Comments from kencmcintyre

Here is a November 1956 item from Boxoffice magazine:

Val Mercier, Perryville, Mo., and his brother L.A. “Bud” Mercier of Frederickstown, Mo. are planning to build a drive-in theater near Ste. Genevieve, Mo. The only theater in Ste. Genevieve, the Orris, 500-seater, has been dark since August 30. It had been operated by Martin Operle for a number of years.

L.A. Mercier operates the Mercier Theater and the Hi-Y Drive-In at Frederickstown, while Val Mercier has the Mercier Theater in Perryville and the Hilltop Drive-In near St. Marys, Mo.

Here is a July 1961 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/au4bf6

Here is an item in Boxoffice magazine from June 1946:

EUGENE, ORE.-George Roys, one of the oldest theater operators in the Pacific Northwest, is retiring from the field after 40 years in show business. He has sold his State Theater here to West Johnson, who operates a circuit which includes the Mayflower, the Helig and the new Hawaii Theater, the latter now under construction.

Here are some photos from the LA Library, circa 1980s:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036935.jpg
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036937.jpg

There was a story in Boxoffice magazine, June 1946, about the Varsity Theater being sold by the Luft family to Davis Theaters, Inc. The article mentioned that the Varsity had been operating for about 25 years at that time, which would put the opening around 1921. Since the listed Varsity opened in 1950, I’m wondering if there were two Varsitys or alternatively if the 1950 opening was not a new theater but some kind of remodel.

This is from Boxoffice magazine in June 1946:

PRAGUE-The Alfa Theater recently booked and advertised a program of four OWI documentaries. A Popeye short, “Seeing Red, White and Blue”, confused with OWI’s “Red, White and Blue” was among the documentaries.

At the first showing, the manager announced that another documentary would replace Popeye. Protests were riotous. Police were called. The next day, in response to public and press demand, Popeye was restored.

This is from Boxoffice magazine in September 1963:

The Hiland Theater in Highland Park, operated for years by William London and the Brooks Brothers, Leonard and Bernard, has closed.

Here is an ad that was Boxoffice magazine in September 1963:

Beautiful Theater built in 1950. A-1 condition, 426 seats, only theater in area of four towns and surrounding community. Reason for selling: recently widowed and in poor health. Anne Johnson, Galesville, Wis. 275R

Here is a Daily Herald article dated 11/6/86;

The four-screen Century Theater in Hoffman Estates, after slashing prices and removing first-run movies last month, has shut its doors, ending an eight-year stint in the village. Located in the Golf-Rose Shopping Center, the theater had been the subject of rumors that it would fold over the years, but as late as last month, Century officials denied that the theater would close. Essaness Theaters owned the Century.

With its closing, only one Essaness theater remains in the Chicago area. Earlier this year, Essaness sold its area business to Cineplex-Odeon, a Canadian parent company of Plitt Theatres. Officials at Essaness refused to return repeated phone calls about the Century closing, but village officials in Hoffman Estates confirmed that the theater closed Tuesday.

The news comes just a month after the theater decided to show second-run movies and reduce its admission price from $4 per ticket to $1.50. By doing so, the Century dropped out of competition with Woodfield Theaters and Statford Square for first-run moviegoers and pitted itself against the Barrington Square Six Theaters in Hoffman Estates.

Larry Hanson, an Essaness spokesman, said at the time that the move was only an experiment and he denied that the Century would close. The Century opened in 1978 with three theaters, replacing the old Thunderbird Theater, which closed in 1977. Century split the Thunderbird Theater in half and added on the third screen. Later, the third screen also was split, providing four screens.

With the closing of the Century, the Barrington Square Six is the only movie house in Hoffman Estates. Owners of that theater announced earlier this year, however, that they plan to add 10 more screens in the future.

Here is an article from the Modesto Bee dated 1/16/76:

TURLOCK – The Turlock Theater at 128 N. Broadway was destroyed early this morning by fire which threatened surrounding buildings and caused the evacuation of 18 residents from the adjoining Tourist Hotel. Firemen estimated the loss will run in excess of $250,000. There was no immediate report of loss of life or injuries, although four firemen who were inside the theater came perilously close to being crushed when the theater’s ceiling caved in.

The blaze was believed to have started in the loge area or the projection room sometime after the theater closed at 11:15 o'clock last night. They speculated that the cause may have been a carelessly discarded cigarette. Firemen were called about 2:30 o'clock by a janitorial service owner who saw smoke billowing from the theater entrance.

All of the department’s trucks and men rolled to the fire within minutes and fought the stubborn fire for two hours before the roof collapsed. Ken Odell, manager of the 20-room Tourist Hotel, told firemen he awakened about a half-hour before the alarm, thinking he smelled smoke. He said he dressed and went outside to look around but saw nothing and went back to his room. Shortly afterwards he heard fire trucks roll up in front of the theater. He then assisted firemen in rousting hotel residents, most of them elderly, who fled into the street, some in their nightclothes.

The fire left Turlock without an indoor theater. Fire destroyed the city’s old Fox Theater in 1972. The Turlock Theater itself was gutted by fire in 1945 but was rebuilt three years later. At least four volunteer firemen on the scene, including City Councilman Joel Nikolauson, had fought the theater blaze in 1945.

The Turlock Theater recently was purchased by Hank Garcia and Jim Andrade of Wilsonville. Its manager for the past four months has been Carl Koch. Firemen were not able to notify him of the fire until about five hours after the blaze was reported.

Here is part of an article from the Jefferson City News and Tribune dated 1/6/35:

Dubinsky Bros, yesterday announced the purchase of the Krafft Motor Company building, 111 West High street, and that the erection of a new theater on the site would begin February 1.

The announcement was made by Ed Dubinsky, head of the firm, who arrived yesterday. He said the deal was closed Thursday. The building was owned by the Farm and Home Building and Loan Association of Nevada and for the past several years had been occupied by both E. W. Decker and the Krafft Motor Company.

The new theater will have a seating capacity of 1270 persons. The floor will seat 900 and the balcony 370. The distance between the last seat and the stage will be approximately 118 feet. Mr. Dubinsky was accompanied by Robert Boller of Kansas City, theater architect, who has built modern theatres in St. Joseph, Kansas City and cities in California, Kansas and Missouri.

The Miller Theater will be closed as soon as the new theater is completed and will remain closed for the duration of the Dubinsky lease, which expires February 1, 1936.

I think there were plans to build the 1500 car garage, but as he stated those plans were abandoned later and the garage was downsized.