The February 2, 1940, issue of The Nebraska State Journal reported that a fire early the previous morning had done $50,000 damage to the Pace Theatre building in Gordon, leaving the town without a movie house. Only the four outside walls were left standing. The Pace Theatre had been operated under a lease by the Black Hills Amusement Company for theater owner J. W. Pace, who planed to rebuild.
A house called the Red Bud Theatre is mentioned in the theater trade journals at least as early as 1918. In the 1927 FDY it was listed with 200 seats, but in 1932 it was listed as closed, with 400 seats.
At least as early as 1911 Red Bud had a movie house called the Martin Airdome, operated by a J. H. Martin. A 1923 reference to a Martin Theatre in Red Bud names the new operator as a Sam Bradley, but makes no reference to it being an airdome, so it might have been enclosed at some point.
As Red Bud had at least two movie theaters in the 1920s, the fluctuation in the seating capacity of the Red Bud Theatre might have been the result of the name being moved from one house to the other.
The Mazza Gallery is listed on the web site of architect James Thomas Martino as one of his theater projects, though he lists it as being in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He also has it listed under projects for K-B Theatres, which makes me wonder if he actually designed the Paris Theatre, which this house replaced. He designed several projects each for both K-B and GCC.
The correct name of the architect of The Movies at Montgomery Mall is James Thomas Martino. It was one of his earliest projects, his practice having been established in 1983. The house was originally operated by K-B Theatres, opening on January 18, 1985, according to Robert K. Headley’s Motion Picture Exhibition in Washington, D.C.. The K-B chain went under in January, 1994, and this house was closed, but it was reopened in March of that year by Cineplex Odeon.
The architectural firm of Goenner, Woodhouse & Associates originally designed the Congressional 5 Cinemas. The house was later renovated with plans by architect James Thomas Martino, who designed several projects for K-B Theatres.
The Bohemia Theatre’s building is currently occupied by the offices of a law firm. The building is on the east side of Ocoee Street (Lee Highway) three doors north of 1st Street.
The banner photo at the top of this web page shows the Bohemia Theatre in the distance. Scroll down through the “B” section of the page for a somewhat closer photo.
Note that although the information with the photo thumbnail gives the operating years of the Bohemia as 1911-1955, the house was clearly still in operation in 1956, per the Boxoffice article about the theater’s 50th anniversary, cited in my previous comment (scan here.)
The page needs updated with the aka Warner Theatre, per the 1930 ad rivest266 uploaded. The naming had to have been temporary, though, as we also have a photo of the house with the Strand vertical above a marquee advertising the 1945 release Of Human Bondage, and 1940s era cars in the street. Another photo has John Garfield and Shelly Winters paired on the marquee, and I believe the only movie in which they co-starred was the 1951 release He Ran All the Way.
The September 14, 1907, issue of The Moving Picture World had this news about the Wonderland’s near escape from disaster:
“The inflammable nature of the celluloid used in casting the motion pictures at Jennen’s Wonderland theatorium, on Main street, between Markham and Second, almost started a costly fire at Little Rock, Ark. The deck on which the lantern is operated was the only thing damaged by the blaze except three reels of films. The interior of the building was drenched by the fire department, which promptly answered the alarm, but within an hour or so the show was running as usual. Only three or four spectators were present at the time of the fire, and they had no difficulty in making their escape. The operator of the lantern had stopped the mechanism, but had neither taken away the reel nor shut off the powerful electric light, which is a part of the machine. As a consequence the highly inflammable celluloid films being exposed too long to the blaze of the light, took fire. Ordinarily when the machine is in operation and the reel is swiftly rotated, no part of the celluloid ribbon is exposed to the light long enough to be in danger of catching fire, but for some reason the reel was stopped, and as the light was not turned off, it soon was aflame.”
A September 28, 1907 New York Clipper advertisement for the O. T. Crawford Film Exchange Co., headquartered in the Gayety Theatre, St. Louis, listed a house called the Orpheum Theatre, at 511 S. Main Street, Little Rock, as a branch exchange.
The caption of a photo of the Stanley Theatre from the Portsmouth Library says that it was located at 5716 Gallia Street in the Sciotoville section, and was listed in city directories from 1922 to 1954.
This link might or might not work. The photo is at Pinterest, a rather boneheaded web site.
The Scenic Theatre, an expansion of which was mentioned in the October 15, 1910, issue of the trade journal The Nickelodeon, was improved and reopened following the 1913 flood, only to be severely damaged by a fire in July, 1915. I haven’t discovered if it was reopened again after the fire.
The January 12, 1926, issue of The Portsmouth Daily Times had an article about the opening of the LaRoy Theatre the previous night, and said that architect Laurence Millspaugh was among the speakers at the event. The November 19, 1924, issue of the same publication had said that Columbus architectural firm Carmichael & Millspaugh had been chosen to design the new theater to be built at Gallia and Gay Streets.
The firm was founded shortly after WWI. Martin Laurence Millspaugh retired from architecture in 1932 to take over operation of his family’s business, Baltimore silversmiths Samuel Kirk & Son. Carmichael & Millspaugh also drew the plans for the 1926 remodeling of the Robey Theatre in Spencer, West Virginia. I’ve been unable to discover Mr. Carmichael’s first name or initials.
The surname of one of the architects of the 1926 remodeling of the Robey Theatre is misspelled in the “Firms” field. His correct name was Martin Laurence Millspaugh. I’ve been unable to discover Mr. Carmichael’s first name or initials.
It might have switched to independent and art films in its later years, but when it opened, the Century 25 would have been a first-run house, just like the other domed suburban theaters being built by the Syufy/Century chain during that period.
this undated photo of the Forest Park Theatre shows a Mission style front.
Forest Park was one of the many amusement parks built in the suburban areas of American cities, often by streetcar companies, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The following paragraph is from an Arkansas Timesarticle about Pulaski Heights:
Little Rock streetcar company built Forest Park, a 160-acre amusement park that included a theater, dance pavilion, roller coaster, merry-go-round, bowling alley, roller-skating rink and refreshment stands, at today’s Kavanaugh and University intersection.“
If the Forest Park Theatre closed in 1915 it was probably replaced replaced by a new venue at the park. Issues of The Billboard from 1917 mention vaudeville shows still being presented at Forest Park in Little Rock.
This item from the February 18, 1922, issue of The American Contractor sounds like it could be about the Beacon Theatre:
“Theater (M. P.) Stores (6) & Offices: $150,000. 1 & 2 sty. Main & Grove sts., East Orange, N. J. Archt. Hyman Rosensohn, 188 Market St., Newark. Owner East Orange Amusement Co., Judge J. S. Strahl. pres., 828 Broad st., Newark. Brk. & limestone. Archt. & owner will soon take bids on gen. contr. Drawing plans.”A notice that construction contracts had been let for the project appeared in the March 30 issue of Engineering News-Record.
My comment of July 23, 2012, on the Glendale Theatre page says that the Don Mills Theatre was one of the houses designed by Mandel Sprachman, and cites an item from Boxoffice of October 25, 1965, which mentioned the house. It opened around 1963 and was operated by Odeon.
1915 is both the last year in which I’ve found a Gayety Theatre in Hoboken mentioned in trade publications, and the first year in which I find a Strand mentioned, so that must be the year the house was renamed. An announcement that the Gayety had been sold to an unnamed New York company who planned extensive alterations to the house appeared in the May 8, 1915, issue of The New York Clipper. I found the Gayety mentioned as late as August, 1915, but the Strand was operating by October that year.
The February 2, 1940, issue of The Nebraska State Journal reported that a fire early the previous morning had done $50,000 damage to the Pace Theatre building in Gordon, leaving the town without a movie house. Only the four outside walls were left standing. The Pace Theatre had been operated under a lease by the Black Hills Amusement Company for theater owner J. W. Pace, who planed to rebuild.
A house called the Red Bud Theatre is mentioned in the theater trade journals at least as early as 1918. In the 1927 FDY it was listed with 200 seats, but in 1932 it was listed as closed, with 400 seats.
At least as early as 1911 Red Bud had a movie house called the Martin Airdome, operated by a J. H. Martin. A 1923 reference to a Martin Theatre in Red Bud names the new operator as a Sam Bradley, but makes no reference to it being an airdome, so it might have been enclosed at some point.
As Red Bud had at least two movie theaters in the 1920s, the fluctuation in the seating capacity of the Red Bud Theatre might have been the result of the name being moved from one house to the other.
The Calvert Village Movies is another of the several projects designed for K-B Theatres by architect James Thomas Martino.
The Burlington Cinema 10 was designed for General Cinema Corporation by architect James Thomas Martino.
The Bridgewater Commons 7 was designed for GCC by architect James Thomas Martino.
The Mazza Gallery is listed on the web site of architect James Thomas Martino as one of his theater projects, though he lists it as being in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He also has it listed under projects for K-B Theatres, which makes me wonder if he actually designed the Paris Theatre, which this house replaced. He designed several projects each for both K-B and GCC.
The Foundry 7 Cinemas was designed for K-B Theatres by architect James Thomas Martino.
The correct name of the architect of The Movies at Montgomery Mall is James Thomas Martino. It was one of his earliest projects, his practice having been established in 1983. The house was originally operated by K-B Theatres, opening on January 18, 1985, according to Robert K. Headley’s Motion Picture Exhibition in Washington, D.C.. The K-B chain went under in January, 1994, and this house was closed, but it was reopened in March of that year by Cineplex Odeon.
The architectural firm of Goenner, Woodhouse & Associates originally designed the Congressional 5 Cinemas. The house was later renovated with plans by architect James Thomas Martino, who designed several projects for K-B Theatres.
Like the other multiplex in Annapolis, the Harbour 9 was designed by architect James Thomas Martino.
The Village Crossing 18 was designed for Crown Cinemas by architect James Thomas Martino.
The Bohemia Theatre’s building is currently occupied by the offices of a law firm. The building is on the east side of Ocoee Street (Lee Highway) three doors north of 1st Street.
The banner photo at the top of this web page shows the Bohemia Theatre in the distance. Scroll down through the “B” section of the page for a somewhat closer photo.
Note that although the information with the photo thumbnail gives the operating years of the Bohemia as 1911-1955, the house was clearly still in operation in 1956, per the Boxoffice article about the theater’s 50th anniversary, cited in my previous comment (scan here.)
The page needs updated with the aka Warner Theatre, per the 1930 ad rivest266 uploaded. The naming had to have been temporary, though, as we also have a photo of the house with the Strand vertical above a marquee advertising the 1945 release Of Human Bondage, and 1940s era cars in the street. Another photo has John Garfield and Shelly Winters paired on the marquee, and I believe the only movie in which they co-starred was the 1951 release He Ran All the Way.
The September 14, 1907, issue of The Moving Picture World had this news about the Wonderland’s near escape from disaster:
A September 28, 1907 New York Clipper advertisement for the O. T. Crawford Film Exchange Co., headquartered in the Gayety Theatre, St. Louis, listed a house called the Orpheum Theatre, at 511 S. Main Street, Little Rock, as a branch exchange.
The caption of a photo of the Stanley Theatre from the Portsmouth Library says that it was located at 5716 Gallia Street in the Sciotoville section, and was listed in city directories from 1922 to 1954.
This link might or might not work. The photo is at Pinterest, a rather boneheaded web site.
The Scenic Theatre, an expansion of which was mentioned in the October 15, 1910, issue of the trade journal The Nickelodeon, was improved and reopened following the 1913 flood, only to be severely damaged by a fire in July, 1915. I haven’t discovered if it was reopened again after the fire.
The January 12, 1926, issue of The Portsmouth Daily Times had an article about the opening of the LaRoy Theatre the previous night, and said that architect Laurence Millspaugh was among the speakers at the event. The November 19, 1924, issue of the same publication had said that Columbus architectural firm Carmichael & Millspaugh had been chosen to design the new theater to be built at Gallia and Gay Streets.
The firm was founded shortly after WWI. Martin Laurence Millspaugh retired from architecture in 1932 to take over operation of his family’s business, Baltimore silversmiths Samuel Kirk & Son. Carmichael & Millspaugh also drew the plans for the 1926 remodeling of the Robey Theatre in Spencer, West Virginia. I’ve been unable to discover Mr. Carmichael’s first name or initials.
The surname of one of the architects of the 1926 remodeling of the Robey Theatre is misspelled in the “Firms” field. His correct name was Martin Laurence Millspaugh. I’ve been unable to discover Mr. Carmichael’s first name or initials.
It might have switched to independent and art films in its later years, but when it opened, the Century 25 would have been a first-run house, just like the other domed suburban theaters being built by the Syufy/Century chain during that period.
The LaRoy Theatre opened with a three-manual Bennett organ, opus 952. The fate of the instrument is unknown at this time.
this undated photo of the Forest Park Theatre shows a Mission style front.
Forest Park was one of the many amusement parks built in the suburban areas of American cities, often by streetcar companies, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The following paragraph is from an Arkansas Times article about Pulaski Heights:
If the Forest Park Theatre closed in 1915 it was probably replaced replaced by a new venue at the park. Issues of The Billboard from 1917 mention vaudeville shows still being presented at Forest Park in Little Rock.This item from the February 18, 1922, issue of The American Contractor sounds like it could be about the Beacon Theatre:
My comment of July 23, 2012, on the Glendale Theatre page says that the Don Mills Theatre was one of the houses designed by Mandel Sprachman, and cites an item from Boxoffice of October 25, 1965, which mentioned the house. It opened around 1963 and was operated by Odeon.
1915 is both the last year in which I’ve found a Gayety Theatre in Hoboken mentioned in trade publications, and the first year in which I find a Strand mentioned, so that must be the year the house was renamed. An announcement that the Gayety had been sold to an unnamed New York company who planned extensive alterations to the house appeared in the May 8, 1915, issue of The New York Clipper. I found the Gayety mentioned as late as August, 1915, but the Strand was operating by October that year.