OSAWATOMIE, KAS.-R.V. Johnson, discharged recently from the army after five years in the service, has been appointed assistant manager of the Osawa Theater by the H.J. Griffith Circuit.
Here is an item from Boxoffice magazine, January 1946:
MINNEAPOLIS-Leslie Williams, father of Stanley Williams, 14-year-old usher at the Nile, local deluxe nieghborhood house, who accidentally shot a another 14-year-old usher at the theater, was fined $10 in municipal court on a curfew violation. He was charged with permitting the boy to work at the theater after curfew hours.
This is an item in Boxoffice magazine, January 1946:
IDA GROVE, IA.-A cigaret started a film fire here at the King Theater. As one operator took the last reel off for the night, it was brushed against a cigaret his assistant was holding. A burst of flame was the result.
No one was injured and the damage wasn’t serious, but the theater, owned by Carl Mansfield, had to be closed for two days.
BUFFALO, MO.-Claude White and his son John have acquired the Nu-Buflo Theater here from C.C. Rhodes. The Whites also operate a theater in Camdenton, MO.
BEAVER DAM, WIS.-The Wisconsin premiere showing of “Pardon My Past”, starring Fred MacMurray, Beaver Dam actor, attracted capacity crowds at the local Odeon. The film was given five showings on its opening day but the theater resumed its double feature policy by adding “On Stage Everybody” for the remainder of the three-day run.
EAST ST. LOUIS-A fire caused damage estimated at $5,000 at the Avenue Theater here recently. Most of the damage was from smoke and water. The fire was confined to stage properties and the contents of a room used by stagehands. The theater, owned by Dave Komm, continues to operate.
Here is an item from Boxoffice magazine in January 1946:
Jack Anderson, who manages the Forum in Barstow, has revealed that William Cox, Forum owner, has plans drawn for a new 750-seat theater to be built in Barstow early this year.
LOS ANGELES-Harold Stein, owner of the Boulevard Theater here and co-owner of the Ritz in Inglewood, is taking over the Wisteria in Sierra Madre from George Tiderik. Stein will change the name of the showplace to the Sierra Madre.
Here is part of a December 12, 1976 article in the Delaware County Daily Times:
On Wednesday, November 17, 1976, a general alarm fire destroyed the abandoned Apollo movie theater in Chester. To this Chesterite it was not just another of many wasteful fires that plague our battered town. No indeed. This fire stirred many fond memories of my youth concerning Chester’s movie theaters.
MY FIRST sight of the Apollo Theater came upon a warm, sunny afternoon in September. A newly made friend named Dave was giving me a guided tour of the 3rd Street area, and eventually we happened upon the Apollo. The marquee proclaimed that “The Cat Woman” and another, now forgotten feature was playing. Naturally, we two 8-year-olds wanted “to see them, but unfortunately we had exactly 3 cents to our names. Happily, an usher taking a smoke break outside noted our dilemma and took pity on us; he let us in. He also took our 3 cents.
Some Chester theaters such as the Stanley and the Washington have been torn down. The others? They sit there like derelicts waiting to be demolished or burned down like the Apollo. Today, if a Chester resident wants to see something besides X-rated movies they’ll have to get in a car or ride a bus somewhere else.
One can only conjecture as to why ALL these theaters have closed down, one by one, but the stated reasons are usually; fights, muggings and poor attendance. Whatever the reason(s) I do know this much; my kids, and thousands of others who live in Chester will probably never know what it’s like to have a neighborhood theater on a Saturday afternoon.
Here are excerpts from three items in local papers dated, respectively, 8/23/88, 3/7/89 and 5/11/95:
Robber Stabs Man at Faust Theater
The son of the Faust Theater’s owner was wounded by a knife-wielding robber who held up the sex-oriented theater in St. Paul Monday afternoon. Peter Hafiz, 27, of Woodbury, was taken to St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center after the 4:50 p.m. incident and was listed last night in serious condition. Hafiz’s father, Frank, owns the theater at University Av. and Dale St. The robber fled with an undetermined amount of cash, police Capt. Stephen Roscoe said.
Protest, Melee Mark Closing Day at Faust Theatre
The last day of business at St. Paul’s Faust Theatre was disrupted Monday when a pornography protest organized for TV coverage went awry and a TV photographer was injured in a fight with Faust employees after they had wrestled him out of the theater. Earlier, another photographer and several protesters had been doused with water by a Faust employee. When they went inside the building to complain, two other TV photographers followed to videotape the encounter.
ST. PAUL COUNCIL VOTES TO RAZE `NOTORIOUS' FAUST THEATRE IN COMMUNITY CLEANUP BID
For Martin O. Weddington, who has lived near the corner of Dale Street and University Avenue for decades, the Faust Theatre brings back both pleasant and disturbing memories. When he was a youngster, he enjoyed going to the movies there. Years later, Weddington joined the neighborhood residents who picketed the “notorious Faust”, a sex emporium featuring movies, live and video peep shows, exotic dancing, and sexually-oriented books and paraphernalia.
Repeating decades-old complaints, residents near the Vermont Drive-In begged the Gardena Planning and Environmental Quality Commission this week to shut it down, saying noise and traffic from its weekend swap meet have made life unbearable. At a continuation of a public hearing begun in January, about 25 residents of 182nd and Rumbold streets and Vermont Avenue filed into the council chambers Tuesday night to complain of traffic congestion, automobile and early morning vendor noise, and swap meet patrons who litter and urinate on residents' lawns.
Residents said they can’t enjoy leisurely weekends or allow their children to play outside because of the many swap meet patrons who traipse through their neighborhoods every Saturday and Sunday. Some residents said they haven’t been able to sell their homes because of proximity to the swap meet. While most of the complaints concern the 25-year-old, 800-vendor swap meet, open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, residents also complained of honking horns and traffic noise from weeknight movie customers. Officials of the 50-year-old drive-in at 17737 S. Vermont Ave. said they have had workers diligently pick up trash, prohibited walk-in patrons and hired off-duty police officers to direct traffic. Jay Swerdlow, general manager for Pacific Theaters, said he went through nearby neighborhoods last Sunday and saw no signs of swap meet patrons, urination or litter.
Louie Federici was a schoolboy when the State Theater was born in Pasadena in 1918. And like Federici, who is now nearing 80, the Colorado Boulevard theater has been a witness to changing times. In the early days, it was a proud Fox West Coast moving-picture theater. Then it burned down, was rebuilt, changed hands. When it finally closed its doors a couple of years ago, it had a garish sign headlining X-rated films.
But last spring, Federici cranked up the dormant projector and restored the neon marquee, and the 700-seat auditorium once again flickered with movies such as “Robin Hood,” “Top Hat” and “Suspicion.” It is the only theater in the San Gabriel Valley that exclusively shows old movies. “You have to be a lover of the old classics to be in this business,” said Federici, who has spent his life working in theaters like the State-taking tickets, popping popcorn, and watching glamorous stars cavort on screen. Federici, of Hollywood, and his partner, Bob Stein, 55, of Studio City, hope they can revive the revival house. But they know they’re bucking a trend.
If enough customers do not pack the theater to ensure its salvation, it is unlikely that the State would be preserved as a historic landmark like its South Pasadena neighbor, the Rialto Theater, which shows first-run art films and cult offerings such as “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” There is nothing ornate or unique about the State’s architecture. Its walls are bare, its lighting subdued.
When the two men took over, they did little more than tear down the red-flocked wallpaper left over from when the place was called the Pussycat Theater. Inside the auditorium, the ceiling vents are scarred with soot, and the only ornaments are lighted wall sconces reminiscent of the moderne look popular when the State was rebuilt after the fire in the 1930s. A narrow staircase winds up to a cluttered projection booth overflowing with heavy film canisters. A part-time employee sometimes spends the night on a mattress in a cubbyhole off the booth.
Interior and exterior photos on this site:
http://tinyurl.com/8nhfnq
This biography lists Fred Markham as the architect of the Scera:
http://tinyurl.com/7w8ygg
Boxoffice magazine reported in January 1946 that A.M. Cox had purchased the Silva from E.B. Kaiser. No other information was provided.
Here is the 1938 Temple photo from 9/12/06:
http://tinyurl.com/axj4ql
Here is a 1978 photo from Temple University:
http://tinyurl.com/aytzrr
From Boxoffice magazine, January 1946:
OSAWATOMIE, KAS.-R.V. Johnson, discharged recently from the army after five years in the service, has been appointed assistant manager of the Osawa Theater by the H.J. Griffith Circuit.
Here is an item from Boxoffice magazine, January 1946:
MINNEAPOLIS-Leslie Williams, father of Stanley Williams, 14-year-old usher at the Nile, local deluxe nieghborhood house, who accidentally shot a another 14-year-old usher at the theater, was fined $10 in municipal court on a curfew violation. He was charged with permitting the boy to work at the theater after curfew hours.
This is an item in Boxoffice magazine, January 1946:
IDA GROVE, IA.-A cigaret started a film fire here at the King Theater. As one operator took the last reel off for the night, it was brushed against a cigaret his assistant was holding. A burst of flame was the result.
No one was injured and the damage wasn’t serious, but the theater, owned by Carl Mansfield, had to be closed for two days.
John White and his father Claude also owned the Nu-Buflo Theater in Buffalo, MO, which they bought in 1946.
From Boxoffice magazine, January 1946:
BUFFALO, MO.-Claude White and his son John have acquired the Nu-Buflo Theater here from C.C. Rhodes. The Whites also operate a theater in Camdenton, MO.
This is from Boxoffice magazine, January 1946:
BEAVER DAM, WIS.-The Wisconsin premiere showing of “Pardon My Past”, starring Fred MacMurray, Beaver Dam actor, attracted capacity crowds at the local Odeon. The film was given five showings on its opening day but the theater resumed its double feature policy by adding “On Stage Everybody” for the remainder of the three-day run.
This is from Boxoffice magazine in January 1946:
EAST ST. LOUIS-A fire caused damage estimated at $5,000 at the Avenue Theater here recently. Most of the damage was from smoke and water. The fire was confined to stage properties and the contents of a room used by stagehands. The theater, owned by Dave Komm, continues to operate.
This is the one with the kids playing Kirk and Spock. I’ll pass.
No, he was building a new theater somewhere else in Barstow. It may have been the Barstow Theater, which later became a twin.
Here is an item from Boxoffice magazine in January 1946:
Jack Anderson, who manages the Forum in Barstow, has revealed that William Cox, Forum owner, has plans drawn for a new 750-seat theater to be built in Barstow early this year.
This is from Boxoffice magazine, January 1946:
LOS ANGELES-Harold Stein, owner of the Boulevard Theater here and co-owner of the Ritz in Inglewood, is taking over the Wisteria in Sierra Madre from George Tiderik. Stein will change the name of the showplace to the Sierra Madre.
Too bad “Saturn 3” was a year late. I would have paid the $3 just to see the Farrah Fawcett nude scene.
I never made it down to Chester when I was living in Philly. Probably because I had no car and no driver’s license.
Here is part of a December 12, 1976 article in the Delaware County Daily Times:
On Wednesday, November 17, 1976, a general alarm fire destroyed the abandoned Apollo movie theater in Chester. To this Chesterite it was not just another of many wasteful fires that plague our battered town. No indeed. This fire stirred many fond memories of my youth concerning Chester’s movie theaters.
MY FIRST sight of the Apollo Theater came upon a warm, sunny afternoon in September. A newly made friend named Dave was giving me a guided tour of the 3rd Street area, and eventually we happened upon the Apollo. The marquee proclaimed that “The Cat Woman” and another, now forgotten feature was playing. Naturally, we two 8-year-olds wanted “to see them, but unfortunately we had exactly 3 cents to our names. Happily, an usher taking a smoke break outside noted our dilemma and took pity on us; he let us in. He also took our 3 cents.
Some Chester theaters such as the Stanley and the Washington have been torn down. The others? They sit there like derelicts waiting to be demolished or burned down like the Apollo. Today, if a Chester resident wants to see something besides X-rated movies they’ll have to get in a car or ride a bus somewhere else.
One can only conjecture as to why ALL these theaters have closed down, one by one, but the stated reasons are usually; fights, muggings and poor attendance. Whatever the reason(s) I do know this much; my kids, and thousands of others who live in Chester will probably never know what it’s like to have a neighborhood theater on a Saturday afternoon.
Here are excerpts from three items in local papers dated, respectively, 8/23/88, 3/7/89 and 5/11/95:
Robber Stabs Man at Faust Theater
The son of the Faust Theater’s owner was wounded by a knife-wielding robber who held up the sex-oriented theater in St. Paul Monday afternoon. Peter Hafiz, 27, of Woodbury, was taken to St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center after the 4:50 p.m. incident and was listed last night in serious condition. Hafiz’s father, Frank, owns the theater at University Av. and Dale St. The robber fled with an undetermined amount of cash, police Capt. Stephen Roscoe said.
Protest, Melee Mark Closing Day at Faust Theatre
The last day of business at St. Paul’s Faust Theatre was disrupted Monday when a pornography protest organized for TV coverage went awry and a TV photographer was injured in a fight with Faust employees after they had wrestled him out of the theater. Earlier, another photographer and several protesters had been doused with water by a Faust employee. When they went inside the building to complain, two other TV photographers followed to videotape the encounter.
ST. PAUL COUNCIL VOTES TO RAZE `NOTORIOUS' FAUST THEATRE IN COMMUNITY CLEANUP BID
For Martin O. Weddington, who has lived near the corner of Dale Street and University Avenue for decades, the Faust Theatre brings back both pleasant and disturbing memories. When he was a youngster, he enjoyed going to the movies there. Years later, Weddington joined the neighborhood residents who picketed the “notorious Faust”, a sex emporium featuring movies, live and video peep shows, exotic dancing, and sexually-oriented books and paraphernalia.
Here is part of an LA Times article dated 3/3/94:
Repeating decades-old complaints, residents near the Vermont Drive-In begged the Gardena Planning and Environmental Quality Commission this week to shut it down, saying noise and traffic from its weekend swap meet have made life unbearable. At a continuation of a public hearing begun in January, about 25 residents of 182nd and Rumbold streets and Vermont Avenue filed into the council chambers Tuesday night to complain of traffic congestion, automobile and early morning vendor noise, and swap meet patrons who litter and urinate on residents' lawns.
Residents said they can’t enjoy leisurely weekends or allow their children to play outside because of the many swap meet patrons who traipse through their neighborhoods every Saturday and Sunday. Some residents said they haven’t been able to sell their homes because of proximity to the swap meet. While most of the complaints concern the 25-year-old, 800-vendor swap meet, open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, residents also complained of honking horns and traffic noise from weeknight movie customers. Officials of the 50-year-old drive-in at 17737 S. Vermont Ave. said they have had workers diligently pick up trash, prohibited walk-in patrons and hired off-duty police officers to direct traffic. Jay Swerdlow, general manager for Pacific Theaters, said he went through nearby neighborhoods last Sunday and saw no signs of swap meet patrons, urination or litter.
Another from the same source:
http://tinyurl.com/8g2dtc
Here is another view of the marquee after the theater closed in 2000:
http://tinyurl.com/97qnvg
Here is part of an LA Times article dated 2/7/90:
Louie Federici was a schoolboy when the State Theater was born in Pasadena in 1918. And like Federici, who is now nearing 80, the Colorado Boulevard theater has been a witness to changing times. In the early days, it was a proud Fox West Coast moving-picture theater. Then it burned down, was rebuilt, changed hands. When it finally closed its doors a couple of years ago, it had a garish sign headlining X-rated films.
But last spring, Federici cranked up the dormant projector and restored the neon marquee, and the 700-seat auditorium once again flickered with movies such as “Robin Hood,” “Top Hat” and “Suspicion.” It is the only theater in the San Gabriel Valley that exclusively shows old movies. “You have to be a lover of the old classics to be in this business,” said Federici, who has spent his life working in theaters like the State-taking tickets, popping popcorn, and watching glamorous stars cavort on screen. Federici, of Hollywood, and his partner, Bob Stein, 55, of Studio City, hope they can revive the revival house. But they know they’re bucking a trend.
If enough customers do not pack the theater to ensure its salvation, it is unlikely that the State would be preserved as a historic landmark like its South Pasadena neighbor, the Rialto Theater, which shows first-run art films and cult offerings such as “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” There is nothing ornate or unique about the State’s architecture. Its walls are bare, its lighting subdued.
When the two men took over, they did little more than tear down the red-flocked wallpaper left over from when the place was called the Pussycat Theater. Inside the auditorium, the ceiling vents are scarred with soot, and the only ornaments are lighted wall sconces reminiscent of the moderne look popular when the State was rebuilt after the fire in the 1930s. A narrow staircase winds up to a cluttered projection booth overflowing with heavy film canisters. A part-time employee sometimes spends the night on a mattress in a cubbyhole off the booth.
The guitar store has moved, and the retail space is for sale.
http://tinyurl.com/76bmhh
http://rivingtonguitars.com/