The Wikipedia article on the Sylvester Commercial Historic District, citing an NRHP nomination form, says that the Sylvia Theatre was built in 1915 at 118 E. Kelly Street.
The Sylvia Theatre was mentioned in the May 14, 1921, issue of The Moving Picture World. The manager at that time was named R.A. Heinsohn, but the magazine misspelled it as Heinshon.
I believe the theater was in a building now housing the Daniel Auction Co., which uses the address 116 but is wide enough to have housed a theater entrance flanked by two small storefronts. A taller section at the back, which looks to have been an addition, could have been the auditorium.
It looks like the Dowagiac Theatre’s building is still standing, occupied by the offices of an outfit called LPL Financial, a business services and financial planning company, but the facade has been refinished with new brick.
Comments on the Caruso Theatre page at Water Winter Wonderland indicate that, though the theater never reopened after the 1977 fire, the marquee remained in place until 2004. Another comment says that Paul Caruso sold the theater in 1965.
Projects built for Loeks Theatres/Celebration! Cinema since 1995 have been designed by Grand Rapids architectural firm Post Associates, which is headed by Mark Post.
I see a Theatre Street in Concord, but none in Penacook, which is some distance north of Concord.
I tried to look this house up on cinemadata.org, but the site’s url returns only 404 “Not Found” errors. I hope it hasn’t vanished from the web forever. It has been a good source for information about New England theaters.
Don Lewis’s photo shows that, behind that ugly false front, the State Theatre has nice, decorative brickwork similar to that of Homer Harper’s Loma Theatre in Coloma, though the State also had a bit of ornate decoration now concealed by the angled sections of the false front. This would probably be a very handsome building if that ill-advised remodeling, which was probably done in the 1970s, would be undone.
The facade treatment of the Loma Theatre is quite similar to Homer Harper’s State Theatre in Benton Harbor, except the State’s original brick has been covered up with one of those (probably aluminum) false fronts so popular for cheap remodeling jobs in the 1960s and 1970s.
I believe the address 229 is obsolete. If the Smithfield Theatre was built next door to the Jamestown Theatre, then it had to have been in what is now the 100 block of Main Street, between Mason Street and Church Street. See my comment on the Jamestown Theatre page for more detail.
The addresses on the map wsasser uploaded appear to be obsolete. It shows the Jamestown Hotel on the south side of Main Street between Mason Street and Church Street (not labeled on the map, but it’s the street angling off to the southeast.) That block is now the 100 block.
I notice that the old map also shows both odd and even numbers on both sides of the street. The numbering system today has odd numbers on the south side and even numbers on the north. I suspect that the renumbering took place when Church Street, which ends at Main Street on the old map, was cut through to the north.
The Nebraska State Historical Society’s page about Omaha architectural firm John Latenser & Sons includes in its references section a listing of the Orpheum Theatre as a 1954 project. Given the timing, this was likely a renovation that included adapting the house for CinemaScope movies.
The June 29, 1918, issue of Dramatic Mirror said that Aubrey M. Kennedy’s new Symphony Theatre had opened on June 14. The opening night feature film was The Unchastened Woman, starring Grace Valentine.
The Rhapsodic commentary on the opening of the Rialto that appeared in the June 22, 1918, issue of Motography is worth quoting in full:
“New $750,000 Theatre Opened at Omaha
“A. H. Blank and Associates Give Pictures a Home That Has Few Equals in the Country
“THE Rialto Theatre of Omaha, Nebraska, built at a cost of $750,000, was recently opened to the public.
“It is one of the most beautiful playhouses devoted to pictures in America. The exterior was designed by John Latenser, Jr., and the interior by Frank Latenser, two Omaha architects. The structure is a composite of Venetian renaissance with modern adaptations. The building is 132x132 in dimensions. The dominant tones of the exterior trimming are of old ivory and blue terra cotta, with panels of tapestry brick in soft tones.
“The interior gives the spectator the effect of overlooking an Italian formal garden. Mural paintings form a per-> spective in which Lombardy poplars and ornamental shrubs lead the eye away to far-off mountains. There are marble balustrades and balconies with alcoves containing cleverly lighted fountains.
“The house is flooded with light from concealed electric globes and many beautiful color effects are gained.
“The seating arrangement is in keeping with the perfection of the house. The seats in the pit are so located that a perfect view of the screen is given from any part of the floor. There are no columns or pillars to obstruct the view.
“The draperies of the curtain and screen are of old rose silk velour, and all of the carpets are of soft-toned gray. Usherettes are costumed in gray, in keeping with the color scheme.
“The ventilation and heating system is the best obtainable. The washed air system is used and the air is entirely changed in the theatre ten times in an hour.
“One of the largest organs in the world has been installed. A prominent musician, Kenneth Widenor, is the organist. The orchestra is under the direction of Harry Silverman.
“The Rialto is essentially an Omaha institution, owned by Charles Grotte, Walter Brandes, John Latenser, Sr., and A. H. Blank.
“The opening play was John Barrymore in ‘Raffles.’ Paramount and Fox standard pictures are shown.”
Of interest are the revelations that the interior was designed by Frank J. Latenser in “…a composite of Venetian renaissance with modern adaptations.” The “modern adaptations” must have referred to such things as the art nouveau lighting fixtures I noted in an earlier comment.
The firm of John Latenser & Sons was formed in 1914 when John L. Latenser, who had practiced architecture in Omaha since 1885, established a partnership with his sons, who thereupon took over most of the work. On the Rialto project, John Jr. designed the exterior and acted as structural engineer and supervising architect. The Rialto was the first of five theater projects designed by the firm, including a 1954 remodeling of the Orpheum.
The January 2, 1929, issue of The Film Daily noted briefly that the Suffolk Amusement Company’s new Cavalier Theatre at Suffolk, Virginia, had opened recently.
The Cavalier Theatre has been demolished, but the buildings across the street are still standing. The one that in the vintage photo looks like it is probably directly opposite the theater has two storefronts with the addresses 147 and 149 N. Main, so the Theatre was probably at 148 N. Main. The theater’s site is now under the footprint of the courthouse.
Courtesy ads in school yearbook from as early as 1942 and as late as 1952 indicate that the Cavalier was during that period operated by the Pitts' Theaters chain.
The Garberville Theatre was another victim of the cost of converting to digital projection. A 2014 gofundme attempt at funding the conversion raised only $1,061 dollars of the owners' $70,000 goal. The house has apparently been closed for quite some time, but I haven’t been able to find any reports giving the date.
The history page of the Phantasy Concert Club’s web site has a photo of the theater as the Homestead, sometime in the mid-1950s. There are also some modern photos, including two (rather dark) of the auditorium.
The July 26, 1912, issue of The American Contractor reported that a store building in Painesville would be remodeled into a motion picture theater for the Utopia Amusement Company. The architect was A. C. Wolfe of Cleveland.
The Cleveland Landmarks Commission’s list of Cleveland architects says that Alexander C. Wolfe (1880-1966) was active as an architect in Cleveland from 1911 to 1954.
I’ve found the Abby Theatre mentioned in the Galesburg Register-Mail as early as 1953, but the newspaper archive is incomplete so it might have been operating long before that. The house appears to have closed and reopened several times over the years. Here is a brief item from the Abingdon news section of the Register-Mail of October 22, 1963:
“Commended were efforts of Abingdon Chamber of Commerce for reopening Abbey Theater and Robert Edmiston stated Mr. Purtle, owner, today, was scheduled to be in Abingdon for conference with a party interested in its operation.”
Ads from 1972 and 1974 tout live music shows at the Abby on Saturday nights, but don’t say anything about movies being shown on any other nights. Its career as a movie house might have been over by then.
Historic Movie Theaters of Downtown Cleveland, by Alan F. Dutka, gives a bit of the history of the Alvin. It began as a 50-seat nickelodeon, but the owner later rented a space next door formerly occupied by a saloon, demolished the wall, and expanded.
The opening date is not given, but if the Alvin was indeed Cleveland’s first nickelodeon, it must have opened very early in the 20th century. Nickel movie theaters were fairly common even before the word nickelodeon was first applied to them, around the time John P. Harris opened his Nickelodeon in Pittsburgh in June, 1905. Dutka says that the Alvin closed in 1926.
Records of the American Terra Cotta and Ceramic Co. say that the Moon Theatre in Vincennes was designed by the architectural firm of Warwig [sic] and Hagel. The correct name is Warweg & Hagel (architect Earl O. Warweg and engineer John Hagel) who designed the Carlton Theatre at Evansville and at least two other Indiana houses.
Dokeefe: I’ve been unable to find in any of the sources available to me any mentions of anyone named O'Keefe in connection with this theater. That doesn’t mean that there was no connection, of course. Many theaters in small cities and towns were mentioned in such trade journals as Film Daily or Boxoffice infrequently, and some never.
A local newspaper archive would be the best place to search, but the only such archives from Vincennes that I can find online are from the 19th century- pretty much useless when searching for information about movie theaters. The Knox County Library probably has some archives, but it’s unlikely that they have been digitized, and non-digitized newspaper archives are tedious to search even if you have a good idea of which period you are looking through. Still, a visit to the library is probably your best bet, until somebody puts some newspaper archives from Vincennes online.
But I will keep an eye out for the information. New sources show up on the Internet from time to time, and I do try to keep up with them. And, if your relatives were indeed operators of this house, there’s always the chance that simply having your request on this page will attract some local Googler who knows about them. I’ve seen such things happen.
The October 24, 1924, issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor had this item about the house that would open as the Riviera Theatre:
“Motion Picture Theater—Scott Building Company has contract for 1-story motion picture theater at southwest corner of Adams and Longwood for Miguel Montijo, 5000 West Adams; 50 x 166…seating capacity 801 people, large lobby, rest rooms, organ loft, foyer; $30,000”
The December 26 issue of the same publication said that the Lowith Iron Works would erect an ornamental iron marquee at 5000 W. Adams Blvd. “…for M.M. Mantijo” [sic] at a cost of $800. Given the publication dates, it seems likely the project would have been completed fairly early in 1925.
The Wikipedia article on the Sylvester Commercial Historic District, citing an NRHP nomination form, says that the Sylvia Theatre was built in 1915 at 118 E. Kelly Street.
The Sylvia Theatre was mentioned in the May 14, 1921, issue of The Moving Picture World. The manager at that time was named R.A. Heinsohn, but the magazine misspelled it as Heinshon.
I believe the theater was in a building now housing the Daniel Auction Co., which uses the address 116 but is wide enough to have housed a theater entrance flanked by two small storefronts. A taller section at the back, which looks to have been an addition, could have been the auditorium.
Duke Filmography lists the Olympia Theatre as first appearing in the FDY in 1932. It was an Odeon house.
It looks like the Dowagiac Theatre’s building is still standing, occupied by the offices of an outfit called LPL Financial, a business services and financial planning company, but the facade has been refinished with new brick.
Comments on the Caruso Theatre page at Water Winter Wonderland indicate that, though the theater never reopened after the 1977 fire, the marquee remained in place until 2004. Another comment says that Paul Caruso sold the theater in 1965.
Projects built for Loeks Theatres/Celebration! Cinema since 1995 have been designed by Grand Rapids architectural firm Post Associates, which is headed by Mark Post.
I see a Theatre Street in Concord, but none in Penacook, which is some distance north of Concord.
I tried to look this house up on cinemadata.org, but the site’s url returns only 404 “Not Found” errors. I hope it hasn’t vanished from the web forever. It has been a good source for information about New England theaters.
Don Lewis’s photo shows that, behind that ugly false front, the State Theatre has nice, decorative brickwork similar to that of Homer Harper’s Loma Theatre in Coloma, though the State also had a bit of ornate decoration now concealed by the angled sections of the false front. This would probably be a very handsome building if that ill-advised remodeling, which was probably done in the 1970s, would be undone.
The facade treatment of the Loma Theatre is quite similar to Homer Harper’s State Theatre in Benton Harbor, except the State’s original brick has been covered up with one of those (probably aluminum) false fronts so popular for cheap remodeling jobs in the 1960s and 1970s.
I believe the address 229 is obsolete. If the Smithfield Theatre was built next door to the Jamestown Theatre, then it had to have been in what is now the 100 block of Main Street, between Mason Street and Church Street. See my comment on the Jamestown Theatre page for more detail.
The addresses on the map wsasser uploaded appear to be obsolete. It shows the Jamestown Hotel on the south side of Main Street between Mason Street and Church Street (not labeled on the map, but it’s the street angling off to the southeast.) That block is now the 100 block.
I notice that the old map also shows both odd and even numbers on both sides of the street. The numbering system today has odd numbers on the south side and even numbers on the north. I suspect that the renumbering took place when Church Street, which ends at Main Street on the old map, was cut through to the north.
The Nebraska State Historical Society’s page about Omaha architectural firm John Latenser & Sons includes in its references section a listing of the Orpheum Theatre as a 1954 project. Given the timing, this was likely a renovation that included adapting the house for CinemaScope movies.
The June 29, 1918, issue of Dramatic Mirror said that Aubrey M. Kennedy’s new Symphony Theatre had opened on June 14. The opening night feature film was The Unchastened Woman, starring Grace Valentine.
The Rhapsodic commentary on the opening of the Rialto that appeared in the June 22, 1918, issue of Motography is worth quoting in full:
Of interest are the revelations that the interior was designed by Frank J. Latenser in “…a composite of Venetian renaissance with modern adaptations.” The “modern adaptations” must have referred to such things as the art nouveau lighting fixtures I noted in an earlier comment.The firm of John Latenser & Sons was formed in 1914 when John L. Latenser, who had practiced architecture in Omaha since 1885, established a partnership with his sons, who thereupon took over most of the work. On the Rialto project, John Jr. designed the exterior and acted as structural engineer and supervising architect. The Rialto was the first of five theater projects designed by the firm, including a 1954 remodeling of the Orpheum.
The Phoenix Theatre was opened on June 14, 1913, according to the December 6 issue of The Moving Picture World.
The January 2, 1929, issue of The Film Daily noted briefly that the Suffolk Amusement Company’s new Cavalier Theatre at Suffolk, Virginia, had opened recently.
The Cavalier Theatre has been demolished, but the buildings across the street are still standing. The one that in the vintage photo looks like it is probably directly opposite the theater has two storefronts with the addresses 147 and 149 N. Main, so the Theatre was probably at 148 N. Main. The theater’s site is now under the footprint of the courthouse.
Courtesy ads in school yearbook from as early as 1942 and as late as 1952 indicate that the Cavalier was during that period operated by the Pitts' Theaters chain.
The Garberville Theatre was another victim of the cost of converting to digital projection. A 2014 gofundme attempt at funding the conversion raised only $1,061 dollars of the owners' $70,000 goal. The house has apparently been closed for quite some time, but I haven’t been able to find any reports giving the date.
The history page of the Phantasy Concert Club’s web site has a photo of the theater as the Homestead, sometime in the mid-1950s. There are also some modern photos, including two (rather dark) of the auditorium.
The July 26, 1912, issue of The American Contractor reported that a store building in Painesville would be remodeled into a motion picture theater for the Utopia Amusement Company. The architect was A. C. Wolfe of Cleveland.
The Cleveland Landmarks Commission’s list of Cleveland architects says that Alexander C. Wolfe (1880-1966) was active as an architect in Cleveland from 1911 to 1954.
The Wade Park Theatre was open at least as late as 1920, when it was mentioned in the April 3 issue of The Moving Picture World.
I’ve found the Abby Theatre mentioned in the Galesburg Register-Mail as early as 1953, but the newspaper archive is incomplete so it might have been operating long before that. The house appears to have closed and reopened several times over the years. Here is a brief item from the Abingdon news section of the Register-Mail of October 22, 1963:
Ads from 1972 and 1974 tout live music shows at the Abby on Saturday nights, but don’t say anything about movies being shown on any other nights. Its career as a movie house might have been over by then.Historic Movie Theaters of Downtown Cleveland, by Alan F. Dutka, gives a bit of the history of the Alvin. It began as a 50-seat nickelodeon, but the owner later rented a space next door formerly occupied by a saloon, demolished the wall, and expanded.
The opening date is not given, but if the Alvin was indeed Cleveland’s first nickelodeon, it must have opened very early in the 20th century. Nickel movie theaters were fairly common even before the word nickelodeon was first applied to them, around the time John P. Harris opened his Nickelodeon in Pittsburgh in June, 1905. Dutka says that the Alvin closed in 1926.
Here is a photo of Ontario Street dated November 22, 1923, with the Alvin Theatre still operating.
Records of the American Terra Cotta and Ceramic Co. say that the Moon Theatre in Vincennes was designed by the architectural firm of Warwig [sic] and Hagel. The correct name is Warweg & Hagel (architect Earl O. Warweg and engineer John Hagel) who designed the Carlton Theatre at Evansville and at least two other Indiana houses.
Dokeefe: I’ve been unable to find in any of the sources available to me any mentions of anyone named O'Keefe in connection with this theater. That doesn’t mean that there was no connection, of course. Many theaters in small cities and towns were mentioned in such trade journals as Film Daily or Boxoffice infrequently, and some never.
A local newspaper archive would be the best place to search, but the only such archives from Vincennes that I can find online are from the 19th century- pretty much useless when searching for information about movie theaters. The Knox County Library probably has some archives, but it’s unlikely that they have been digitized, and non-digitized newspaper archives are tedious to search even if you have a good idea of which period you are looking through. Still, a visit to the library is probably your best bet, until somebody puts some newspaper archives from Vincennes online.
But I will keep an eye out for the information. New sources show up on the Internet from time to time, and I do try to keep up with them. And, if your relatives were indeed operators of this house, there’s always the chance that simply having your request on this page will attract some local Googler who knows about them. I’ve seen such things happen.
The October 24, 1924, issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor had this item about the house that would open as the Riviera Theatre:
The December 26 issue of the same publication said that the Lowith Iron Works would erect an ornamental iron marquee at 5000 W. Adams Blvd. “…for M.M. Mantijo” [sic] at a cost of $800. Given the publication dates, it seems likely the project would have been completed fairly early in 1925.