An item datelined Logansport in the December 1, 1917, issue of The Moving Picture World says: “Frank Robinson has leased the Nelson theater and renamed it the Majestic.” A longer item appeared in the December 8 issue of the same journal:
“Majestic Reopens to Crowds.
“Logansport. Ind. — The Majestic theater, formerly known as the Nelson, which has been closed for the last few weeks, undergoing a thorough renovation and redecorating, was reopened Monday. November 12, and was crowded at all three shows. The interior of the place has been prettily decorated, a new screen installed and several other features added for the convenience of the patrons.”
Comparing the vintage photo with modern Google street view, I suspect that the Vogue Theatre was in the building at the northeast corner of 102 avenue and 12 street which is now occupied by a gym called Gridiron Fitness Centre (1148 102 Ave, Dawson Creek, BC V1G 2C1. Street View.) The theater’s Streamline Modern front has been covered with what looks like an aluminum skin, but the alley side of the building still has a pair of theater-type exit doors.
The web page British Columbia Movie Theatres includes theaters from other parts of western Canada, but all it has to say about the Vogue Theatre in Dawson Creek is that it was in operation in 1949 and had 449 seats.
Paonia had a movie theater at least as early as 1916, when the town, but not the name of its theater, was mentioned in the January 22 issue of The Moving Picture World. The item said that the house suffered poor business when the roads were bad, but prospered when farmers from the surrounding area could get into town.
This article from the September 10th, 2014, issue of The North Fork Merchant Herald gives a few facts about the Paradise Theatre on the occasion of its 86th anniversary and reopening under the control of the non-profit organization Friends of the Paradise Theatre. The house had been renovated and digital projection equipment had been installed.
The Paonia Theatre was built by Tom Poulos (thus the name on the facade above the marquee) and opened on October 5, 1928. The 86th anniversary was commemorated on October 4, 2014, with a showing of Cinema Paradiso.
For those who might be interested, Tom Poulos wrote several capsule movie reviews for the “What the Picture Did for Me” column of the Motion Picture Herald, September 4, 1943. Four are on page 66, and three on page 68 (scroll down.) An additional review can be found on page 40of the September 11 issue.
The Newmanstown Theatre page at CinemaTour says that the theater closed in the early 1970s, and a 1973 fire led to the demolition of the second floor and the conversion of the first floor to the social club.
One of the three photos on the tour shows the back of the Newmanstown Theatre. Near each end of the back wall is evidence of two old windows that have been bricked in. The original brick arch above each is visible. Such arched windows are not at all characteristic of construction in the 1970s. The building has to be older, and the walls, at least, probably do remain from the old Lyric/Joy Theatre.
Prior to the fire, an article in the September 30, 1972, issue of the Lebanon Daily News said that the building then housing the Joy Theatre had been built by the Newmanstown Fire Company, and was dedicated on May 16, 1917, but that the part of the building that contained a theater was opened to the public on April 28, 1923. For many years the theater was operated by a non-profit, volunteer theater committee (I presume this was after the Rubinsky chain gave the house up,) but that the theater closed in 1969. In 1971 it was rented and reopened by a private company, which was apparently still operating the house in 1972.
It also says that a new engine house was added in 1949 and the Joy Theatre was renovated at the same time. The latest mention of the Lyric Theatre I’ve found is from 1948. The June 30, 1950, issue of the Daily News ran an article about the dedication of the Newmanstown Volunteer Fire Department’s new station and the opening of the newly renovated Joy Theatre. Until the 1973 fire, the second floor housed a dance hall. The Joy building itself had space housing two fire engines, so it’s a bit ironic that it lost its second floor to a fire.
The New Rialto Theatre at 3rd and Harris Streets first appears in advertisements in the Harrisburg Evening News in the summer of 1922. The Rialto is not listed in the 1922 city directory, but a house called the Family Theatre is listed at 3rd and Harris Streets. Ads for the Family Theatre end in 1922. I suspect that Bruce Calvert (previous comment) was on the right track, and the Family was the same house that was later the Rialto.
The February 19, 1947, issue of the Harrisburg Evening News said that Harry Chertcoff’s new Hill Theatre in Camp Hill would open that night. The Hill Theatre was designed by architect William Lynch Murray.
The Strand Theatre in Steelton was in operation by 1924, when it was bought by Charles E. Newbaker, according to an item in the October 27, 1927, issue of Motion Picture News. It said that Newbaker had owned the Strand and the older and smaller Standard Theatre, the first movie house in Steelton, for about three years.
The Colonial Theatre that burned in 1938 was the second house on the site. The story of the unusual method of replacing the original 1909 theater is told in this brief article from Motion Picture News of October 14, 1927:
“Old House Operated While New One Builds
“A construction feat has just been accomplished at Thirty-ninth Street and Woodland Avenue, Kansas City; where a new and larger motion picture theatre has been erected over an old one without discontinuing operation of the theatre for a single night. The construction work was in progress more than twenty-two weeks. The new theatre structure of the new Colonial Theatre, of which H. H. Barrett is manager, is higher and occupies twelve additional feet of ground on either side of the old building, which had stood there since 1909 and was erected while the latter was still standing.
“When the new building was completed the old one was removed from within, bit by bit, up until the formal opening of the new theatre this week. The seating capacity of 660 persons has been doubled through the addition of a balcony and the additional width on each side.”
The “Chicago” column of the October 7, 1927, issue of Motion Picture News had this brief item about the Maplewood Theatre. The impending name change was not mentioned:
“I. Brotman plans to reopen the Maplewood Theatre, 2811 Diversey on November 1st. This house has been practically rebuilt, and offers the neighborhood a de luxe, up-to-date theatre of thirteen hundred seats. Mr. Brotman also owns and operates the Clybourn Theatre.”
There might have been some delay in completing the project, or the name might have been changed to the Avaloe some time after the house had reopened, as the opening of the Avaloe Theatre was mentioned in the March 23, 1928, issue of The Film Daily.
An item in the October 7, 1927, issue of Motion Picture News said that I. Brotman was the owner of the Clybourn Theatre. Brotman’s son, Oscar, went on to have a long career in exhibition, operating several notable Chicago theaters.
There were two houses called the Bay Theatre in the Panama City area. The first was a small house that was being operated by J. E. Church at the time Martin Theatres bought out Church in the early 1930s. The original Bay Theatre was subsequently closed.
Martin later built the second Bay Theatre, which was located at Highway 98 and Wewahitchka Road (now E. 3rd Street) in Springfield, Florida. Although Springfield is a separate city, everything in it, including the city’s offices, has a Panama City address. Construction was begun on the second Bay Theatre in early 1942, but wartime material restrictions delayed its completion.
The second Bay Theatre advertised in the December 30, 1957, issue of the Panama City News, but I can’t find any later ads. For at least a year prior to that the house had most often shown double features of older movies, with the program changing three times a week, so it was apparently surviving as a revival house with occasional double features of exploitation movies.
WaterWinterWonderland has another photo of the theater entrance on its Courtyard Cinema page. There is also a shot of the freestanding attraction board at the street, which says “Courtyards Cinema 5” on it, so that must be its actual name though all the Internet says just Courtyard Cinema.
The description of the building at 1913 Lakin Avenue in a brochure with a walking tour of Great Bend says this:
“Charles Andress, famous circus man and entrepreneur, built this brick building in 1909. In
the winter months, when he wasn’t on the road, Andress managed the Strand Theatre, which continued in business until 1954. Since that time, the space has been used as a retail store.”
The theater trade journals of the period don’t mention a Strand Theatre at Great Bend. There were houses called the Echo, the Lakin, the Regent, and the Elite, which was later renamed the Lyric.
A conflicting report about a theater Charles Andress owned in Great Bend came from the August 1, 1927, issue of The Hutchinson News:
“VETERAN SHOWMAN BUYS NEW GREAT BEND THEATRE.
“Great Bend, Kan., Aug. 1— Charles Andress, veteran Great Bend circus man, now retired, has bought the fine new theatre, how being built here, The State. The name will be changed and it will be known as the Andress.
“Several of tho improvements planned for the theatre but which have been held up because of lack of finances will now be finished.
“A. C. Woolen, manager of the theatre will be retained as manager, R. F. Rickart of Elkhart, Kan., who financed the building of the theatre, last week decided to withdraw from the enterprise.”
The trade journals don’t mention either a State Theatre or an Andress Theatre in Great Bend, either. I don’t know if these two sources refer to two different theaters, or if the history of one theater has gotten muddled over the years. An article saying that the Strand had closed permanently ran in the October 21, 1957, issue of the Great Bend Daily Tribune. That article said that the Strand had opened “…about 25 years ago.”
The new theater under construction for the Sproule brothers at 310-312 N. Main Street was designed by the local architectural firm of Smith & English, according to the May 6, 1936, issue of The Hutchinson, Kansas, News.
Here is the official web site of the Aztec Theatre. There are a few music events scheduled this month, but fewer for November and December. At least the place is open.
The North Star Cinema was designed by William Riseman Associates. Plans, sections, and detail sheets are in the J. Evan Miller collection of Cinerama Theater Plans at UCLA’s Charles E. Young Research Library.
An item datelined Logansport in the December 1, 1917, issue of The Moving Picture World says: “Frank Robinson has leased the Nelson theater and renamed it the Majestic.” A longer item appeared in the December 8 issue of the same journal:
Comparing the vintage photo with modern Google street view, I suspect that the Vogue Theatre was in the building at the northeast corner of 102 avenue and 12 street which is now occupied by a gym called Gridiron Fitness Centre (1148 102 Ave, Dawson Creek, BC V1G 2C1. Street View.) The theater’s Streamline Modern front has been covered with what looks like an aluminum skin, but the alley side of the building still has a pair of theater-type exit doors.
The web page British Columbia Movie Theatres includes theaters from other parts of western Canada, but all it has to say about the Vogue Theatre in Dawson Creek is that it was in operation in 1949 and had 449 seats.
Paonia had a movie theater at least as early as 1916, when the town, but not the name of its theater, was mentioned in the January 22 issue of The Moving Picture World. The item said that the house suffered poor business when the roads were bad, but prospered when farmers from the surrounding area could get into town.
This article from the September 10th, 2014, issue of The North Fork Merchant Herald gives a few facts about the Paradise Theatre on the occasion of its 86th anniversary and reopening under the control of the non-profit organization Friends of the Paradise Theatre. The house had been renovated and digital projection equipment had been installed.
The Paonia Theatre was built by Tom Poulos (thus the name on the facade above the marquee) and opened on October 5, 1928. The 86th anniversary was commemorated on October 4, 2014, with a showing of Cinema Paradiso.
For those who might be interested, Tom Poulos wrote several capsule movie reviews for the “What the Picture Did for Me” column of the Motion Picture Herald, September 4, 1943. Four are on page 66, and three on page 68 (scroll down.) An additional review can be found on page 40of the September 11 issue.
The Paradise has a new web site.
The Newmanstown Theatre page at CinemaTour says that the theater closed in the early 1970s, and a 1973 fire led to the demolition of the second floor and the conversion of the first floor to the social club.
One of the three photos on the tour shows the back of the Newmanstown Theatre. Near each end of the back wall is evidence of two old windows that have been bricked in. The original brick arch above each is visible. Such arched windows are not at all characteristic of construction in the 1970s. The building has to be older, and the walls, at least, probably do remain from the old Lyric/Joy Theatre.
Prior to the fire, an article in the September 30, 1972, issue of the Lebanon Daily News said that the building then housing the Joy Theatre had been built by the Newmanstown Fire Company, and was dedicated on May 16, 1917, but that the part of the building that contained a theater was opened to the public on April 28, 1923. For many years the theater was operated by a non-profit, volunteer theater committee (I presume this was after the Rubinsky chain gave the house up,) but that the theater closed in 1969. In 1971 it was rented and reopened by a private company, which was apparently still operating the house in 1972.
It also says that a new engine house was added in 1949 and the Joy Theatre was renovated at the same time. The latest mention of the Lyric Theatre I’ve found is from 1948. The June 30, 1950, issue of the Daily News ran an article about the dedication of the Newmanstown Volunteer Fire Department’s new station and the opening of the newly renovated Joy Theatre. Until the 1973 fire, the second floor housed a dance hall. The Joy building itself had space housing two fire engines, so it’s a bit ironic that it lost its second floor to a fire.
The 1921 Wid’s Year Book lists the Liberty and Star Theatres in New Kensington among the ten theaters then being operated by Rowland & Clark.
This photo depicts the auditorium of the Leonia Theatre after it had been converted into the Humming Wheels Arena skating rink.
The New Rialto Theatre at 3rd and Harris Streets first appears in advertisements in the Harrisburg Evening News in the summer of 1922. The Rialto is not listed in the 1922 city directory, but a house called the Family Theatre is listed at 3rd and Harris Streets. Ads for the Family Theatre end in 1922. I suspect that Bruce Calvert (previous comment) was on the right track, and the Family was the same house that was later the Rialto.
The Broad Theatre was listed in the 1922 Harrisburg city directory.
The Grand Theatre was listed in the 1922 Harrisburg city directory.
The National Theatre was listed at 1816 N. 6th Street in the 1922 Harrisburg city directory.
The February 19, 1947, issue of the Harrisburg Evening News said that Harry Chertcoff’s new Hill Theatre in Camp Hill would open that night. The Hill Theatre was designed by architect William Lynch Murray.
The Strand Theatre in Steelton was in operation by 1924, when it was bought by Charles E. Newbaker, according to an item in the October 27, 1927, issue of Motion Picture News. It said that Newbaker had owned the Strand and the older and smaller Standard Theatre, the first movie house in Steelton, for about three years.
The Colonial Theatre that burned in 1938 was the second house on the site. The story of the unusual method of replacing the original 1909 theater is told in this brief article from Motion Picture News of October 14, 1927:
The “Chicago” column of the October 7, 1927, issue of Motion Picture News had this brief item about the Maplewood Theatre. The impending name change was not mentioned:
There might have been some delay in completing the project, or the name might have been changed to the Avaloe some time after the house had reopened, as the opening of the Avaloe Theatre was mentioned in the March 23, 1928, issue of The Film Daily.An item in the October 7, 1927, issue of Motion Picture News said that I. Brotman was the owner of the Clybourn Theatre. Brotman’s son, Oscar, went on to have a long career in exhibition, operating several notable Chicago theaters.
There were two houses called the Bay Theatre in the Panama City area. The first was a small house that was being operated by J. E. Church at the time Martin Theatres bought out Church in the early 1930s. The original Bay Theatre was subsequently closed.
Martin later built the second Bay Theatre, which was located at Highway 98 and Wewahitchka Road (now E. 3rd Street) in Springfield, Florida. Although Springfield is a separate city, everything in it, including the city’s offices, has a Panama City address. Construction was begun on the second Bay Theatre in early 1942, but wartime material restrictions delayed its completion.
The second Bay Theatre advertised in the December 30, 1957, issue of the Panama City News, but I can’t find any later ads. For at least a year prior to that the house had most often shown double features of older movies, with the program changing three times a week, so it was apparently surviving as a revival house with occasional double features of exploitation movies.
WaterWinterWonderland has another photo of the theater entrance on its Courtyard Cinema page. There is also a shot of the freestanding attraction board at the street, which says “Courtyards Cinema 5” on it, so that must be its actual name though all the Internet says just Courtyard Cinema.
The July 11, 1925, issue of Motion Picture News mentioned Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Atkinson, operators of the Panama Theatre in Panama City, Florida.
The Tift Theatre bears a strong resemblance to the Martin Theatre (formerly the Ritz) in Panama City, Florida, which was opened in 1936.
The description of the building at 1913 Lakin Avenue in a brochure with a walking tour of Great Bend says this:
The theater trade journals of the period don’t mention a Strand Theatre at Great Bend. There were houses called the Echo, the Lakin, the Regent, and the Elite, which was later renamed the Lyric.A conflicting report about a theater Charles Andress owned in Great Bend came from the August 1, 1927, issue of The Hutchinson News:
The trade journals don’t mention either a State Theatre or an Andress Theatre in Great Bend, either. I don’t know if these two sources refer to two different theaters, or if the history of one theater has gotten muddled over the years. An article saying that the Strand had closed permanently ran in the October 21, 1957, issue of the Great Bend Daily Tribune. That article said that the Strand had opened “…about 25 years ago.”The new theater under construction for the Sproule brothers at 310-312 N. Main Street was designed by the local architectural firm of Smith & English, according to the May 6, 1936, issue of The Hutchinson, Kansas, News.
Here is the official web site of the Aztec Theatre. There are a few music events scheduled this month, but fewer for November and December. At least the place is open.
The North Star Cinema was designed by William Riseman Associates. Plans, sections, and detail sheets are in the J. Evan Miller collection of Cinerama Theater Plans at UCLA’s Charles E. Young Research Library.