I’d have expected the Star to operate, at least intermittently, until the Avalon opened, which the nomination form implies was 1936 (the year the Avalon’s operators leased the building.) Sarcoxie doesn’t appear ever to have been large enough to have supported two theaters, though it’s always possible that someone with more hope than sense reopened the Star after the Avalon began operating, but failed to keep it going long enough for it to get listed in the Yearbook.
The Theater page at St. Joseph Memory Lane says that the King Theatre had an earlier life as the Great Plains Theatre. It doesn’t give the opening date, but the first movies shown were Honeymoon in Bali and Scandal Sheet. Both were released in October, 1939, but the Great Plains was probably not a first-run house so it might have opened either in late 1939 or very early 1940. SJML says the Great Plains closed on April 23, 1940.
The site doesn’t give opening date or name the first movies shown as the King Theatre, but does say that the last show was on May 10, 1953.
The building the theater was in looks to date from a much earlier era than the late 1930s. The theater was most likely a conversion job.
A draft of the nomination form for the Sarcoxie Square Historic District (pdf here) says that the Avalon Theatre was at 115 N. 6th Street. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Travis leased the ca. 1890-1900 building in 1936 and opened the Avalon Theatre, which operated until July, 1962. The space is now occupied by the Jubilee Christian Fellowship Community Outreach Center.
The Star Theatre in Sarcoxie, Missouri, was mentioned in the August 28, 1920, issue of Motion Picture News. The manager was named J. J. Sprague. The Star Theatre changed hands in 1923, noted in this item in the December 1 issue of Exhibitors Trade Review:
“J. Hoshau is the new owner of the Star Theatre at Sarcoxie, Mo., having just recently purchased same from J. L. Neman. He will conduct same as a first-class motion picture theatre.”
The nomination form for the Sarcoxie Square Historic District says that the Star Opera House was at 507 Cross Street. The opera house was a second-floor hall, and that the building was leased for use as a movie theater in 1911, but the theater was probably in a ground floor storefront rather than the old opera hall (the document doesn’t specify, but does say that the ground floor was later occupied by a feed store and the second floor by apartments.) The Star Theatre operated until ca. 1940.
Chris: The impression I’ve gotten from the articles in The Sedalia Democrat is that the Fox was brand new in 1940. These lines from a September 5, 1940, article are an example: “About the NEW FOX Construction: Fireproof throughout. Steel, concrete, brick with California stucco and tile trim. Dimensions: Over all, 45 feet by 120 feet. Seating Capacity: 1,000, with perfect view of screen from any seat.”
Of course such lines could also apply to a theater that had been substantially rebuilt. However, the location on 5th Street precludes any possibility that an older house on the Fox’s site was the Sedalia Theatre that opened in 1905. There are too many sources indicating that the original Sedalia Theatre was at 3rd and Massachusetts. If there was a Sedalia Theatre at the Fox address in the 1930s, it must have been a second Sedalia Theatre.
A house called the Fox Sedalia Theatre was advertising at least as early as 1930 (the Fox Liberty was advertised at least as early as 1929.) The question would be whether the Fox Sedalia Theatre of the 1930s was the original Sedalia Theatre taken over by Fox, or was a different house at the 5th Street location. I haven’t found any sources confirming either possibility.
The notes for a walking tour of downtown Greeley (pdf here) say that the Sterling Hotel and Theatre were designed by local architect Wayne B. Patterson.
This undated photo shows the house as the Columbia Theatre. All the cars parked along the street appear to be from the 1910s or early 1920s.
The July 20, 1918, issue of Exhibitors Herald mentions the Rex Theatre in Rexburg, and the September 7, 1918, issue of the same publication mentions the Columbia Theatre, so the name change took place between those dates. I’ve found no later references to the Columbia, but the next reference to the Rex I’ve found is from 1925, so the name had been changed back by then.
The 1935 FDY still lists the Rex Theatre, but the 1936 FDY lists the Romance Theatre.
The September 22, 1920, issue of The Film Daily noted that the Elk Theatre in Rexburg was operated by the Swanson Theatre Circuit.
Rexburg, by Lowell J. and Mardi J. Parkinson, says that the Hotel Lincoln and Elk Theatre were built in 1915. There’s a photo from around 1950 on page 61 (Google Books preview) and an older photo on page 41. The caption of the older photo says the building was demolished in 1963.
The Rexburg Historical Society provides this undated photo showing what appears to be the cast of an amateur theatrical posed on the stage of the Elk Theatre.
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.
I’d have expected the Star to operate, at least intermittently, until the Avalon opened, which the nomination form implies was 1936 (the year the Avalon’s operators leased the building.) Sarcoxie doesn’t appear ever to have been large enough to have supported two theaters, though it’s always possible that someone with more hope than sense reopened the Star after the Avalon began operating, but failed to keep it going long enough for it to get listed in the Yearbook.
The Theater page at St. Joseph Memory Lane says that the King Theatre had an earlier life as the Great Plains Theatre. It doesn’t give the opening date, but the first movies shown were Honeymoon in Bali and Scandal Sheet. Both were released in October, 1939, but the Great Plains was probably not a first-run house so it might have opened either in late 1939 or very early 1940. SJML says the Great Plains closed on April 23, 1940.
The site doesn’t give opening date or name the first movies shown as the King Theatre, but does say that the last show was on May 10, 1953.
The building the theater was in looks to date from a much earlier era than the late 1930s. The theater was most likely a conversion job.
A draft of the nomination form for the Sarcoxie Square Historic District (pdf here) says that the Avalon Theatre was at 115 N. 6th Street. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Travis leased the ca. 1890-1900 building in 1936 and opened the Avalon Theatre, which operated until July, 1962. The space is now occupied by the Jubilee Christian Fellowship Community Outreach Center.
The Star Theatre in Sarcoxie, Missouri, was mentioned in the August 28, 1920, issue of Motion Picture News. The manager was named J. J. Sprague. The Star Theatre changed hands in 1923, noted in this item in the December 1 issue of Exhibitors Trade Review:
The nomination form for the Sarcoxie Square Historic District says that the Star Opera House was at 507 Cross Street. The opera house was a second-floor hall, and that the building was leased for use as a movie theater in 1911, but the theater was probably in a ground floor storefront rather than the old opera hall (the document doesn’t specify, but does say that the ground floor was later occupied by a feed store and the second floor by apartments.) The Star Theatre operated until ca. 1940.Chris: The impression I’ve gotten from the articles in The Sedalia Democrat is that the Fox was brand new in 1940. These lines from a September 5, 1940, article are an example: “About the NEW FOX Construction: Fireproof throughout. Steel, concrete, brick with California stucco and tile trim. Dimensions: Over all, 45 feet by 120 feet. Seating Capacity: 1,000, with perfect view of screen from any seat.”
Of course such lines could also apply to a theater that had been substantially rebuilt. However, the location on 5th Street precludes any possibility that an older house on the Fox’s site was the Sedalia Theatre that opened in 1905. There are too many sources indicating that the original Sedalia Theatre was at 3rd and Massachusetts. If there was a Sedalia Theatre at the Fox address in the 1930s, it must have been a second Sedalia Theatre.
A house called the Fox Sedalia Theatre was advertising at least as early as 1930 (the Fox Liberty was advertised at least as early as 1929.) The question would be whether the Fox Sedalia Theatre of the 1930s was the original Sedalia Theatre taken over by Fox, or was a different house at the 5th Street location. I haven’t found any sources confirming either possibility.
The notes for a walking tour of downtown Greeley (pdf here) say that the Sterling Hotel and Theatre were designed by local architect Wayne B. Patterson.
This undated photo shows the house as the Columbia Theatre. All the cars parked along the street appear to be from the 1910s or early 1920s.
The July 20, 1918, issue of Exhibitors Herald mentions the Rex Theatre in Rexburg, and the September 7, 1918, issue of the same publication mentions the Columbia Theatre, so the name change took place between those dates. I’ve found no later references to the Columbia, but the next reference to the Rex I’ve found is from 1925, so the name had been changed back by then.
The 1935 FDY still lists the Rex Theatre, but the 1936 FDY lists the Romance Theatre.
The September 22, 1920, issue of The Film Daily noted that the Elk Theatre in Rexburg was operated by the Swanson Theatre Circuit.
Rexburg, by Lowell J. and Mardi J. Parkinson, says that the Hotel Lincoln and Elk Theatre were built in 1915. There’s a photo from around 1950 on page 61 (Google Books preview) and an older photo on page 41. The caption of the older photo says the building was demolished in 1963.
The Rexburg Historical Society provides this undated photo showing what appears to be the cast of an amateur theatrical posed on the stage of the Elk Theatre.
Here is a brief item from the July 14, 1933, issue of The Film Daily: “Greeley, Colo. — Westland Theaters has opened the 508-seat Kiva, a new house.”
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.