A brief announcement about the Flint Theatre appeared in the “Theaters Planned” column of The Film Daily for September 9, 1938. The $75,000, 780-seat house at North Saginaw and Tilden Streets was being designed for operator Walter O. Johnson by architect George J. Bachmann.
An early Real Photo postcard of the Gala Theatre can be seen on this web page.
The “Theaters Planned” column of the September 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily said that a 640-seat theater at Garrett for Alex C. Kalafat was being designed by architect E. J. Frederic. The address given was 519 S. Randolph Street, but this page from the Eckhart Public Library says that the 638-seat Gala Theatre was opened by the Kalafat brothers in 1939, so it was probably the same project despite the address discrepancy.
The original architects of the Vista Theatre were Wetherell & Harrison. The “Theaters Under Construction” column of the September 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily said that the Vista was expected to be completed by October 1. The 650-seat project had been budgeted at $40,000.
The “Theaters Under Construction” column of the September 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily said that the Plaza Theatre in Helena was expected to be completed on October 1. Builder George B. Miller was also to be the operator of the house. The architect of the 450-seat project was E. T. Walker.
The “New Theatre Openings” column of the September 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily said that the Capitol Theatre in Marvell had opened on July 15. The 300-seat house, designed by architect R. L. Swim, had cost a modest $7,500. W. W. Davis was the first manager.
The “New Theatre Openings” column of the September 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily said that the Drew Theatre in Monticello had opened on August 9. The seating capacity was given as 900, the cost of the project was $50,000, and the architect was H. Ray Burks.
The “Theatres Under Construction” column of the August 27, 1938, issue of The Film Daily said that the new Bijou Theatre being built in Houma had been designed by the architectural firm of Overstreet & Town (Noah Webster Overstreet and A. Hays Town.) The house was to have 1,112 seats and the projected date of completion was September 1. The project had cost $85,000.
An article on Portland’s movie theaters that ran in the July 15, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World included this information about the Majestic:
“Edwin James, owner of the Majestic, built in 1911, has stayed with the same house and the same location perhaps longer than any other exhibitor in Portland. Coming from Seattle in 1910, Mr. James opened the Majestic, seating 350, in a storeroom on Fifth and Washington streets and after nine months opened the present Majestic with 1,050 seats at an expense of $62,000. The Peoples Amusement Company then controlled most of the theaters in the city and also the Amalgamated Film Exchange. They had a monopoly on the film service and the Majestic was compelled to add musical attractions to what films it could get to meet (he competition. The Majestic first introduced features to Portland, the initiating film being "The Fall of Troy,” two reels. A rental of $150 per week was paid for the picture and was considered a big price at that time. The Majestic installed a theater organ, one of the few on the Pacific Coast at the time and the Star across the street also put in an organ, the two theaters starting organ music on the same day.“
This page from the Puget Sound Theatre Organ Society has information about two organs in this theater, but the first of these was installed in 1918, so they are missing the information about the organ that was installed prior to 1916. The Majestic’s 1918 organ and the 1928 organ (installed for United Artists) were both Wurlitzers.
The Lyric Opera House was one of three theaters listed for Terrell in the 1913-1914 Cahn guide, all three of which listed E. T. Christman as manager. The National Theatre ran pictures and vaudeville, but no details were given for the Airdome Theatre except that it operated during the summer. The Opera House was a ground floor theater with 600 seats, 200 of which were in the balcony.
The 1909-1910 guide lists a theater called the Childress Opera House in Terrell. Though the description does not exactly match that of the Lyric in 1914, it is close enough that they could have been the same house. The Childress was the only theater listed at Terrell in 1909. It was also listed in the September 5, 1908, issue of The Billboard.
The Lyric Theatre was mentioned in the March 4, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World. Operators Gwynn & Byar were planning to expend about $2,200 for remodeling the house.
It’s money, Mikeoaklandpark, and the value of publicity. AEG in particular doesn’t like to leave so much as a penny on the table. They cash in on selling naming rights to companies that know every event advertisement, every review, every social media post that mentions the venue with their name on it is an advertisement for them and their products. Companies will bid each other up, and the one willing to pay the most gets its name on the venue.
Old time showmen like Marcus Lowe and William Fox built famous brands out of their own names, but modern promoters have realized they can make even more money by charging other companies for five-year piggyback rides. I believe five years is the most common term of a naming rights contract, so the names are apt to change that often unless the current contact holder is willing to pay for another five years, usually at a higher price. If some other company is willing to pay more, then it’s goodbye Best Buy Theatre and hello PlayStation Theatre.
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, by Lawrence Wright, says that when Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s family moved to Helena when he was two years old, his father became the manager of the Family Theatre, then still a vaudeville house.
A couple of the photos on tis web page show the Rialto Theatre in Scarbro. It looks like the theater was on the second floor with stores below. The building also looks to be older than the company store next door, which was built in 1937.
The company store is still standing, but the theater has been demolished. The theater fronted on Plum Orchard Lake Road at the corner of Scarbro Road.
Google Maps has no street view, but Bing Maps has a bird’s eye view.
I use HTML because I’m accustomed to it, but Cinema Treasures also supports Markdown code, which is much simpler. To italicize with Markdown simply put an asterisk * at the beginning of the first word you want italicized and another asterisk at the end of the last word you want italicized (or an asterisk at the beginning and end of a single word if that’s the only one you want in italics.) You can also use underscores _ the same way. Doubling either asterisks ** or underscores gives you bold type instead of italics. You can also use Markdown to make text hyperlinks, as described in this official post.
When it was Best Buy Theatre it was owned and/or operated by AEG Worldwide, one of the companies controlled by secretive billionaire Philip Anschutz. They haven’t updated their web site with the new name, so I don’t know if they still own it, or if they are just a bit slovenly about keeping their web site up to date.
Does the name “PlayStation Theater” (there’s no space between the words) sound to anyone else like it would be a 1970s storefront porn house? To be sure, if selling naming rights helps historic theaters to survive then I’m all for it, but oy, what a name this is.
The New Janus Theatre was in operation at least as early as 1916, when the June 17 issue of the Macon Daily Chronicle-Herald of Macon, Missouri, reported that the theater’s projection machine had been stolen the previous Thursday night. A few nights later the thief returned and stole the replacement machine that theater operators Jones and Spaulding had rented. This time he was apprehended, according to the June 22 issue of the La Plata Home Press. Howard Davison was arrested with the head of the second machine in his luggage as he awaited a train to Kansas City, where he had sold the first machine for $47.
In the current Google street view the modern plaster on the building is seen to be cracking along the lines of an old arch. The arch probably marks the location of the entrance to the Apollo Theatre when it opened in 1914.
An announcement about the project that would become the Dyckman Theatre appeared in the March 1, 1913, issue of The American Contractor:
“Theater (seating capacity 1,800): 1 sty. 150x150. $100,000. 207th st. & Sherman av. Archts. Von Beren & La Velle [sic], 507 Fifth av. Owner G. L. Lawrence, 2228 Broadway. Architects will take bids about March 4. Brick, terra cotta, slag roofing, struct. & orn. iron, marble, tiling, gas & electric fixtures.”
The short-lived partnership of architects Frederic Von Beren and Paul B. LaVelle was dissolved in December, 1913.
According the Cezar Del Valle’s The Brooklyn Theatre Index the original architect of the Sumner Theatre was Paul B. LaVelle. In addition to Lamb’s 1917 remodeling, a remodeling of the interior in 1930 was designed by architect A. J. Benline.
According to his 1961 obituary, Nikitas Dipson began operating the Family Theatre at Batavia in 1914. He had earlier operated the Lyric Theatre and another movie house in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. In the 1920s he operated a chain of fifty movie theaters, and provided booking services for 200. In the late 1920s he leased twenty-five of his houses to Warner Brothers.
The obituary can be read in this PDF of page 12 of the May 5, 1961, edition of the Jamestown (N.Y.) Post-Journal.
seasickseagull: If you click on the “Street View” link under the photo above, then rotate the resulting view, you will see that Engine 28 is still housed in the firehouse across Lovejoy Street from the former theater.
I certainly wouldn’t have recognized this plain, boxy building as a former theater. This Facebook page has one of the renderings I linked to in my previous comment, which depicts one of the six prototype theaters that architect William Reisman designed for GCC in the 1960s.
The member who posted it says that this particular design looked most like the Capital Plaza, and one commenter downthread says “…that pretty much looks like it.” There are dozens of comments from people who attended the theater or worked at it, and I’ve found none who say that it didn’t look like the drawing, so I think we can assume that the Capital Plaza’s design was indeed based on that particular William Reisman prototype.
The Family Theatre was advertised at Third and Harris as early as February, 1916. There were at least two earlier houses called the Family Theatre in Harrisburg. One operated on Third near Locust Street at least as early as 1892, and the October 26, 1912, issue of the Harrisburg Daily Independent said that the new Family Theatre on Market Street would open that evening.
A May 9, 1915, item in The Courier described the Family Theatre as “…a large airy room having thirteen exits.” The Market Street house that opened in 1912 had seated only 250, so thirteen exits would have been more likely in the larger, 900-seat Third Street house. That could be an indication that the Third and Harris Family was open by 1915.
Here is the text that accompanied this photo as it appeared in the August 5, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World:
“In the year 1914 P. G. Redding and J. H. Stroud opened the Wonderland theater in Windom, Minn. It was erected at a cost of $15,000, and is 35 feet wide by 115 feet long. Fireproof material has been used in constructing the Wonderland, and it complies with the law in respect to wiring, aisles, exits, etc. There is an eighteen foot ceiling, and the interior is decorated in perfect harmony.
“The seating capacity is 600, and there is plenty of room between the rows of chairs. The Wonderland under the able management of Redding & Stroud has been a profitable investment since it was opened. The management is booking big features as well as running the regular program material. Among the big productions that have been shown at the Wonderland are ‘The Birth of a Nation,’ and ‘The Battle Cry of Peace.’ The accompanying illustration shows the house in gala dress for the presentation of the last named picture. The Wonderland is advertised extensively.”
Here is the rather lengthy article about the Walbrook Theatre that appeared in the August 5, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World:
“The Walbrook Theater, Baltimore, Md.
“Magnificent Photoplay House a Credit to the Industry— Constructed of Fireproof Material, and Is Equipped with Everything Modern.
“ONE of the most substantial and up-to-date suburban theaters of Baltimore, Md., is the Walbrook theater, which is located in the pretty suburb of that name at North avenue and Rosedale street, on the northwest corner. This theater was built by the Walbrook Amusement Company, which is being financed by many, of the Walbrook people, and was opened to the public on Monday, May 29, 1916.
“The officers of the company are: Harrison L. Stires, president; Oscar Teschner, vice president; Otis J. Tall, treasurer; Clarence H. Koonze, secretary; Christopher Wattenscheidt, counselor, with Marion S. Pearce and Phillip J. Scheck, directors.
“The building has been constructed so as to be absolutely fireproof throughout. The exterior is of Colonial brick with metal cornices, a slag roof, and a marquee has been placed over the triple arched doorways of mahogany of the main entrance on North avenue. The building measures 48x121 feet, and the lot on which it stands is 150 feet deep. Exits have been placed on all four sides and heavy metal fireproof doors protect the rear and side exits. The chairs were installed by Heywood Bros. and Wakefield Company. Ground was broken for the construction of this theater in December, 1915.
“The lobby measures 10x45 feet. The walls are of old ivory, while the wainscoting is of Marvelo marble. The
box office, which has a verdi-antique base and is paneled with heavy plate glass on three sides, is located in the center of the inner wall between two large mahogany doors paneled with glass which lead into the auditorium. Directly at each end of the lobby, large doors open upon spacious staircases of ornamental cast iron with slate treads which lead to the mezzanine floor, where private rest rooms for women and men, beautifully arranged, are located; and thence to the balcony. The seating capacity of the balcony is 200 and the first row is arranged as boxes, which may be engaged for parties of three or four.
“The operator’s booth is located directly over the mezzanine floor and back of the balcony. It is equipped with the latest mechanical devices, including two Simplex, motor driven, projection machines, a motor generator and a rewinder. The ventilation of this booth is done by a large rotary exhaust fan. Fireproof protections of the latest design have been taken. The throw of the projection machine to the gold fibre screen, measuring 15xl8 ½ feet, is 110 feet.
“Situated in the ceiling, under the balcony, as you enter the auditorium, is located a dome, finished in old ivory, which emits a beautiful diffused glow from the cove lighting system with which it is equipped. The floor is bowled so that the screen can be plainly observed from every seat. There are two four-foot aisles. There is a row of eleven seats in the center and on each side of this row is a four foot aisle, and next to the walls on both sides is a row of six seats. These seats, which measure 19x20 inches, like the woodwork, are done in French grey. The ceiling is 30 feet high. The walls are done in old ivory, with large panels of Rose du Barry silk, topped by flower festoons. Below this a wainscoting of old leather dado. A large chandelier having an old metal effect of antique bronze is suspended from a heavy beamed and paneled ceiling with enriched cornices and mouldings. The orchestra pit measures 9x14 feet and has room enough for a baby grand piano and six musicians. A heavy, maroon colored carpet covers the floors. The seating capacity, including the balcony, is about 1,400.
“A low-pressure steam heating system is used. Three large radiators have been placed in recess panels on each side of the main auditorium and one small radiator is located in each rear exit. Other radiators have been placed throughout the building, so that a uniform temperature is produced.
“Both natural and artificial ventilating systems have been installed. There are ten ceiling ventilators. Large, rotary, ball-bearing fans have been placed in a vent house situated on the roof, which can be used to force the air either in or out of the theater.
“The performances are continuous from 2 p. m. to 11 p. m., but the regular stated periods for the schedule are from 2 to 5 p. m. and from 7 to 11 p. m. As yet no manager has been appointed for the theater, but this end of the work will be done by the directors and officers of the amusement company.”
A brief announcement about the Flint Theatre appeared in the “Theaters Planned” column of The Film Daily for September 9, 1938. The $75,000, 780-seat house at North Saginaw and Tilden Streets was being designed for operator Walter O. Johnson by architect George J. Bachmann.
An early Real Photo postcard of the Gala Theatre can be seen on this web page.
The “Theaters Planned” column of the September 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily said that a 640-seat theater at Garrett for Alex C. Kalafat was being designed by architect E. J. Frederic. The address given was 519 S. Randolph Street, but this page from the Eckhart Public Library says that the 638-seat Gala Theatre was opened by the Kalafat brothers in 1939, so it was probably the same project despite the address discrepancy.
The original architects of the Vista Theatre were Wetherell & Harrison. The “Theaters Under Construction” column of the September 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily said that the Vista was expected to be completed by October 1. The 650-seat project had been budgeted at $40,000.
The “Theaters Under Construction” column of the September 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily said that the Plaza Theatre in Helena was expected to be completed on October 1. Builder George B. Miller was also to be the operator of the house. The architect of the 450-seat project was E. T. Walker.
The “New Theatre Openings” column of the September 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily said that the Capitol Theatre in Marvell had opened on July 15. The 300-seat house, designed by architect R. L. Swim, had cost a modest $7,500. W. W. Davis was the first manager.
The “New Theatre Openings” column of the September 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily said that the Drew Theatre in Monticello had opened on August 9. The seating capacity was given as 900, the cost of the project was $50,000, and the architect was H. Ray Burks.
The “Theatres Under Construction” column of the August 27, 1938, issue of The Film Daily said that the new Bijou Theatre being built in Houma had been designed by the architectural firm of Overstreet & Town (Noah Webster Overstreet and A. Hays Town.) The house was to have 1,112 seats and the projected date of completion was September 1. The project had cost $85,000.
An article on Portland’s movie theaters that ran in the July 15, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World included this information about the Majestic:
This page from the Puget Sound Theatre Organ Society has information about two organs in this theater, but the first of these was installed in 1918, so they are missing the information about the organ that was installed prior to 1916. The Majestic’s 1918 organ and the 1928 organ (installed for United Artists) were both Wurlitzers.The Lyric Opera House was one of three theaters listed for Terrell in the 1913-1914 Cahn guide, all three of which listed E. T. Christman as manager. The National Theatre ran pictures and vaudeville, but no details were given for the Airdome Theatre except that it operated during the summer. The Opera House was a ground floor theater with 600 seats, 200 of which were in the balcony.
The 1909-1910 guide lists a theater called the Childress Opera House in Terrell. Though the description does not exactly match that of the Lyric in 1914, it is close enough that they could have been the same house. The Childress was the only theater listed at Terrell in 1909. It was also listed in the September 5, 1908, issue of The Billboard.
The Lyric Theatre was mentioned in the March 4, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World. Operators Gwynn & Byar were planning to expend about $2,200 for remodeling the house.
It’s money, Mikeoaklandpark, and the value of publicity. AEG in particular doesn’t like to leave so much as a penny on the table. They cash in on selling naming rights to companies that know every event advertisement, every review, every social media post that mentions the venue with their name on it is an advertisement for them and their products. Companies will bid each other up, and the one willing to pay the most gets its name on the venue.
Old time showmen like Marcus Lowe and William Fox built famous brands out of their own names, but modern promoters have realized they can make even more money by charging other companies for five-year piggyback rides. I believe five years is the most common term of a naming rights contract, so the names are apt to change that often unless the current contact holder is willing to pay for another five years, usually at a higher price. If some other company is willing to pay more, then it’s goodbye Best Buy Theatre and hello PlayStation Theatre.
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, by Lawrence Wright, says that when Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s family moved to Helena when he was two years old, his father became the manager of the Family Theatre, then still a vaudeville house.
A couple of the photos on tis web page show the Rialto Theatre in Scarbro. It looks like the theater was on the second floor with stores below. The building also looks to be older than the company store next door, which was built in 1937.
The company store is still standing, but the theater has been demolished. The theater fronted on Plum Orchard Lake Road at the corner of Scarbro Road.
Google Maps has no street view, but Bing Maps has a bird’s eye view.
I use HTML because I’m accustomed to it, but Cinema Treasures also supports Markdown code, which is much simpler. To italicize with Markdown simply put an asterisk * at the beginning of the first word you want italicized and another asterisk at the end of the last word you want italicized (or an asterisk at the beginning and end of a single word if that’s the only one you want in italics.) You can also use underscores _ the same way. Doubling either asterisks ** or underscores gives you bold type instead of italics. You can also use Markdown to make text hyperlinks, as described in this official post.
When it was Best Buy Theatre it was owned and/or operated by AEG Worldwide, one of the companies controlled by secretive billionaire Philip Anschutz. They haven’t updated their web site with the new name, so I don’t know if they still own it, or if they are just a bit slovenly about keeping their web site up to date.
Does the name “PlayStation Theater” (there’s no space between the words) sound to anyone else like it would be a 1970s storefront porn house? To be sure, if selling naming rights helps historic theaters to survive then I’m all for it, but oy, what a name this is.
The New Janus Theatre was in operation at least as early as 1916, when the June 17 issue of the Macon Daily Chronicle-Herald of Macon, Missouri, reported that the theater’s projection machine had been stolen the previous Thursday night. A few nights later the thief returned and stole the replacement machine that theater operators Jones and Spaulding had rented. This time he was apprehended, according to the June 22 issue of the La Plata Home Press. Howard Davison was arrested with the head of the second machine in his luggage as he awaited a train to Kansas City, where he had sold the first machine for $47.
In the current Google street view the modern plaster on the building is seen to be cracking along the lines of an old arch. The arch probably marks the location of the entrance to the Apollo Theatre when it opened in 1914.
Clarence J. Smale was the architect of the Congress Theatre.
An announcement about the project that would become the Dyckman Theatre appeared in the March 1, 1913, issue of The American Contractor:
The short-lived partnership of architects Frederic Von Beren and Paul B. LaVelle was dissolved in December, 1913.According the Cezar Del Valle’s The Brooklyn Theatre Index the original architect of the Sumner Theatre was Paul B. LaVelle. In addition to Lamb’s 1917 remodeling, a remodeling of the interior in 1930 was designed by architect A. J. Benline.
According to his 1961 obituary, Nikitas Dipson began operating the Family Theatre at Batavia in 1914. He had earlier operated the Lyric Theatre and another movie house in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. In the 1920s he operated a chain of fifty movie theaters, and provided booking services for 200. In the late 1920s he leased twenty-five of his houses to Warner Brothers.
The obituary can be read in this PDF of page 12 of the May 5, 1961, edition of the Jamestown (N.Y.) Post-Journal.
seasickseagull: If you click on the “Street View” link under the photo above, then rotate the resulting view, you will see that Engine 28 is still housed in the firehouse across Lovejoy Street from the former theater.
I certainly wouldn’t have recognized this plain, boxy building as a former theater. This Facebook page has one of the renderings I linked to in my previous comment, which depicts one of the six prototype theaters that architect William Reisman designed for GCC in the 1960s.
The member who posted it says that this particular design looked most like the Capital Plaza, and one commenter downthread says “…that pretty much looks like it.” There are dozens of comments from people who attended the theater or worked at it, and I’ve found none who say that it didn’t look like the drawing, so I think we can assume that the Capital Plaza’s design was indeed based on that particular William Reisman prototype.
The Family Theatre was advertised at Third and Harris as early as February, 1916. There were at least two earlier houses called the Family Theatre in Harrisburg. One operated on Third near Locust Street at least as early as 1892, and the October 26, 1912, issue of the Harrisburg Daily Independent said that the new Family Theatre on Market Street would open that evening.
A May 9, 1915, item in The Courier described the Family Theatre as “…a large airy room having thirteen exits.” The Market Street house that opened in 1912 had seated only 250, so thirteen exits would have been more likely in the larger, 900-seat Third Street house. That could be an indication that the Third and Harris Family was open by 1915.
Here is the text that accompanied this photo as it appeared in the August 5, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World:
Here is the rather lengthy article about the Walbrook Theatre that appeared in the August 5, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World: