The Joy Theatre was opened on June 5, 1915. In 1916, Theodore Coleman took over the the Joy Theatre. The silent era theatre ended after five years of operation closing with the film, “What Every Woman Learns” on July 30, 1920. Coleman launched the American Theatre two days later in 1920 which effectively ended the Joy.
The American Theatre was launched by Theodore Coleman on August 2, 1920 with the films, “Excuse My Dust” and “His Last False Step.” Coleman closed the five-year old Joy Theatre upon the opening of the American. The $45,000 theatre moved to the sound era installing Movie Phone equipment and the film, “Alias Jimmy Valentine” on Valentine’s Day 1929.
A fire destroyed the lobby and gutted the auditorium on March 5, 1939. The fire took out adjoining businesses including an auto battery store and a cafe. The American was completely rebuilt with the possible exception of the auditorium’s back wall relaunching September 2, 1939 as the New American Theatre with “Stanley and Livingstone.” The theatre closed on December 20, 1957 and was used sporadically for live events. It was torn down in June of 1963.
Grand opening of the Roxy Theatre was March 27, 1947 with “Wake up and Dream.” It replaced the previous Roxy that was destroyed on December 16. 1945. Ad in photos. At relaunch, the new Roxy had taken over an adjoining building to reach its new seat count of 920. Martin Theatres Circuit closed the Roxy in 1980. Locals took over the theatre relaunching it for live theatre on November 3, 1983.
April 30, 1936 opening ad with “Small Town Girl” in photos. As noted above, the Capitol Theatre replaced the burned out previous Capitol across the street. Architectural plan was by Marr and Holman of Nashville with Joseph W. Holman. The theatre closed on October 17, 1974 with “Chinatown.” It was ostensibly replaced by the opening of the Martin Twin. The Capitol Theatre was razed after being vacant late in 1983.
The title of this entry should be the Martin Four Cinema and formerly the Martin Twin Theatre. The Capri is already listed as the Carmike 8.
This theatre opened as the Martin Twin Theatre adjacent to the Clarksville Square Shopping Center on October 17, 1974 with “The Great Gatsby” and a twin bill of “The Shaggy Dog” and “The Bears and I.” Two identical 370-seat auditoriums seated 740 total patrons. The twin became a quad on June 12, 1981 called the Martin Four Cinema. When Carmike took on both of the Martin theatres in town, it converted the Capri to an 8-screen facility. It eventually decided to close the Martin Four which would become a place of worship.
AMC announced it would close March 22, 2018 as the Vallco Fashion Park Mall has gone into greyfield status losing all of its anchor stores and the vast majority of its interior stores.
Launched as the Thorley Theatre in 1914. On June 15, 1939, the Thorley Theatre became the Avalon Theatre. In 1940, the name was changed again to the Utah Theatre. After closing for remodeling in 1946, the theatre relaunched as the Cedar Theatre which it retained until it was twinned.
The second Texas Theatre appears to have closed on June 4, 1972. When Val Verde Theatres refurbished the property in 1959, it showed its commitment to Spanish language films with a statuette of Cantinflas at the box office. Spanish language films were programmed from 1943 to 1972 (full time 1959-1972 and two days a week beginning in 1943).
he Rita Theatre’s grand opening was September 20, 1943 with the patriotic film, “Fight for Freedom.” The theatre operated for 35 years continuously closing in 1978. Despite the closure, locals raised funds for years to renovate the showplace. The Rita re-launched on December 16, 1983 named after the theatre’s creator Paul Poag as the Paul Poag Theatre for the Perofroming Arts.
The previous Rita and former Strand Theatre which had opened in December of 1931 was destroyed by fire in February of 1943. This venue was built in the same spot.
The Plaza del Sol Mall launched March 10, 1979 in Del Rio, Texas. About a month later, on April 19th, 1979, Plitt opened the multiscreen Cinema III in the mall. Plitt also operated the Cinema Plaza and Gay 90 Drive-In at that time before closing both in 1981.
The struggling Plitt Circuit would be partially absorbed by Cinemark which took on the theatre on May 8, 1987. Cinemark slightly rebranded the the venue as the Cinema 3 which it operated until February of 1996. It would then create the larger Movies 8 facility that opened later in 1996 and continued into the 21st Century.
The Princess Theatre was located in a building at 636 South Main built in 1913. It switched to both talkies and air conditioning in 1929. After the War, business faded until 1953 when “Bwana Devil” and several subsequent 3D titles brought back audiences. The theatre closed after a July 23, 1958 showing of “Paths of Glory.” It was demolished in March of 1960.
Grand opening of the Belle Theatre was June 28, 1931 and managed by Leo Peterson. The theatre opened with a Spanish motif. It was operated by the Black Hills Amusement Company. It appears to close after a June 3, 1973 showing of “The Mechanic”.
A.P. Parker opened the Dixie Theatre for films on Thanksgiving Day 1925 after a soft launch in October with live events. On January 11, 1940, the theatre was decimated in a fire. After being closed for three months, on April 12, 1940, the reconstructed facility relaunched as the Madison Theatre. Ad are discontinued December 31, 1985 as the Madison’s regular feature days appear to end.
This might be a bit closer to the theatre’s timeline using the local paper and trade press:
P.W. Goodson & Son opened the Lathrop Theatre in the existing Lowry Building on May 18, 1923 ending the run of the inferior Star Theatre. The theatre was likely on a ten-year lease and remained silent to ending its film run in 1933 playing very out of date films.
The theatre housed live events over the next three years including political rallies, school functions, and minstrel shows. Bill Waer took on the theatre in 1936 to modernize the venue renaming it the Tri-Town Theatre which closes quickly.
George A. Owen relaunched the venue as the “new” Lathrop Theatre on May 8, 1937. As another ten year lease lapsed, a new operator, W.W. Weldon of Kansas City, refreshed the venue relaunching as the Joy Theatre on August 19, 1944.
James Wolf purchased the venue in 1947 and returned it to its original name of the Lathrop Theatre. The theatre closes on June 22, 1953 after thirty years of operation with a break during the Depression. A salvage sale in 1954 including plank converts the Lowry Building from theatre to level-floor retail building.
Note: Opened and closed as the Lathrop Theatre – so title should be that with Joy Theatre as a previous name.
The Windsor Opera House launched January 2, 1901 with live fare. The theatre was showing movies by 1921 and installed Vitaphone to go with talking pictures in 1930. The venue changed to the Windsor Theatre in 1935 and closed April 2, 1966.
As best as can be determined, this is the timeline of this venue.
Opened as the Jobson Opera House on October 31, 1889. By 1897, Col. F.W. Blees takes over and calls it the Blees Theatre. Harry Logan took on the venue continuing as the Logan Theatre in 1911. Motion pictures were later added to the live mix with the theatre becoming primarily known for motion pictures.
This is where things become a bit tricky. The Logan goes dark late in 1918 and very briefly reopens in a new location in 1919. On October 3, 1919, the original Logan was taken over by W.D. Woods of Kansas City. The Princess Theatre launched on October 11, 1919 with “His Majesty, Bunker Bean” and listed as “formerly the Logan.” The short-lived Logan location became the original location of the Grand Theatre. The original Grand opened in July of 1919 – it, too, was also listed as “formerly the Logan.”
On December 29, 1922, the Princess under new owners relaunched as the Yale Theatre with “My Old Kentucky Home.” After closing in June of 1923, the venue relaunched under J. Earl Hayes as the Royal Theatre on August 25, 1923. The Royal Theatre’s “ghost sign” /outside advertisement was maintained into the 21st Century.
On December 31, 1929, the theatre became the Dickinson Theatre installing RCA sound and converting the interior to a Moorish architectural design. Dickinson sold his interest in the theatre and one of his employees took on the house. Under new operation, it re-launched October 28, 1936 as the long-running Macon Theatre. In 2004, the facility became live theatre opening its first season as the Maples Repertory Theatre.
That all may be incorrect but it’s the best timeline based on the local papers and the trade press.
The history of the Ozark Theatre does not jibe with the local newspaper or the trade press of the era. So if they are both incorrect, the above is fine. According to the local newspaper and the trade press, they claim that the Ozark Theatre launched May 2, 1929 with “Craig’s Wife.” It was a new build venue with sloped floors and was the new home of the former Gem Theatre. The building was built by Carry Hall and the theatre was opened as a silent house.
A big deal was made about the wiring for sound which took place in 1930. “Lord Byron of Broadway” was the first sound feature and carried a hefty $1 admission on November 2, 1930. The south side of the square venue closed August 11, 1946 when Glen Hall launched the new Hall Theatre.
Its grand opening was July 28, 1949 with Mayor Ed Williams on hand to help launch the $100,000 venue.
The Joy Theatre was opened on June 5, 1915. In 1916, Theodore Coleman took over the the Joy Theatre. The silent era theatre ended after five years of operation closing with the film, “What Every Woman Learns” on July 30, 1920. Coleman launched the American Theatre two days later in 1920 which effectively ended the Joy.
The American Theatre was launched by Theodore Coleman on August 2, 1920 with the films, “Excuse My Dust” and “His Last False Step.” Coleman closed the five-year old Joy Theatre upon the opening of the American. The $45,000 theatre moved to the sound era installing Movie Phone equipment and the film, “Alias Jimmy Valentine” on Valentine’s Day 1929.
A fire destroyed the lobby and gutted the auditorium on March 5, 1939. The fire took out adjoining businesses including an auto battery store and a cafe. The American was completely rebuilt with the possible exception of the auditorium’s back wall relaunching September 2, 1939 as the New American Theatre with “Stanley and Livingstone.” The theatre closed on December 20, 1957 and was used sporadically for live events. It was torn down in June of 1963.
Grand opening of the Roxy Theatre was March 27, 1947 with “Wake up and Dream.” It replaced the previous Roxy that was destroyed on December 16. 1945. Ad in photos. At relaunch, the new Roxy had taken over an adjoining building to reach its new seat count of 920. Martin Theatres Circuit closed the Roxy in 1980. Locals took over the theatre relaunching it for live theatre on November 3, 1983.
April 30, 1936 opening ad with “Small Town Girl” in photos. As noted above, the Capitol Theatre replaced the burned out previous Capitol across the street. Architectural plan was by Marr and Holman of Nashville with Joseph W. Holman. The theatre closed on October 17, 1974 with “Chinatown.” It was ostensibly replaced by the opening of the Martin Twin. The Capitol Theatre was razed after being vacant late in 1983.
The title of this entry should be the Martin Four Cinema and formerly the Martin Twin Theatre. The Capri is already listed as the Carmike 8.
This theatre opened as the Martin Twin Theatre adjacent to the Clarksville Square Shopping Center on October 17, 1974 with “The Great Gatsby” and a twin bill of “The Shaggy Dog” and “The Bears and I.” Two identical 370-seat auditoriums seated 740 total patrons. The twin became a quad on June 12, 1981 called the Martin Four Cinema. When Carmike took on both of the Martin theatres in town, it converted the Capri to an 8-screen facility. It eventually decided to close the Martin Four which would become a place of worship.
AMC Classic announced that “Black Panther” will be the final feature as the theatre closes March 15, 2018.
AMC announced it would close March 22, 2018 as the Vallco Fashion Park Mall has gone into greyfield status losing all of its anchor stores and the vast majority of its interior stores.
1931 co-op ad for the LaRoy Theatre in Portsmouth.
Correction: December 11, 1916 was the soft launch with Anita Stewart in “The Juggernaut”. The official grand opening took place on February 2, 1917.
Launched as the Thorley Theatre in 1914. On June 15, 1939, the Thorley Theatre became the Avalon Theatre. In 1940, the name was changed again to the Utah Theatre. After closing for remodeling in 1946, the theatre relaunched as the Cedar Theatre which it retained until it was twinned.
The second Texas Theatre appears to have closed on June 4, 1972. When Val Verde Theatres refurbished the property in 1959, it showed its commitment to Spanish language films with a statuette of Cantinflas at the box office. Spanish language films were programmed from 1943 to 1972 (full time 1959-1972 and two days a week beginning in 1943).
he Rita Theatre’s grand opening was September 20, 1943 with the patriotic film, “Fight for Freedom.” The theatre operated for 35 years continuously closing in 1978. Despite the closure, locals raised funds for years to renovate the showplace. The Rita re-launched on December 16, 1983 named after the theatre’s creator Paul Poag as the Paul Poag Theatre for the Perofroming Arts.
The previous Rita and former Strand Theatre which had opened in December of 1931 was destroyed by fire in February of 1943. This venue was built in the same spot.
The Plaza del Sol Mall launched March 10, 1979 in Del Rio, Texas. About a month later, on April 19th, 1979, Plitt opened the multiscreen Cinema III in the mall. Plitt also operated the Cinema Plaza and Gay 90 Drive-In at that time before closing both in 1981.
The struggling Plitt Circuit would be partially absorbed by Cinemark which took on the theatre on May 8, 1987. Cinemark slightly rebranded the the venue as the Cinema 3 which it operated until February of 1996. It would then create the larger Movies 8 facility that opened later in 1996 and continued into the 21st Century.
The Princess Theatre was located in a building at 636 South Main built in 1913. It switched to both talkies and air conditioning in 1929. After the War, business faded until 1953 when “Bwana Devil” and several subsequent 3D titles brought back audiences. The theatre closed after a July 23, 1958 showing of “Paths of Glory.” It was demolished in March of 1960.
According to Owner Joe Brokaw, he opened his theatre August 27, 1931 (see letter in photos)
1932 promo for organist Egon Dougherty in Astoria
The last listing in the newspaper is May 17, 1950. The theatre was auctioned off and the seats removed in June of 1950.
Correction – Screen
Grand opening of the Belle Theatre was June 28, 1931 and managed by Leo Peterson. The theatre opened with a Spanish motif. It was operated by the Black Hills Amusement Company. It appears to close after a June 3, 1973 showing of “The Mechanic”.
A.P. Parker opened the Dixie Theatre for films on Thanksgiving Day 1925 after a soft launch in October with live events. On January 11, 1940, the theatre was decimated in a fire. After being closed for three months, on April 12, 1940, the reconstructed facility relaunched as the Madison Theatre. Ad are discontinued December 31, 1985 as the Madison’s regular feature days appear to end.
This might be a bit closer to the theatre’s timeline using the local paper and trade press:
P.W. Goodson & Son opened the Lathrop Theatre in the existing Lowry Building on May 18, 1923 ending the run of the inferior Star Theatre. The theatre was likely on a ten-year lease and remained silent to ending its film run in 1933 playing very out of date films.
The theatre housed live events over the next three years including political rallies, school functions, and minstrel shows. Bill Waer took on the theatre in 1936 to modernize the venue renaming it the Tri-Town Theatre which closes quickly.
George A. Owen relaunched the venue as the “new” Lathrop Theatre on May 8, 1937. As another ten year lease lapsed, a new operator, W.W. Weldon of Kansas City, refreshed the venue relaunching as the Joy Theatre on August 19, 1944.
James Wolf purchased the venue in 1947 and returned it to its original name of the Lathrop Theatre. The theatre closes on June 22, 1953 after thirty years of operation with a break during the Depression. A salvage sale in 1954 including plank converts the Lowry Building from theatre to level-floor retail building.
Note: Opened and closed as the Lathrop Theatre – so title should be that with Joy Theatre as a previous name.
The Windsor Opera House launched January 2, 1901 with live fare. The theatre was showing movies by 1921 and installed Vitaphone to go with talking pictures in 1930. The venue changed to the Windsor Theatre in 1935 and closed April 2, 1966.
As best as can be determined, this is the timeline of this venue.
Opened as the Jobson Opera House on October 31, 1889. By 1897, Col. F.W. Blees takes over and calls it the Blees Theatre. Harry Logan took on the venue continuing as the Logan Theatre in 1911. Motion pictures were later added to the live mix with the theatre becoming primarily known for motion pictures.
This is where things become a bit tricky. The Logan goes dark late in 1918 and very briefly reopens in a new location in 1919. On October 3, 1919, the original Logan was taken over by W.D. Woods of Kansas City. The Princess Theatre launched on October 11, 1919 with “His Majesty, Bunker Bean” and listed as “formerly the Logan.” The short-lived Logan location became the original location of the Grand Theatre. The original Grand opened in July of 1919 – it, too, was also listed as “formerly the Logan.”
On December 29, 1922, the Princess under new owners relaunched as the Yale Theatre with “My Old Kentucky Home.” After closing in June of 1923, the venue relaunched under J. Earl Hayes as the Royal Theatre on August 25, 1923. The Royal Theatre’s “ghost sign” /outside advertisement was maintained into the 21st Century.
On December 31, 1929, the theatre became the Dickinson Theatre installing RCA sound and converting the interior to a Moorish architectural design. Dickinson sold his interest in the theatre and one of his employees took on the house. Under new operation, it re-launched October 28, 1936 as the long-running Macon Theatre. In 2004, the facility became live theatre opening its first season as the Maples Repertory Theatre.
That all may be incorrect but it’s the best timeline based on the local papers and the trade press.
The history of the Ozark Theatre does not jibe with the local newspaper or the trade press of the era. So if they are both incorrect, the above is fine. According to the local newspaper and the trade press, they claim that the Ozark Theatre launched May 2, 1929 with “Craig’s Wife.” It was a new build venue with sloped floors and was the new home of the former Gem Theatre. The building was built by Carry Hall and the theatre was opened as a silent house.
A big deal was made about the wiring for sound which took place in 1930. “Lord Byron of Broadway” was the first sound feature and carried a hefty $1 admission on November 2, 1930. The south side of the square venue closed August 11, 1946 when Glen Hall launched the new Hall Theatre.