It looks like the theater has always occupied the right or east side of the building, with retail or some other enterprise on the west side. This is despite the fact that one building has always encompassed both businesses.
Here is an item in the Winona Republican-Herald dated 1/5/54:
DURAND, Wis. â€" Three-dimension and wide screen movies can now be shown at the Durand Theater which reopened after extensive alterations to the stage and projection rooms Jan. 1. A crew of 12 men working on the remodeling since the theater closed Dec. 7 installed a new wide screen, remodeled the stage, moved the rear exits, put in a new sound system and modernized the projection rooms.
This is part of a September 1977 article in the Nevada State Journal that discusses the closing of the Crest at that time:
Mann Theater Corp., which lost its downtown Reno location this week when the Crest Theater closed after half a century of operation, plans to open a three-theater complex this December in the Old Town Mall. A grand opening for Mann’s Tri-Cinema Theaters is scheduled Dec 21 in the South Virginia Street shopping center.
Stan Greene, assistant vice president and general manager of the Reynold C. Johnson Co., operator of the mall, confirmed today that a lease agreement was signed earlier this year with Mann. Greene said the grand opening will feature a first-run Clint Eastwood film at two of the theaters. Film figures Rhonda Fleming and Chill Wills are scheduled to be on hand. Mann, a nationwide company which operates hundreds of theaters, is based in Hollywood. The corporation owns and operates Mann’s Chinese Theater, famed for its handprints and footprints of film stars.
The Reno theaters, each of which will seat about 200 people, will feature films appealing to a wide range of interests. The company shows a large number of G-rated, or family films, as well as movies for more mature audiences. Mann stopped showing films at the Crest Theatre, 35 W. Second St. on Tuesday. The movie house, along with other businesses on the northeast corner of Second and Sierra streets, was closed because of Money Tree Casino expansion plans. Mann also operates the Keystone Cinema.
Here is part of an article from the San Mateo Times dated 8/16/69:
SAN FRANCISCO (UPI)– A federal judge has ordered San Francisco police not to arrest patrons attending theaters where erotic movies are shown. Some 19 embarrassed persons were arrested this week in police raids on two sex film theaters.
U.S. District Judge Alfonso J. Zarpoli stressed that the temporary restraining order issued Friday is limited to patrons, and would not prevent the arrest of the theater owner or operator. The judge set next Friday for a hearing on the matter.
Zirpoli acted in a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of James Mitchell, 25, operator of the O’Farrell Theater, the site of one of this week’s raids. The suit charged state laws regarding obscenity and “visiting a disorderly house'‘ were unconstitutional.
After the court action, Mitchell said. “We are open for business and we will stay open. Our customers are protected even if we aren’t. But we’ll take our chances.” Mitchell was arrested July 25 on charges of showing an obscene film. But with some 27 theaters in San Francisco showing erotic movies, police decided to change tactics and arrest the customers.
No, I worry about global warming, Darfur, the economy, if the Phillies are going to repeat as champions. Parking is in there somewhere but low on the list.
No parking is an understatement. Whoever designed Century City made it equally difficult to walk to any point or to drive and find a place to park. Diabolical.
Here is part of a June 26, 1947 article in the Oakland Tribune:
A flamboyant dragon-decorated jacket led police last night to a 24-year-old medically discharged Navy veteran who confessed to the gunless holdup of the Palace Theater, 1445 23rd Avenue, two hours before. The youth, Donville Greene, of 2015 48th Avenue, simulated a gun in his pocket to force the theater manager, Charles Menapace of 1054 105th Avenue, to hand over $170 in the theater office, police said. Then Greene made Menapace accompany him out of the theater and several blocks to 20th Avenue and Foothill Boulevard.
Greene was traced to his home by Police Officers James Lawson and Herbert Scares by a description of the green dragon embroidered khaki jacket he wore. They remembered they had seen a youth in such a jacket while patrolling their beat and traced him to his home. At the police station he wept with remorse while he told officers he held up the theater because “I can’t hold a job and I needed the money. "Now I’ll never be able to hold a job. What I did tonight has made me a criminal and I’ll get 20 years.”
Police said Greene gave the money to his wife, Bernice, an expectant mother. They said she had $152 when he was arrested. Police said that Greene entered the lobby of the Palace Theater and asked Miss Norma Rodrigues, 22, of 1929 East 24th Street, head usherette, for the manager. When Menapace came Greene told him he had a .45 caliber gun and, threatening his life, forced the manager upstairs to his office. While the holdup was taking place one of the employees of the theater walked in and was told everything was all right. After the robbery Greene reportedly went io his parents' home at 2019 Foothill Boulevard and left the jacket there before going to his residence.
That’s happened to me in Westwood, CA, more than once. We were watching some movie and one of the scenes was filmed in front of the theater we were in. Kind of an out of body experience.
The last time I was in this theater was for the Israeli film festival a few years ago. It sounds like the theater has gone downhill since then. Too bad. This area has been gentrifying, especially Fairfax between Beverly and Melrose.
Here is part of an article from Park Cities People dated 7/10/86:
The end of an era flickered out of existence Tuesday night July 8, when the Highland Park Village Theater closed its doors. The community landmark, erected in 1935, is due to reopen early next year, according to a spokesperson for Henry S. Miller Company, who is remodeling the facility to include retail shops downstairs and two or three small movie screens upstairs. “It will never be the same,” said present operator Fred Biersdorf. “They don’t make movie houses anymore like the Village Theater.”
Biersdorf, president of HP Cinemas, bought the theater from the Howard Corporation 10 years ago. The Howard Corporation sold the shopping center to Miller, who has been leasing Biersdorf the space. Biersdorf, along with partner James Bramlett, will open up new movie houses in areas around the metroplex, but he does not know if he will be operating the Village Theater when or if it reopens. “I have given the negotiations with Miller my best shot, but he has not decided”, Biersdorf said. Biersdorf also operates the Cinema Group, a movie distribution company. The Miller spokesperson said Miller has been in negotiations with various movie operators but has not made a decision on who will operate the theater.
The feeling among the theater employees was shock and depression and a little bit of bitterness exhibited toward Miller. “We all are a little bit sick about the theater closing,” said Connie Byers, who has been working there five months. The theater manager is Wayne Hicks, a two-year employee. The Village Theater employed 15-16 persons. Byers, who has also worked security for Henry S. Miller Company, said she feels Miller is underestimating at how much business traffic the movie generates for the shopping center. She is not convinced Miller will reopen the theater as a theater.
“He seems to be looking at strictly what he can receive in rental from retail shops. When he brought his plans before the Highland Park Town Council, not enough citizens attended to show their support for the movie theater. It would not surprise me to see them lose it,” Byers said. Miller was out of town this week and could not respond directly to fears that the theater might not reopen. He has, however, publicly stated before that he intends to have a theater operate in the space. For the better part of a year, however, Park Cities citizens will have to look outside Highland Park or University Park for their movie entertainment.
Here is part of an article dated 5/31/50 from the North Adams Transcript:
The lights went out today in the Richmond theater. That motion picture house, owned and operated for the past 12 years by the Western Massachusetts Theaters corporation, will close its doors tonight and will be idle indefinitely. Francis J. Faille, chief local representative for the Western Massachusetts Theaters corporation and manager of the Paramount theater which it also operates here, said today that the theater was being closed “simply for lack of business.”
Mr. Faille said his concern hoped that a pick-up in the fall might warrant a re-opening of the house as it did once before, in 1943, when the Richmond closed during the summer season. But the future operation of the house will depend on conditions which cannot now be forecast, Mr. Faille indicated.
The Richmond Theater, built just before the turn of the century along with the Richmond hotel to which it is attached, has had a long history as a legitimate theater, a vaudeville and finally a motion picture house. Then under lease to the E.M. Loew, Inc. interests which now operate the Mohawk theater here, it was purchased in 1938 by the Western Massachusetts Theaters corporation, headed by Samuel Goldstein of Springfield, and was taken over by that corporation on July 31, 1938. For the past several years it has operated as what the industry calls a “Family theater,” showing second-run features, while the Paramount has operated on a first-run policy. And for some months past it has been on a four-day week basis, operating Thursdays through Sundays only.
In January 1967, the Long Beach Independent reported that a teen theater troupe would use the Brayton for performances:
The Magnolia Theater has completed ts subscription series and does not plan to resume activities until fall; The New Theater, a Teen Post operation of the Office of Economic Opportunities, has opened in the old Brayton Theater on Atlantic.
Here is part of an August 1971 article from the Fresno Bee:
The Wilson Theater, which closed last weekâ€"after the final showing of a movie called “The Last Run"â€"is expected to have its doors reopened in a few months, but not without some major changes. Beset with similar problems to those plaguing the Wilson, two other major movie houses shut their doors early last year.
Wilson manager Robert Smith said a change in movie format and audience appeal is planned in hopes it will recharge sagging theater attendance. Plagued by legal and financial problems, the other major downtown theaters, Warnor’s and Hardy’s, both owned by Trans-Beacon, closed their doors simultaneously in January 1970. The non-renewal of the theater exhibitor’s lease at the Wilson, held by National-General, Inc., caused the closing of the theater but Smith said the building’s owner plans to contract with other theater exhibitors and to schedule the reopening of the theater in the “near future.”
Commenting on the closing, Smith said, “National-General operates other theaters in the area (the Crest and Tower theaters) and they felt they should concentrate their efforts at these two theaters, rather than spread it out any further. "We (the Wilson) haven’t had good attendance with the type of shows they are turning to, which are primarily R and X rated. We feel we could have more success with family type shows.”
Tere is some information about the building from the current occupant’s site. Click on “history”.
http://www.brewers-alley.com/
It looks like the theater has always occupied the right or east side of the building, with retail or some other enterprise on the west side. This is despite the fact that one building has always encompassed both businesses.
Here is an item in the Winona Republican-Herald dated 1/5/54:
DURAND, Wis. â€" Three-dimension and wide screen movies can now be shown at the Durand Theater which reopened after extensive alterations to the stage and projection rooms Jan. 1. A crew of 12 men working on the remodeling since the theater closed Dec. 7 installed a new wide screen, remodeled the stage, moved the rear exits, put in a new sound system and modernized the projection rooms.
This is part of a September 1977 article in the Nevada State Journal that discusses the closing of the Crest at that time:
Mann Theater Corp., which lost its downtown Reno location this week when the Crest Theater closed after half a century of operation, plans to open a three-theater complex this December in the Old Town Mall. A grand opening for Mann’s Tri-Cinema Theaters is scheduled Dec 21 in the South Virginia Street shopping center.
Stan Greene, assistant vice president and general manager of the Reynold C. Johnson Co., operator of the mall, confirmed today that a lease agreement was signed earlier this year with Mann. Greene said the grand opening will feature a first-run Clint Eastwood film at two of the theaters. Film figures Rhonda Fleming and Chill Wills are scheduled to be on hand. Mann, a nationwide company which operates hundreds of theaters, is based in Hollywood. The corporation owns and operates Mann’s Chinese Theater, famed for its handprints and footprints of film stars.
The Reno theaters, each of which will seat about 200 people, will feature films appealing to a wide range of interests. The company shows a large number of G-rated, or family films, as well as movies for more mature audiences. Mann stopped showing films at the Crest Theatre, 35 W. Second St. on Tuesday. The movie house, along with other businesses on the northeast corner of Second and Sierra streets, was closed because of Money Tree Casino expansion plans. Mann also operates the Keystone Cinema.
That building does look like an old car dealership-you can see where the display windows have been filled in.
Here is part of an article from the San Mateo Times dated 8/16/69:
SAN FRANCISCO (UPI)– A federal judge has ordered San Francisco police not to arrest patrons attending theaters where erotic movies are shown. Some 19 embarrassed persons were arrested this week in police raids on two sex film theaters.
U.S. District Judge Alfonso J. Zarpoli stressed that the temporary restraining order issued Friday is limited to patrons, and would not prevent the arrest of the theater owner or operator. The judge set next Friday for a hearing on the matter.
Zirpoli acted in a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of James Mitchell, 25, operator of the O’Farrell Theater, the site of one of this week’s raids. The suit charged state laws regarding obscenity and “visiting a disorderly house'‘ were unconstitutional.
After the court action, Mitchell said. “We are open for business and we will stay open. Our customers are protected even if we aren’t. But we’ll take our chances.” Mitchell was arrested July 25 on charges of showing an obscene film. But with some 27 theaters in San Francisco showing erotic movies, police decided to change tactics and arrest the customers.
Maybe there should be a button that says “Rhetorical Question-Do Not Answer”.
You asked me a question. How did you want me to reply?
No, I worry about global warming, Darfur, the economy, if the Phillies are going to repeat as champions. Parking is in there somewhere but low on the list.
No parking is an understatement. Whoever designed Century City made it equally difficult to walk to any point or to drive and find a place to park. Diabolical.
This site has an extensive history of the neighborhood, including the theater:
http://tinyurl.com/b3hqpa
OK, thanks.
Here is part of a June 26, 1947 article in the Oakland Tribune:
A flamboyant dragon-decorated jacket led police last night to a 24-year-old medically discharged Navy veteran who confessed to the gunless holdup of the Palace Theater, 1445 23rd Avenue, two hours before. The youth, Donville Greene, of 2015 48th Avenue, simulated a gun in his pocket to force the theater manager, Charles Menapace of 1054 105th Avenue, to hand over $170 in the theater office, police said. Then Greene made Menapace accompany him out of the theater and several blocks to 20th Avenue and Foothill Boulevard.
Greene was traced to his home by Police Officers James Lawson and Herbert Scares by a description of the green dragon embroidered khaki jacket he wore. They remembered they had seen a youth in such a jacket while patrolling their beat and traced him to his home. At the police station he wept with remorse while he told officers he held up the theater because “I can’t hold a job and I needed the money. "Now I’ll never be able to hold a job. What I did tonight has made me a criminal and I’ll get 20 years.”
Police said Greene gave the money to his wife, Bernice, an expectant mother. They said she had $152 when he was arrested. Police said that Greene entered the lobby of the Palace Theater and asked Miss Norma Rodrigues, 22, of 1929 East 24th Street, head usherette, for the manager. When Menapace came Greene told him he had a .45 caliber gun and, threatening his life, forced the manager upstairs to his office. While the holdup was taking place one of the employees of the theater walked in and was told everything was all right. After the robbery Greene reportedly went io his parents' home at 2019 Foothill Boulevard and left the jacket there before going to his residence.
No idea. That was probably in the early or mid 80s, when we used to go to Westwood Village every weekend.
That’s happened to me in Westwood, CA, more than once. We were watching some movie and one of the scenes was filmed in front of the theater we were in. Kind of an out of body experience.
I sent a check last month, but it hasn’t been cashed. Is it going to be cashed when the book is shipped?
The last time I was in this theater was for the Israeli film festival a few years ago. It sounds like the theater has gone downhill since then. Too bad. This area has been gentrifying, especially Fairfax between Beverly and Melrose.
Here is part of an article from Park Cities People dated 7/10/86:
The end of an era flickered out of existence Tuesday night July 8, when the Highland Park Village Theater closed its doors. The community landmark, erected in 1935, is due to reopen early next year, according to a spokesperson for Henry S. Miller Company, who is remodeling the facility to include retail shops downstairs and two or three small movie screens upstairs. “It will never be the same,” said present operator Fred Biersdorf. “They don’t make movie houses anymore like the Village Theater.”
Biersdorf, president of HP Cinemas, bought the theater from the Howard Corporation 10 years ago. The Howard Corporation sold the shopping center to Miller, who has been leasing Biersdorf the space. Biersdorf, along with partner James Bramlett, will open up new movie houses in areas around the metroplex, but he does not know if he will be operating the Village Theater when or if it reopens. “I have given the negotiations with Miller my best shot, but he has not decided”, Biersdorf said. Biersdorf also operates the Cinema Group, a movie distribution company. The Miller spokesperson said Miller has been in negotiations with various movie operators but has not made a decision on who will operate the theater.
The feeling among the theater employees was shock and depression and a little bit of bitterness exhibited toward Miller. “We all are a little bit sick about the theater closing,” said Connie Byers, who has been working there five months. The theater manager is Wayne Hicks, a two-year employee. The Village Theater employed 15-16 persons. Byers, who has also worked security for Henry S. Miller Company, said she feels Miller is underestimating at how much business traffic the movie generates for the shopping center. She is not convinced Miller will reopen the theater as a theater.
“He seems to be looking at strictly what he can receive in rental from retail shops. When he brought his plans before the Highland Park Town Council, not enough citizens attended to show their support for the movie theater. It would not surprise me to see them lose it,” Byers said. Miller was out of town this week and could not respond directly to fears that the theater might not reopen. He has, however, publicly stated before that he intends to have a theater operate in the space. For the better part of a year, however, Park Cities citizens will have to look outside Highland Park or University Park for their movie entertainment.
I’m trying to get to Canter’s. A little empathy, please.
Springfield arsonist sentenced yesterday:
http://tinyurl.com/caodmb
It was a twenty minute drive on a recent Saturday night from Third and Fairfax to Beverly. The theater and the mall have created a traffic nightmare.
Here is part of an article dated 5/31/50 from the North Adams Transcript:
The lights went out today in the Richmond theater. That motion picture house, owned and operated for the past 12 years by the Western Massachusetts Theaters corporation, will close its doors tonight and will be idle indefinitely. Francis J. Faille, chief local representative for the Western Massachusetts Theaters corporation and manager of the Paramount theater which it also operates here, said today that the theater was being closed “simply for lack of business.”
Mr. Faille said his concern hoped that a pick-up in the fall might warrant a re-opening of the house as it did once before, in 1943, when the Richmond closed during the summer season. But the future operation of the house will depend on conditions which cannot now be forecast, Mr. Faille indicated.
The Richmond Theater, built just before the turn of the century along with the Richmond hotel to which it is attached, has had a long history as a legitimate theater, a vaudeville and finally a motion picture house. Then under lease to the E.M. Loew, Inc. interests which now operate the Mohawk theater here, it was purchased in 1938 by the Western Massachusetts Theaters corporation, headed by Samuel Goldstein of Springfield, and was taken over by that corporation on July 31, 1938. For the past several years it has operated as what the industry calls a “Family theater,” showing second-run features, while the Paramount has operated on a first-run policy. And for some months past it has been on a four-day week basis, operating Thursdays through Sundays only.
In January 1967, the Long Beach Independent reported that a teen theater troupe would use the Brayton for performances:
The Magnolia Theater has completed ts subscription series and does not plan to resume activities until fall; The New Theater, a Teen Post operation of the Office of Economic Opportunities, has opened in the old Brayton Theater on Atlantic.
Here is part of an August 1971 article from the Fresno Bee:
The Wilson Theater, which closed last weekâ€"after the final showing of a movie called “The Last Run"â€"is expected to have its doors reopened in a few months, but not without some major changes. Beset with similar problems to those plaguing the Wilson, two other major movie houses shut their doors early last year.
Wilson manager Robert Smith said a change in movie format and audience appeal is planned in hopes it will recharge sagging theater attendance. Plagued by legal and financial problems, the other major downtown theaters, Warnor’s and Hardy’s, both owned by Trans-Beacon, closed their doors simultaneously in January 1970. The non-renewal of the theater exhibitor’s lease at the Wilson, held by National-General, Inc., caused the closing of the theater but Smith said the building’s owner plans to contract with other theater exhibitors and to schedule the reopening of the theater in the “near future.”
Commenting on the closing, Smith said, “National-General operates other theaters in the area (the Crest and Tower theaters) and they felt they should concentrate their efforts at these two theaters, rather than spread it out any further. "We (the Wilson) haven’t had good attendance with the type of shows they are turning to, which are primarily R and X rated. We feel we could have more success with family type shows.”
That’s all there is.