The Elco Theatre was taken over by Hal J. Lyon in 1946, according to an article about Lyon in the December 3, 1955 issue of Boxoffice. Lyon took over the Delta Theatre at the same time, bringing his circuit, based in Franklin, Virginia, to six houses.
Motion Picture Daily of January 19, 1945 reported that the Pix Theatre Company had opened its new High Theatre in Portsmouth, Virginia, giving the small circuit six houses. Two more were planned.
An article about theater owner Hal J. Lyon in the December 3, 1955 issue of <em<Boxoffice said that he opened the Lyon Theatre in Waverly on August 9, 1940. It was the fourth house in his small circuit, which began with the Franklin Theatre in Franklin, which he took over in 1929. It expanded with the Boykins Theatre at Boykins in 1935 and Lyon’s State Theatre at Franklin in 1937.
An article about Hal J. Lyon in the December 3, 1955 issue of Boxoffice said that he opened the Boykins Theatre on November 10, 1935. It was his second theater, the first having been the Franklin Theatre in Franklin, which he took over in 1929.
An article about Hal J. Lyon in the December 3, 1955 issue of Boxoffice said that he had taken over operation of the Franklin Theatre under a lease in 1929, and later bought the house outright. He opened the Lyon’s State Theatre in 1937, after which the Franklin operated only intermittently, though Lyon still owned the house in 1964, as was noted in an issue of Boxoffice that year.
Hal J. Lyon had his Lyon’s State Theatre remodeled in 1964. An article about the project appearing in the December 26 issue of The Tidewater News said that the house had been built in 1937. Lyon was interviewed for the article, and said that the auditorium would be reseated with rows 42 inches apart, increased from 30 inches, so that total seating capacity would be reduced from 500 to 300. Lyon had been in the theater business at Franklin for 35 years. He also owned the Franklin Theatre, though it was closed at the time, as well as the Carrsville Drive-In and theaters in Boykins and Waverly.
Lyon was mentioned in the April 3, 1948 issue of Boxoffice (though that article gave his name as both Lyon and Lyons.) At that time he was operating six theaters: the State and Franklin in Franklin, the Boykins in Boykins, the Lyon’s in Waverly, and the Delta and Elco in Portsmouth.
The 1916 opening date is a bit late. The Grace Opera House is listed in the 1913-1914 Cahn Guide. Page 17 of the book I linked to in my previous comment has a photo of Main Street dated “around 1913” and showing the Opera House already there.
Photos of Bert Orr, owner of the Grace Opera House, and of the original building itself when it was nearing completion, can be seen on page 213 of a local history published by the Grace Literary Club in 1977.
Repeating my earlier comment from 2010: A full-page item about the Edwards Cinema appeared in Boxoffice of October 19, 1964. The theater was designed by the Orange County firm of Schwager & Desatoff (Lester H. Schwager and Alex Desatoff.)
The Grand Theatre opened on Saturday, June 30, 1928, with Richard Dix in “Easy Come, Easy Go.” Sullivan had been home to several theaters before, but the last of those, the Illinois, closed its doors a little over a month before the Grand opened.
The September 26, 1925 issue of Motion Picture News published a line drawing of the proposed Rome Theatre at Pleasantville, drawn by the architect, Oscar Vatet. A copy of this drawing was uploaded to the theater’s photo page in 2018.
The Plaza Theatre at Bayonne was mentioned in the trade journal Motion Picture News in September, 1925, and it was listed in the 1926 FDY, though with only 500 seats.
The 700-seat Embassy Theatre first appears in the 1929 FDY. Earlier editions featured a 700-seat house called the Empire Theatre, which was last listed in 1928, so it might have been a case of renaming, but this is unconfirmed.
Prosser’s Theatre first appears in the FDY in 1931. It had 200 seats. 200 continues to be the capacity listed in later editions. Johnsonville wasn’t listed in 1930, but in 1929 it had a 450-seat house called the Princess Theatre, which was also listed in 1926. So far I haven’t found any web pages but this one mentioning a Ritz Theatre either, not even CinemaTour, which lists only the New and Prosser’s.
I did find a color version of a post-fire photo from 1957 on a Johnsonville Facebook page. The marquee is leaning against the side wall of the ruined building, mostly obscured, but it does look like it has a large W on it, so the house might have been called the New Theatre throughout its history. I’ve uploaded it to the photo page.
Frazier Associates, the firm designing the renovations for the Staunton Performing Arts Center, has this web page with a description of the project and a brief slide show that includes renderings, a floor plan, and a couple of historic photographs.
A photo of the entrance, a floor plan and a cross section of the Reel Theatre appear on page 32 of the November, 1914 issue of The Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder (Google Books preview). The theater is discussed in the text on pages 33-34. The plan notes a seating capacity of 300.
An ad in the November, 1914 issue of The Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder noted that the Empress Theatre in Decatur had been designed by local architect Charles J. Aschauer.
The Elco Theatre was taken over by Hal J. Lyon in 1946, according to an article about Lyon in the December 3, 1955 issue of Boxoffice. Lyon took over the Delta Theatre at the same time, bringing his circuit, based in Franklin, Virginia, to six houses.
Motion Picture Daily of January 19, 1945 reported that the Pix Theatre Company had opened its new High Theatre in Portsmouth, Virginia, giving the small circuit six houses. Two more were planned.
An article about theater owner Hal J. Lyon in the December 3, 1955 issue of <em<Boxoffice said that he opened the Lyon Theatre in Waverly on August 9, 1940. It was the fourth house in his small circuit, which began with the Franklin Theatre in Franklin, which he took over in 1929. It expanded with the Boykins Theatre at Boykins in 1935 and Lyon’s State Theatre at Franklin in 1937.
An article about Hal J. Lyon in the December 3, 1955 issue of Boxoffice said that he opened the Boykins Theatre on November 10, 1935. It was his second theater, the first having been the Franklin Theatre in Franklin, which he took over in 1929.
An article about Hal J. Lyon in the December 3, 1955 issue of Boxoffice said that he had taken over operation of the Franklin Theatre under a lease in 1929, and later bought the house outright. He opened the Lyon’s State Theatre in 1937, after which the Franklin operated only intermittently, though Lyon still owned the house in 1964, as was noted in an issue of Boxoffice that year.
Hal J. Lyon had his Lyon’s State Theatre remodeled in 1964. An article about the project appearing in the December 26 issue of The Tidewater News said that the house had been built in 1937. Lyon was interviewed for the article, and said that the auditorium would be reseated with rows 42 inches apart, increased from 30 inches, so that total seating capacity would be reduced from 500 to 300. Lyon had been in the theater business at Franklin for 35 years. He also owned the Franklin Theatre, though it was closed at the time, as well as the Carrsville Drive-In and theaters in Boykins and Waverly.
Lyon was mentioned in the April 3, 1948 issue of Boxoffice (though that article gave his name as both Lyon and Lyons.) At that time he was operating six theaters: the State and Franklin in Franklin, the Boykins in Boykins, the Lyon’s in Waverly, and the Delta and Elco in Portsmouth.
The 1916 opening date is a bit late. The Grace Opera House is listed in the 1913-1914 Cahn Guide. Page 17 of the book I linked to in my previous comment has a photo of Main Street dated “around 1913” and showing the Opera House already there.
Photos of Bert Orr, owner of the Grace Opera House, and of the original building itself when it was nearing completion, can be seen on page 213 of a local history published by the Grace Literary Club in 1977.
The 1914-1915American Motion Picture Directory lists a house called the Royal Theatre at 14th and Clay Street. Could be the same place.
The Dreamland Theatre at Dubuque is mentioned in the May 24, 1913 issue of Moving Picture World.
There was an earlier Princess Theatre in Dubuque, located on Court Street, which was mentioned in the May 29, 1909 issue of Moving Picture World.
Repeating my earlier comment from 2010: A full-page item about the Edwards Cinema appeared in Boxoffice of October 19, 1964. The theater was designed by the Orange County firm of Schwager & Desatoff (Lester H. Schwager and Alex Desatoff.)
The Grand Theatre opened on Saturday, June 30, 1928, with Richard Dix in “Easy Come, Easy Go.” Sullivan had been home to several theaters before, but the last of those, the Illinois, closed its doors a little over a month before the Grand opened.
The September 26, 1925 issue of Motion Picture News published a line drawing of the proposed Rome Theatre at Pleasantville, drawn by the architect, Oscar Vatet. A copy of this drawing was uploaded to the theater’s photo page in 2018.
The Plaza Theatre at Bayonne was mentioned in the trade journal Motion Picture News in September, 1925, and it was listed in the 1926 FDY, though with only 500 seats.
The 700-seat Embassy Theatre first appears in the 1929 FDY. Earlier editions featured a 700-seat house called the Empire Theatre, which was last listed in 1928, so it might have been a case of renaming, but this is unconfirmed.
The actual opening date of the New Pergola Theatre was December 6, 1926.
Prosser’s Theatre first appears in the FDY in 1931. It had 200 seats. 200 continues to be the capacity listed in later editions. Johnsonville wasn’t listed in 1930, but in 1929 it had a 450-seat house called the Princess Theatre, which was also listed in 1926. So far I haven’t found any web pages but this one mentioning a Ritz Theatre either, not even CinemaTour, which lists only the New and Prosser’s.
I did find a color version of a post-fire photo from 1957 on a Johnsonville Facebook page. The marquee is leaning against the side wall of the ruined building, mostly obscured, but it does look like it has a large W on it, so the house might have been called the New Theatre throughout its history. I’ve uploaded it to the photo page.
A Prosser’s Theatre is listed in the 1938 FDY, but with only 200 seats.
Frazier Associates, the firm designing the renovations for the Staunton Performing Arts Center, has this web page with a description of the project and a brief slide show that includes renderings, a floor plan, and a couple of historic photographs.
The Bijou Theatre at Tioga is listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.
Architect Bill Murphy, firm Brookbank, Murphy & Shields.
The first names of the architects were Charles J. Aschauer and Arthur M. Waggoner.
A photo of the entrance, a floor plan and a cross section of the Reel Theatre appear on page 32 of the November, 1914 issue of The Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder (Google Books preview). The theater is discussed in the text on pages 33-34. The plan notes a seating capacity of 300.
An ad in the November, 1914 issue of The Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder noted that the Empress Theatre in Decatur had been designed by local architect Charles J. Aschauer.