A 1918 Norwich directory lists the Happy Hour Theatre at 22 S. Broad Street. The only other theater listed is the Colonia, so the Bijou must have been closed by then, and Smalley’s not yet built.
There is a possibility, which I have not yet been able to confirm, that the original Smalley’s Theatre was built in 1919 or 1920, and was originally operated by the operator of the Happy Hour Theatre, possibly under the name Strand Theatre. This is an extract from an item in The Moving Picture World of May 3, 1919:
“Dr. W. E. Hartigan’s residence on East Main street is being razed, and it is understood that C. H. Latham will build a modern photoplay house on the site.
“Mr. Latham, on being questioned as to his plans, said he was not ready to give out any news, but that he would make a public statement later. The rumor has been going for some time that there would be another moving picture theatre in Norwich. The new house will have conveniences for vaudeville.”
The June 23, 1919, issue of The American Contractor also mentions the project:
“Norwich, N. Y. M. P. Theater: $24,000. 2 sty. 107x56. Priv. plans. Owner Mrs. C. H. Latham, Park pl. Lessee A. E. Ford, propr. Happy House Theater. Hollow tile. Plans drawn.”
The name “Happy House Theatre” is most likely a mistake, as the 1918 directory lists A. E. Ford as proprietor of the Happy Hour Theatre. An issue of the Chenango Union, Norwich’s local newspaper, from either 1919 or 1920 (the date is not on the page I have access to) advertises the Strand Theatre, A. E. Ford manager. The only other theater advertised is the Colonia, so it is possible that Mr. Ford closed the Happy Hour when he opened the Strand.
The Strand is listed at 19 E. Main in the 1922 Directory. If the Strand became Smalley’s then the address might have been shifted at the time the original theater was replaced in 1932. Still, the possibility that the Strand became Smalley’s remains moot, considering the fact that the May 3, 1924, issue of The Moving Picture World mentions “[t]he three exhibitors….” in Norwich. It doesn’t name the three theaters, so it remains uncertain if the third theater at that time was Smalley’s, or perhaps the Happy Hour had been reopened. It is possible that the original Smalley’s was next door to the Strand and built sometime between 1922 and 1924.
The August 16, 1913, issue of Exhibitors' Times mentioned the new Third Street Theatre in Easton. The article praised the theater and its operation in general, with only the caveat that the auditorium was “…somewhat too wide for a motion picture theater….” The auditorium had been built behind an existing building on Third Street and the new lobby cut through the old structure. The project had been designed by a local architect, but the article failed to give his name.
The July 2, 1937, issue of The Film Daily noted that Schine Theatres, which had just gained control of the State Theatre in Fostoria, had taken over the Civic and Roxy Theatres there several months previously.
In the 1910s Fostoria had theaters called the Majestic and the Strand. Either of those might have been the Roxy (or the Civic) under an earlier name.
The Civic Theatre was located at 321 N. Main Street. An extract from an article about Fostoria’s movie houses by Gene Kinn on this web page says that “[t]he old Civic theater building is still standing and at one time was used as a youth center, presently used as a sharing kitchen to prepare meals for area residents.”
The building is still standing in 2016 (it was the State Theatre that was demolished in 2000) and still houses a sharing kitchen. The rather plain brick building looks quite old, and might even date from the late 19th century, though if so it was probably not built as a theater, as it lacks a stage house, or any indication that it ever had one. Still, it might have been purpose-built as a movie house, perhaps in the 1910s. The Civic Theatre was in operation prior to 1937, the year in which all three of Fostoria’s movie houses came under the control of Schine Theatres, as noted in the July 2 issue of The Film Daily.
If the Colonial was designed by Myron Vorce then it must have been this project noted in the May 8, 1915, issue of The American Contractor:
“Fostoria, O.~Motion Picture Theater: 1 sty. 25x120. Archt. Myron B. Vorce, 732 Garfield bldg., Cleveland. Owner M. S. Hawkins, Fostoria, taking bids.”
This web page includes an article about Fostoria’s early movie theaters by Gene Kinn. It says that “[i]n 1916, when they lost their lease on the Majestic, Mr. Buck and his associates moved across the street, to what is now the present location of the State Theater, and built a 300 seat movie house, called the ‘Colonial’. Three years later, just after World War I, they enlarged the theater into it’s present 700-seat capacity, and some time later changed the name to the State.” Melvin Hawkins was one of the “associates” Kinn mentions.
Pacific sold its theaters outside Southern California to Australian company Reading International in 2007. Pacific and its Sister company ArcLight now operate under the banner of their parent company, Decurion Corporation, owned by the Forman family. They also own Robertson Properties, a real estate development company.
The NRHP Registration form for the Avon Park Historic District, which includes this theater, refers to the house only as the Park Theatre, and says it opened in 1935. The 1950 opening must have been a reopening under a new name.
Also I wanted to note that the Florida was not demolished in 1962. The book I cited in my previous comment said that it was demolished after 1962, and the photo we currently display indicates that it was in operation at least as late as 1964. Lawrence of Arabia (coming “Sun” on the marquee) was premiered in December, 1962, and its road show ran for over a year, with general release coming well into 1964. Son of Captain Blood was made in Italy in 1962, but according to IMDb was not released in the U.S. until the spring of 1964. The American-made Law of the Lawless was also released in the spring of 1964.
The NRHP registration form for the Central fire station in Sebring notes that its architect, William J. Heim, also designed two indoor movie theaters in Sebring, the Florida being one of them (the other was the Circle.) He also designed the Sevon Drive-In in between Sebring and nearby Avon Park.
Susan Priest MacDonald and Randall M. MacDonald’s book Sebring has a 1948 photo of the Florida Theatre, and in the left background is the gabled roof of the side of the police station at Ridgewood Drive and Pine Street (Google Books preview). The caption says that the Florida was on the west side Ridgewood near Lime Street, which is the next street north of Pine. I think that the theater was on the lot next door to the small building that now houses Sebring Furniture, which is at 325 N. Ridgewood. The store to its south is at 321, so figuring about a four number jump per lot the theater was probably at approximately 329 N. Ridgewood.
The NRHP registration form for the Central Fire Station in Sebring notes that its architect, William J. Heim, also designed the Sevon Drive In, as well as the indoor Florida and Circle Theatres in Sebring.
This photo depicts the first Esquire Theatre, originally the Aztec, which was destroyed by a fire in 1969 and replaced by the second Esquire. This is its CT page.
I believe that the third Dream Theatre was still open in 1966, when it was either gutted or destroyed by a fire. The 18 April issue of the Greencastle Daily Banner reported that the theater had been gutted by a fire that started about 5:00 PM the previous day, while The Terre Haute Star said that the theater had been destroyed and its marquee had fallen into the street after filling with water.
Page 109 of Indiana’s Ohio River Scenic Byway, by Leslie Townsend, has a photo of the Dream Theatre with the 1950 movie Comanche Territory advertised on the marquee (Google Books preview.)
This item from the May 24, 1919, issue of The Moving Picture World could have been about the house that later became the Sioux:
“Tom Hammond, of Anthon, Ia., has built a brand new theatre, equipped up to the minute in every respect with Power’s equipment, and will open at once.”
An F. C. Lyon, operating a house in Anthon called the Jewel Theatre was listed in the October 12, 1929, issue of Exhibitors Herald World. The January 11, 1936, issue of Motion Picture Herald published a letter from W. Anderson, operating the Sioux Theatre, Anthon, Iowa.
The 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory listed the Opera House at Anthon, Iowa, as a movie theater. Given how small Anthon was it’s likely that the Opera House closed when Tom Hammond’s new theater opened. It’s also likely that Anthon never supported two theaters at once, so unless something happened to its original building, it seems likely that the 1919 house was the theater that later operated as the Jewel and as the Sioux.
This item is from the September 10, 1947, issue of Variety:
“The Star, a 250-seater, Anthon, Ia., has been purchased by Walter D. Rasmussen, Council Bluffs, Ia., from Tom Sandberg, who opened the house in Feb., 1946.”
W. D. Rasmussen of the Star Theatre, Anthon, Iowa, was listed in the July 10, 1948, issue of Motion Picture Herald as having joined the magazine’s team of exhibitors who would contribute capsule movie reviews for the magazine’s “What the Picture Did for Me” feature. Several of his reviews appeared in the magazine later that year. Around the same time, the July 3 issue of Showmen’s Trade Review said that “W. D. Rassmussen has finished a new marquee on the Star, Anthon, Ia.”
The Star Theatre advertised in the 1953 yearbook of Climbing Hill High School in Moville, Iowa. The proprietor at that time was named Cy Schulte, and the theater boasted a “modern cry room.” A new CinemaScope installation at the Star was mentioned in the 1955 Anthon High School yearbook.
A list of theaters reopened during the first quarter of 1958 was published in the April 7 issue of Boxoffice that year, and Cy Schulte’s Star at Anthon was among them.
Though no theater name was given, a line from the April 16, 1962, issue of Boxoffice probably refers to the Star, which by that time was most likely the only movie house in this very small town: “Cherokee and Anthon, Iowa, were flooded but the theatres were safe.”
While it’s possible that the Star that Tom Sandberg opened in 1946 was an older theater reopened with a new name, the fact that it had a cry room suggests that it was either new construction or an extensive remodeling. Cry rooms were not unknown even as early as the 1920s, but they did not become common in small town theaters until the post-war period.
A history of Little Falls says that “[i]n 1910 W. H. Linton operated the ‘Hippodrome Theatre’ in the I.O.O.F. Hall on William Street.”
A comment from 2011 on a “Topix” page about Little Falls mentions the Odd Fellows Hall having been across the street from the fire station. The fire station is on the ground floor of the City Hall at Main and William Streets, and across William Street is only a modern, but aging, retail building (which looks to be from the 1970s) and its parking lot, so the Hippodrome has been demolished.
This item about a Ridgefield Theatre in Washington is from the June 14, 1919, issue of The Moving Picture World:
“Ridgfield Theatre Opens.
“Steve LeRouge held a grand opening for the Ridgfield Theatre, Wash., May 24. This is the fourth theatre on the LeRouge circuit and seats 300. W. A. Stone, of the Service Film Company, installed two new Motiographs in the theatre.”
I’ve come across references from the 1920s of a Steve Le Rouge who was manager of a camp at Battle Ground Lake, about 18 miles north of Vancouver, Washington, which is very near Ridgefield, so it’s probably the same Steve LeRouge who ran the theater. The Liberty’s building has a stair-step parapet, and the brick of the walls is imprecise, both of which are characteristic of buildings from the 1910s but not usually of those from 1946, so I have to wonder if perhaps Liberty was just a new name for the old theater that opened in 1919.
The Franklin Theatre was extensively remodeled in 1919, as noted in this item from the June 14 issue of The Moving Picture World:
“Franklin Will Be Improved.
“David Morris, of the Franklin Theatre, Third and Fitzwater streets, will make several improvements to his theatre during the summer months. One of the main features will be the remodeling of the front of the building and installing a new and handsome box-office. On the interior he will remove the balcony and increase his seating capacity and standing room space. Improved ventilation will be arranged for in addition to a new lighting system. When completed, the theatre will be one of the handsomest in the city.”
Here’s the article announcing the intention of the Smoot Amusement Company to build the Lincoln Theatre, from The Moving Picture World of June 7, 1919:
“Smoots Add Third Theatre to Chain in Parkersburg
“THE SMOOT AMUSEMENT COMPANY, now controlling the Camden and Auditorium Theatres in Parkersburg, West Virginia, will add another house to its string in the same city. The addition is the Lincoln, a new house which will go up on the corner of Market and Eighth streets on the site of the Sycamore Place.
“The owners of the Smoot Amusement Company are Fayette C. Smoot, Charles S. Smoot and Frank J. Hassett. The concern is one of the livest organizations not only in the city but also in the surrounding district. The Parkersburg News, in its story on the new theatre, says: ‘The News wishes to take this occasion to commend the promoters of this new enterprise for their go-ahead policy and their confidence in Parkersburg’s future. It takes nerve and resource to take such steps, and fortunately for Parkersburg these men are equipped with these qualities. They do things.’
“The new Lincoln will seat 1,000 and will cost $90,000. It will embrace every modern item in construction, decoration and equipment and will provide an artistic asset to the city. Fred W. Elliott of Columbus, Ohio, is the architect, while the contract for the structure has been awarded to R. L. Brown, a local builder.”
Records of a court case involving Julius Gordon’s Jefferson Amusement Company in the 1950s said that the Port Theatre in Port Arthur opened on June 6, 1940. It was most likely designed by Leon C. Kyburz, as at this time he was working as Jefferson’s in-house architect, designing all their projects.
Judging from Google street view the entire block of Ninth Avenue on which the theater was located has been redeveloped with a modern project. The theater has been demolished.
This web page has a photo of the steel framework of the Lynn Theatre under construction, dated 1939. The text also notes that the house was designed by architect L. C. Kyburz.
Two more construction photos can be seen here, and here. The Lynn was built for East Texas Theatres, a subsidiary of the Jefferson Amusement Company, 50% of which was in turn owned by Paramount Pictures. L. C. Kyburz was for many years Jefferson’s in-house architect.
An oral history from long-time Lufkin resident Bettie Kennedy says that the Lynn Theatre was located in the 100 block of what is now called Frank Avenue, across the street from the older Texan Theatre. The Texan’s building is still standing, but the Lynn was demolished to make way for a jail.
The Texan Theatre building appears to be still standing on Frank Avenue, its front covered in weathered, vertical wood siding of the sort that was fashionable for a while in the 1970s. Across the street from the Texas building is a jail, and a mural on the wall facing the street includes a view of the Texas Theatre as it once looked. The jail itself is built partly on the site of another Lufkin movie house, the Lynn Theatre.
In 1924 the Monache Theatre was being operated by the National Theatres Syndicate, according to the May 24 issue of The Moving Picture World.
A 1918 Norwich directory lists the Happy Hour Theatre at 22 S. Broad Street. The only other theater listed is the Colonia, so the Bijou must have been closed by then, and Smalley’s not yet built.
There is a possibility, which I have not yet been able to confirm, that the original Smalley’s Theatre was built in 1919 or 1920, and was originally operated by the operator of the Happy Hour Theatre, possibly under the name Strand Theatre. This is an extract from an item in The Moving Picture World of May 3, 1919:
The June 23, 1919, issue of The American Contractor also mentions the project:The name “Happy House Theatre” is most likely a mistake, as the 1918 directory lists A. E. Ford as proprietor of the Happy Hour Theatre. An issue of the Chenango Union, Norwich’s local newspaper, from either 1919 or 1920 (the date is not on the page I have access to) advertises the Strand Theatre, A. E. Ford manager. The only other theater advertised is the Colonia, so it is possible that Mr. Ford closed the Happy Hour when he opened the Strand.The Strand is listed at 19 E. Main in the 1922 Directory. If the Strand became Smalley’s then the address might have been shifted at the time the original theater was replaced in 1932. Still, the possibility that the Strand became Smalley’s remains moot, considering the fact that the May 3, 1924, issue of The Moving Picture World mentions “[t]he three exhibitors….” in Norwich. It doesn’t name the three theaters, so it remains uncertain if the third theater at that time was Smalley’s, or perhaps the Happy Hour had been reopened. It is possible that the original Smalley’s was next door to the Strand and built sometime between 1922 and 1924.
The August 16, 1913, issue of Exhibitors' Times mentioned the new Third Street Theatre in Easton. The article praised the theater and its operation in general, with only the caveat that the auditorium was “…somewhat too wide for a motion picture theater….” The auditorium had been built behind an existing building on Third Street and the new lobby cut through the old structure. The project had been designed by a local architect, but the article failed to give his name.
The July 2, 1937, issue of The Film Daily noted that Schine Theatres, which had just gained control of the State Theatre in Fostoria, had taken over the Civic and Roxy Theatres there several months previously.
In the 1910s Fostoria had theaters called the Majestic and the Strand. Either of those might have been the Roxy (or the Civic) under an earlier name.
The Civic Theatre was located at 321 N. Main Street. An extract from an article about Fostoria’s movie houses by Gene Kinn on this web page says that “[t]he old Civic theater building is still standing and at one time was used as a youth center, presently used as a sharing kitchen to prepare meals for area residents.”
The building is still standing in 2016 (it was the State Theatre that was demolished in 2000) and still houses a sharing kitchen. The rather plain brick building looks quite old, and might even date from the late 19th century, though if so it was probably not built as a theater, as it lacks a stage house, or any indication that it ever had one. Still, it might have been purpose-built as a movie house, perhaps in the 1910s. The Civic Theatre was in operation prior to 1937, the year in which all three of Fostoria’s movie houses came under the control of Schine Theatres, as noted in the July 2 issue of The Film Daily.
If the Colonial was designed by Myron Vorce then it must have been this project noted in the May 8, 1915, issue of The American Contractor:
This web page includes an article about Fostoria’s early movie theaters by Gene Kinn. It says that “[i]n 1916, when they lost their lease on the Majestic, Mr. Buck and his associates moved across the street, to what is now the present location of the State Theater, and built a 300 seat movie house, called the ‘Colonial’. Three years later, just after World War I, they enlarged the theater into it’s present 700-seat capacity, and some time later changed the name to the State.” Melvin Hawkins was one of the “associates” Kinn mentions.Pacific sold its theaters outside Southern California to Australian company Reading International in 2007. Pacific and its Sister company ArcLight now operate under the banner of their parent company, Decurion Corporation, owned by the Forman family. They also own Robertson Properties, a real estate development company.
The NRHP Registration form for the Avon Park Historic District, which includes this theater, refers to the house only as the Park Theatre, and says it opened in 1935. The 1950 opening must have been a reopening under a new name.
Also I wanted to note that the Florida was not demolished in 1962. The book I cited in my previous comment said that it was demolished after 1962, and the photo we currently display indicates that it was in operation at least as late as 1964. Lawrence of Arabia (coming “Sun” on the marquee) was premiered in December, 1962, and its road show ran for over a year, with general release coming well into 1964. Son of Captain Blood was made in Italy in 1962, but according to IMDb was not released in the U.S. until the spring of 1964. The American-made Law of the Lawless was also released in the spring of 1964.
The NRHP registration form for the Central fire station in Sebring notes that its architect, William J. Heim, also designed two indoor movie theaters in Sebring, the Florida being one of them (the other was the Circle.) He also designed the Sevon Drive-In in between Sebring and nearby Avon Park.
Susan Priest MacDonald and Randall M. MacDonald’s book Sebring has a 1948 photo of the Florida Theatre, and in the left background is the gabled roof of the side of the police station at Ridgewood Drive and Pine Street (Google Books preview). The caption says that the Florida was on the west side Ridgewood near Lime Street, which is the next street north of Pine. I think that the theater was on the lot next door to the small building that now houses Sebring Furniture, which is at 325 N. Ridgewood. The store to its south is at 321, so figuring about a four number jump per lot the theater was probably at approximately 329 N. Ridgewood.
The NRHP registration form for the Central Fire Station in Sebring notes that its architect, William J. Heim, also designed the Sevon Drive In, as well as the indoor Florida and Circle Theatres in Sebring.
Here is a link to the Boulder Art Cinema web site.
Several photos of this house over the years can be seen on this page of the Downtown Enid History web site.
This photo depicts the first Esquire Theatre, originally the Aztec, which was destroyed by a fire in 1969 and replaced by the second Esquire. This is its CT page.
I believe that the third Dream Theatre was still open in 1966, when it was either gutted or destroyed by a fire. The 18 April issue of the Greencastle Daily Banner reported that the theater had been gutted by a fire that started about 5:00 PM the previous day, while The Terre Haute Star said that the theater had been destroyed and its marquee had fallen into the street after filling with water.
Page 109 of Indiana’s Ohio River Scenic Byway, by Leslie Townsend, has a photo of the Dream Theatre with the 1950 movie Comanche Territory advertised on the marquee (Google Books preview.)
This item from the May 24, 1919, issue of The Moving Picture World could have been about the house that later became the Sioux:
An F. C. Lyon, operating a house in Anthon called the Jewel Theatre was listed in the October 12, 1929, issue of Exhibitors Herald World. The January 11, 1936, issue of Motion Picture Herald published a letter from W. Anderson, operating the Sioux Theatre, Anthon, Iowa.The 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory listed the Opera House at Anthon, Iowa, as a movie theater. Given how small Anthon was it’s likely that the Opera House closed when Tom Hammond’s new theater opened. It’s also likely that Anthon never supported two theaters at once, so unless something happened to its original building, it seems likely that the 1919 house was the theater that later operated as the Jewel and as the Sioux.
This item is from the September 10, 1947, issue of Variety:
W. D. Rasmussen of the Star Theatre, Anthon, Iowa, was listed in the July 10, 1948, issue of Motion Picture Herald as having joined the magazine’s team of exhibitors who would contribute capsule movie reviews for the magazine’s “What the Picture Did for Me” feature. Several of his reviews appeared in the magazine later that year. Around the same time, the July 3 issue of Showmen’s Trade Review said that “W. D. Rassmussen has finished a new marquee on the Star, Anthon, Ia.”The Star Theatre advertised in the 1953 yearbook of Climbing Hill High School in Moville, Iowa. The proprietor at that time was named Cy Schulte, and the theater boasted a “modern cry room.” A new CinemaScope installation at the Star was mentioned in the 1955 Anthon High School yearbook.
A list of theaters reopened during the first quarter of 1958 was published in the April 7 issue of Boxoffice that year, and Cy Schulte’s Star at Anthon was among them.
Though no theater name was given, a line from the April 16, 1962, issue of Boxoffice probably refers to the Star, which by that time was most likely the only movie house in this very small town: “Cherokee and Anthon, Iowa, were flooded but the theatres were safe.”
While it’s possible that the Star that Tom Sandberg opened in 1946 was an older theater reopened with a new name, the fact that it had a cry room suggests that it was either new construction or an extensive remodeling. Cry rooms were not unknown even as early as the 1920s, but they did not become common in small town theaters until the post-war period.
A history of Little Falls says that “[i]n 1910 W. H. Linton operated the ‘Hippodrome Theatre’ in the I.O.O.F. Hall on William Street.”
A comment from 2011 on a “Topix” page about Little Falls mentions the Odd Fellows Hall having been across the street from the fire station. The fire station is on the ground floor of the City Hall at Main and William Streets, and across William Street is only a modern, but aging, retail building (which looks to be from the 1970s) and its parking lot, so the Hippodrome has been demolished.
This item about a Ridgefield Theatre in Washington is from the June 14, 1919, issue of The Moving Picture World:
I’ve come across references from the 1920s of a Steve Le Rouge who was manager of a camp at Battle Ground Lake, about 18 miles north of Vancouver, Washington, which is very near Ridgefield, so it’s probably the same Steve LeRouge who ran the theater. The Liberty’s building has a stair-step parapet, and the brick of the walls is imprecise, both of which are characteristic of buildings from the 1910s but not usually of those from 1946, so I have to wonder if perhaps Liberty was just a new name for the old theater that opened in 1919.The Franklin Theatre was extensively remodeled in 1919, as noted in this item from the June 14 issue of The Moving Picture World:
Here’s the article announcing the intention of the Smoot Amusement Company to build the Lincoln Theatre, from The Moving Picture World of June 7, 1919:
According to the May 13, 1965, issue of The La Marque Times, the Sharpstown Theatre was scheduled to open on May 27.
Records of a court case involving Julius Gordon’s Jefferson Amusement Company in the 1950s said that the Port Theatre in Port Arthur opened on June 6, 1940. It was most likely designed by Leon C. Kyburz, as at this time he was working as Jefferson’s in-house architect, designing all their projects.
Judging from Google street view the entire block of Ninth Avenue on which the theater was located has been redeveloped with a modern project. The theater has been demolished.
This web page has a photo of the steel framework of the Lynn Theatre under construction, dated 1939. The text also notes that the house was designed by architect L. C. Kyburz.
Two more construction photos can be seen here, and here. The Lynn was built for East Texas Theatres, a subsidiary of the Jefferson Amusement Company, 50% of which was in turn owned by Paramount Pictures. L. C. Kyburz was for many years Jefferson’s in-house architect.
An oral history from long-time Lufkin resident Bettie Kennedy says that the Lynn Theatre was located in the 100 block of what is now called Frank Avenue, across the street from the older Texan Theatre. The Texan’s building is still standing, but the Lynn was demolished to make way for a jail.
The Texan Theatre building appears to be still standing on Frank Avenue, its front covered in weathered, vertical wood siding of the sort that was fashionable for a while in the 1970s. Across the street from the Texas building is a jail, and a mural on the wall facing the street includes a view of the Texas Theatre as it once looked. The jail itself is built partly on the site of another Lufkin movie house, the Lynn Theatre.