This item about a movie theater at the Guild’s address appeared in the March 1, 1913, issue of Motography:
“The Cincy theater, a moving picture theater on McMillan street, near Peebles corner, Cincinnati, was transferred from John Hagerty to George W. Vaughn on a lease which is written for one year. The theater is at 782 East McMillan street. The lease is at $100 a month.”
While it’s possible that the Cincy Theatre was in an earlier building on the same site, the side walls of the Guild’s building do look sufficiently worn to have been there since the 1910s or earlier (it was listed at this address in the 1910 city directory.)
Also, I doubt that a brand new neighborhood house built in 1939 would have been as narrow as the Eden, which is another indication that it was most likely an older theater remodeled and reopened at that time. However, I’ve been unable to find any references to the house between 1913 and 1939. It might have operated under other names.
An article about Gainesville’s movie theaters in the September 26, 2010 issue of the Gainesville Times said that Frank Plaginos, operator of the State and Royal Theatres, opened the Ritz Theatre in 1934. Two years later it was destroyed by a tornado that also damaged the Royal Theatre. The Ritz was rebuilt and reopened, but not until 1940.
Here is news from the November 1, 1924, issue of The Moving Picture World:
“Definite information that the new State Theatre, Gainesville, Ga., will open on October 20 has been received. Frank Plaginos is owner and Jack Lewis is manager. ‘The Sea Hawk’ is the opening attraction.”
An article about Gainesville’s movie theaters in the September 26, 2010, issue of the Gainesville Times said that a fire swept the block the State Theatre was in five months after the house opened, but Plaginos quickly rebuilt the theater on the same site.
According to an item in February 3, 1993, issue of the Whitby Free Press, the Brock Theatre opened on April 7, 1938, and closed in 1985. The building was gutted and the interior rebuilt to accommodate a bar in 1990.
The front of the building has been so drastically altered as to be unrecognizable, and I would imagine that the interior has undergone equal transformation. A few photos of the original streamline modern interior can be found on this page of the Whitby Public Library web site.
This house replaced an earlier theater down the street which had opened in 1910 as the Royal Theatre and had been renamed the Brock Theatre in 1934, according to the May 15, 1991 Free Press.
The Hairston 8 was one of eight identical or nearly identical multiplexes designed for GCC by the Port Washington, New York, architect James Thomas Martino.
Center Street is the dividing line for east-west addresses in Springfield, and the New Sun was on the northwest corner of Center and Main, fronting on Main, so its lot was probably numbered 100-102-104. I’m sure the address is correct.
The Ohio Theatre in the photo is still standing. I’ve just discovered that it is the house now called the Renaissance Theatre, located in Mansfield, Ohio.
Construction of the former Aid Association for Lutherans Building, now called the 222 Building, was indeed completed in 1952. The Elite Theatre was one of the buildings demolished to make way for the project.
The former Rose Theatre is no longer a movie house, but a live performance venue called the Retro Theatre. This brief item about the conversion, posted on the web site of the Glendive Ranger-Review, is dated July 10, 2014, and says that the theater was built in 1918. The conversion project included uncovering the upper part of the building’s original facade.
The partnership of Winkes and Suckstoff had recently sold the Rose Theatre at Glendive, Montana, to Jack Gavan, according to an item in the “Theatre Changes” column of the July 15, 1929, issue of The Film Daily.
According to Taylor, the Kum-C was in operation during the silent era, perhaps as early as 1919, but a list of theaters listed in Canadian newspapers in 1914 (PDF here) included for Toronto, theaters called the Kum-C, the Kum-Back, and the U-Kum. No addresses were given for any of them, though, so the Kum-C of 1914 might have been in a different location.
Again according to Taylor, plans for a remodeling of the Kum-C in 1930 were done by Kaplan & Sprachman.
A book called Springfield, Ohio: A Summary of Two Centuries, by Tom Dunham, says that, in the 1950s, Springfield Civic Theatre “…leased the old vaudeville theatre at Main and Center streets, but it was condemned as unsafe.” In the later 1950s the company purchased a house on Main Street which it converted into a theater.
If the Ohio was condemned in the late 1950s then there’s no chance that it was the theater in our vintage photo, which displays on its marquee the 1963 film To Russia With Love and the 1965 film Thunderball.
I’ve found a photo of the New Sun Theatre (this page, center right), and it was in a three story building on the northwest corner of Main and Center Streets. I don’t think the two story Ohio Theatre in the vintage photo we currently display is the one in Springfield.
The September 5, 1936, issue of The Film Daily said this: “A. M. Paulson will start work on
his new theater at Amery, Wis., on Oct. 1.”
According to a document about the Amery Classic Theatre from the Amery Area Historical Society (PDF here, the New Amery Theatre opened on December 11, 1936. It had been built for Alfred M. Paulson, who had taken over the town’s earlier theater, the Gem, in 1934.
The building was designed by a local craftsman and self-taught architect, Emil Klinger (the document says Klingler, but other sources all say Klinger) who later established an architectural practice in Eau Claire.
As of this date, the Amery Classic Theatre is still dark, the last events noted on the web site having taken place in 2015.
For those who might be interested, here is a brief biography of Robert E. Gard, for whom the Gard Theatre was named. A significant figure in the community theater movement in the United States, and in the promotion of the arts in small towns, he was long associated with the University of Wisconsin.
The image of The Three Stooges arriving at the premier of an Orson Welles movie based on a novel by Kafka is one of the most astonishing I have ever encountered. After such an eye-poke of a revelation, I’m sure my own childhood will never look quite the same to me again. Woowoowoo.
This article about the Platte Valley’s theater history, from the January 3, 2016, issue of the Scottsbluff Star-Herald says that this house opened in 1915 as the Queen Theatre and was renamed the Orpheum a few months later.
The correct spelling of this theater’s name is Oto. It was named for the Native American tribe who once inhabited the region.
According to this article about the area’s theater history from the January 3, 2016, issue of the Scottsbluff Star-Herald, the building was erected in 1926 as a ballroom called Danceland, and was later converted into a theater.
An article in the January 14, 1962, issue of The Lincoln Star reported that the Midwest Amusement Company had recently sold the Midwest, Bluffs, and Oto Theatres in Scotsbluff to the Commonwealth Amusement Company of Kansas City. The Grove Theatre in nearby Gering was also sold.
This article about the Scottsbluff area’s theater history, from the Scottsbluff Star-Herald of January 3, 2016, notes that the Egyptian Theatre opened in October, 1927.
An accompanying photo shows a remnant of the Egyptian’s decoration that still exists on an interior wall of the Midwest Theatre, so at least part of the original building must have survived the March 5, 1945, fire to be incorporated into the new theater.
The February 11, 1922, issue of The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin, noted that the new Post-Cammack Theatre in Spring Green had formally opened the previous Thursday, February 9.
The July 13, 1935, issue of Motion Picture Herald noted quite a few new cinema projects planned, underway, or recently completed across the United States, which was in an accelerating economic recovery, but the news from economic laggard France was not so good:
“Ostensibly a summer closing move, the two largest halls of the Paris Pathe Natan Circuit now are dark, the Empire Cinema-Music Hall and the Moulin Rouge. The Empire (3,000 seats) had a combination cinema and variety policy and had been managed by Pathe Natan for one year. The Moulin Rouge (2,200 seats), former music hall where Mistinguett was a star, has been a cinema since 1929. It had been managed by Pathe Natan since 1930. The closing comes at a time when Pathe Natan is awaiting a general reorganization.”
This Rootsweb page has a brief history of the Regal Theatre. It was built around 1920 at 225 E. Main Street by Walter Burlinger. It was later bought by W.A. Collins. In 1930 and airdome was added (Probably cheaper than installing and operating air conditioning during the hot summers) which operated for about three years.
In 1936 Collins sold the house to the Lead Belt Amusement Company. After changing hands a couple of more times, the Regal Theatre was destroyed by a fire on January 8, 1955.
Something the history doesn’t mention is that in 1935 the July 13 issue of Motion Picture Herald announced that Mr. Collins was planning to build a new Regal Theatre, and bids were soon to be taken on the project. As the history doesn’t mention this, it’s likely that the project wasn’t carried out. Possibly the bids were too high.
This item about a movie theater at the Guild’s address appeared in the March 1, 1913, issue of Motography:
While it’s possible that the Cincy Theatre was in an earlier building on the same site, the side walls of the Guild’s building do look sufficiently worn to have been there since the 1910s or earlier (it was listed at this address in the 1910 city directory.)Also, I doubt that a brand new neighborhood house built in 1939 would have been as narrow as the Eden, which is another indication that it was most likely an older theater remodeled and reopened at that time. However, I’ve been unable to find any references to the house between 1913 and 1939. It might have operated under other names.
The Fiesta Four Drive-In, opened in 1949 as the Whittier Drive-In, was actually in Pico Rivera, a few miles south of El Monte.
An article about Gainesville’s movie theaters in the September 26, 2010 issue of the Gainesville Times said that Frank Plaginos, operator of the State and Royal Theatres, opened the Ritz Theatre in 1934. Two years later it was destroyed by a tornado that also damaged the Royal Theatre. The Ritz was rebuilt and reopened, but not until 1940.
Here is news from the November 1, 1924, issue of The Moving Picture World:
An article about Gainesville’s movie theaters in the September 26, 2010, issue of the Gainesville Times said that a fire swept the block the State Theatre was in five months after the house opened, but Plaginos quickly rebuilt the theater on the same site.This photo depicts the first Brock Theatre, originally the Royal Theatre, at 173 Brock Street N.
According to an item in February 3, 1993, issue of the Whitby Free Press, the Brock Theatre opened on April 7, 1938, and closed in 1985. The building was gutted and the interior rebuilt to accommodate a bar in 1990.
The front of the building has been so drastically altered as to be unrecognizable, and I would imagine that the interior has undergone equal transformation. A few photos of the original streamline modern interior can be found on this page of the Whitby Public Library web site.
This house replaced an earlier theater down the street which had opened in 1910 as the Royal Theatre and had been renamed the Brock Theatre in 1934, according to the May 15, 1991 Free Press.
The Hairston 8 was one of eight identical or nearly identical multiplexes designed for GCC by the Port Washington, New York, architect James Thomas Martino.
The Parkside 8 was one of eight multiplexes designed for General Cinema by architect James Thomas Martino.
Center Street is the dividing line for east-west addresses in Springfield, and the New Sun was on the northwest corner of Center and Main, fronting on Main, so its lot was probably numbered 100-102-104. I’m sure the address is correct.
The Ohio Theatre in the photo is still standing. I’ve just discovered that it is the house now called the Renaissance Theatre, located in Mansfield, Ohio.
Construction of the former Aid Association for Lutherans Building, now called the 222 Building, was indeed completed in 1952. The Elite Theatre was one of the buildings demolished to make way for the project.
The former Rose Theatre is no longer a movie house, but a live performance venue called the Retro Theatre. This brief item about the conversion, posted on the web site of the Glendive Ranger-Review, is dated July 10, 2014, and says that the theater was built in 1918. The conversion project included uncovering the upper part of the building’s original facade.
The partnership of Winkes and Suckstoff had recently sold the Rose Theatre at Glendive, Montana, to Jack Gavan, according to an item in the “Theatre Changes” column of the July 15, 1929, issue of The Film Daily.
Here is Doug Taylor’s weblog post about the Kum-C Theatre. It has numerous photos.
According to Taylor, the Kum-C was in operation during the silent era, perhaps as early as 1919, but a list of theaters listed in Canadian newspapers in 1914 (PDF here) included for Toronto, theaters called the Kum-C, the Kum-Back, and the U-Kum. No addresses were given for any of them, though, so the Kum-C of 1914 might have been in a different location.
Again according to Taylor, plans for a remodeling of the Kum-C in 1930 were done by Kaplan & Sprachman.
A book called Springfield, Ohio: A Summary of Two Centuries, by Tom Dunham, says that, in the 1950s, Springfield Civic Theatre “…leased the old vaudeville theatre at Main and Center streets, but it was condemned as unsafe.” In the later 1950s the company purchased a house on Main Street which it converted into a theater.
If the Ohio was condemned in the late 1950s then there’s no chance that it was the theater in our vintage photo, which displays on its marquee the 1963 film To Russia With Love and the 1965 film Thunderball.
I’ve found a photo of the New Sun Theatre (this page, center right), and it was in a three story building on the northwest corner of Main and Center Streets. I don’t think the two story Ohio Theatre in the vintage photo we currently display is the one in Springfield.
The September 5, 1936, issue of The Film Daily said this: “A. M. Paulson will start work on his new theater at Amery, Wis., on Oct. 1.”
According to a document about the Amery Classic Theatre from the Amery Area Historical Society (PDF here, the New Amery Theatre opened on December 11, 1936. It had been built for Alfred M. Paulson, who had taken over the town’s earlier theater, the Gem, in 1934.
The building was designed by a local craftsman and self-taught architect, Emil Klinger (the document says Klingler, but other sources all say Klinger) who later established an architectural practice in Eau Claire.
As of this date, the Amery Classic Theatre is still dark, the last events noted on the web site having taken place in 2015.
For those who might be interested, here is a brief biography of Robert E. Gard, for whom the Gard Theatre was named. A significant figure in the community theater movement in the United States, and in the promotion of the arts in small towns, he was long associated with the University of Wisconsin.
The image of The Three Stooges arriving at the premier of an Orson Welles movie based on a novel by Kafka is one of the most astonishing I have ever encountered. After such an eye-poke of a revelation, I’m sure my own childhood will never look quite the same to me again. Woowoowoo.
This article about the Platte Valley’s theater history, from the January 3, 2016, issue of the Scottsbluff Star-Herald says that this house opened in 1915 as the Queen Theatre and was renamed the Orpheum a few months later.
The correct spelling of this theater’s name is Oto. It was named for the Native American tribe who once inhabited the region.
According to this article about the area’s theater history from the January 3, 2016, issue of the Scottsbluff Star-Herald, the building was erected in 1926 as a ballroom called Danceland, and was later converted into a theater.
An article in the January 14, 1962, issue of The Lincoln Star reported that the Midwest Amusement Company had recently sold the Midwest, Bluffs, and Oto Theatres in Scotsbluff to the Commonwealth Amusement Company of Kansas City. The Grove Theatre in nearby Gering was also sold.
This article about the Scottsbluff area’s theater history, from the Scottsbluff Star-Herald of January 3, 2016, notes that the Egyptian Theatre opened in October, 1927.
An accompanying photo shows a remnant of the Egyptian’s decoration that still exists on an interior wall of the Midwest Theatre, so at least part of the original building must have survived the March 5, 1945, fire to be incorporated into the new theater.
The February 11, 1922, issue of The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin, noted that the new Post-Cammack Theatre in Spring Green had formally opened the previous Thursday, February 9.
This item is from the July 21, 1931, issue of The Film Daily:
The July 13, 1935, issue of Motion Picture Herald noted quite a few new cinema projects planned, underway, or recently completed across the United States, which was in an accelerating economic recovery, but the news from economic laggard France was not so good:
This Rootsweb page has a brief history of the Regal Theatre. It was built around 1920 at 225 E. Main Street by Walter Burlinger. It was later bought by W.A. Collins. In 1930 and airdome was added (Probably cheaper than installing and operating air conditioning during the hot summers) which operated for about three years.
In 1936 Collins sold the house to the Lead Belt Amusement Company. After changing hands a couple of more times, the Regal Theatre was destroyed by a fire on January 8, 1955.
Something the history doesn’t mention is that in 1935 the July 13 issue of Motion Picture Herald announced that Mr. Collins was planning to build a new Regal Theatre, and bids were soon to be taken on the project. As the history doesn’t mention this, it’s likely that the project wasn’t carried out. Possibly the bids were too high.