The article MKtchamp linked to says that the Indiana Theatre opened on October 6, 1926. The Opera House built in 1892 was destroyed by a fire earlier that year, as reported (without the theater’s name) in the January 12, 1926 issue of The Film Daily:
“ Fire Destroys Wash. Ind., House
“Washington, Ind. — Fire destroyed a local house, causing a loss estimated at $150,000. Nearly 1,000 persons were in the theater when the fire started but all filed out quietly.”
The Janauary 11, 1926, issue of The Indianapolis News reported that the damage to the Grand Theatre, formerly the Grand Opera House, been extensive, with walls collapsing into the street and through the roof of an adjacent building. Because of the extent of the damage it seems unlikely that much, if any, of the structure of the Opera House remained to be incorporated into the Indiana Theatre. Perhaps we should consider the Grand Opera House/Grand Theatre a separate house rather than aka’s for the Indiana Theatre?
The Indiana Theatre was built for the Switow chain of Louisville, Kentucky, and operated by them for many years. The “Theatres in Construction” column of the May 5, 1926, issue of Variety had this item about it:
“Washington, Ind. — $100,000. Fourth and Main streets. Owners, A. Switow & Sons, Louisville. Architect, Carl J. Epping, Louisville. Pictures.”
Carl J. Epping was around this time president of the Kentucky Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. It’s possible that he designed other theater projects for the Switow interests, but I haven’t been able to track any down.
This item from The Film Daily of January 6, 1926, notes the recent opening of the Lancaster Theatre, the second house of that name on the site:
“Detroit — The new Lancaster, 10530 West Jefferson Ave., River Rouge, opened. It is on the site of the old Lancaster. Ted Williams will manage the house, which seats 1,650 and cost $275,000.”
Unless River Rouge flipped odd and even addresses from one side of its streets to the other at some point, the magazine got the theater’s address wrong. In 1930, a Milton’s Shoe Store was advertising its location as “10530 West Jefferson Avenue, opposite Lancaster Theatre.”
The July 16, 1935, issue of The Film Daily had this item:
“H. K. Allen of Dallas and J. J. Bowler of Springfield, Mo., opened the Island theater in Grand Island over the week-end with double features. It is the fifth theater in Nebraska’s third city.”
Although the item doesn’t specify it, this must have been a re-opening. The building looks to date from the 1920s, and the wide center bay and the pattern of the arched second floor windows suggest that it was built specifically to house a theater.
From the late 1930s until his death in 1949, the Island Theatre was operated by William Youngclaus, and from 1949 until around 1960 it was operated by his widow. Youngclaus was involved in exhibition in Iowa and Nebraska at least as early as 1919.
American Classic Images has two photos of the Omwick Theatre. This one from April, 1980, shows the house still in operation, and this one from June, 1987, shows that it had been converted into a thrift shop by then.
I’m not sure what occupies the Omwick Theatre building now. The door has a sign reading “Open Door Center,” but an Internet search reveals that Open Door operates several facilities in Valley City. Their home page says that “…Open Door Center provides day, residential and vocational services for individuals with disabilities including children and adults with developmental disabilities, adults with mental illness and people with a traumatic brain injury.” But there’s no indication of which function or functions the Omwick building serves.
Windows have been punched in the side wall of the auditorium along 2nd Street, and they are all at the same height so it’s likely that the floor has been leveled (downhill wheelchair races by developmentally disable kids are surely one of the last things any sort of care facility would want.) The building might be anything from a clinic to offices to a residential facility.
A web page about Page, North Dakota, says that the Omwick Theatre’s seats were installed in the Page Theatre there, but doesn’t say when (CT’s Page page.)
This web page has a small photo of the Omwick Theatre in (probably) 1970 (it was showing Love Story with Ryan O'Neil and Ali MacGraw.)
This web page about Page has a few photos of the Page Theatre, including some interior shots (pretty much the typical small twin with no historic features other than those on the front.) The page says that the seats in the Page came from the Omwick Theatre (CT’s Omwick page) in Valley City, North Dakota.
The web site of the City of Page has a page for the Page, but the only thing on it right now is a notice that the house is closed for the season. Movie listings are featured when the theater is open.
This item is from the February 19, 1916, issue of The American Contractor:
“Pittsburgh, Pa. — Moving Picture Theater, Store & Apt. Bldg.: $16,000. 2 sty. 32x80. 1604 Carson st. Archt. Chas. Geisler, 1933 Warnock st. Owner Louis Michael, 1606 Carson st. Plans in progress.”
A later issue of the magazine said that plans were complete and the architect would be taking bids for the project about March 15. Chas. Geisler was probably the Charles R. Geisler who designed the Harris South Hills Theatre in Dormont, Pennsylvania.
We’ve been using the wrong address for the Grand Theatre. The auto body shop entrance at 2311 Rheem Avenue was cut into what had been the end wall of the auditorium. Comparing the vintage photo with modern street view, the theater entrance was where Amigo Tires is now, at 1144 23rd Street. The Grand Market was on the corner, inside the “L” of the theater.
This item from the May 30, 1925, issue of Exhibitors Trade Review is surely about the Dundee Theatre:
“Archt. — John & Alan McDonald, 2nd flr., Standard Oil Bldg., Omaha, Nebr., drawing plans on Theatre (M.P.), $50,000; 2 sty. & bas., 50 x 128, at 50th & Dodge. Owner— A. R. Hansen, 4901 Dodge, Omaha, Nebr. Drawing plans.”
The Dundee Theatre opened on December 19, 1925. It had a four-manual Hillgreen-Lane organ to accompany the silent movies that were its primary fare. Quite a few Internet sources say that the Dundee opened as a vaudeville theater, but in this suburban neighborhood location this fairly small house would have operated primarily as a movie theater, probably bringing in a few vaudeville acts as an occasional added attraction.
The archives of The Omaha World-Herald have this (partial) ad published the day before the theater opened.
The father and son team of John and Alan McDonald were among Omaha’s leading architects of the period. Hansen’s decision to give them the commission for this theater was an indication that he was well aware of the need to impress his potential patrons, the residents of this well-to-do enclave, with something more than an ordinary neighborhood movie house.
Although none of the addresses the magazine gives make sense (all in residential districts,) the theater in this item from the May 30, 1925, issue of Exhibitors Trade Review is probably the Piller Theatre:
“Archt. — J. E. Nason, Corn Exchange, Minneapolis, Minn., building Theatre (M.P.), 2 sty., at 5th Ave. & 4th St., Valley City, N. D. Owner— John Piller, Grand Theatre, 511 5th Ave., Valley City. N. D. Gen. Contr. let to E. A. Moline, Jamestown, Md.”
The contractor was undoubtedly from Jamestown, ND, not Maryland. Architect Joseph E. Nason also designed the earlier Nokomis Theatre in Minneapolis.
This photo on the Granada Theatre’s photo page shows the Orpheum just up the block from the Granada, and across the street from the Palace. The Orpheum’s entrance was in the central of three bays, so the address must have been 222 N. Michigan Street. The site is now part of the plaza fronting the Morris Performing Arts Center.
The 1927 FDY lists the Capitol as under construction, so it might have replaced the Strand.
A book called History of Hall County, Nebraska (Google Books scan,) published in 1920, said that the Michelson Theatre had been built “…about eleven years ago….”
An article in The Grand Island Independent of July 1, 2000, said that the Michelson was renovated and renamed the Strand in 1921. It also said the house had 450 seats and featured a balcony. They must have been squeezed tight, because the building isn’t very big, especially considering that the Michelson presented vaudeville as well as movies.
In 1917, Hebron had two movie theaters: the Elite, which had been in operation since at least 1913, and the Gem. I’m not adding them because one or the other might be an aka for the Majestic. Maybe somebody familiar with Hebron’s history knows for sure and will show up here.
The Orpheum Theatre was listed in the 1921 South Bend city directory at 220-24 N. Michigan Street. The Orpheum was listed in the 1913-1914 Cahn guide as a ground floor house with 1105 seats.
The Orpheum Theatre in South Bend was advertised in the March 2, 1912, issue of The New York Clipper as part of the Allardt Circuit, which was headquartered in the Majestic Theatre Building, Chicago, and booked through the Western Vaudeville Managers' Association.
The November 10, 1928, issue of Motion Picture News mentioned the River Park Theatre:
“Nov. 10, 1928: Joe Vogel, owner of the River Park, South Bend, is having his house completely renovated and redecorated.”
As far as I know, I’m not related to the Joe Vogel who operated this theater. Mr. Vogel and his partners were intending to build another theater, as this item appeared in the December issue of the same magazine:
“Articles of incorporation have
been filed with the Indianapolis secretary of state, by the River Park Theatre Realty Company, of South Bend, Ind. The corporation has an initial capital stock of $38,000 of common, and $38,000 preferred and is formed to acquire title to certain real estate in South Bend on which a theatre is to be built. The incorporators are Hugh R. Stephenson, Charles B. Lawton, Ladislaus Faltin, Joseph Vogel and Ella G. Vogel.”
I’ve been unable to discover if this second theater was ever built or, if it was, what its name was.
Here is an item from the November 10, 1928, issue of Motion Picture News:
“The Armo Theatre, South Bend’s newest theatre, is scheduled to open on November 9th. The house has 550 seats and was completely equipped by the National Theatre Supply Company. M. Larman, the proprietor, is a newcomer in the motion picture field.”
The December 8 issue of the same publication said that the Armo Theatre had recently opened, but gave the seating capacity as 750. Later issues of the magazine also spell the owner’s surname as Lerman rather than Larman.
The Oliver Theatre was located on what is now the parking lot adjacent to the JMS (John M. Studebaker) Building. Page 28 of South Bend in Vintage Postcards has a photo of the Studebaker Building with the front of the Oliver Theatre down the block to the left (Google Books preview.)
The Indiana Historic Theatres Survey (pdf file) gives the Circle Theatre the aka Lyric Theatre, and gives the opening year as 1921.
There was an earlier Lyric Theatre, across the street. The February 17, 1911, issue of the Goshen Democrat said that the premises at 126 S. Main Street had been leased and would be converted into the Lyric Theatre, which was expected to open about March 15. The Lyric was occasionally mentioned in the theater industry trade publications over the next several years.
The February 28, 1924, issue of The Film Daily ran a promotional ad for the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame which included a letter from the operator of the Oliver Theatre:
“J. Henry Handesman, Jr.,
"Oliver Theatre,
"South Bend, Indiana.
“The Hunchback of Notre Dame has broken all house records established at the Oliver Theatre, South Bend, for the past fifteen years. Kindly call and see me as I would be interested in a second run of the Hunchback.”
The Oliver Theatre must have been in operation before the end of 1909, as it was under construction in the middle of that year, according to an item in the July 10 issue of the Terre Haute Saturday Spectator. The item said that the new house was being built as part of an office building project that was on the site of the Oliver Opera House, which had opened in 1885. The Oliver family fortune came from the manufacture of chilled iron plows, an invention had been essential to the opening of the prairies to agriculture.
The July 14, 1917, issue of Motography said that the Lawler Theatre in Rochester, Minnesota, had been opened. Their notice might have been a bit late. The July 7, 1985, Rochester Post Bulletin said that the Lawler Theatre was to be closed, and that it had opened on September 30, 1916. It was Rochester’s last downtown theater, and the oldest still operating in the city.
The September 28, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World describes the Martha Ellen Auditorium’s house organ:
“Another forceful and attractive organ is issued by C. F. Marquis, owner of the Martha-Ellen Auditorium. Central City, Neb. The organ is called the Martha-Ellen Screen Magazine, and one glance proves its claim to being a miniature ‘magazine.’
“The work has twelve pages, with cover, and is filled throughout with up-to-the-minute news and comments on late productions, together with the usual calendar of coming stars and their plays. In the issue of August 27 Mr. Marquis devotes the entire front cover to an elaborate announcement of Mae Marsh’s appearance in ‘The Cinderella Man,’ one of Goldwyn’s successful first-year releases. Cuts of other Goldwyn stars and advance notices of their coming productions are arranged prominently throughout the magazine.
“Free tickets of admission to those who discover a word spelled backwards, is featured as a circulation booster.”
The hyphenated version of the theater’s name was apparently used in its early years, as the same form appears in Motography of July 14, 1917, which said that L.J. Cooper had taken over management of the house and would operate it as a moving picture theater. Also, the author of the MPW item describing the magazine presumably had a copy and was taking the name, complete with hyphen, from the masthead.
Another interesting item I came across provides evidence that the 1916 building was not the first hall of this name. A 1908 publication by the Nebraska Society of Friends (Quakers) said that a meeting had been held in the Martha-Ellen Auditorium in Central City.
The July 14, 1917, issue of Motography had this item about the first Garden Theatre:
“Colonel W. S. Butterfield of Battle Creek has closed all contracts for the remodeling of the Garden Theater at Flint. Plans have been made by Architect John Eberson of Chicago.”
Bassetters got to see movies twice a week back in 1910. The March 24 issue of the Rock County Leader had this report:
“Chester Stockwell and J.T. Mudd have installed a moving picture machine in the opera house and intend giving a good moving picture show two nights a week, Wednesday and Saturdays. Their first appearance was Saturday evening and they certainly gave a first class show and a good house.”
I haven’t been able to find out anything else about the opera house, but I’ve found nothing at all about the Gem, and the only mentions of the Kozy I’ve found are in lists of theaters showing The March of Time in 1938.
The Palm Theatre dates back to at least 1918, and was originally called the Ideal Theatre. In 1927, two movie theaters were in operation at Bayard, the Ideal and the Rialto. The July 1, 1927, issue of The Film Daily reported that Jim Hughes had bought both houses. My guess would be that Hughes bought only the businesses and not the buildings in which they were located, as he apparently closed the Ideal, and the landlord subsequently found another operator for it, or perhaps decided to operate it himself. The September 23 issue of the Daily ran this item:
“Rogers Reopens in Bayard, Neb.
“Bayard, Neb. — Ralph Rogers has reopened the Ideal as the Palm.”
The following year, this notice appeared in the October 6, 1928, issue of Motion Picture News:
“The Sallow and Hughes Amusement Enterprises of Alliance Nebraska, under the direction of Jim Hughes, has purchased the Palm theatre of Bayard, Nebraska, from R. Rogers. The Sallow and Hughes organization has been operating the Rialto Theatre of Bayard which was operating in opposition to the Palm theatre. Now, having bought the Palm they are in complete control of the town as far as moving picture theatres are concerned.”
Sallow and Hughes might have saved themselves some expense by keeping the Ideal open, instead of buying it twice. The Ideal was probably the older of the two houses, as the opening of a house called the New Ideal Theatre at Bayard is mentioned in the November 9, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World. The name suggests that an earlier Ideal Theatre had operated in Bayard, and had either moved to a new building or had at least been substantially rebuilt in its original location.
The article MKtchamp linked to says that the Indiana Theatre opened on October 6, 1926. The Opera House built in 1892 was destroyed by a fire earlier that year, as reported (without the theater’s name) in the January 12, 1926 issue of The Film Daily:
The Janauary 11, 1926, issue of The Indianapolis News reported that the damage to the Grand Theatre, formerly the Grand Opera House, been extensive, with walls collapsing into the street and through the roof of an adjacent building. Because of the extent of the damage it seems unlikely that much, if any, of the structure of the Opera House remained to be incorporated into the Indiana Theatre. Perhaps we should consider the Grand Opera House/Grand Theatre a separate house rather than aka’s for the Indiana Theatre?The Indiana Theatre was built for the Switow chain of Louisville, Kentucky, and operated by them for many years. The “Theatres in Construction” column of the May 5, 1926, issue of Variety had this item about it:
Carl J. Epping was around this time president of the Kentucky Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. It’s possible that he designed other theater projects for the Switow interests, but I haven’t been able to track any down.This item from The Film Daily of January 6, 1926, notes the recent opening of the Lancaster Theatre, the second house of that name on the site:
Unless River Rouge flipped odd and even addresses from one side of its streets to the other at some point, the magazine got the theater’s address wrong. In 1930, a Milton’s Shoe Store was advertising its location as “10530 West Jefferson Avenue, opposite Lancaster Theatre.”The July 16, 1935, issue of The Film Daily had this item:
Although the item doesn’t specify it, this must have been a re-opening. The building looks to date from the 1920s, and the wide center bay and the pattern of the arched second floor windows suggest that it was built specifically to house a theater.From the late 1930s until his death in 1949, the Island Theatre was operated by William Youngclaus, and from 1949 until around 1960 it was operated by his widow. Youngclaus was involved in exhibition in Iowa and Nebraska at least as early as 1919.
The Rex Theatre was mentioned in the September 5, 1912, issue of the Valley City Weekly Times Record.
American Classic Images has two photos of the Omwick Theatre. This one from April, 1980, shows the house still in operation, and this one from June, 1987, shows that it had been converted into a thrift shop by then.
I’m not sure what occupies the Omwick Theatre building now. The door has a sign reading “Open Door Center,” but an Internet search reveals that Open Door operates several facilities in Valley City. Their home page says that “…Open Door Center provides day, residential and vocational services for individuals with disabilities including children and adults with developmental disabilities, adults with mental illness and people with a traumatic brain injury.” But there’s no indication of which function or functions the Omwick building serves.
Windows have been punched in the side wall of the auditorium along 2nd Street, and they are all at the same height so it’s likely that the floor has been leveled (downhill wheelchair races by developmentally disable kids are surely one of the last things any sort of care facility would want.) The building might be anything from a clinic to offices to a residential facility.
A web page about Page, North Dakota, says that the Omwick Theatre’s seats were installed in the Page Theatre there, but doesn’t say when (CT’s Page page.)
This web page has a small photo of the Omwick Theatre in (probably) 1970 (it was showing Love Story with Ryan O'Neil and Ali MacGraw.)
This web page about Page has a few photos of the Page Theatre, including some interior shots (pretty much the typical small twin with no historic features other than those on the front.) The page says that the seats in the Page came from the Omwick Theatre (CT’s Omwick page) in Valley City, North Dakota.
The web site of the City of Page has a page for the Page, but the only thing on it right now is a notice that the house is closed for the season. Movie listings are featured when the theater is open.
This item is from the February 19, 1916, issue of The American Contractor:
A later issue of the magazine said that plans were complete and the architect would be taking bids for the project about March 15. Chas. Geisler was probably the Charles R. Geisler who designed the Harris South Hills Theatre in Dormont, Pennsylvania.We’ve been using the wrong address for the Grand Theatre. The auto body shop entrance at 2311 Rheem Avenue was cut into what had been the end wall of the auditorium. Comparing the vintage photo with modern street view, the theater entrance was where Amigo Tires is now, at 1144 23rd Street. The Grand Market was on the corner, inside the “L” of the theater.
This item from the May 30, 1925, issue of Exhibitors Trade Review is surely about the Dundee Theatre:
The Dundee Theatre opened on December 19, 1925. It had a four-manual Hillgreen-Lane organ to accompany the silent movies that were its primary fare. Quite a few Internet sources say that the Dundee opened as a vaudeville theater, but in this suburban neighborhood location this fairly small house would have operated primarily as a movie theater, probably bringing in a few vaudeville acts as an occasional added attraction.The archives of The Omaha World-Herald have this (partial) ad published the day before the theater opened.
The father and son team of John and Alan McDonald were among Omaha’s leading architects of the period. Hansen’s decision to give them the commission for this theater was an indication that he was well aware of the need to impress his potential patrons, the residents of this well-to-do enclave, with something more than an ordinary neighborhood movie house.
Although none of the addresses the magazine gives make sense (all in residential districts,) the theater in this item from the May 30, 1925, issue of Exhibitors Trade Review is probably the Piller Theatre:
The contractor was undoubtedly from Jamestown, ND, not Maryland. Architect Joseph E. Nason also designed the earlier Nokomis Theatre in Minneapolis.This photo on the Granada Theatre’s photo page shows the Orpheum just up the block from the Granada, and across the street from the Palace. The Orpheum’s entrance was in the central of three bays, so the address must have been 222 N. Michigan Street. The site is now part of the plaza fronting the Morris Performing Arts Center.
The 1927 FDY lists the Capitol as under construction, so it might have replaced the Strand.
A book called History of Hall County, Nebraska (Google Books scan,) published in 1920, said that the Michelson Theatre had been built “…about eleven years ago….”
An article in The Grand Island Independent of July 1, 2000, said that the Michelson was renovated and renamed the Strand in 1921. It also said the house had 450 seats and featured a balcony. They must have been squeezed tight, because the building isn’t very big, especially considering that the Michelson presented vaudeville as well as movies.
In 1917, Hebron had two movie theaters: the Elite, which had been in operation since at least 1913, and the Gem. I’m not adding them because one or the other might be an aka for the Majestic. Maybe somebody familiar with Hebron’s history knows for sure and will show up here.
The Orpheum Theatre was listed in the 1921 South Bend city directory at 220-24 N. Michigan Street. The Orpheum was listed in the 1913-1914 Cahn guide as a ground floor house with 1105 seats.
The Orpheum Theatre in South Bend was advertised in the March 2, 1912, issue of The New York Clipper as part of the Allardt Circuit, which was headquartered in the Majestic Theatre Building, Chicago, and booked through the Western Vaudeville Managers' Association.
The November 10, 1928, issue of Motion Picture News mentioned the River Park Theatre:
As far as I know, I’m not related to the Joe Vogel who operated this theater. Mr. Vogel and his partners were intending to build another theater, as this item appeared in the December issue of the same magazine:I’ve been unable to discover if this second theater was ever built or, if it was, what its name was.Here is an item from the November 10, 1928, issue of Motion Picture News:
The December 8 issue of the same publication said that the Armo Theatre had recently opened, but gave the seating capacity as 750. Later issues of the magazine also spell the owner’s surname as Lerman rather than Larman.The Oliver Theatre was located on what is now the parking lot adjacent to the JMS (John M. Studebaker) Building. Page 28 of South Bend in Vintage Postcards has a photo of the Studebaker Building with the front of the Oliver Theatre down the block to the left (Google Books preview.)
The Indiana Historic Theatres Survey (pdf file) gives the Circle Theatre the aka Lyric Theatre, and gives the opening year as 1921.
There was an earlier Lyric Theatre, across the street. The February 17, 1911, issue of the Goshen Democrat said that the premises at 126 S. Main Street had been leased and would be converted into the Lyric Theatre, which was expected to open about March 15. The Lyric was occasionally mentioned in the theater industry trade publications over the next several years.
The February 28, 1924, issue of The Film Daily ran a promotional ad for the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame which included a letter from the operator of the Oliver Theatre:
The Oliver Theatre must have been in operation before the end of 1909, as it was under construction in the middle of that year, according to an item in the July 10 issue of the Terre Haute Saturday Spectator. The item said that the new house was being built as part of an office building project that was on the site of the Oliver Opera House, which had opened in 1885. The Oliver family fortune came from the manufacture of chilled iron plows, an invention had been essential to the opening of the prairies to agriculture.The July 14, 1917, issue of Motography said that the Lawler Theatre in Rochester, Minnesota, had been opened. Their notice might have been a bit late. The July 7, 1985, Rochester Post Bulletin said that the Lawler Theatre was to be closed, and that it had opened on September 30, 1916. It was Rochester’s last downtown theater, and the oldest still operating in the city.
The September 28, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World describes the Martha Ellen Auditorium’s house organ:
The hyphenated version of the theater’s name was apparently used in its early years, as the same form appears in Motography of July 14, 1917, which said that L.J. Cooper had taken over management of the house and would operate it as a moving picture theater. Also, the author of the MPW item describing the magazine presumably had a copy and was taking the name, complete with hyphen, from the masthead.Another interesting item I came across provides evidence that the 1916 building was not the first hall of this name. A 1908 publication by the Nebraska Society of Friends (Quakers) said that a meeting had been held in the Martha-Ellen Auditorium in Central City.
The July 14, 1917, issue of Motography had this item about the first Garden Theatre:
Bassetters got to see movies twice a week back in 1910. The March 24 issue of the Rock County Leader had this report:
I haven’t been able to find out anything else about the opera house, but I’ve found nothing at all about the Gem, and the only mentions of the Kozy I’ve found are in lists of theaters showing The March of Time in 1938.The earliest mention of the Rialto I’ve found in the trade journals is in Exhibitors Trade Review of November 29, 1924.
The Palm Theatre dates back to at least 1918, and was originally called the Ideal Theatre. In 1927, two movie theaters were in operation at Bayard, the Ideal and the Rialto. The July 1, 1927, issue of The Film Daily reported that Jim Hughes had bought both houses. My guess would be that Hughes bought only the businesses and not the buildings in which they were located, as he apparently closed the Ideal, and the landlord subsequently found another operator for it, or perhaps decided to operate it himself. The September 23 issue of the Daily ran this item:
The following year, this notice appeared in the October 6, 1928, issue of Motion Picture News:Sallow and Hughes might have saved themselves some expense by keeping the Ideal open, instead of buying it twice. The Ideal was probably the older of the two houses, as the opening of a house called the New Ideal Theatre at Bayard is mentioned in the November 9, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World. The name suggests that an earlier Ideal Theatre had operated in Bayard, and had either moved to a new building or had at least been substantially rebuilt in its original location.