JeffRW: Comparing the three vintage photos on our photo page with modern Google street view, its clear that the bay windowed building next door to the theater on Broadway and the building with the arches on Grand Street which was adjacent to the theater’s stage house are still standing. I don’t see any alleys separating the theater from either of those buildings, so it must have taken up the entire space of the parking lot.
Unfortunately, the oldest aerial photos of Newburgh at the web site Historic Aerials date from 1965, long after the theater was demolished. They might get an older one showing the theater eventually, and then we’ll be able to see for sure how it fit onto its lot. I know of no other online sources that currently have older aerials of Newburgh.
This photo depicts the earlier Comerford Theatre in Wilkes Barre, divested by the chain in 1949 and renamed the Paramount, at which time the Capitol was renamed the Comerford.
This photo depicts the earlier Comerford Theatre in Wilkes Barre, divested by the chain in 1949 and renamed the Paramount, at which time the Capitol was renamed the Comerford.
This photo depicts the earlier Comerford Theatre in Wilkes Barre, divested by the chain in 1949 and renamed the Paramount, at which time the Capitol was renamed the Comerford.
According to this web page, the Lyric Theatre was adjacent to the larger Capitol Theatre. Today the Lyric’s building is occupied by the bar and dining room of a restaurant, The Brick House. The restaurant’s game room and banquet room are situated in the former Capitol Theatre’s building.
The February 6, 1914, issue of Variety ran the following notice:
“Butler, Pa., is to have a new theatre. The present Lyric will be torn down and rebuilt at a cost of $50,000. No policy has been announced.”
Here we come to a bit of a puzzle. Electrical Record and Buyer’s Reference of Noavember, 1915, has this item about the project:
“The contract for the electrical work in the Lyric Theatre Play House in North Main street, Butler, Pa. has been awarded to The Electric Shop, 111 West Jefferson street, Buffalo. This building is 40 by 200 feet, three stories high. Conduit will be used throughout, The fixtures will be largely semi indirect bowls, This concern has also completed the electrical work in the new YMCA building the largest electrical job ever done in Butler.”
The problem is that the main restaurant building, supposedly the former Lyric Theatre, is not 40 feet wide, but that is about the width of the former Capitol Theatre next door, which is also about 200 feet deep. While the fronts of both buildings are only two stories high, the Capitol’s auditorium is indeed a bit higher than the adjacent three story office block on the corner of New Castle Street.
Could it be that local historians have lost track of what actually went on in these buildings, and the Lyric Theatre that was built in 1915 and mentioned in trade publications through the 1920s and into the 1930s was actually the house that later became the Capitol? Perhaps someone has access to the archives of the local newspaper in Butler and can find information to clear up this historical puzzle.
This web page says that the Capitol Theatre is still intact, and that it occupied the upstairs of the building that now houses the game room and banquet room of the Brick House restaurant.
Looking at the Google satellite view, though, it looks to me as though the “upstairs theater” might be only the former balcony of this fairly capacious house. The upper part of the building alone would not have been large enough to accommodate 900 seats. Quite a large stage house backs up to Jackson Street.
The page also says that the main restaurant and bar next door occupy another former theater, the Lyric, though all trace of that smaller house has been obliterated.
I’ve found the Lyric mentioned in trade publications from the 1910s, but so far not mentions of the Capitol. Still, judging from the facade in the vintage photo, I think the house must have dated from that decade or earlier. Butler had many theaters over the years, and I’ve found references to movie houses called the Imperial, The Carlton, the Grand, and the Orpheum, none of which are listed here yet (unless under later names and missing the aka’s.)
The Crystal Theatre is mentioned in the May 2, 1919, issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor
“Porterville—The Crystal Theater, Gus Gemanis, manager, will be enlarged and remodeled. … An addition will be built to the rear of the building and the lobby will be finished in marble.”
A biographical sketch of Charles William Eyer said that he bought the Crystal Theatre after moving to Porterville in 1920. By the late 1940s, all four of Porterville’s movie houses, including the Crystal, were owned by the Howell family.
The American Theatre was in operation by 1923, when this brief notice appeared in the September 8 issue of The Moving Picture World: “The Apollo Theatre will be opened shortly
at Ventura, Cal., by the owners of the American Theatre.”
The principal owner of the American was Charles Corcoran, later a local partner with West Coast Theatres in the Ventura Theatre. The partnership predated the construction of the Ventura, as noted in this item from MPW for March 6, 1926:
“Corcoran Sells
“The West Coast Junior Theatre circuit has completed a deal with the American Amusement Company of Ventura, Cal., through Charles Corcoran whereby the circuit comes into possession of more than 50 per cent of all the holdings of Corcoran in the American Amusement Company. This includes the Apollo Theatre and valuable real estate in Ventura.”
OTCF is correct. Compare the theater facade in the general view of St. George’s Street I linked to in my previous comment. It’s a different building than the one in the photo Mike_Blakemore uploaded last June. Also the marquee of the Metro in Mike’s photo advertises a 1937 movie, and at that time this house was still called the Plaza.
My Fair Lady was not a Cinerama film. It was filmed in the Super Panavision 70 process, and released in both 70mm and 35mm (anamorphic) formats. The Plaza was a 70mm house.
I’m unable to fetch this theater’s web site, but their Facebook page is still active. Their last event was on May 5, and the next scheduled is June 8, so the place is not in heavy use, at least for public events. I don’t know if they host many weddings or other private events, but the place does bill itself as a performance and event venue. There’s no mention of movies on the Facebook page, so it’s likely they aren’t showing them anymore.
Vintage West Woodland provides this article about the Woodland Theatre. Among other things, it notes that the Kimball organ originally installed in the Woodland is now in the Everett Theatre in Everett, Washington.
The opening of the Woodland was noted in the April 10, 1926, issue of The Moving Picture World:
“H. W. Bruen opened his new Woodland Theatre on March 27 to capacity crowds. If anything, the house surpasses in beauty and good taste Mr. Bruen’s Ridgemont and Arabian Theatre.”
A followup item appeared in the issue of April 17:
“Bruen’s New Woodland Theatre at 65th and West Woodland was opened on March 27 and is a new link in the strong chain of suburban theatres of which Seattle is justly proud. The new Woodland, seating 750, has an unusually warm community spirit surrounding it; indeed, its members waited upon Mr. Bruen to interest him in building a house in their district.”
H. W. Bruen later moved to southern California, where he operated theaters in the Los Angeles suburb of Whittier for many years.
April Fool’s Day, 1926, was a bad day to attend the evening performance at the Starland Theatre, judging from this item in the April 17 issue of The Moving Picture World:
“One of the worst theatre accidents to occur in Canada took place at the Starland Theatre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, during the evening show on April 1 when the ceiling under the balcony suddenly collapsed, burying the people on the ground floor, causing injury to over 20 persons, 14 of whom had to be removed to the hospitals in ambulances which were called out.
“The mass of debris fell in such a manner as to block the main exits leading to the theatre lobby and there was immediately every indication of a panic. An emergency call was sent in to police headquarters and every available officer was rushed to the scene. The theatre employees and police quickly restored order, however, and led the unnerved people to rear and side exits while others attended the wounded.”
The opening of the Capitol Theatre was noted in this item from The Moving Picture World of April 10, 1926:
“Butterfield’s Capitol at Owosso Opens
“THE inaugural performances at Col. Butterfield’s new Capitol Theatre, Owosso, Michigan, were given on Thursday evening, March 4th, to two capacity audiences, and hundreds of people were turned away. The policy consists of three acts of Keith vaudeville together with the best feature pictures and comedies obtainable.”
The Rivoli, originally a single-floor theater with a small stage, was expanded with a balcony and larger stage to accommodate road shows in 1926, according to this article from The Moving Picture World of April 10 that year:
“Remodelling La Crosse Rivoli At Cost of Over $100,000
“P L. KOPPELBERGER, general manager of La Crosse Theatres Company, La Crosse. Wisconsin, sends YOUR EQUIPMENT a personal letter explaining the changes to come about in that live wire company’s Rivoli Theatre.
“‘The Rivoli,’ says Mr. Koppelberger, ‘was constructed in 1920 and cost $300,000.’
“‘The conversion into a playhouse able to accommodate road shows and other attractions, as well as photoplays, will cost $100,000 and more.’
“The plans for the conversion of the house include the enlarging of the stage, to be fully and completely equipped, bringing the proscenium twenty feet further forward and adding a fly loft above it.
“A balcony will be added in the auditorium, increasing the seating capacity. Two thousand seats will be the eventual capacity of the theatre.
“In every detail the equipment will be of the finest and latest pattern.”
Mayer & Schneider’s new Hollywood Theatre was the subject of an article in the left column of page 462 of The Moving Picture World for April 10, 1926. Scan at Internet Archive.
The Olympic Theatre was the last of Watertown’s old theaters still in operation when it was mentioned in an article in the July 3, 1976, issue of the Watertown Daily Times. The Olympic had opened on June 4, 1917.
The July 3, 1976, issue of the Watertown Daily Times (PDF here) says that the Victoria Theatre opened around 1912, and the building it occupied was demolished in 1958.
The July 3, 1976, issue of the Watertown Daily Times (PDF here) has a bit more information about the Wonderland Theatre. The Wonderland opened in August, 1906, and was expanded and renamed the Palace in 1917.
Schine gained control of the house in 1928, then kept it closed until 1933, when it was reopened by an independent operator under a lease. Schine took back the house in 1936, operating it until 1949, when it was sold to Richmor Enterprises, who remodeled and changed the name to the Town Theatre.
The article doesn’t say how long the house operated as the Town, but the building in which it was situated was demolished in 1976. Its site is under the footprint of a large residential building called the Henry Keep Apartments.
An article about Watertown’s theaters in the July 3, 1976, issue of the local Daily Times (PDF here) said that The Opera House was extensively remodeled in 1920 and reopened as the Avon Theatre on July 8 that year.
Vaudeville and stock companies continued as mainstays of the theater for many years, but the last vaudeville show appeared in 1932. Occasional concerts and other live performances were presented after that, but the house was primarily a movie theater until it was closed and demolished in the spring of 1967.
JeffRW: Comparing the three vintage photos on our photo page with modern Google street view, its clear that the bay windowed building next door to the theater on Broadway and the building with the arches on Grand Street which was adjacent to the theater’s stage house are still standing. I don’t see any alleys separating the theater from either of those buildings, so it must have taken up the entire space of the parking lot.
Unfortunately, the oldest aerial photos of Newburgh at the web site Historic Aerials date from 1965, long after the theater was demolished. They might get an older one showing the theater eventually, and then we’ll be able to see for sure how it fit onto its lot. I know of no other online sources that currently have older aerials of Newburgh.
This photo depicts the earlier Comerford Theatre in Wilkes Barre, divested by the chain in 1949 and renamed the Paramount, at which time the Capitol was renamed the Comerford.
This photo depicts the earlier Comerford Theatre in Wilkes Barre, divested by the chain in 1949 and renamed the Paramount, at which time the Capitol was renamed the Comerford.
This photo depicts the earlier Comerford Theatre in Wilkes Barre, divested by the chain in 1949 and renamed the Paramount, at which time the Capitol was renamed the Comerford.
According to this web page, the Lyric Theatre was adjacent to the larger Capitol Theatre. Today the Lyric’s building is occupied by the bar and dining room of a restaurant, The Brick House. The restaurant’s game room and banquet room are situated in the former Capitol Theatre’s building.
The February 6, 1914, issue of Variety ran the following notice:
Here we come to a bit of a puzzle. Electrical Record and Buyer’s Reference of Noavember, 1915, has this item about the project:The problem is that the main restaurant building, supposedly the former Lyric Theatre, is not 40 feet wide, but that is about the width of the former Capitol Theatre next door, which is also about 200 feet deep. While the fronts of both buildings are only two stories high, the Capitol’s auditorium is indeed a bit higher than the adjacent three story office block on the corner of New Castle Street.Could it be that local historians have lost track of what actually went on in these buildings, and the Lyric Theatre that was built in 1915 and mentioned in trade publications through the 1920s and into the 1930s was actually the house that later became the Capitol? Perhaps someone has access to the archives of the local newspaper in Butler and can find information to clear up this historical puzzle.
The Liberty Theater Preservation Alliance maintains a web site with a history of the theater and several (small) vintage photos.
This web page says that the Capitol Theatre is still intact, and that it occupied the upstairs of the building that now houses the game room and banquet room of the Brick House restaurant.
Looking at the Google satellite view, though, it looks to me as though the “upstairs theater” might be only the former balcony of this fairly capacious house. The upper part of the building alone would not have been large enough to accommodate 900 seats. Quite a large stage house backs up to Jackson Street.
The page also says that the main restaurant and bar next door occupy another former theater, the Lyric, though all trace of that smaller house has been obliterated.
I’ve found the Lyric mentioned in trade publications from the 1910s, but so far not mentions of the Capitol. Still, judging from the facade in the vintage photo, I think the house must have dated from that decade or earlier. Butler had many theaters over the years, and I’ve found references to movie houses called the Imperial, The Carlton, the Grand, and the Orpheum, none of which are listed here yet (unless under later names and missing the aka’s.)
The Crystal Theatre is mentioned in the May 2, 1919, issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor
A biographical sketch of Charles William Eyer said that he bought the Crystal Theatre after moving to Porterville in 1920. By the late 1940s, all four of Porterville’s movie houses, including the Crystal, were owned by the Howell family.The American Theatre was in operation by 1923, when this brief notice appeared in the September 8 issue of The Moving Picture World: “The Apollo Theatre will be opened shortly at Ventura, Cal., by the owners of the American Theatre.”
The principal owner of the American was Charles Corcoran, later a local partner with West Coast Theatres in the Ventura Theatre. The partnership predated the construction of the Ventura, as noted in this item from MPW for March 6, 1926:
Mike, I think your photo depicted the Metro Theatre in Durban, a handsome Art Deco house from Thomas Lamb’s office.
OTCF is correct. Compare the theater facade in the general view of St. George’s Street I linked to in my previous comment. It’s a different building than the one in the photo Mike_Blakemore uploaded last June. Also the marquee of the Metro in Mike’s photo advertises a 1937 movie, and at that time this house was still called the Plaza.
Photo of the Capitol Theatre sometime after it was closed.
My Fair Lady was not a Cinerama film. It was filmed in the Super Panavision 70 process, and released in both 70mm and 35mm (anamorphic) formats. The Plaza was a 70mm house.
I’m unable to fetch this theater’s web site, but their Facebook page is still active. Their last event was on May 5, and the next scheduled is June 8, so the place is not in heavy use, at least for public events. I don’t know if they host many weddings or other private events, but the place does bill itself as a performance and event venue. There’s no mention of movies on the Facebook page, so it’s likely they aren’t showing them anymore.
Lincoln Square has the largest IMAX screen in North America at 97x76 feet. The screen at the Chinese is almost as wide but not as tall, at 94x46 feet.
Vintage West Woodland provides this article about the Woodland Theatre. Among other things, it notes that the Kimball organ originally installed in the Woodland is now in the Everett Theatre in Everett, Washington.
The opening of the Woodland was noted in the April 10, 1926, issue of The Moving Picture World:
A followup item appeared in the issue of April 17:H. W. Bruen later moved to southern California, where he operated theaters in the Los Angeles suburb of Whittier for many years.April Fool’s Day, 1926, was a bad day to attend the evening performance at the Starland Theatre, judging from this item in the April 17 issue of The Moving Picture World:
The opening of the Capitol Theatre was noted in this item from The Moving Picture World of April 10, 1926:
The Rivoli, originally a single-floor theater with a small stage, was expanded with a balcony and larger stage to accommodate road shows in 1926, according to this article from The Moving Picture World of April 10 that year:
Mayer & Schneider’s new Hollywood Theatre was the subject of an article in the left column of page 462 of The Moving Picture World for April 10, 1926. Scan at Internet Archive.
Mike: Your most recent upload belongs on the Variety Theatre’s photo page.
The Olympic Theatre was the last of Watertown’s old theaters still in operation when it was mentioned in an article in the July 3, 1976, issue of the Watertown Daily Times. The Olympic had opened on June 4, 1917.
The July 3, 1976, issue of the Watertown Daily Times (PDF here) says that the Victoria Theatre opened around 1912, and the building it occupied was demolished in 1958.
The July 3, 1976, issue of the Watertown Daily Times (PDF here) has a bit more information about the Wonderland Theatre. The Wonderland opened in August, 1906, and was expanded and renamed the Palace in 1917.
Schine gained control of the house in 1928, then kept it closed until 1933, when it was reopened by an independent operator under a lease. Schine took back the house in 1936, operating it until 1949, when it was sold to Richmor Enterprises, who remodeled and changed the name to the Town Theatre.
The article doesn’t say how long the house operated as the Town, but the building in which it was situated was demolished in 1976. Its site is under the footprint of a large residential building called the Henry Keep Apartments.
An article about Watertown’s theaters in the July 3, 1976, issue of the local Daily Times (PDF here) said that The Opera House was extensively remodeled in 1920 and reopened as the Avon Theatre on July 8 that year.
Vaudeville and stock companies continued as mainstays of the theater for many years, but the last vaudeville show appeared in 1932. Occasional concerts and other live performances were presented after that, but the house was primarily a movie theater until it was closed and demolished in the spring of 1967.