This is from the Abilene Reporter-News on 3/15/52:
COLEMAN. March 14.-The new 400-speaker Cole-Anna Drive-In Theater, in south Coleman, had its formal opening Friday night. Its plant includes a screen 72 feet wide and 52 feet high, of brick construction, 400 in-car speakers and the latest in sound equipment.
An article in the Victoria Advocate gave the opening date as March 8, 1957. Owner was Ruben Frels and general manager was Doyle Oliver. Theater plans and construction took over two years.
This is from the San Antonio Express in April 1950:
San Antonio’s biggest drive-in theater, the new Rigsby, opens Saturday night. This is the fourth theater opened in San Antonio by the Landsman-Richter Enterprises, now incorporated into Statewide Drive-In Theaters.
The screen at the Rigsby towers eight stories high with a 200-ton steel and concrete foundation. Sound for the Rigsby will be furnished by the latest model electronic individual car speakers, fed by six miles of underground cable. Vivian Farold Munson, former R.C.A. sound engineer, supervises their operation.
The snack bar and restrooms are located in the center of the parking area, and have glazed tile walls throughout. Directly in front of the screen is a playground for children, fenced in for their safety. The Rigsby has benches provided in addition to the automobile parking space. This bench seating capacity is equal in size to that of an average neighborhood theater.
The date of the fire was 1/14/39, as reported in the San Antonio Express. Damage was estimated at $50,000. The story noted that the theater was four years old, which would have meant an opening in 1935.
The LA Times reported today that Martin Weil has passed away. He was a past president of the LA Conservancy and a renovation expert. He was involved in the renovation of the El Capitan in the 1990s.
It looks like the marquee message is “Welcome to Medina”, but there are some letters missing. It doesn’t look the building is occupied at the present time.
There was a June 4, 1943 article in the Lubbock Morning Avalanche about a fire that destroyed the Texas Theater in Grand Prairie. Since the post immediately above recalls the theater being open during the war, I think this was a separate theater and not a typo.
Here is part of an article in the El Paso Herald dated 1/3/72:
One of El Paso’s largest drive-in theater complexes, the Cinema Park, 10676 Montana Avenue, today was a rubble of blackened ruins after a fire destroyed it late Saturday doing an estimated $210,000 damage. Firemen were investigating the cause of the blaze.
Theater manager James Harris, said the theater would be reconstructed, but gave no dates as to when building would begin. A fireman, Lt. D.R. Guillen, was trapped inside the blazing structure a short while after he led firemen to fight the flames, then was caught inside by a falling, burning beam. Firefighters chopped an escape passage for him and he got out with burns that did not prevent his remaining to help knock out the blaze.
A janitor said he had left the building to empty some trash and when he returned found the fire already making good progress. It had engulfed most of the structure by the time firemen arrived.
Here is part of an article from the Frederick News dated 12/10/59:
For the first time since 1926, the Tivoli Theater became locally owned on Wednesday with the transfer of ownership from the Transamerica Realty Corporation of Washington to the new Frederick Theaters Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Dan Weinberg, controlling owners of Frederick Theaters, Inc., announced last night they had purchased the Tivoli and the leasehold interest in the closed Frederick Theater on Market Street for $150,000.
The Weinbergs said they had no plans at the moment to reopen the Frederick Theater, which has been closed for four or five years except for a short month or two of foreign film presentations a year or so ago.
The lease on the Frederick Theater from the William O. Fisher estate expires on May 1, 1961, and it is not known if the Frederick will be purchased or re-leased at that time. The Weinbergs and Jasper L. Stanley, of Bedford, Va., who represents other theaters in which the Weinbergs have an interest in Virginia, formed thee Frederick Theaters Corporation recently to purchase the Tivoli and the Frederick theaters. These are the only theaters this corporation owns.
This is from the Abilene Reporter-News on 3/15/52:
COLEMAN. March 14.-The new 400-speaker Cole-Anna Drive-In Theater, in south Coleman, had its formal opening Friday night. Its plant includes a screen 72 feet wide and 52 feet high, of brick construction, 400 in-car speakers and the latest in sound equipment.
Architect and contractor was Harvey Jordan, according to the same article.
An article in the Victoria Advocate gave the opening date as March 8, 1957. Owner was Ruben Frels and general manager was Doyle Oliver. Theater plans and construction took over two years.
This is from the San Antonio Express in April 1950:
San Antonio’s biggest drive-in theater, the new Rigsby, opens Saturday night. This is the fourth theater opened in San Antonio by the Landsman-Richter Enterprises, now incorporated into Statewide Drive-In Theaters.
The screen at the Rigsby towers eight stories high with a 200-ton steel and concrete foundation. Sound for the Rigsby will be furnished by the latest model electronic individual car speakers, fed by six miles of underground cable. Vivian Farold Munson, former R.C.A. sound engineer, supervises their operation.
The snack bar and restrooms are located in the center of the parking area, and have glazed tile walls throughout. Directly in front of the screen is a playground for children, fenced in for their safety. The Rigsby has benches provided in addition to the automobile parking space. This bench seating capacity is equal in size to that of an average neighborhood theater.
The date of the fire was 1/14/39, as reported in the San Antonio Express. Damage was estimated at $50,000. The story noted that the theater was four years old, which would have meant an opening in 1935.
Photo here:
http://tinyurl.com/cpwrtv
The LA Times reported today that Martin Weil has passed away. He was a past president of the LA Conservancy and a renovation expert. He was involved in the renovation of the El Capitan in the 1990s.
Right. I didn’t ask for it to be changed. I pointed out that the theater building was originally a church and was converted to a theater.
Current function is unknown.
It’s not a church now. It was converted to a theater from a church building in 1909.
According to this site, the Tourney Theater was already open as of July 4, 1917:
http://tinyurl.com/ce6ov5
This item states that the Colonial was converted from a church in 1909:
http://tinyurl.com/djfypj
It looks like the marquee message is “Welcome to Medina”, but there are some letters missing. It doesn’t look the building is occupied at the present time.
This is from today’s Ventura County Star:
http://tinyurl.com/bxbk6c
Here is some information about the theater:
http://www.njskylands.com/cltheattristate.htm
This January 2009 blog discusses the Forum’s current status:
http://tinyurl.com/cbcusv
Here is a 2008 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/dkdsku
Here is a February 17 article from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin:
http://tinyurl.com/ahfrcb
Great news. Hopefully I can get out there to see what they’ve done.
There was a June 4, 1943 article in the Lubbock Morning Avalanche about a fire that destroyed the Texas Theater in Grand Prairie. Since the post immediately above recalls the theater being open during the war, I think this was a separate theater and not a typo.
On the website they are still soliciting donations, but I didn’t find any news about what they are actually doing to renovate the theater.
The San Antonio Light reported that the Peoples Theater was destroyed in a fire on November 5, 1945. It was apparently rebuilt.
Here is part of an article in the El Paso Herald dated 1/3/72:
One of El Paso’s largest drive-in theater complexes, the Cinema Park, 10676 Montana Avenue, today was a rubble of blackened ruins after a fire destroyed it late Saturday doing an estimated $210,000 damage. Firemen were investigating the cause of the blaze.
Theater manager James Harris, said the theater would be reconstructed, but gave no dates as to when building would begin. A fireman, Lt. D.R. Guillen, was trapped inside the blazing structure a short while after he led firemen to fight the flames, then was caught inside by a falling, burning beam. Firefighters chopped an escape passage for him and he got out with burns that did not prevent his remaining to help knock out the blaze.
A janitor said he had left the building to empty some trash and when he returned found the fire already making good progress. It had engulfed most of the structure by the time firemen arrived.
That’s good news. I’ve been watching them renovate this theater for what seems like forever.
Here is part of an article from the Frederick News dated 12/10/59:
For the first time since 1926, the Tivoli Theater became locally owned on Wednesday with the transfer of ownership from the Transamerica Realty Corporation of Washington to the new Frederick Theaters Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Dan Weinberg, controlling owners of Frederick Theaters, Inc., announced last night they had purchased the Tivoli and the leasehold interest in the closed Frederick Theater on Market Street for $150,000.
The Weinbergs said they had no plans at the moment to reopen the Frederick Theater, which has been closed for four or five years except for a short month or two of foreign film presentations a year or so ago.
The lease on the Frederick Theater from the William O. Fisher estate expires on May 1, 1961, and it is not known if the Frederick will be purchased or re-leased at that time. The Weinbergs and Jasper L. Stanley, of Bedford, Va., who represents other theaters in which the Weinbergs have an interest in Virginia, formed thee Frederick Theaters Corporation recently to purchase the Tivoli and the Frederick theaters. These are the only theaters this corporation owns.