Operator Donald R. Lancaster, Sr., ran this location for more than 30 years and was likely named after one of Detroit’s early female movie pioneers, Emma Lancaster.
Joseph L. Donahah and Edward Simonson purchased an old apartment building and knocked it over for the new-build Main Street Theatre in 1913. Bathed in dark green, the theater launched on January 3, 1914 on a 20-year lease with the live play, “The Red Widow.” In 1921, the Atlantic Theatre Company Circuit took over the theater converting it from a legit house to a photoplay and vaudeville house. Renamed the Strand Theatre, its Grand Opening took place on February 21, 1921 with Douglas Fairbanks in “The Mark of Zorro.” The Strand went out of business and was sold at a Sheriff’s Sale in 1925 and would be purchased by the Walter Reade Circuit.The Strand was remodeled in 1925 for its relaunch and would be equipped for Western Electric sound on June 7, 1929.
The theatre’s lease was renewed for 20-years in 1934 and got an entirely new front and streamlined interior that Fall. In 1947, the theatre got another major refresh by Walter Reade. In 1954, the theatre was renewed for a new 20-year lease and – after a summer refresh that year – re-emerged with a “Wide Vision” screen to present CinemaScope films beginning August 19, 1954 with the film, “The Student Prince.”
The final show for the Strand turned out to be “The 4th Horseman of the Apocalypse” on April 7, 1962. Just prior to matinee screenings the next day, a lunchtime fire at a neighboring pizzeria decimated the block ending the theatre. In 1963, the theatre-less community heard the announcement of a new theater that would launch in the Britt’s Shopping Center in January of 1964.
Harry L. Sellers of the nearby Standard Theatre launched the Strand Theatre opening on November 8, 1915 with Blanche Sweet in “Stolen Goods” supported by a Vitagraph comedy short, “Quoits.”
The Look Cinemas closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 16, 2020. In April and May, it offered concession sales and virtual cinema to try and stay afloat. But on June 29, 2020, the independent theatre made the closure permanent also closing its Ivy Kitchen. The theatre had Dolby Atmos capability and was one of the area’s few cinemas still able to present 70mm films. It was a significant loss to the presentation of films in the marketplace.
Ed Kuhn opened his Kuhn Theatre launched March 6, 1911 with “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Far East.” The theatre was auctioned in 1914. Two Philadelphia operators purchased it and renamed it the Manor Street Theatre. In 1916, it received a refresh and under new operators became the Lancaster Theatre.
On April 19, 1920, it became the Strand Theatre under the operation of George Benthan. Harry M. Chertcoff took on the location in 1928 whose Chetco Circuit operated it to its closure. The theatre closed April 1, 1962 with “The Singer Not the Song.” Sadly, projectionist turned Mayor George B. Coe had ironically issued a proclamation earlier that week celebrating, “International Theatre Week.”
The Chetco Chain Theatre Circuit launched the Hill Theatre on February 19, 1947 with Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson in “The Time, the Place, and the Girl.” The streamline moderne theatre was one of twelve operated by Harry Chertcoff’s chain. The theatre appears to have closed on July 22, 1976 with Geraldine Page in “Hazel’s People” likely at the end of.a 30-year lease.
The New Fox Theatre launched on November 2, 1935 in downtown Plain Dealing. It was a converted retail space in the R.C. Purcell Building opening on a 20 year-lease. It replaced the Fox Tent Theatre used in the warm weather months when the city’s Electric Theatre closed. Cecil Kelly and J.M. Graham opened the venue and had a guest in “the Lonesome Cowboy” Roy McDaniel with an in-person visit in the theater’s first full weekend of operation.
The long-running venue renewed its lease and converted to widescreen. It appears to have concluded cinematic operations on August 18, 1969 with a 30th-anniversary screening of “Gone with the Wind.” It became a live music venue the following year closing in 1971. The City of Plain Dealing purchased the building 1976.
The Omni 8 Cinema closed temporarily for a refresh on September 3, 2019 relaunching in November of 2019. It closed March 23, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 26, 2020, it decided to add a temporary drive-in screen in its parking lot accommodating 250 cars while it waited for the ability to reopen.
The Hays Mall officially launched with a Grand Opening on April 12, 1972. But a month earlier, Carrolls Development / Carolls Equities Corp. delivered its automated Cinema 1&2 on March 12, 1972 with “The Godfather” and “Play it Again, Sam.” It was in the rear of The Mall.
The Cinema Entertainment Corporation (CEC) Circuit launched the Cinema 4 in 1990. The theatre closed ion March 16, 2020 along with theatres around the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 23, 2020, CEC made the closure permanent as the Breckenridge 6 became one of many theaters closed permanently due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The theater closed with all of the Cineplex locations on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 15, 2020, the Circuit made the closure permanent as the Park & Tilford was one of many theaters closed permanently during the pandemic.
The Great Oaks Cinema opened June 17, 1977 with Rocky and Airport ‘77. It closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic with “Onward” on March 15, 2020 along with theaters around the globe. On June 15, 2020, the theatre made the closure permanent becoming one of many theaters which did not reopen during the pandemic.
The Cinemark Aurora 10 in the Burlington Town Square Shopping Center closed on March 16, 2020 along with theaters around the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 16, 2020, the circuit announced that the closure would be permanent as the multiplex became one of many theaters closed permanently during the pandemic.
I did not say that it closed permanently. It closed on March 16, 2020 due to COVID-19 and the building is for sale. I hope they will reopen very soon and they haven’t stripped the building which is a good sign.
Eisentraut Theatres closed after showtimes on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic that closed it and theatres around the globe. On June 12, 2020, the management made the decision to permanently close the theatre becoming another of many theaters closing permanently during the pandemic.
The Carmike 8 opened in December of 1994. It had two THX-certified screens with DTS sound in all auditroiums. A 2005 conversion to stadium seating brought the seat count to 170 in the two THX auditoriums, two 96 seaters, two 121 seaters and two 154 seaters for a total of 1,082 seats. AMC took on the theatre when it acquired Carmike in a $1.2 billion takeover in December of 2016. It was rebranded as the AMC Classic Lawton in 2017. The theatre closed a year later and the property was listed by a Dallas-based real estate firm for possible sale or lease takeover.
The Apple Valley 15 closed for the COVID-19 pandemic after showtimes on March 16, 2020. The theatre was then listed for sale by a Dallas-based real estate company as AMC faced dire economic conditions during the theatre shutdown.
The Carmike Oakdale Stadium 20 opened in 2000. In December of 2016, AMC bought Carmike for $1.2 billion which included the Oakdale cinema. AMC had to relinquish locations in 15 markets after the United States v. AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., findings. New Vision Theatres Circuit took on the Oakdale Stadium 20 along with 16 other AMC properties in April of 2017.
The theatre was closed by the COVID-19 pandemic after the March 16, 2020 showtimes. On June 9, New Visions issued a statement that the circuit would not renew the 20-year lease which had lapsed on April 30, 2020. It was one of many theatres which closed during the COVID-19 and did not reopen. The building was offered for sale by a Dallas-based real estate firm which felt that the property would not be reopened as a theatre again.
In the 1920s and 1930s, George F. Myers was everything to the, then, small town of Carrollton, Texas. The grocer/mayor/postmaster showed outdoor films before dedicating a space in his downtown grocery store with post office to show indoor films. Naming it after himself, it was the Myers Theater. The theater was developed much in the same way that show-stores had developed in the first part of the Century in downtown Dallas. Myers opened the theatre on December 14, 1928. And the good news is that the Myers would find new operators who gave a permanence to the option.
The Myers show-store Theater space was taken over by A.R. Lowery and his wife, Vera who replaced the benches with actual theater seating and renamed it as the Plaza Theater on September 13, 1938 official grand opening Clark Gable in “Test Pilot.” Their 8-year old son, John, made news at that location when he made it to the final chapter of a western serial with a broken leg.
Not long after World War II, A.R. Lowrey passed away, Vera and her now-grown son, John, would decide to operate a larger theater. They moved to 1115 W. Main to launch the “new” Plaza opening December 23, 1949 as the town had surged to just over 1,000 residents. As of the mid-2010s, the old Myers/Plaza Theater space was still quite vibrant as a completely redesigned retail operation.
The Reel Deal was one of many theaters that closed permanently during the COVID-19 pandemic. The independent theater had opened with the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy on December 25, 2003 and was named for its creator, Bill Deal. It hosted Los Alamos-shot film premieres of 2009’s “Brothers” and 2017’s “Only the Brave” and independent films including the documentary, “The Safe Side of the Fence.”
But with the impact of streaming, downturn in non-traditional revenue from the arcade, and the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown beginning in March of 2020, the indy operation added up the “nut” of operating at 25% capacity and increased cleaning costs required when allowed to reopen in the COVID-19 environment and shuttered permanently. It had tried to find a new operator but was unable to do so in time to reopen when New Mexico allowed it to do so. Final showtimes were on March 16, 2020 with the closing announcement coming June 9, 2020.
Operator Donald R. Lancaster, Sr., ran this location for more than 30 years and was likely named after one of Detroit’s early female movie pioneers, Emma Lancaster.
Should be added to Alex Manta and Jack Rose’s Manta and Rose Theatre Circuit: M & R Theatres.
Joseph L. Donahah and Edward Simonson purchased an old apartment building and knocked it over for the new-build Main Street Theatre in 1913. Bathed in dark green, the theater launched on January 3, 1914 on a 20-year lease with the live play, “The Red Widow.” In 1921, the Atlantic Theatre Company Circuit took over the theater converting it from a legit house to a photoplay and vaudeville house. Renamed the Strand Theatre, its Grand Opening took place on February 21, 1921 with Douglas Fairbanks in “The Mark of Zorro.” The Strand went out of business and was sold at a Sheriff’s Sale in 1925 and would be purchased by the Walter Reade Circuit.The Strand was remodeled in 1925 for its relaunch and would be equipped for Western Electric sound on June 7, 1929.
The theatre’s lease was renewed for 20-years in 1934 and got an entirely new front and streamlined interior that Fall. In 1947, the theatre got another major refresh by Walter Reade. In 1954, the theatre was renewed for a new 20-year lease and – after a summer refresh that year – re-emerged with a “Wide Vision” screen to present CinemaScope films beginning August 19, 1954 with the film, “The Student Prince.”
The final show for the Strand turned out to be “The 4th Horseman of the Apocalypse” on April 7, 1962. Just prior to matinee screenings the next day, a lunchtime fire at a neighboring pizzeria decimated the block ending the theatre. In 1963, the theatre-less community heard the announcement of a new theater that would launch in the Britt’s Shopping Center in January of 1964.
Opened November 4, 1912 with motion pictures and vaudeville.
Harry L. Sellers of the nearby Standard Theatre launched the Strand Theatre opening on November 8, 1915 with Blanche Sweet in “Stolen Goods” supported by a Vitagraph comedy short, “Quoits.”
The Look Cinemas closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 16, 2020. In April and May, it offered concession sales and virtual cinema to try and stay afloat. But on June 29, 2020, the independent theatre made the closure permanent also closing its Ivy Kitchen. The theatre had Dolby Atmos capability and was one of the area’s few cinemas still able to present 70mm films. It was a significant loss to the presentation of films in the marketplace.
Ed Kuhn opened his Kuhn Theatre launched March 6, 1911 with “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Far East.” The theatre was auctioned in 1914. Two Philadelphia operators purchased it and renamed it the Manor Street Theatre. In 1916, it received a refresh and under new operators became the Lancaster Theatre.
On April 19, 1920, it became the Strand Theatre under the operation of George Benthan. Harry M. Chertcoff took on the location in 1928 whose Chetco Circuit operated it to its closure. The theatre closed April 1, 1962 with “The Singer Not the Song.” Sadly, projectionist turned Mayor George B. Coe had ironically issued a proclamation earlier that week celebrating, “International Theatre Week.”
The Chetco Chain Theatre Circuit launched the Hill Theatre on February 19, 1947 with Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson in “The Time, the Place, and the Girl.” The streamline moderne theatre was one of twelve operated by Harry Chertcoff’s chain. The theatre appears to have closed on July 22, 1976 with Geraldine Page in “Hazel’s People” likely at the end of.a 30-year lease.
The New Fox Theatre launched on November 2, 1935 in downtown Plain Dealing. It was a converted retail space in the R.C. Purcell Building opening on a 20 year-lease. It replaced the Fox Tent Theatre used in the warm weather months when the city’s Electric Theatre closed. Cecil Kelly and J.M. Graham opened the venue and had a guest in “the Lonesome Cowboy” Roy McDaniel with an in-person visit in the theater’s first full weekend of operation.
The long-running venue renewed its lease and converted to widescreen. It appears to have concluded cinematic operations on August 18, 1969 with a 30th-anniversary screening of “Gone with the Wind.” It became a live music venue the following year closing in 1971. The City of Plain Dealing purchased the building 1976.
The Omni 8 Cinema closed temporarily for a refresh on September 3, 2019 relaunching in November of 2019. It closed March 23, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 26, 2020, it decided to add a temporary drive-in screen in its parking lot accommodating 250 cars while it waited for the ability to reopen.
The Hays Mall officially launched with a Grand Opening on April 12, 1972. But a month earlier, Carrolls Development / Carolls Equities Corp. delivered its automated Cinema 1&2 on March 12, 1972 with “The Godfather” and “Play it Again, Sam.” It was in the rear of The Mall.
Act I & II / Dove Theater in Denver open in 2020.
The Cinema Entertainment Corporation (CEC) Circuit launched the Cinema 4 in 1990. The theatre closed ion March 16, 2020 along with theatres around the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 23, 2020, CEC made the closure permanent as the Breckenridge 6 became one of many theaters closed permanently due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The theater closed with all of the Cineplex locations on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 15, 2020, the Circuit made the closure permanent as the Park & Tilford was one of many theaters closed permanently during the pandemic.
The Great Oaks Cinema opened June 17, 1977 with Rocky and Airport ‘77. It closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic with “Onward” on March 15, 2020 along with theaters around the globe. On June 15, 2020, the theatre made the closure permanent becoming one of many theaters which did not reopen during the pandemic.
The Cinemark Aurora 10 in the Burlington Town Square Shopping Center closed on March 16, 2020 along with theaters around the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 16, 2020, the circuit announced that the closure would be permanent as the multiplex became one of many theaters closed permanently during the pandemic.
I did not say that it closed permanently. It closed on March 16, 2020 due to COVID-19 and the building is for sale. I hope they will reopen very soon and they haven’t stripped the building which is a good sign.
Eisentraut Theatres closed after showtimes on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic that closed it and theatres around the globe. On June 12, 2020, the management made the decision to permanently close the theatre becoming another of many theaters closing permanently during the pandemic.
The Carmike 8 opened in December of 1994. It had two THX-certified screens with DTS sound in all auditroiums. A 2005 conversion to stadium seating brought the seat count to 170 in the two THX auditoriums, two 96 seaters, two 121 seaters and two 154 seaters for a total of 1,082 seats. AMC took on the theatre when it acquired Carmike in a $1.2 billion takeover in December of 2016. It was rebranded as the AMC Classic Lawton in 2017. The theatre closed a year later and the property was listed by a Dallas-based real estate firm for possible sale or lease takeover.
The Apple Valley 15 closed for the COVID-19 pandemic after showtimes on March 16, 2020. The theatre was then listed for sale by a Dallas-based real estate company as AMC faced dire economic conditions during the theatre shutdown.
The Carmike Oakdale Stadium 20 opened in 2000. In December of 2016, AMC bought Carmike for $1.2 billion which included the Oakdale cinema. AMC had to relinquish locations in 15 markets after the United States v. AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., findings. New Vision Theatres Circuit took on the Oakdale Stadium 20 along with 16 other AMC properties in April of 2017.
The theatre was closed by the COVID-19 pandemic after the March 16, 2020 showtimes. On June 9, New Visions issued a statement that the circuit would not renew the 20-year lease which had lapsed on April 30, 2020. It was one of many theatres which closed during the COVID-19 and did not reopen. The building was offered for sale by a Dallas-based real estate firm which felt that the property would not be reopened as a theatre again.
Capacity 1200 cars. Appears to have closed at the end of the 1976 season. Circtui: Rowley United
In the 1920s and 1930s, George F. Myers was everything to the, then, small town of Carrollton, Texas. The grocer/mayor/postmaster showed outdoor films before dedicating a space in his downtown grocery store with post office to show indoor films. Naming it after himself, it was the Myers Theater. The theater was developed much in the same way that show-stores had developed in the first part of the Century in downtown Dallas. Myers opened the theatre on December 14, 1928. And the good news is that the Myers would find new operators who gave a permanence to the option.
The Myers show-store Theater space was taken over by A.R. Lowery and his wife, Vera who replaced the benches with actual theater seating and renamed it as the Plaza Theater on September 13, 1938 official grand opening Clark Gable in “Test Pilot.” Their 8-year old son, John, made news at that location when he made it to the final chapter of a western serial with a broken leg.
Not long after World War II, A.R. Lowrey passed away, Vera and her now-grown son, John, would decide to operate a larger theater. They moved to 1115 W. Main to launch the “new” Plaza opening December 23, 1949 as the town had surged to just over 1,000 residents. As of the mid-2010s, the old Myers/Plaza Theater space was still quite vibrant as a completely redesigned retail operation.
Correction: The Plaza Theatre opened on December 15, 1949 with Cary Grant in “I Was a Mail War Bride.”
The Reel Deal was one of many theaters that closed permanently during the COVID-19 pandemic. The independent theater had opened with the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy on December 25, 2003 and was named for its creator, Bill Deal. It hosted Los Alamos-shot film premieres of 2009’s “Brothers” and 2017’s “Only the Brave” and independent films including the documentary, “The Safe Side of the Fence.”
But with the impact of streaming, downturn in non-traditional revenue from the arcade, and the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown beginning in March of 2020, the indy operation added up the “nut” of operating at 25% capacity and increased cleaning costs required when allowed to reopen in the COVID-19 environment and shuttered permanently. It had tried to find a new operator but was unable to do so in time to reopen when New Mexico allowed it to do so. Final showtimes were on March 16, 2020 with the closing announcement coming June 9, 2020.