Originally built as the Pines Theatre for the tiny Kemp-Hughes Theatre Circuit, the first ten years of the theatre found it as a Rustic Atmospheric architectural style honoring the pine trees indigenous to the Waldron area and portraying the Pilot Mountain and its peak just north of the town. The side walls featured pine country in floor to ceiling murals including a mountain stream. In photos, see the original proscenium complete with mountaineer’s home. Hollowed logs and wood paneling gave off ember lighting effect as if in a fireplace. And rock elements jutting here and there provided a campfire effect. The projection booth was the watchtower for the theater which opened in October of 1930. John Hughes Forrester ran the operation and had concepts including an “Amusement Meal Ticket” to encourage more frequent or multiple ticket buyers and a student discount card to stimulate younger people coming to the Pines.
After its ten-year lease expired, Forrester moved on and K. Lee Williams Circuit took over the theatre under Gerry Doig’s management. Renamed the Scott Theatre, it received a major interior redesign in 1940 losing most of the original rustic elements. Even more original elements were going again in a 1950s redesign brought widescreen presentations. On January 24, 1960, a major fire gutted the interior though leaving the exterior virtually unchanged but the interior would be completely changed. Fortunately, the fire took place during church services so volunteer firefighters were nearby and did a good job of preventing further loss.
The theatre closed in 2014 but then under new operators got a nice redesign for its 85th anniversary reopening in October of 2015. Though the theatre looks markedly different from its original design, it is now complete with digital presentation and remains a cinema treasure for the area.
United Artists purchased land in southern Grand Prairie in Westchester Parkway just off of Interstate 20 on the south to launch a theater that opened August 24, 1995 called the UA Grand Prairie. While much of the attention was going to 16-24 screen megaplexes of the era — especially the AMC Grand and Cinemark 17 which had launched just months earlier in Dallas — UA was more conservative building 9-11 screen complexes. UA built its Lakepointe 10 theater in Lewisville opening in December 1994 and would build this very similar facility in Grand Prarie along with two Fort Worth complexes opening in 1997 with the Fossil Creek 11 and the nearby Eastchase 9 with all stadium seating.
Much like it would in 1995 with its then-forthcoming UA Galaxy, the circuit was going after a contemporary Cinemark multiplex in the Cinemark Movies 16 within eyeball’s distance across the street to the west. With screen count already in favor of the established Cinemark property, UA spent its money on the presentation creating two 490-seat auditoriums with THX certification and all 10 screens having DTS multichannel audio. 2,550 seats were found in the entire complex.
The UA G-P 10 theater opened with a soft launch with the films, “Desperado,” “Lord of Illusions,” “The Amazing Panda Adventure,” and “The Show” and then went for a slate of full shows the next day on August 25, 1995.
But United Artists, itself, fell on hard times and the circuit dropped theater after theater in the area and around the country. UA which once had theaters all over Dallas-Fort Worth would be taken over by Regal and would have only a handful of theaters leaving behind theaters including the Plaza, the MacArthur Marketplace in Irving, the Eastchase, the UA Hulen, the UA Bedford, the UA Bowen in Arlington, UA Las Vegas Trail in White Settlement, the Keystone which it had acquired from AMC, the UA North Star in Garland.
Regal didn’t do justice to the UA Grand Prairie at the outset as THX designation went away With many competing theaters opening to the east in South Arlington, the UA G-P stayed pretty much unchanged. Even the aging neighbor, the Cinemark 16, would upgrade to recliner seating hoping to stay current. Regal kept fighting film clearance battles with Cinemark as it reached its twentieth year of operation in August of 2015. But a month earlier, the end was near for the UA G-P as United Development purchased the three of the final four DFW-area UA theatres.
Under the United Development deal, the UA Galaxy and UA Fossil Creek would continue as luxury cinemas but that the UA Grand Prairie at the the end of 2015. (UA’s other property, the Regal Macarthur Marketplace was note listed in the deal.) In a typical low-key Regal/UA closing, the UA G-P was shuttered after the Sunday night December 13, 2015 showings. But at least the UA G-P had made it to its 20th anniversary. The plan was to convert the theatre to retail uses or, failing that, to find a church to take advantage of tax breaks to locate within the former facility.
Launched as the Lyric Theatre in 1909. The Rawl Brothers' Pastime Vaudeville Theater from 1438 Main Street took over the location in 1915 and was renamed. The Rawl Brothers then took on the Columbia in 1918 which is likely about the time that the Pastime became the Imperial Theatre. Finally, it was renamed as the Palmetto Theatre.
Began in the silent era as the New Lincoln Theatre / Lincoln Theatre serving African American audiences around 1919. Was the Capitol Theatre in the sound era.
The Garden Oaks Center was announced early in 1971 with ground broken March 30th of that year. It expanded to include The Movies which became the Garden Oaks Twin Cinema within weeks of opening. This theatre launched as the two-screen The Movies on January 9, 1974 with free screenings of “So Sad About Gloria” and “The Gospel Road.” One of the theater’s biggest hits was “Star Wars” in 1977. It likely closed late in 2003 at the end of a 30-year lease.
The Rialto replaced its sound system in 1930 moving away from discs to Western Electric sound in February of 1930. Its last film screening was August 30, 1961. The Camden Community Theatre used the space from 1963 to 1967. The theatre was vacant until 1969 when the signage was removed and the space altered for retail purposes.
Launched as the Hauber Theatre in 1921 as part of the Otto C. Hauber’s Theatre Circuit. A. Joe Lukachie ran the theatre into the 1930s when it became the Strand Theatre. The last ads are at the end of 1955, likely spelling the end of the theatre.
Grand opening ads as the Brady Theatre on January 7, 1914 and the renamed Strand Theatre on May 3, 1915 posted in photos. The theatre closed likely at the end of a 15 year lease in 1929 not making the conversion to sound. It briefly reopened under new management later that year and goes back out of business.
The space became the Beulah Tabernacle until 1934. Under new management, the space reboots as the Strand on July 1, 1934 with sound. It closes again briefly and reopens with grand re-re-re-re-opening on March 24, 1940. The theater’s apparent last activity as the Strand appears to be on August 30, 1942 as manager C.A. Metro moves over to the Eastland Theatre. But it’s possible the theater soldiered on without advertising.
In 1948, the Portsmouth Little Theatre took over the space and its first show was “My Sister Eileen.“ the Little Theatre kept going into the 21st Century reaching its 100th anniversary.
The movie “Top of the World” launched the Garden Theatre on November 20, 1925. At the end of a ten-year lease, new operator American Amusement Circuit of Stubenville took on the theater soon becoming part of the Interstate Theatre Circuit. Under new ownership, the Garden received an extensive remodeling launching with “Modern Times” on February 29, 1936.
Opened in 1926 by Howard E. Brunson when Huey & Frotenberry built Goose Creek’s second commercial block. Burnson would close and demolish his other silent-era house, the Palace, when sound films came around. Brunson wrote that he closed the Texan Theatre in February of 1953. It may well have re-opened under other operators.
Oscar S. Oldknow of Atlanta’s Empire started the Carroll with 758 seats at opening. Bathed in coral, gold and green, the Carroll was only the second theatre in Georgia to be designed and constructed for talking pictures.
The picture in the photo is actually the second home to the Pastime Vaudeville Theatre which would transform to full-time films as the Imperial Theatre in the silent era and then the Palmetto Theatre in the sound era. The first home was just across the street.
Lawrence T. Lester was accused, tried, and not found guilty of arson when the silent-era Rivoli Theatre at this address was torched in 1925. Photos of the pre-torched Rivoli here. Rebuilt as the Rex Theatre in the sound era becoming the Strand.
1201-1205 S. Main St. was also home to the Columbia Theatre, an African American cinema in the silent era. So an ad of the Columbia Theatre is also parked here in photos.
Grand opening was January 29, 1930 showing “Disraeli”. At $5 a ticket for the opening, the theater made a statement about its clientele: high end in a high end environment. Costing almost $1,000 a seat to construct – incredibly high for a neighborhood theatre – Detroit’s wealth wanted a showplace in their ‘hood and it delivered. It even had widescreen film projection ability at the opening despite the lack of films shot in widescreen. Grand opening ad in photos and some interior shots, as well.
Final film was a premiere of “Big Meat Eater” on August 29, 1984 under the Class Film Theatre (CFT) operation.
Grand opening June 15, 1944. Coloma had four theatres. Coloma Theatre number one burned down in November 28, 1912. Coloma Theatre #2 launched in 1918 and was deemed to small by operator Louis Clinton “C.C.” Alguire in 1935 moving to a retrofitted Ford Garage for Loma Theatre #3. Loma Theatre #3 was bombed and destroyed April 25, 1943 and razed two months later. The new Loma Theatre #4 would commence with a permit from the Government to rebuild during WW2 launching June 15, 1944 and was still going in the 21st Century.
Chilton didn’t have the best of luck with theaters prior to this theater. The Liberty Theatre (formerly the Royal Theatre) burned to the ground in 1924. The Auditorium Theatre took over as the town’s primary movie house and — just after installing sound projection — burned in a tragic fire in 1930. The Chilton was constructed in a much more fireproof manner launching May 20, 1931 and continuing into the 21st Century.
Some quick facts about the attractor across the street from the Cohan: It weighed 12 tons, was 200' high, had 4,600 lamps, the Moses figure at right is 28' high and both the left and right figurines were painted by artist Ezra Williams.
Technically, the theater’s grand opening was July 1, 1915. It was given a major facelift closing for period from November 15, 1921 relaunching as the remodeled Queen Theatre on July 3, 1922. The Queen’s name continued over at the Rialto on those dates with that theater changing back to the Rialto on July 3, 1922. The Rialto started Saturday only operation in September and closed prior to year’s end. Grand opening ad for the Queen in photos, as well as ads for the Rialto Theatre, as well as the precursors to those theaters in Hendersonville: the Grand Theatre and the Opera House.
Originally built as the Pines Theatre for the tiny Kemp-Hughes Theatre Circuit, the first ten years of the theatre found it as a Rustic Atmospheric architectural style honoring the pine trees indigenous to the Waldron area and portraying the Pilot Mountain and its peak just north of the town. The side walls featured pine country in floor to ceiling murals including a mountain stream. In photos, see the original proscenium complete with mountaineer’s home. Hollowed logs and wood paneling gave off ember lighting effect as if in a fireplace. And rock elements jutting here and there provided a campfire effect. The projection booth was the watchtower for the theater which opened in October of 1930. John Hughes Forrester ran the operation and had concepts including an “Amusement Meal Ticket” to encourage more frequent or multiple ticket buyers and a student discount card to stimulate younger people coming to the Pines.
After its ten-year lease expired, Forrester moved on and K. Lee Williams Circuit took over the theatre under Gerry Doig’s management. Renamed the Scott Theatre, it received a major interior redesign in 1940 losing most of the original rustic elements. Even more original elements were going again in a 1950s redesign brought widescreen presentations. On January 24, 1960, a major fire gutted the interior though leaving the exterior virtually unchanged but the interior would be completely changed. Fortunately, the fire took place during church services so volunteer firefighters were nearby and did a good job of preventing further loss.
The theatre closed in 2014 but then under new operators got a nice redesign for its 85th anniversary reopening in October of 2015. Though the theatre looks markedly different from its original design, it is now complete with digital presentation and remains a cinema treasure for the area.
United Artists purchased land in southern Grand Prairie in Westchester Parkway just off of Interstate 20 on the south to launch a theater that opened August 24, 1995 called the UA Grand Prairie. While much of the attention was going to 16-24 screen megaplexes of the era — especially the AMC Grand and Cinemark 17 which had launched just months earlier in Dallas — UA was more conservative building 9-11 screen complexes. UA built its Lakepointe 10 theater in Lewisville opening in December 1994 and would build this very similar facility in Grand Prarie along with two Fort Worth complexes opening in 1997 with the Fossil Creek 11 and the nearby Eastchase 9 with all stadium seating.
Much like it would in 1995 with its then-forthcoming UA Galaxy, the circuit was going after a contemporary Cinemark multiplex in the Cinemark Movies 16 within eyeball’s distance across the street to the west. With screen count already in favor of the established Cinemark property, UA spent its money on the presentation creating two 490-seat auditoriums with THX certification and all 10 screens having DTS multichannel audio. 2,550 seats were found in the entire complex.
The UA G-P 10 theater opened with a soft launch with the films, “Desperado,” “Lord of Illusions,” “The Amazing Panda Adventure,” and “The Show” and then went for a slate of full shows the next day on August 25, 1995.
But United Artists, itself, fell on hard times and the circuit dropped theater after theater in the area and around the country. UA which once had theaters all over Dallas-Fort Worth would be taken over by Regal and would have only a handful of theaters leaving behind theaters including the Plaza, the MacArthur Marketplace in Irving, the Eastchase, the UA Hulen, the UA Bedford, the UA Bowen in Arlington, UA Las Vegas Trail in White Settlement, the Keystone which it had acquired from AMC, the UA North Star in Garland.
Regal didn’t do justice to the UA Grand Prairie at the outset as THX designation went away With many competing theaters opening to the east in South Arlington, the UA G-P stayed pretty much unchanged. Even the aging neighbor, the Cinemark 16, would upgrade to recliner seating hoping to stay current. Regal kept fighting film clearance battles with Cinemark as it reached its twentieth year of operation in August of 2015. But a month earlier, the end was near for the UA G-P as United Development purchased the three of the final four DFW-area UA theatres.
Under the United Development deal, the UA Galaxy and UA Fossil Creek would continue as luxury cinemas but that the UA Grand Prairie at the the end of 2015. (UA’s other property, the Regal Macarthur Marketplace was note listed in the deal.) In a typical low-key Regal/UA closing, the UA G-P was shuttered after the Sunday night December 13, 2015 showings. But at least the UA G-P had made it to its 20th anniversary. The plan was to convert the theatre to retail uses or, failing that, to find a church to take advantage of tax breaks to locate within the former facility.
The Bon Ton Theatre advertised in the local paper from 1912 to 1917. That could be the lifecycle of the theater, as well.
Launched as the Lyric Theatre in 1909. The Rawl Brothers' Pastime Vaudeville Theater from 1438 Main Street took over the location in 1915 and was renamed. The Rawl Brothers then took on the Columbia in 1918 which is likely about the time that the Pastime became the Imperial Theatre. Finally, it was renamed as the Palmetto Theatre.
AKA the Rialto Theatre in the 1920s. Was sued for copyright when it didn’t have rights for a tune emanating from its player piano in 1927.
Began in the silent era as the New Lincoln Theatre / Lincoln Theatre serving African American audiences around 1919. Was the Capitol Theatre in the sound era.
Was at 308 Pierce not on Jackson
Launched as the Rialto Theatre on August 18, 1923 with “The Midnight Cabaret” and “The Man Next Door”
The Garden Oaks Center was announced early in 1971 with ground broken March 30th of that year. It expanded to include The Movies which became the Garden Oaks Twin Cinema within weeks of opening. This theatre launched as the two-screen The Movies on January 9, 1974 with free screenings of “So Sad About Gloria” and “The Gospel Road.” One of the theater’s biggest hits was “Star Wars” in 1977. It likely closed late in 2003 at the end of a 30-year lease.
Launched July 6, 1950 with “Annie Get Your Gun.” Grand opening ad and grainy pic in photos.
The Rialto replaced its sound system in 1930 moving away from discs to Western Electric sound in February of 1930. Its last film screening was August 30, 1961. The Camden Community Theatre used the space from 1963 to 1967. The theatre was vacant until 1969 when the signage was removed and the space altered for retail purposes.
Launched as the Hauber Theatre in 1921 as part of the Otto C. Hauber’s Theatre Circuit. A. Joe Lukachie ran the theatre into the 1930s when it became the Strand Theatre. The last ads are at the end of 1955, likely spelling the end of the theatre.
Grand opening ads as the Brady Theatre on January 7, 1914 and the renamed Strand Theatre on May 3, 1915 posted in photos. The theatre closed likely at the end of a 15 year lease in 1929 not making the conversion to sound. It briefly reopened under new management later that year and goes back out of business.
The space became the Beulah Tabernacle until 1934. Under new management, the space reboots as the Strand on July 1, 1934 with sound. It closes again briefly and reopens with grand re-re-re-re-opening on March 24, 1940. The theater’s apparent last activity as the Strand appears to be on August 30, 1942 as manager C.A. Metro moves over to the Eastland Theatre. But it’s possible the theater soldiered on without advertising.
In 1948, the Portsmouth Little Theatre took over the space and its first show was “My Sister Eileen.“ the Little Theatre kept going into the 21st Century reaching its 100th anniversary.
The movie “Top of the World” launched the Garden Theatre on November 20, 1925. At the end of a ten-year lease, new operator American Amusement Circuit of Stubenville took on the theater soon becoming part of the Interstate Theatre Circuit. Under new ownership, the Garden received an extensive remodeling launching with “Modern Times” on February 29, 1936.
Opened in 1926 by Howard E. Brunson when Huey & Frotenberry built Goose Creek’s second commercial block. Burnson would close and demolish his other silent-era house, the Palace, when sound films came around. Brunson wrote that he closed the Texan Theatre in February of 1953. It may well have re-opened under other operators.
Oscar S. Oldknow of Atlanta’s Empire started the Carroll with 758 seats at opening. Bathed in coral, gold and green, the Carroll was only the second theatre in Georgia to be designed and constructed for talking pictures.
Tucker & Howell architectural sketch is in Photos.
The picture in the photo is actually the second home to the Pastime Vaudeville Theatre which would transform to full-time films as the Imperial Theatre in the silent era and then the Palmetto Theatre in the sound era. The first home was just across the street.
Lawrence T. Lester was accused, tried, and not found guilty of arson when the silent-era Rivoli Theatre at this address was torched in 1925. Photos of the pre-torched Rivoli here. Rebuilt as the Rex Theatre in the sound era becoming the Strand.
1201-1205 S. Main St. was also home to the Columbia Theatre, an African American cinema in the silent era. So an ad of the Columbia Theatre is also parked here in photos.
Grand opening was January 29, 1930 showing “Disraeli”. At $5 a ticket for the opening, the theater made a statement about its clientele: high end in a high end environment. Costing almost $1,000 a seat to construct – incredibly high for a neighborhood theatre – Detroit’s wealth wanted a showplace in their ‘hood and it delivered. It even had widescreen film projection ability at the opening despite the lack of films shot in widescreen. Grand opening ad in photos and some interior shots, as well.
Final film was a premiere of “Big Meat Eater” on August 29, 1984 under the Class Film Theatre (CFT) operation.
Grand opening June 15, 1944. Coloma had four theatres. Coloma Theatre number one burned down in November 28, 1912. Coloma Theatre #2 launched in 1918 and was deemed to small by operator Louis Clinton “C.C.” Alguire in 1935 moving to a retrofitted Ford Garage for Loma Theatre #3. Loma Theatre #3 was bombed and destroyed April 25, 1943 and razed two months later. The new Loma Theatre #4 would commence with a permit from the Government to rebuild during WW2 launching June 15, 1944 and was still going in the 21st Century.
Chilton didn’t have the best of luck with theaters prior to this theater. The Liberty Theatre (formerly the Royal Theatre) burned to the ground in 1924. The Auditorium Theatre took over as the town’s primary movie house and — just after installing sound projection — burned in a tragic fire in 1930. The Chilton was constructed in a much more fireproof manner launching May 20, 1931 and continuing into the 21st Century.
Some quick facts about the attractor across the street from the Cohan: It weighed 12 tons, was 200' high, had 4,600 lamps, the Moses figure at right is 28' high and both the left and right figurines were painted by artist Ezra Williams.
Technically, the theater’s grand opening was July 1, 1915. It was given a major facelift closing for period from November 15, 1921 relaunching as the remodeled Queen Theatre on July 3, 1922. The Queen’s name continued over at the Rialto on those dates with that theater changing back to the Rialto on July 3, 1922. The Rialto started Saturday only operation in September and closed prior to year’s end. Grand opening ad for the Queen in photos, as well as ads for the Rialto Theatre, as well as the precursors to those theaters in Hendersonville: the Grand Theatre and the Opera House.