The Eblon Theatre opened at 1822 Vine Street on November 4, 1923. Movies were accompanied by a live orchestra for the first few years of its operation, but an organ was installed in 1928. In 1933 the theater was closed and the building converted into a night club called the Cherry Blossom, which became the venue at which Count Basie conducted his first orchestra.
In 1984 the building, which had then been vacant for more than two decades, was seriously damaged by a fire. Attempts to save the historic structure failed, but the facade was propped up and still stands today. This weblog post covers the early history of the theater, and has a few photos of the surviving facade.
This web page briefly covers the same history, and has an ad from the Eblon Theatre’s opening. Click on the ad for a larger version, then follow the next two links (right arrow at upper left) to see two 1923 newspaper items about the house.
This was the second location opened by Hometown Cinemas. The first, in Lockhart, Texas, opened in 2008. A 2014 article about the chain said that the Terrell location had been opened “soon after” the Lockhart cinema.
This PDF offering the venue for lease prior to its conversion to offices has some photos. It says the theater opened as the Ford Opera House on October 10, 1904.
Editions of the Cahn Guide as late as 1910 erroneously claimed that the theater was on the first floor. By 1912 a new management was reporting the house as a second floor theater.
A 2014 article about Hometown Cinemas' takeover of the former MovieStar Cinema in Gun Barrel City said that Hometown had started with this six-screen house in Lockhart in 2008. A second location was added soon after in Terrell.
This web page about the murals in Terrell includes a paragraph about the movie poster mural on the back wall of the former Iris Theatre building, and includes this information about the theater’s history:
“The Iris Theatre, built by Leaman Marshall, opened in 1925 and was touted in the newspaper as ‘Terrell’s Finest Theatre’. (In the 1920’s there were three theatres operating in downtown Terrell – The Iris, The Palace, and the Lyric.) The posters include ‘The Lady’, a silent film which was the first movie shown at The Iris. The Iris operated continuously as a movie theatre from 1925 to 2001 when the modern multi-screen theatres in Mesquite drew the crowds away from the historic single screen theatre.”
The September 23, 1922, issue of The Moving Picture World ran a brief item saying “Hunt and Garland, of the Palace Theatre at Terrell, Texas, have purchased a new organ.”
The April 7, 1928, issue of Motion Picture News said that “Gus A. Doering of Southern Pipe Organ Co., has purchased controlling interest in Palace Theatre at Terrell, Texas, from Hunt & Garland.”
This multiplex was designed for Cinépolis by the Hoover, Alabama-based architectural firm CTMS Architects. The firm’s web site features this page with photos of the project.
CinéBistro Siesta Key was designed by CTSM Architects, a firm based in the Birmingham suburb Hoover, Alabama. The firm has designed several projects for Cobb Theatres, including four CinéBistro locations. Photos of the Siesta Key project can be found on this page at the firm’s web site.
The Cobb 12 Luxury Theatres was designed by CTSM Architects, a firm based in the Birmingham suburb Hoover, Alabama. A collection of photos can be found on this page of the firm’s web site.
The Lyric was mentioned in the September 23, 1930, issue of The Film Daily. The manager was named John McKenna. It was mentioned again in the December 4 issue, which noted that the Lyric was a Publix house:
“Animal Crackers
Hunt for Kids
“MANAGER J. C. McKenna was helped materially in putting over ‘Animal Crackers’ playing at the Publix-Lyric theater, Jackson, Tenn., by effecting a tie-up with the National Biscuit Co. An animal cracker hunt was staged on afternoon of opening day of picture with approximately 200 boys and girls equipped with eagle eyes to seek the hidden treasures. The Biscuit Co. furnished gratis 2,000 samples of animal crackers in glassine bags, the bags being imprinted with copy about the picture.”
The name Empire Theatre must have been used by at least two houses in Rochester. The January 22, 1905, issue of the New York Sunday Telegraph listed burlesque and variety acts slated to appear at the Empire Theatre in Rochester in January, February, and March. The Empire on East Main had been closed for a year by that time.
The advertisement for Leon H. Lempert & Son in the 1904-1905 Cahn Guide lists the Empire Theatre in Rochester as one of three Lempert designed houses then under construction.
My guess would be that we don’t have the wrong address for this theater, but the wrong early history and wrong photo, which, judging from the caption, must depict the first Empire on East Main Street. We should add a new page for that house with the information provided by peterscribner.
The Royal Theatre had recently changed hands, according to the January 29, 1916, issue of Motography:
“Carl Noltze of Cleghorn has purchased the Royal theater at Le Mars from George Toppings. The Royal will be managed by Mr. Harding, who will continue to run pictures as the regular program, but other shows and sporting events will also be staged.”
Possibly they were referring to interior demolition? The theatrical interior was probably gone long ago, but if the building is being renovated for retail space there was probably still a lot of later material to be hauled out.
Do we have the correct address for the Princess? An item in the February 28, 1910, issue of The Iola Register ran this item:
“PARKOLA THEATRE SOLD. Wichita Firm Buys East Side Amusement Place. The Parkola theater, on the east side of the square, has been sold to Wichita men who will take charge of the place a week from tomorrow and conduct it as a moving picture theatre. The new management is experienced and is financially able to secure the best of entertainment maintaining the high reputation of this amusement place.”
203 S. Jefferson is in the block south of the square, not the east side of the square.
If 203 S. Jefferson actually is the correct location, then the building is a theater again, being both a rehearsal space and secondary performance space for the Iola Community Theatre group, though their web site doesn’t mention anything about the building having once housed a movie house, and I think it would have been mentioned if it had (and they knew about it.)
It did seem odd to me that if the building was going to be demolished it looked better in the Facebook photo than it did in the photos on our photo page. All those layers of paint have been stripped off of the brick. But I still can’t find a photo of a theater at DeKalb and Knickerbocker. There’s only one modern building at that intersection, and it looks several years old.
The Eblon Theatre opened at 1822 Vine Street on November 4, 1923. Movies were accompanied by a live orchestra for the first few years of its operation, but an organ was installed in 1928. In 1933 the theater was closed and the building converted into a night club called the Cherry Blossom, which became the venue at which Count Basie conducted his first orchestra.
In 1984 the building, which had then been vacant for more than two decades, was seriously damaged by a fire. Attempts to save the historic structure failed, but the facade was propped up and still stands today. This weblog post covers the early history of the theater, and has a few photos of the surviving facade.
This web page briefly covers the same history, and has an ad from the Eblon Theatre’s opening. Click on the ad for a larger version, then follow the next two links (right arrow at upper left) to see two 1923 newspaper items about the house.
This was the second location opened by Hometown Cinemas. The first, in Lockhart, Texas, opened in 2008. A 2014 article about the chain said that the Terrell location had been opened “soon after” the Lockhart cinema.
The event center that formerly occupied the second-floor Los Gatos Opera House closed in early 2013. The space was converted into an office in late 2014.
This PDF offering the venue for lease prior to its conversion to offices has some photos. It says the theater opened as the Ford Opera House on October 10, 1904.
Editions of the Cahn Guide as late as 1910 erroneously claimed that the theater was on the first floor. By 1912 a new management was reporting the house as a second floor theater.
A 2014 article about Hometown Cinemas' takeover of the former MovieStar Cinema in Gun Barrel City said that Hometown had started with this six-screen house in Lockhart in 2008. A second location was added soon after in Terrell.
This web page about the murals in Terrell includes a paragraph about the movie poster mural on the back wall of the former Iris Theatre building, and includes this information about the theater’s history:
The September 23, 1922, issue of The Moving Picture World ran a brief item saying “Hunt and Garland, of the Palace Theatre at Terrell, Texas, have purchased a new organ.”
The April 7, 1928, issue of Motion Picture News said that “Gus A. Doering of Southern Pipe Organ Co., has purchased controlling interest in Palace Theatre at Terrell, Texas, from Hunt & Garland.”
The Shapiro Theatre still needs to be marked as demolished. The building was on the parking lot to the left in the current street view.
CTSM Architects provides this web page with photos of this multiplex. There are several night shots of the delightfully gaudy marquee.
This multiplex was designed for Cinépolis by the Hoover, Alabama-based architectural firm CTMS Architects. The firm’s web site features this page with photos of the project.
Photos of the most recent configuration of Cinépolis Jupiter can be seen on this page of the web site of CTMS Architects, designers of the renovation.
Four photos of the Merritt Square Cinemas can be seen on this page of the web site of CTSM Architects.
Nine photos of Southland Mall Cinemas can be seen on this page of the web site of CTSM Architects.
A collection of photos of Cobb’s Tyrone Luxury 10 can be seen on this page of the web site of CTSM Architects.
Photos of Cobb’s CinéBistro Grove can be seen on this page of the web site of CTSM Architects.
Photos of the CinéBistro Dolphn Mall can be seen on this page of the web site of CTMS Architects.
Photos of Cobb’s CinéBistro Stony Point can be seen on this page of the web site of CTMS Architects.
CinéBistro Siesta Key was designed by CTSM Architects, a firm based in the Birmingham suburb Hoover, Alabama. The firm has designed several projects for Cobb Theatres, including four CinéBistro locations. Photos of the Siesta Key project can be found on this page at the firm’s web site.
The Cobb 12 Luxury Theatres was designed by CTSM Architects, a firm based in the Birmingham suburb Hoover, Alabama. A collection of photos can be found on this page of the firm’s web site.
The Lyric was mentioned in the September 23, 1930, issue of The Film Daily. The manager was named John McKenna. It was mentioned again in the December 4 issue, which noted that the Lyric was a Publix house:
The name Empire Theatre must have been used by at least two houses in Rochester. The January 22, 1905, issue of the New York Sunday Telegraph listed burlesque and variety acts slated to appear at the Empire Theatre in Rochester in January, February, and March. The Empire on East Main had been closed for a year by that time.
The advertisement for Leon H. Lempert & Son in the 1904-1905 Cahn Guide lists the Empire Theatre in Rochester as one of three Lempert designed houses then under construction.
My guess would be that we don’t have the wrong address for this theater, but the wrong early history and wrong photo, which, judging from the caption, must depict the first Empire on East Main Street. We should add a new page for that house with the information provided by peterscribner.
The Royal Theatre had recently changed hands, according to the January 29, 1916, issue of Motography:
Possibly they were referring to interior demolition? The theatrical interior was probably gone long ago, but if the building is being renovated for retail space there was probably still a lot of later material to be hauled out.
I wonder if this item from the “Picture Theaters Projected” column of The Moving Picture World for February 5, 1921, was about the Wilson Theatre?
Do we have the correct address for the Princess? An item in the February 28, 1910, issue of The Iola Register ran this item:
203 S. Jefferson is in the block south of the square, not the east side of the square.If 203 S. Jefferson actually is the correct location, then the building is a theater again, being both a rehearsal space and secondary performance space for the Iola Community Theatre group, though their web site doesn’t mention anything about the building having once housed a movie house, and I think it would have been mentioned if it had (and they knew about it.)
It did seem odd to me that if the building was going to be demolished it looked better in the Facebook photo than it did in the photos on our photo page. All those layers of paint have been stripped off of the brick. But I still can’t find a photo of a theater at DeKalb and Knickerbocker. There’s only one modern building at that intersection, and it looks several years old.