Based on very little, this was likely known as the Vivian Theatre bought by C.M. Solley in the Fall of 1925 who renamed it the Solley Theatre, He branded it as the “Home of Good, Clean Pictures.” Not long after being sued for a copyright violation, he sold it in 1927 and it was wired for sound as the Movie Theatre. It was refurbished twice becoming the Ritz Theatre. Its final refresh was by operator O.L. Kirkland in March of 1939 who gave it a modern front, new cooling system and new sound system.
T he theater became the Regal Fossil Creek Stadium Cinemas 11 which went on hiatus on October 8, 2020 along with all other Regal / UA / Cineworld theatres which had reopened following the March 16, 2020 shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic promising to return in 2021. Woodbine Development Corp. began Fossil Creek development talks in 1978 and announced the project with United Artists on board in 1996 with a groundbreaking February 28th.
The $10-million theater’s concept was similar to the UA Galaxy in Dallas which had opened in May of 1996 going for technology including VR gaming and THX-certified auditoriums. The theater featured stadium seating and two levels to conveniently get to the the top of the largest auditoriums. The facade of the theatre was different from other UAs. Dan Ogden of UA explained that the limestone front was designed to resemble the Hill Country of North Texas. The UA Fossil Creek opened with 2,800 seats exactly one year after the groundbreaking. It launched on February 28, 1997.
While much of the attention was going to 24- and 30-screen megaplexes of the era, UA was more conservative building 9-11 screen complexes including its Lakepointe 10 theater in Lewisville opening in December 1994 followed by a similar facility in Grand Prarie opening August 1995, its Eastchase debuting in 1997 and its Macarthur Marketplace in 1999.
Philip Anschutz took over controlling interest in United Artists and Regal, as well as Edwards Theaters in October of 2001 and the economy went south in an era when too many theaters were in the Dallas-Fort Worth marketplace. Regal began a retreat in the DFW marketplace that was losing to Cinemark and AMC and had claimed General Cinema, once a dominant factor in the market. Regal/UA would shed older, non-descript 6- and 8-plexes along with the McArthur Marketplace.
In January of 2007, the theater had a soft name change to the Regal Fossil Creek 11. When the theatre property was sold by Kimco to United Property of Southlake along with 10 other theaters including the UA Grand Prairie in June of 2015, the real estate company announced that seven of the theaters including the UA GP would shutter. In fact, over a relatively short period of time, Regal would shed its entire 1990s DFW-area portfolio with the exception of just the two destination theaters it had considered to be the most technologically advanced in the Galaxy and the Fossil Creek.
Both theaters were converted to luxury recliner seating in 2015 to try and stay relevant in a marketplace being dominated by cinemas offering in seat dining and/or entertainment options such as bowling centers or advanced arcades. For the Fossil Creek, it also had to compete with the nearby Cinemark Alliance Town Center about four miles away. Meanwhile, the Fort Worth property would get recliner seating in its auditorium and officially become the Regal Fossil Creek Stadium Cinemas 11.
The Regal Fossil Creek closed on March 16, 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic and reopened in September of 2020 along with the Galaxy In Dallas now with ScreenX. But as noted above, it closed October 8, 2020 – three days after the Galaxy – with a hopeful message of a potential reopening of 2021.
The Lyric Theatre opened across the street from the Mystic Theatre in 1908 less than a year after the Mystic had launched. It debuted as a motion picture theater, the town’s first theatre on a ground floor. The Lyric closed in 1911. The Grand Theatre then was opened in 1911 by J.M Peter, taken on by city merchants who closed it closed in February of 1915 when the city-run Community Theatre opened.
The town would return to a two movie theatre town when the remodeled Mystic Theatre re-opened months later as the World Theatre. Montgomery Terrill took on the 248-250 High Steet venue on July 1, 1916 relaunching it as the Grand Theatre plying Paramount films bringing Mineral Point to a three-theatre town. He closed it on January 13, 1917. The town would return to three theatre operation for a four-plus year period from 1918 to 1923 when the Opie turned Palace Theatre opened.
As for the building at High Street formerly housing a theater, B.H. Williams took over the space converting it to the Amusement Place featuring a shooting gallery and box ball that closed in 1920. O. Vivian took on the building converting it to a Studebaker, Nash, and Overland car dealership in 1921. It later was a hardware store.
This building was built in 1876 to house a hotel. The Mystic Theatre launched upstairs there on October 7, 1907. Richard Seibert took on the operation in 1915 renaming the theatre as the World Theatre and retaining the hotel. The World opened on June 10, 1915, showing four reels of silent movies. The city-run Municipal Theatre had opened earlier in the year with live shows but the city switched to booking many more films beginning in 1916. The town expanded to three theatres when the Opie Theatre opened in 1918 though closing in 1923 as the Palace Theatre.
In early 1929, the Municipal was under private owners who installed Moviephone equipment by A.P. Desormeaux and going full-time motion pictures. He would take on took on the World Theatre from Seibert which he wired for sound as well. Desormeaux would remodel the Municipal in 1932 selling the World Theatre to Waldemar Amusements Co. Waldmear closed the World during the Depression with the Municipal-turned-Point Theatre becoming the town’s cinema destination.
The Italianate architecture of the building was still on display when the building was added to the National Register on July 30, 1971. It was refurbished in 1989 becoming a tavern and restaurant.
In May of 1913, the Mineral Point City Council hired Claude and Stark of Madison to draw plans for a new city building containing a city-run theater. The 725-seat, Municipal Theatre opened February 9, 1915 serving as its opera house with a play called, “The Misleading Lady.” But on June 10, 1915, the new World Theatre seemed to get more town attention showing four reels of silent movies. The city booked a traveling show of “Birth of a Nation” complete with live musicians from February 3-5, 1916 finding a new path towards self-sufficiency through motion pictures.
A.P. Desormeaux and “Rube” Fessenden took over the operation in November of 1928 to convert the silent house to talkies on a 15-year leasing agreement. In early 1929, the installed Moviephone equipment. In 1930, Desormeaux took on the World Theatre which had also wired for sound as well. He would remodel the Municipal in 1932 and sell the World Theatre to Waldemar Amusements Co.
In 1936, the Municipal became the Point Theatre and under new operator H. M. Schumacher received new seating. The World had ended its run making the Point the town’s cinema destination. In 1943, the theatre was modernized under new operators on a 20-year leasing agreement. The theatre went widescreen in the 1950s. In 1963, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lesmeister led a community effort to both modernize and restore the theatre partially to its earlier days. 25 years later, the City took over the restoration of the Point in 1988 as it became the Opera House.
A $2.25 million renovation 20 years later changed the Opera House to a 386-seat venue still in operation in the 2020s.
The August 25, 1950 grand opening of the Paradise Pine Breeze Drive-In with Yvonne DeCarlo in “Buccaneer’s Girl” and Roy Rogers in “Trigger, Jr.” in “beautiful color.”
The Empire closed March 1, 1941 although hosted church and other live events in 1942. The Chico signage, seating and projection were moved to Oroville in 1945 when the T&D Jr. Circuit decided to open a second theatre there.
The Rex Theatre opened with Edison movies on May 11, 1913. It opened in a building constructed in 1906 and housing several businesses including a skating rink. The Rex lost favor to the State Theatre which became the town’s primary movie house. It struggled along as an independent ending its run June 9, 1942 with Olsen & Johnson in “Hellzapoppin'” It was damaged by a minor fire closing it and then all but completely destroyed by arson on July 10, 1943.
When the operator didn’t have enoough insurance money to rebuild, T. & D. Jr. got a War production board permit to construct a new theatre operating two days a week as a sub-run discount venue. The signage, seating and projection were from the Empire Theatre in Chico, also a T&D location that it closed. The new Empire opened on July 21, 1945 with a double feature of “Strange Affair” and “Sing Me a Song of Texas.”
George A. Scott launched the Oro Theatre in the new Montgomery Building on December 21, 1908 with “A Woman’s Way,” “A House of Cards,” “A Wonderful Fertilizer,” “With Care, “ and a live singer, Miss Mae Howell.
The Video 4 closed just after its 48th birthday in March of 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Allen Theatres Co. announced on October 1, 2020 that the closure would be permanent.
Yonkers' original Park Hill Theatre was a photoplay house that opened on South Main Street November 19, 1912 but was closed and ordered divested by a court in 1913. The building was home to a Ford auto dealer. But the name would get another chance at another South Main location – this time a new-build facility.
The moniker would be used by Matthew Chyrstmos with the new Park Hill Theatre opening April 7, 1926 with a World Premiere of the film, “Sandy” (1926) starring Madge Bellamy supported by the Park Hall Orchestra, an Aesop’s Fable cartoon entitled, “A Moral and a Smile, a Mutt and Jeff cartoon entitled, “A Kick for Cinderella,” a partially animated short, “The Voice of the Nightingale,” a comedy short, “The Married Life and Helen and Warren” and another comedy short, “Moving Day.” That same film title had opened The Park Theatre in the Warburton Building less than two months prior but it was the 1925 version with Colleen Moore.
On November 10, 1929, the theatre added sound to stay relevant. The Theatre appears to have closed on June 30, 1982 with a double feature of “The Thing” and “Final Countdown.”
BTW: “The Park” or Park Theatre was located at 45 Warburton in the Warburton Theatre. This venue was never known as the Park Theatre or The Park.
Demolished in 1974, the former Warburton Music Hall was built in 1876 and turned to the Warburton Theatre in 1912 had a great run. The venue once had 1,200 seats with live performances. But motion pictures ran during a 25-year leasing agreement from silent operation into sound from 1912 to 1937.
In 1925, the venue was home to a 450-seat theatre as remodeled by new operator, Strand Theatre Circuit, which was known as The Park and the Park Theatre due to its location near Manor Park. It was housed in the former piano/music retail store space. The Park opened on February 27, 1926 with the film, “Sally” (1925) with Colleen Moore. Within two months, “Sally” (1926) with Madge Bellmay would open the Park Hill Theatre.
Superior movie locations elsewhere led to the demise of both houses. The Park was a quick exiting location closing after a June 1, 1926 screening of Richard Barthelmess in “Soul Fire” and possibly a June 2, 1926 “surprise screening.” A news article soon thereafter had a rumor that the post office, once in that spot until 1907, would come back while the city’s main post office was readied. The movies stopped in 1937 at the neighboring Warburton. Vaudeville and burlesque were tried there to no success from 1938 to 1940 under three different operators. Talks of razing the building came after the marquee was removed in 1940 and those plans included a proposed new hotel. But those proposals were halted due to World War II.
An architectural plan to replace the building were drawn in 1947 with a plan to raze the venue but the project never materialized. Another plan in 1961 complete with an architectural plan for a new building were drawn and not executed. In 1963, the Warburton Building was renovated as an office building which lasted ten years. In 1974, the building was finally demolished.
The Doric moniker lasted two years closing on November 9, 1907. It became the Orpheum on November 18, 1907. The Orpheum was destroyed by fire on December 12/13, 1929 and not rebuilt. However, the rubble remained for almost a full year before the city built a fence around the property awaiting complete demolition.
The Kimball closed on July 29, 1979 as a sub-run discount house but reopened in 1980 for one last run from an operator in New York City. It appears to have closed January 1, 1981 with Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult in “Black and Blue in Concert.”
The Kent rebranded as a twin screen venue on December 16, 1983 as the Kent Cinema Twins. The final screening appears to be of “Exterminator 2” on September 30, 1984.
The Broadway Theatre appears to have opened on February 15, 1915 with “"Tillie’s Punctured Romance.” It closed but was reopened under new operators in June of 1916. The theater closed again and seemed to have almost annual operator changes. George Martin was another operator in 1927. The Chyrsedge Co. Circuit took on the Broadway in October of 1928. It closed and then was reopened in 1931 after being equipped for sound. An April 12, 1931 fire closed the Broadway again.
In 1933, the theatre came back after repairs as an independent offering foreign movies including Irish and Hebrew language films. The theatre closed in 1937. A new operators took on the venue going for German language films before closing in 1939.
A new operator relaunched the Broadway after a six-month closure in 1939. In November of 1939, it was renamed the Roxy Theater. It retained that name until February 23, 1941. The venues final film booking was, “This is Ireland.” It reverted back to the Broadway Theatre but was booked only for live events until 1943. In its movie life, the Broadway appears to have had upward of 15 operators in 26 years.
James Durkin opened the Model Theatre here in January of 1913. Chrsedge Theatres took it on and it was operated with its sister, silent house, the Riverdale Theatre for many years. In 1927, George Martin took on the venue. The theatre converted to Western Electric sound in 1929.
On Christmas Day, 1937, the theatre relaunched as the rebranded Elm Theatre. 1939, it was operating as the Elm Theatre showing Czech and Ukranian films. In August of 1948, the became the Douglas Playhouse playing “proven four star film hits.” Locals contended that by the time the Douglas got the “proven hits,” it’s because they had played four other theaters prior to getting there. In 1951, it was known as the Douglas Theatre. In 1958, the Douglas was being used by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
In 1948, the Central Theatre became the Trans-Lux Central. That ten-year agreement lapsed in January of 1957. After months of closure, Raceway Theatre Inc. took on the theatre relaunching it as the Central Theatre, to show art and foreign films that failed quickly. Finally, an independent operator rebranded the Central as a family-oriented movie house in September of 1957 and closed after a short unsuccessful run on February 1, 1958. In 1960, the city agreed to allow a plan that converted the Central to a bowling alley.
On November 11, 1971, Brandt reopened the theater as a sub-run discount house. It appears to have closed on March 16, 1972 with “National Velvet.” The local newspaper reported that the marquee said new management would reopen the theater soon under new ownership in 1972 which appears to not have occurred. Another note about vandalism in 1972 likely may have been the reason for not reopening.
The venue launched as the First Reformed Church in the 19th Century and was converted to the Strand in 1922. Publix introduced sound there on March 1, 1928 with the live performers and house orchestra all dismissed for the advent of sound film in Yonkers. The Strand closed with as a sub-run double feature house on February 28, 1954. But a new operator was identified and the theatre converted to widescreen at its relaunch on May 29, 1954.
The Strand closed for good with movies on August 31, 1957 with a double feature of Jerry Lewis in “The Delicate Delinquent” and Jack Palance in “The Lonley Man.” From 1963 to 1965, it was known as the Yonkers Playhouse with live stage plays. That proved to be a failure.
The impact of the Beatles was so great that the venue rebranded, finally, as the House of Liverpool Theatre for two weeks beginning on April 3, 1966 with Peter and Gordon live in concert. Other concerts included Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Jay & the Americans, Chad & Jeremy, Gene Pitney. The House of Liverpool signage was seen at the former Strand’s demolition in 1968. Interestingly, that razing revealed the remnants of an 18th Century church at the theater’s rear.
(Opinion: This listing should be known as the Strand Theatre – its final operating name as a movie house as opposed to the more obscure final two live, non-cinema names.)
Based on very little, this was likely known as the Vivian Theatre bought by C.M. Solley in the Fall of 1925 who renamed it the Solley Theatre, He branded it as the “Home of Good, Clean Pictures.” Not long after being sued for a copyright violation, he sold it in 1927 and it was wired for sound as the Movie Theatre. It was refurbished twice becoming the Ritz Theatre. Its final refresh was by operator O.L. Kirkland in March of 1939 who gave it a modern front, new cooling system and new sound system.
Opened October 9, 1915 with Frances, X. Bushman in “The Silent Voice.l
T he theater became the Regal Fossil Creek Stadium Cinemas 11 which went on hiatus on October 8, 2020 along with all other Regal / UA / Cineworld theatres which had reopened following the March 16, 2020 shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic promising to return in 2021. Woodbine Development Corp. began Fossil Creek development talks in 1978 and announced the project with United Artists on board in 1996 with a groundbreaking February 28th.
The $10-million theater’s concept was similar to the UA Galaxy in Dallas which had opened in May of 1996 going for technology including VR gaming and THX-certified auditoriums. The theater featured stadium seating and two levels to conveniently get to the the top of the largest auditoriums. The facade of the theatre was different from other UAs. Dan Ogden of UA explained that the limestone front was designed to resemble the Hill Country of North Texas. The UA Fossil Creek opened with 2,800 seats exactly one year after the groundbreaking. It launched on February 28, 1997.
While much of the attention was going to 24- and 30-screen megaplexes of the era, UA was more conservative building 9-11 screen complexes including its Lakepointe 10 theater in Lewisville opening in December 1994 followed by a similar facility in Grand Prarie opening August 1995, its Eastchase debuting in 1997 and its Macarthur Marketplace in 1999.
Philip Anschutz took over controlling interest in United Artists and Regal, as well as Edwards Theaters in October of 2001 and the economy went south in an era when too many theaters were in the Dallas-Fort Worth marketplace. Regal began a retreat in the DFW marketplace that was losing to Cinemark and AMC and had claimed General Cinema, once a dominant factor in the market. Regal/UA would shed older, non-descript 6- and 8-plexes along with the McArthur Marketplace.
In January of 2007, the theater had a soft name change to the Regal Fossil Creek 11. When the theatre property was sold by Kimco to United Property of Southlake along with 10 other theaters including the UA Grand Prairie in June of 2015, the real estate company announced that seven of the theaters including the UA GP would shutter. In fact, over a relatively short period of time, Regal would shed its entire 1990s DFW-area portfolio with the exception of just the two destination theaters it had considered to be the most technologically advanced in the Galaxy and the Fossil Creek.
Both theaters were converted to luxury recliner seating in 2015 to try and stay relevant in a marketplace being dominated by cinemas offering in seat dining and/or entertainment options such as bowling centers or advanced arcades. For the Fossil Creek, it also had to compete with the nearby Cinemark Alliance Town Center about four miles away. Meanwhile, the Fort Worth property would get recliner seating in its auditorium and officially become the Regal Fossil Creek Stadium Cinemas 11.
The Regal Fossil Creek closed on March 16, 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic and reopened in September of 2020 along with the Galaxy In Dallas now with ScreenX. But as noted above, it closed October 8, 2020 – three days after the Galaxy – with a hopeful message of a potential reopening of 2021.
The Santikos Crossroads 6 Theatre launched December 18, 1987.
The Lyric Theatre opened across the street from the Mystic Theatre in 1908 less than a year after the Mystic had launched. It debuted as a motion picture theater, the town’s first theatre on a ground floor. The Lyric closed in 1911. The Grand Theatre then was opened in 1911 by J.M Peter, taken on by city merchants who closed it closed in February of 1915 when the city-run Community Theatre opened.
The town would return to a two movie theatre town when the remodeled Mystic Theatre re-opened months later as the World Theatre. Montgomery Terrill took on the 248-250 High Steet venue on July 1, 1916 relaunching it as the Grand Theatre plying Paramount films bringing Mineral Point to a three-theatre town. He closed it on January 13, 1917. The town would return to three theatre operation for a four-plus year period from 1918 to 1923 when the Opie turned Palace Theatre opened.
As for the building at High Street formerly housing a theater, B.H. Williams took over the space converting it to the Amusement Place featuring a shooting gallery and box ball that closed in 1920. O. Vivian took on the building converting it to a Studebaker, Nash, and Overland car dealership in 1921. It later was a hardware store.
This building was built in 1876 to house a hotel. The Mystic Theatre launched upstairs there on October 7, 1907. Richard Seibert took on the operation in 1915 renaming the theatre as the World Theatre and retaining the hotel. The World opened on June 10, 1915, showing four reels of silent movies. The city-run Municipal Theatre had opened earlier in the year with live shows but the city switched to booking many more films beginning in 1916. The town expanded to three theatres when the Opie Theatre opened in 1918 though closing in 1923 as the Palace Theatre.
In early 1929, the Municipal was under private owners who installed Moviephone equipment by A.P. Desormeaux and going full-time motion pictures. He would take on took on the World Theatre from Seibert which he wired for sound as well. Desormeaux would remodel the Municipal in 1932 selling the World Theatre to Waldemar Amusements Co. Waldmear closed the World during the Depression with the Municipal-turned-Point Theatre becoming the town’s cinema destination.
The Italianate architecture of the building was still on display when the building was added to the National Register on July 30, 1971. It was refurbished in 1989 becoming a tavern and restaurant.
In May of 1913, the Mineral Point City Council hired Claude and Stark of Madison to draw plans for a new city building containing a city-run theater. The 725-seat, Municipal Theatre opened February 9, 1915 serving as its opera house with a play called, “The Misleading Lady.” But on June 10, 1915, the new World Theatre seemed to get more town attention showing four reels of silent movies. The city booked a traveling show of “Birth of a Nation” complete with live musicians from February 3-5, 1916 finding a new path towards self-sufficiency through motion pictures.
A.P. Desormeaux and “Rube” Fessenden took over the operation in November of 1928 to convert the silent house to talkies on a 15-year leasing agreement. In early 1929, the installed Moviephone equipment. In 1930, Desormeaux took on the World Theatre which had also wired for sound as well. He would remodel the Municipal in 1932 and sell the World Theatre to Waldemar Amusements Co.
In 1936, the Municipal became the Point Theatre and under new operator H. M. Schumacher received new seating. The World had ended its run making the Point the town’s cinema destination. In 1943, the theatre was modernized under new operators on a 20-year leasing agreement. The theatre went widescreen in the 1950s. In 1963, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lesmeister led a community effort to both modernize and restore the theatre partially to its earlier days. 25 years later, the City took over the restoration of the Point in 1988 as it became the Opera House.
A $2.25 million renovation 20 years later changed the Opera House to a 386-seat venue still in operation in the 2020s.
The August 25, 1950 grand opening of the Paradise Pine Breeze Drive-In with Yvonne DeCarlo in “Buccaneer’s Girl” and Roy Rogers in “Trigger, Jr.” in “beautiful color.”
The Starlite launched July 1, 1949 with Sabu in “Drums” and Ralph Richardson in “The Four Feathers.”
The Empire closed March 1, 1941 although hosted church and other live events in 1942. The Chico signage, seating and projection were moved to Oroville in 1945 when the T&D Jr. Circuit decided to open a second theatre there.
The Rex Theatre opened with Edison movies on May 11, 1913. It opened in a building constructed in 1906 and housing several businesses including a skating rink. The Rex lost favor to the State Theatre which became the town’s primary movie house. It struggled along as an independent ending its run June 9, 1942 with Olsen & Johnson in “Hellzapoppin'” It was damaged by a minor fire closing it and then all but completely destroyed by arson on July 10, 1943.
When the operator didn’t have enoough insurance money to rebuild, T. & D. Jr. got a War production board permit to construct a new theatre operating two days a week as a sub-run discount venue. The signage, seating and projection were from the Empire Theatre in Chico, also a T&D location that it closed. The new Empire opened on July 21, 1945 with a double feature of “Strange Affair” and “Sing Me a Song of Texas.”
George A. Scott launched the Oro Theatre in the new Montgomery Building on December 21, 1908 with “A Woman’s Way,” “A House of Cards,” “A Wonderful Fertilizer,” “With Care, “ and a live singer, Miss Mae Howell.
Astaire and Rogers’ “The Barkley’s of Broadway” launch the Mesa on November 23, 1949
The Video 4 closed just after its 48th birthday in March of 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Allen Theatres Co. announced on October 1, 2020 that the closure would be permanent.
Yonkers' original Park Hill Theatre was a photoplay house that opened on South Main Street November 19, 1912 but was closed and ordered divested by a court in 1913. The building was home to a Ford auto dealer. But the name would get another chance at another South Main location – this time a new-build facility.
The moniker would be used by Matthew Chyrstmos with the new Park Hill Theatre opening April 7, 1926 with a World Premiere of the film, “Sandy” (1926) starring Madge Bellamy supported by the Park Hall Orchestra, an Aesop’s Fable cartoon entitled, “A Moral and a Smile, a Mutt and Jeff cartoon entitled, “A Kick for Cinderella,” a partially animated short, “The Voice of the Nightingale,” a comedy short, “The Married Life and Helen and Warren” and another comedy short, “Moving Day.” That same film title had opened The Park Theatre in the Warburton Building less than two months prior but it was the 1925 version with Colleen Moore.
On November 10, 1929, the theatre added sound to stay relevant. The Theatre appears to have closed on June 30, 1982 with a double feature of “The Thing” and “Final Countdown.”
BTW: “The Park” or Park Theatre was located at 45 Warburton in the Warburton Theatre. This venue was never known as the Park Theatre or The Park.
Demolished in 1974, the former Warburton Music Hall was built in 1876 and turned to the Warburton Theatre in 1912 had a great run. The venue once had 1,200 seats with live performances. But motion pictures ran during a 25-year leasing agreement from silent operation into sound from 1912 to 1937.
In 1925, the venue was home to a 450-seat theatre as remodeled by new operator, Strand Theatre Circuit, which was known as The Park and the Park Theatre due to its location near Manor Park. It was housed in the former piano/music retail store space. The Park opened on February 27, 1926 with the film, “Sally” (1925) with Colleen Moore. Within two months, “Sally” (1926) with Madge Bellmay would open the Park Hill Theatre.
Superior movie locations elsewhere led to the demise of both houses. The Park was a quick exiting location closing after a June 1, 1926 screening of Richard Barthelmess in “Soul Fire” and possibly a June 2, 1926 “surprise screening.” A news article soon thereafter had a rumor that the post office, once in that spot until 1907, would come back while the city’s main post office was readied. The movies stopped in 1937 at the neighboring Warburton. Vaudeville and burlesque were tried there to no success from 1938 to 1940 under three different operators. Talks of razing the building came after the marquee was removed in 1940 and those plans included a proposed new hotel. But those proposals were halted due to World War II.
An architectural plan to replace the building were drawn in 1947 with a plan to raze the venue but the project never materialized. Another plan in 1961 complete with an architectural plan for a new building were drawn and not executed. In 1963, the Warburton Building was renovated as an office building which lasted ten years. In 1974, the building was finally demolished.
The Doric moniker lasted two years closing on November 9, 1907. It became the Orpheum on November 18, 1907. The Orpheum was destroyed by fire on December 12/13, 1929 and not rebuilt. However, the rubble remained for almost a full year before the city built a fence around the property awaiting complete demolition.
The Kimball closed on July 29, 1979 as a sub-run discount house but reopened in 1980 for one last run from an operator in New York City. It appears to have closed January 1, 1981 with Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult in “Black and Blue in Concert.”
The Kent rebranded as a twin screen venue on December 16, 1983 as the Kent Cinema Twins. The final screening appears to be of “Exterminator 2” on September 30, 1984.
The Broadway Theatre appears to have opened on February 15, 1915 with “"Tillie’s Punctured Romance.” It closed but was reopened under new operators in June of 1916. The theater closed again and seemed to have almost annual operator changes. George Martin was another operator in 1927. The Chyrsedge Co. Circuit took on the Broadway in October of 1928. It closed and then was reopened in 1931 after being equipped for sound. An April 12, 1931 fire closed the Broadway again.
In 1933, the theatre came back after repairs as an independent offering foreign movies including Irish and Hebrew language films. The theatre closed in 1937. A new operators took on the venue going for German language films before closing in 1939.
A new operator relaunched the Broadway after a six-month closure in 1939. In November of 1939, it was renamed the Roxy Theater. It retained that name until February 23, 1941. The venues final film booking was, “This is Ireland.” It reverted back to the Broadway Theatre but was booked only for live events until 1943. In its movie life, the Broadway appears to have had upward of 15 operators in 26 years.
James Durkin opened the Model Theatre here in January of 1913. Chrsedge Theatres took it on and it was operated with its sister, silent house, the Riverdale Theatre for many years. In 1927, George Martin took on the venue. The theatre converted to Western Electric sound in 1929.
On Christmas Day, 1937, the theatre relaunched as the rebranded Elm Theatre. 1939, it was operating as the Elm Theatre showing Czech and Ukranian films. In August of 1948, the became the Douglas Playhouse playing “proven four star film hits.” Locals contended that by the time the Douglas got the “proven hits,” it’s because they had played four other theaters prior to getting there. In 1951, it was known as the Douglas Theatre. In 1958, the Douglas was being used by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
In 1948, the Central Theatre became the Trans-Lux Central. That ten-year agreement lapsed in January of 1957. After months of closure, Raceway Theatre Inc. took on the theatre relaunching it as the Central Theatre, to show art and foreign films that failed quickly. Finally, an independent operator rebranded the Central as a family-oriented movie house in September of 1957 and closed after a short unsuccessful run on February 1, 1958. In 1960, the city agreed to allow a plan that converted the Central to a bowling alley.
On November 11, 1971, Brandt reopened the theater as a sub-run discount house. It appears to have closed on March 16, 1972 with “National Velvet.” The local newspaper reported that the marquee said new management would reopen the theater soon under new ownership in 1972 which appears to not have occurred. Another note about vandalism in 1972 likely may have been the reason for not reopening.
The RKO Proctor’s closed on the U.S.A.’s bicentennial celebration of July 4, 1976 after a 50-year run.
The venue launched as the First Reformed Church in the 19th Century and was converted to the Strand in 1922. Publix introduced sound there on March 1, 1928 with the live performers and house orchestra all dismissed for the advent of sound film in Yonkers. The Strand closed with as a sub-run double feature house on February 28, 1954. But a new operator was identified and the theatre converted to widescreen at its relaunch on May 29, 1954.
The Strand closed for good with movies on August 31, 1957 with a double feature of Jerry Lewis in “The Delicate Delinquent” and Jack Palance in “The Lonley Man.” From 1963 to 1965, it was known as the Yonkers Playhouse with live stage plays. That proved to be a failure.
The impact of the Beatles was so great that the venue rebranded, finally, as the House of Liverpool Theatre for two weeks beginning on April 3, 1966 with Peter and Gordon live in concert. Other concerts included Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Jay & the Americans, Chad & Jeremy, Gene Pitney. The House of Liverpool signage was seen at the former Strand’s demolition in 1968. Interestingly, that razing revealed the remnants of an 18th Century church at the theater’s rear.
(Opinion: This listing should be known as the Strand Theatre – its final operating name as a movie house as opposed to the more obscure final two live, non-cinema names.)