The Capitol Theatre was in operation by 1926, when Harry Houdini performed on its stage on October 11. Houdini broke his ankle while doing his “Water Torture Cell” escape at that performance. He insisted on continuing his scheduled tour, but fell ill several days later and died on October 31 from peritonitis.
Judging from the architectural style of the Capitol I’d guess that it dated from the early 1920s or even the late 1910s. Most of the references to the house that I’ve found indicate that it was used primarily for live performances, even into the 1930s. During the 1920s it was on the Columbia Burlesque wheel. The projection booth seen in the photo appears to be a retrofit, probably installed quite some time after the house opened. In 1936, Charles Chaplin’s Modern Times was presented at the Capitol.
The November 22, 1922, issue of The Saratogaian reported that the new Capitol Theatre in Ballston Spa had opened the previous night. The house was situated on Front Street (CinemaTour gives the address as 10 Front Street, which is probably correct.)
In one of the photos uploaded by joepelletier the building has “The George West Building A.D. MCMVII” on its parapet, (MCMVII would be 1907.) The July 17 issue of The Horseless Age that year said that a garage built for George West at Front and Milton Streets in Ballston Spa had recently opened. It could accommodate 100 cars. That must have been the building’s original function.
Linkrot repair: The photo of the Sandra Theatre in the July 23, 1939, issue of Boxoffice is now at this link. It’s small and rather blurry, but shows the lighted sign and tower all the way to its top.
The Royal Theatre is listed in the Albany city directory in 1922, though with a different address (366 & 368 S. Pearl.) It was probably the same theater, though. In 1922, Albany was already preparing to renumber the lots along many of its streets.
This PDF has a brief history of the Princess Theatre, with two photos, one of which is a view of the auditorium from the screen end and shows the small shelf balcony, the only part of the theater in which patrons from Putnam County’s fairly small black community were allowed to sit.
The Princess opened on October 1, 1935. The document also mentions some of the other movie theaters in Putnam County. It also includes an extensive list of movies that were shown at the Princess over the years.
This web page says that the Belfast Opera House was built in 1866-1868 by contractor Axel Hayford, and was originally called Hayford Hall.
The November 26, 2014, issue of the Penobscot Bay Pilot ran this article reporting that the Belfast Opera House had been added to Maine Preservation’s “Most Endangered Properties” list.
According to this web page the Deering Theatre was in the building at the corner of Stevens Avenue and Brentwood Street. From the caption of the very small photo it at appears to have been on the northwest corner. The Deering Theatre was in operation by 1934, in which year the operators placed a courtesy ad in Deering High School’s yearbook.
An earlier house called the Deering Theatre operated on Congress Street in downtown Portland, but I don’t believe there was ever any connection between the two. The neighborhood house in Deering Center might have originated as the 400-seat, second-floor theater listed in the 1901-1902 Cahn Guide as the Hoegg Opera House, which itself might also have been the facility called Hoegg Hall or Hoegg’s Hall which was mentioned in several publications of the 1900s. The building suffered a major fire in 1905 and was rebuilt.
vaudevillegeek: If I read correctly the 1917 book I cited earlier, “…the Plaza, which is the continuation of his original house….” must have been at 214 N. Hastings, the location the book gave for the Nickel Theatre, opened by Mr. Hayter in 1907. If that’s the case then the Plaza was not the same house that later operated as the Cornhusker and then the State. I’ve found the Plaza mentioned in a couple of trade journal items from the 1910s, but they provide no details about the house.
Ms. Blankenship, Cinema Treasures is not affiliated in any way with the New Bern Civic Theatre. If you wish to contact that organization directly, you can do so from their web site. Their “Contact” link can be found by hovering your cursor over the “Giving” link on their main page.
Cinema Treasures also has a page for the Lions Lincoln Theatre, but so far it has received no comments. Perhaps you would like to provide the first?
This web page about the Clinton Historic Commercial District says that the “…Gem Theater occupied the building at 109 N. Wall Street from the 1930s until the early 1950s.”
Street View shows that the narrow, two-story gray building was occupied by a Spanish language church for a while, but the Internet indicates that the church has moved on to new quarters elsewhere. The building might currently be vacant, but I haven’t found any real estate listings for it.
milanp: As you actually saw this theater when it was still in operation maybe you can tell me whether I was right about the name Wellman Theatre having last been used on the former New Mock Theatre, which is now a church. Is the theater in the photo at the top of this page the Wellman Theatre you attended in 1971? (You can see a wider view of the building by clicking on the “Street View” link below the photo.)
Midtown_kc is correct. The description of this folder of 1940 tax assessment photos (including the one depicting the theater above) says that the Roanoke Theatre was at 813 East 39th Street (it should actually be West 39th, though.)
The Royal Theatre was in operation by 1917, when a promotion involving it was the subject of this item in the September 15 issue of Motography:
“The management of the Royal Theater and the merchants of Gering, Nebraska, are experimenting with a free ticket plan which will continue in effect until October 27. Under the operation of this scheme purchasers of goods are receiving tickets with what they buy, entitling them to one admission on each ticket to the Monday night and Saturday matinée shows of the Royal Theater. As tickets require no extra outlay of cash the bills being footed by the business men engaged in the plan, it is expected to prove a satisfactory trade inducement.”
Linkrot repair: The links in my comment of November 9, 2009, are dead. The Boxoffice articles I referred to about the remodeling of the Trans-Lux Broadway into the Trans Lux West are now here:
December 19, 1966 (I mistakenly said it was from 1965 in my earlier comment.)
April 24, 1967. This is a brief item saying construction had begun and that the opening was planned for May 22.
The remodeling project was designed by Drew Eberson, who had also designed the Trans-Lux East Theatre a few years earlier.
In the current Google street view, the building described in the NRHP form and shown on the Sanborn map has “For Sale” signs in the windows. Judging from the Sanborn map, the theater’s address was probably the 108 N. Maple given in the NRHP form, with the bakery at 106.
According to a brief article about the Riviera Theatre in a document published by the Rochester Theatre Organ Society (PDF here) the house opened on Saturday, September 25, 1926. The Riviera had a 3/11 Marr & Colton organ.
Linkrot repair: The August 5, 1950, Boxoffice article about Rochester’s Little Theatre that Gerald DeLuca linked to some years ago has been moved to this link. The article is at the top of the left column.
The Nadeau Theatre, 1917 Nadeau Street, was listed in the moving picture theatres section of the 1926 city directory. As it is not listed in the 1925 directory (the address wasn’t even in use that year) it is probably safe to assume that it opened sometime in 1925, possibly in a newly-constructed building.
Renovation is again underway at the Reeves Theatre, and the venue could be opened by summer of 2016, according to this illustrated articleposted by the Elkin Tribune on July 17, 2015.
This brief item from October 24, 1940, issue of The Elkin Tribune makes it sound as though the Reeves Theatre was not to be built on the same site as the Elk Theatre:
“Of considerable interest was the announcement Monday by Dr. W. B. Reeves, who owns and operates the Elk Theatre, that he is planning to build a new and modern theatre on West Main street next to the Duke Power Company, having purchased that property, and the W. M. Allen property upon which is situated the building housing the law offices of Mr. Allen and Hoke Henderson, and the Elkin-Jonesville Building & Loan Association. This building, it is understood, will be torn down to make room for the new theatre, work on which will start sometime in the near future.”
I’ve been unable to discover if the Reeves Theatre was indeed built at the location announced in this article. If the Elk Theatre was in a different location than the Reeves I don’t know what became of it. I’ve found no references to it after 1940, so if it was a different house it must have closed when the Reeves Theatre opened.
The Capitol Theatre was in operation by 1926, when Harry Houdini performed on its stage on October 11. Houdini broke his ankle while doing his “Water Torture Cell” escape at that performance. He insisted on continuing his scheduled tour, but fell ill several days later and died on October 31 from peritonitis.
Judging from the architectural style of the Capitol I’d guess that it dated from the early 1920s or even the late 1910s. Most of the references to the house that I’ve found indicate that it was used primarily for live performances, even into the 1930s. During the 1920s it was on the Columbia Burlesque wheel. The projection booth seen in the photo appears to be a retrofit, probably installed quite some time after the house opened. In 1936, Charles Chaplin’s Modern Times was presented at the Capitol.
The November 22, 1922, issue of The Saratogaian reported that the new Capitol Theatre in Ballston Spa had opened the previous night. The house was situated on Front Street (CinemaTour gives the address as 10 Front Street, which is probably correct.)
In one of the photos uploaded by joepelletier the building has “The George West Building A.D. MCMVII” on its parapet, (MCMVII would be 1907.) The July 17 issue of The Horseless Age that year said that a garage built for George West at Front and Milton Streets in Ballston Spa had recently opened. It could accommodate 100 cars. That must have been the building’s original function.
A 1919 issue of Variety for which I can’t find the exact date of publication said that the Royal Theatre in Albany had opened on September 17.
Located in Lemon Grove, but the screen tower and the menu that has been uploaded to the photo page both advertised it as the Lemon Bowl Cinema-Dine.
Here is a link to an article about the Bexley Theatre in the November 16, 1935, issue of Boxoffice
Linkrot repair: The photo of the Sandra Theatre in the July 23, 1939, issue of Boxoffice is now at this link. It’s small and rather blurry, but shows the lighted sign and tower all the way to its top.
The Royal Theatre is listed in the Albany city directory in 1922, though with a different address (366 & 368 S. Pearl.) It was probably the same theater, though. In 1922, Albany was already preparing to renumber the lots along many of its streets.
This PDF has a brief history of the Princess Theatre, with two photos, one of which is a view of the auditorium from the screen end and shows the small shelf balcony, the only part of the theater in which patrons from Putnam County’s fairly small black community were allowed to sit.
The Princess opened on October 1, 1935. The document also mentions some of the other movie theaters in Putnam County. It also includes an extensive list of movies that were shown at the Princess over the years.
This web page says that the Belfast Opera House was built in 1866-1868 by contractor Axel Hayford, and was originally called Hayford Hall.
The November 26, 2014, issue of the Penobscot Bay Pilot ran this article reporting that the Belfast Opera House had been added to Maine Preservation’s “Most Endangered Properties” list.
According to this web page the Deering Theatre was in the building at the corner of Stevens Avenue and Brentwood Street. From the caption of the very small photo it at appears to have been on the northwest corner. The Deering Theatre was in operation by 1934, in which year the operators placed a courtesy ad in Deering High School’s yearbook.
An earlier house called the Deering Theatre operated on Congress Street in downtown Portland, but I don’t believe there was ever any connection between the two. The neighborhood house in Deering Center might have originated as the 400-seat, second-floor theater listed in the 1901-1902 Cahn Guide as the Hoegg Opera House, which itself might also have been the facility called Hoegg Hall or Hoegg’s Hall which was mentioned in several publications of the 1900s. The building suffered a major fire in 1905 and was rebuilt.
vaudevillegeek: If I read correctly the 1917 book I cited earlier, “…the Plaza, which is the continuation of his original house….” must have been at 214 N. Hastings, the location the book gave for the Nickel Theatre, opened by Mr. Hayter in 1907. If that’s the case then the Plaza was not the same house that later operated as the Cornhusker and then the State. I’ve found the Plaza mentioned in a couple of trade journal items from the 1910s, but they provide no details about the house.
Ms. Blankenship, Cinema Treasures is not affiliated in any way with the New Bern Civic Theatre. If you wish to contact that organization directly, you can do so from their web site. Their “Contact” link can be found by hovering your cursor over the “Giving” link on their main page.
Cinema Treasures also has a page for the Lions Lincoln Theatre, but so far it has received no comments. Perhaps you would like to provide the first?
This web page about the Clinton Historic Commercial District says that the “…Gem Theater occupied the building at 109 N. Wall Street from the 1930s until the early 1950s.”
Street View shows that the narrow, two-story gray building was occupied by a Spanish language church for a while, but the Internet indicates that the church has moved on to new quarters elsewhere. The building might currently be vacant, but I haven’t found any real estate listings for it.
milanp: As you actually saw this theater when it was still in operation maybe you can tell me whether I was right about the name Wellman Theatre having last been used on the former New Mock Theatre, which is now a church. Is the theater in the photo at the top of this page the Wellman Theatre you attended in 1971? (You can see a wider view of the building by clicking on the “Street View” link below the photo.)
Midtown_kc is correct. The description of this folder of 1940 tax assessment photos (including the one depicting the theater above) says that the Roanoke Theatre was at 813 East 39th Street (it should actually be West 39th, though.)
The Royal Theatre was in operation by 1917, when a promotion involving it was the subject of this item in the September 15 issue of Motography:
Linkrot repair: The links in my comment of November 9, 2009, are dead. The Boxoffice articles I referred to about the remodeling of the Trans-Lux Broadway into the Trans Lux West are now here:
December 19, 1966 (I mistakenly said it was from 1965 in my earlier comment.)
April 24, 1967. This is a brief item saying construction had begun and that the opening was planned for May 22.
The remodeling project was designed by Drew Eberson, who had also designed the Trans-Lux East Theatre a few years earlier.
Street View is set one door too far east. There is now a toy store where the entrance to the Lititz Theatre used to be.
In the current Google street view, the building described in the NRHP form and shown on the Sanborn map has “For Sale” signs in the windows. Judging from the Sanborn map, the theater’s address was probably the 108 N. Maple given in the NRHP form, with the bakery at 106.
According to a brief article about the Riviera Theatre in a document published by the Rochester Theatre Organ Society (PDF here) the house opened on Saturday, September 25, 1926. The Riviera had a 3/11 Marr & Colton organ.
Linkrot repair: The August 5, 1950, Boxoffice article about Rochester’s Little Theatre that Gerald DeLuca linked to some years ago has been moved to this link. The article is at the top of the left column.
The Nadeau Theatre, 1917 Nadeau Street, was listed in the moving picture theatres section of the 1926 city directory. As it is not listed in the 1925 directory (the address wasn’t even in use that year) it is probably safe to assume that it opened sometime in 1925, possibly in a newly-constructed building.
This early movie house was operated by Louis Mitchell, who later opened the Lyric Theatre and the State Theatre.
Renovation is again underway at the Reeves Theatre, and the venue could be opened by summer of 2016, according to this illustrated articleposted by the Elkin Tribune on July 17, 2015.
This brief item from October 24, 1940, issue of The Elkin Tribune makes it sound as though the Reeves Theatre was not to be built on the same site as the Elk Theatre:
I’ve been unable to discover if the Reeves Theatre was indeed built at the location announced in this article. If the Elk Theatre was in a different location than the Reeves I don’t know what became of it. I’ve found no references to it after 1940, so if it was a different house it must have closed when the Reeves Theatre opened.