The page for the Midway Theatre at Water Winter Wonderland says that it opened in 1940 and closed in 1967. A comment on the page notes that the building was demolished in 2004. There area couple of photos of the building after it had been converted for retail use.
The June 24, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World reported with the dateline Canistota that “Dr. Clark’s new theater here will cost $10,000.”
Mrs. W.C. Clark, manager of the house, said that the Clark Theatre had installed new Kroehler push-back chairs and a new sound system, and that the lobby had been redecorated, according to an item in the July 26, 1946, issue of The Montrose Herald.
I’m not sure if it is the same theater under a new name, but Boxoffice of April 27, 1959, reported that the Canistota Theatre in Canistota would be reopened after having been closed for two years. New owner B.G. Pletan planned to install a wide screen. The Canistota Theatre was in operation at least as late as January, 1963.
The Hippodrome in Utica was mentioned in the May 1, 1909, issue of Variety. The house was showing movies at least as late as 1921, when it was mentioned in the June 4 issue of The Moving Picture World.
The Rivoli was still being advertised in the newspapers in 1952, and I’ve come across several references to it in books and on nostalgia web sites during the pre-and post-war periods. So far the only reference in a trade journal I’ve found was a brief notice in the January 2, 1936, issue of The Film Daily saying that the house had been acquired by the Braddock Trust Co. in a sherrif’s sale.
jordanlage: Jack Tillmany’s well-researched list of San Francisco Theaters doesn’t have a listing for a house at 200 West Portal, currently the location of Walgreen’s. I can’t find any evidence of a theater at that location, either. Do you remember one being there?
To me the building looks as though it might as easily have been built for an early supermarket or a bowling alley or perhaps a neighborhood department store of the sort once once fairly common in American cities. A lot of businesses other than theaters were housed in buildings with Art Deco or Streamline Modern details.
The interior of the Edwards Santa Maria Stadium 14 can be seen in a fifteen-photo slide show on the web site of BB Architects.
Although the theater’s entrance is inside the mall, the exterior features a monumental, entrance-like structure, designed by LDA Design Group in a Spanish Colonial Revival style, facing the corner of South Broadway and East Cook Street. A single solid door in it indicates that it probably serves, rather incongruously, as a service entrance.
The Big Newport’s rather austere new auditorium interiors can be seen in this slide show on the web site of the firm that designed the remodeling project, BB Architects.
Regal carried out a remodeling of this theater beginning in 2015. Reseating has undoubtedly reduced the overall capacity, but I haven’t been able to discover the current number. The plans for the remodeling were by BB Architects, and the firm’s web site features this slide show with eight photos displaying some of the results.
The Kapolei Commons 12 was designed for Regal by BB Architects of Laguna Beach, California. This slide show from the firm’s web site features six photos of the theater.
Here is a slide show with nine photos of the Galaxy Sparks, from the web site of BB Architects. It is much more sedate than the designs the same firm has done for Regal Cinemas.
Fuller Sears Architects designed the multi-use project in which this theater is located, but the interior layout and design was by BB Architects, who have designed many projects for Regal. Here is a slide show with eleven photos of the theater on BB Architects' web site.
I believe the architectural firm Hodges and Associates changed its name to Hodges Architecture because there is a large law firm called Hodges & Associates. Lawyers would be the last people anyone would want to get into a naming rights conflict with.
Thanks, Edie. I see that the rebuilt entrance to the Kiva was in the store front now occupied by a cocktail lounge called Joel’s, at 119 W. 8th Street. What I assume was the theater’s auditorium houses a billiard parlor. The original theater entrance on Main Avenue, which must have been very long, houses a boutique called Gloss.
These days most new theaters are built by large chains who usually have complete control over the project, and they deal with large architectural firms that provide all of the plans in house, with the theater company paying for them.
There are probably exceptions when a theater is part of a larger project, in which case the developer might have more control over at least the exterior look of the theater portion of the project, and the developer’s architects would work in tandem with the theater chain’s architects who would fit their design for the interior into a building designed by the developer’s architect. In those cases the developer would probably pay for the overall plans for the building, while the theater company would pay for the interior plans and renderings.
Historically, when there were a lot of independent theater operators, it was not unusual for developers to build a theater on speculation and then lease it out to an operator, either an independent or a chain eager to get into that particular market. This has become rare, though. Big chains that dominate the industry today like to maintain control over the look and layout of their theaters, and will typically hire the same architectural firm to design one project after another.
The page for the Midway Theatre at Water Winter Wonderland says that it opened in 1940 and closed in 1967. A comment on the page notes that the building was demolished in 2004. There area couple of photos of the building after it had been converted for retail use.
Hoffman’s expanded into the former Avon Theatre’s space in 1973, according to an article in the Medford Star News of December 4, 2014.
The Avon was in operation by 1936.
Boxoffice of June 9, 1958, reported that Ray Blakeslee had renovated and reopened the Avon Theatre, which had been closed since the previous October.
The June 24, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World reported with the dateline Canistota that “Dr. Clark’s new theater here will cost $10,000.”
Mrs. W.C. Clark, manager of the house, said that the Clark Theatre had installed new Kroehler push-back chairs and a new sound system, and that the lobby had been redecorated, according to an item in the July 26, 1946, issue of The Montrose Herald.
I’m not sure if it is the same theater under a new name, but Boxoffice of April 27, 1959, reported that the Canistota Theatre in Canistota would be reopened after having been closed for two years. New owner B.G. Pletan planned to install a wide screen. The Canistota Theatre was in operation at least as late as January, 1963.
The Hippodrome in Utica was mentioned in the May 1, 1909, issue of Variety. The house was showing movies at least as late as 1921, when it was mentioned in the June 4 issue of The Moving Picture World.
The Rivoli was still being advertised in the newspapers in 1952, and I’ve come across several references to it in books and on nostalgia web sites during the pre-and post-war periods. So far the only reference in a trade journal I’ve found was a brief notice in the January 2, 1936, issue of The Film Daily saying that the house had been acquired by the Braddock Trust Co. in a sherrif’s sale.
This web page has a drawing of the proposed West Portal Theatre project by architect Irving Morrow, dated 1923.
jordanlage: Jack Tillmany’s well-researched list of San Francisco Theaters doesn’t have a listing for a house at 200 West Portal, currently the location of Walgreen’s. I can’t find any evidence of a theater at that location, either. Do you remember one being there?
To me the building looks as though it might as easily have been built for an early supermarket or a bowling alley or perhaps a neighborhood department store of the sort once once fairly common in American cities. A lot of businesses other than theaters were housed in buildings with Art Deco or Streamline Modern details.
BB Architects now has a five-photo slide show of the Galaxy Tulare at this link.
The interior of the Edwards Santa Maria Stadium 14 can be seen in a fifteen-photo slide show on the web site of BB Architects.
Although the theater’s entrance is inside the mall, the exterior features a monumental, entrance-like structure, designed by LDA Design Group in a Spanish Colonial Revival style, facing the corner of South Broadway and East Cook Street. A single solid door in it indicates that it probably serves, rather incongruously, as a service entrance.
Six photos of Edwards Corona Crossing are featured in this slide show on the web site of BB Architects.
The Big Newport’s rather austere new auditorium interiors can be seen in this slide show on the web site of the firm that designed the remodeling project, BB Architects.
Regal carried out a remodeling of this theater beginning in 2015. Reseating has undoubtedly reduced the overall capacity, but I haven’t been able to discover the current number. The plans for the remodeling were by BB Architects, and the firm’s web site features this slide show with eight photos displaying some of the results.
Seven photos of the Regal Carlsbad can be seen in this slide show from the web site of BB Architects.
The web site of BB Architects (the new name of Blair Ballard Architects) features this slide show with four photos of the Regal Santa Fe.
The Kapolei Commons 12 was designed for Regal by BB Architects of Laguna Beach, California. This slide show from the firm’s web site features six photos of the theater.
Here is a slide show with nine photos of the Galaxy Sparks, from the web site of BB Architects. It is much more sedate than the designs the same firm has done for Regal Cinemas.
BB Architects provides this slide show with four photos of the Lancaster Mall cinemas.
The web site of BB Architects features this slide show with seven photos of Regal’s Martin Village cinemas.
BB Architects provides this slide show with eleven photos (mostly interior shots) of the Edwards Boise Downtown Stadium 9.
Google maps pin icon is too far east, as is the current setting of the street view.
Fuller Sears Architects designed the multi-use project in which this theater is located, but the interior layout and design was by BB Architects, who have designed many projects for Regal. Here is a slide show with eleven photos of the theater on BB Architects' web site.
Here is a slide show with six photos of the Regal Landing Stadium 14 on the web site of the architects.
I believe the architectural firm Hodges and Associates changed its name to Hodges Architecture because there is a large law firm called Hodges & Associates. Lawyers would be the last people anyone would want to get into a naming rights conflict with.
Thanks, Edie. I see that the rebuilt entrance to the Kiva was in the store front now occupied by a cocktail lounge called Joel’s, at 119 W. 8th Street. What I assume was the theater’s auditorium houses a billiard parlor. The original theater entrance on Main Avenue, which must have been very long, houses a boutique called Gloss.
These days most new theaters are built by large chains who usually have complete control over the project, and they deal with large architectural firms that provide all of the plans in house, with the theater company paying for them.
There are probably exceptions when a theater is part of a larger project, in which case the developer might have more control over at least the exterior look of the theater portion of the project, and the developer’s architects would work in tandem with the theater chain’s architects who would fit their design for the interior into a building designed by the developer’s architect. In those cases the developer would probably pay for the overall plans for the building, while the theater company would pay for the interior plans and renderings.
Historically, when there were a lot of independent theater operators, it was not unusual for developers to build a theater on speculation and then lease it out to an operator, either an independent or a chain eager to get into that particular market. This has become rare, though. Big chains that dominate the industry today like to maintain control over the look and layout of their theaters, and will typically hire the same architectural firm to design one project after another.