Shown on the Dec. 1913 map, while the Nov. 1908 map has a dry goods store here. This was closed by April 1923, as the map shows a store here. The building was constructed between 1883 and 1888. For some reason, I did not take a picture of this one.
Appears on the Dec. 1913 map. The Nov. 1908 map has the YMCA here. A lodge hall appears on the second floor on the 1913 map, but is gone on the 1923 map. The building dates to 1891.
Still listed as the Harris in 1955, it appears as the Avoca in the 1956 Yearbook. Still open in 1957, so the mid-‘50s date is wrong. The Yearbooks afterward are less useful, and only list theaters belonging to circuits. It has to have been closed by 1969, when the Legion moved in.
I’m not sure this was ever known as the Harris-Avoca. That name makes no sense. It may have been called the Avoca at some point. The address needs to be corrected. It may originally have been 309 N Elm, but the N-S divider has been moved to High St, and the odds and evens switched sides.
As your photo shows, this building was constructed in 1877, so we could update the entry.
It looked a lot nicer before they stripped the cornice off. The Exchange Block across the street got mistreated the same way. The Lyon St theater is still there. I created an entry. It’s the small building second from the corner. This has to have been the Majestic, since the page you found lists the True Value here. That jewelry store was gone by 1909, and the caption is in error saying that it came after the Opera House, which was on the second floor, and had nothing to do with what was in the storefronts.
It sounds like the addresses were changed over the years. The railroad tracks, which were south of Lyon, must have been the initial N-S divider. That also partially explains the Chuck-ism on the Harris listing. The divider is now High St, and it looks like odds and evens have traded sides.
The 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory lists the Majestic, Bijou, Novelty, and Unique. Far too many theaters for a town of about 1,600. By 1925, only the Majestic is still listed.
As was pointed out long ago, the address is wrong. This is currently the American Legion. It’s been spruced up since 2010, although they did destroy the original doors.
The last paragraph is confusing. It was still open at some point after 1977? When was ‘at the time’? That sentence is very poorly written, and ‘going powerful and very strong’ makes no sense at all.
No address information at all? This was likely on Main, but might have been on Ohio or Temple. In fact, how do we know it wasn’t just a new name for the Olympic?
SethG
commented about
Theateron
Nov 19, 2024 at 2:22 pm
Note that this was Main St up through at least 1933.
The address is wrong. The correct address is 104 N 3rd St. The building in the photo was extensively remodeled, and it and the building to the north were joined in a rather bland red brick facade. This appears to have happened in the late ‘50s or early '60s, judging from the style. The space is used by a salon and a chiropractor.
Website is: https://www.milfordpioneertheatre.com/ Sometime after 2015 the marquee was removed, as well as the nice vitrolite ticket windows. Looks really depressing now.
The Opera House referred to was a large wooden building on Cedar, where the bowling alley is today. It was sloppy of me not to have checked the maps, since the ‘New Opera’ name struck me as a clue that there was an old opera house. I’ll add a listing.
There is no such thing as Main St. This must have been on N St. Paul Ave somewhere. It and the Crystal may still exist. There are a few buildings deep enough.
The Orpheum was at 214-216 W. Olive (later Main). The State must have been at about 202-206 E Main. I am pretty sure that the listing we have for the State is junk.
Do we want to call it demolished, or is that too confusing? Although technically in the same building that exists today, the Empress was in one of the ground floor storefronts, which were rearranged during the conversion to the Harlan. The theater space is a staircase and part of the lobby/auditorium of the Harlan.
The historical address would have been on Central.
It was still open in 1923. I merely mentioned the lodge hall to show that it may have been expanded by that point. That map also shows a stage.
This was probably something like 200 or 202. 206 is the thing to the east of where the Quarry Twin used to be. My mistake on that.
Shown on the Dec. 1913 map, while the Nov. 1908 map has a dry goods store here. This was closed by April 1923, as the map shows a store here. The building was constructed between 1883 and 1888. For some reason, I did not take a picture of this one.
Appears on the Dec. 1913 map. The Nov. 1908 map has the YMCA here. A lodge hall appears on the second floor on the 1913 map, but is gone on the 1923 map. The building dates to 1891.
Last showing on their FB page is Jan. 3rd 2023. Looks like a church took over the space.
Still listed as the Harris in 1955, it appears as the Avoca in the 1956 Yearbook. Still open in 1957, so the mid-‘50s date is wrong. The Yearbooks afterward are less useful, and only list theaters belonging to circuits. It has to have been closed by 1969, when the Legion moved in.
I’m not sure this was ever known as the Harris-Avoca. That name makes no sense. It may have been called the Avoca at some point. The address needs to be corrected. It may originally have been 309 N Elm, but the N-S divider has been moved to High St, and the odds and evens switched sides.
As your photo shows, this building was constructed in 1877, so we could update the entry.
It looked a lot nicer before they stripped the cornice off. The Exchange Block across the street got mistreated the same way. The Lyon St theater is still there. I created an entry. It’s the small building second from the corner. This has to have been the Majestic, since the page you found lists the True Value here. That jewelry store was gone by 1909, and the caption is in error saying that it came after the Opera House, which was on the second floor, and had nothing to do with what was in the storefronts.
It sounds like the addresses were changed over the years. The railroad tracks, which were south of Lyon, must have been the initial N-S divider. That also partially explains the Chuck-ism on the Harris listing. The divider is now High St, and it looks like odds and evens have traded sides.
The 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory lists the Majestic, Bijou, Novelty, and Unique. Far too many theaters for a town of about 1,600. By 1925, only the Majestic is still listed.
As was pointed out long ago, the address is wrong. This is currently the American Legion. It’s been spruced up since 2010, although they did destroy the original doors.
The last paragraph is confusing. It was still open at some point after 1977? When was ‘at the time’? That sentence is very poorly written, and ‘going powerful and very strong’ makes no sense at all.
No address information at all? This was likely on Main, but might have been on Ohio or Temple. In fact, how do we know it wasn’t just a new name for the Olympic?
Note that this was Main St up through at least 1933.
The Legion moved in in 1975.
The address is wrong. The correct address is 104 N 3rd St. The building in the photo was extensively remodeled, and it and the building to the north were joined in a rather bland red brick facade. This appears to have happened in the late ‘50s or early '60s, judging from the style. The space is used by a salon and a chiropractor.
I wonder if this theater didn’t close for an extended period. Both the 1932 and 1949 maps show this space as a store.
Thanks for finding the names!
Website is: https://www.milfordpioneertheatre.com/ Sometime after 2015 the marquee was removed, as well as the nice vitrolite ticket windows. Looks really depressing now.
The Opera House referred to was a large wooden building on Cedar, where the bowling alley is today. It was sloppy of me not to have checked the maps, since the ‘New Opera’ name struck me as a clue that there was an old opera house. I’ll add a listing.
There is no such thing as Main St. This must have been on N St. Paul Ave somewhere. It and the Crystal may still exist. There are a few buildings deep enough.
The Orpheum was at 214-216 W. Olive (later Main). The State must have been at about 202-206 E Main. I am pretty sure that the listing we have for the State is junk.
The building was originally a garage and dealership, and was built in 1913. It was demolished in December 2022.
The F. Mackay building dates to 1898, and is a very attractive quartzite fronted building with a bay. The 1904 map shows it as a general store.
Do we want to call it demolished, or is that too confusing? Although technically in the same building that exists today, the Empress was in one of the ground floor storefronts, which were rearranged during the conversion to the Harlan. The theater space is a staircase and part of the lobby/auditorium of the Harlan.