarter it could from the then-faded location.
The Empress’ reworked 30-year lease was up in 1940 and the building was razed by the Bonded Building Wreckers Inc. after it had a salvage sale. Even the sale seemed tawdry with blue, green and white marble offered cheap, glass beveled doors at ten bucks a throw, and brass railing at 20 cents a foot. The press even followed some pieces such as the theater’s ornate box office to its new location as the Empress still attracted some following. The building was demolished for parking in the Summer of 1940.
Became the Fiesta December 28, 1941 with “Honky Tonk” and “ Hold Back The Dawn” on a twin bill. The Fiesta ended on January 6, 1953, with a triple feature of “Dodge City”, “Beast with Five Fingers” and “Captive Girl.”
The Giles closed at end of lease in November 30, 1958 with Susan Hayward in “I’d Climb the Highest Mountain” and Martin and Lewis’ “Jumping Jacks.”
This was known to many locals as the Circle Theatre housed in the Circle Theatre Building - the name it had for the majority of its operating years. (When it closed, an article referred to it as the former Circle Theatre.) It did, however, open as the Emerald and close as the Pic.
The Ritz Theatre closed at the end of lease on December 1, 1960 with a triple feature of Kirk Douglas in “Indian Fighter,” “When Comedy Was King,” and Van Johnson in “Enemy General.”
The Mary Lue fulfilled a 20-year lease under two different operators leaving December 9, 1951. But new operators reopened the venue the following weekend on December 15, 1951 as the Comet Theatre with Judy Canova in “Joan of the Ozarks” and Rex Allen in “Redwood Forest Trial.” By May of 1952, it was apparent that television was taking a toll on neighborhood theaters and the Comet disappeared from view.
But in Comet-like fashion, the theatre did reappear after its longer than anticipated vanishing act of 1952. When it re-emerged it now had widescreen projection to accommodate CinemaScope presentations. But it then vanished permanently with a double feature of Joel McCrae in “Wichita” and Tyrone Power in “Untamed” on March 11, 1956. The building then next served as a union meeting hall, a church, and, finally, the Crystal Palace Bar. On November 16, 1984, the tavern building burned down and what little remained was razed just days later.
A September 1966 beautification has the giant Oak Park sign removed from the former theater turned church in a project known as “Scrap Old Signs” and hauled off for free.
The Oak Park ceased operations on May 17, 1959 with “Some Like it Hot” and “La Parisienne.” Just months later, it was operating as a house of worship
This four screen 1,300 venue closed on September 30, 2000. On October 11, 2000, the theater’s contents were then auctioned off.
The Benton Theater launched September 11, 1913 with what it called “the highest conception in motion pictures” and supported by Professor Pearson’s Orchestra and the Ladies' Apollo Quartet. W.A. Andlauer of the Bonaventure launched the venue which had 917 seats including 60 box seats at opening.
Fox Midwest took on the venue and would convert it to Western Electric sound in 1929. The circuit closed the Benton on June 10, 1956 following showings of Glenn Ford in “Jubal” in CinemaScope and Barabara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in “There’s Always Tomorrow.” The University of Kansas City studio theatre received the Benton’s seating in February of 1957 ahead of its launch.