The Casino Theater opened its doors on Christmas Eve 1912 with a photoplay presentation of “The North Wind’s Malice”, with an estimate $50,000 on the building. It was first operated by Walford W. Watt and J.J. Harter.
As of 1912, the theater originally housed 750 seats featuring two loges between the lobby. The stage was elevated featuring equipment of scenery, which had four drop curtains. The original projectors as of 1912 are Simplex models, and on the top floor of the building featured a dance hall measured 37x100ft with cloak rooms and restrooms (that which opened one week later).
The 489-seat Casino Theater was renamed the Sac Theater during the first week of February 1948. It was still open in the 1980s.
NOTE: The theater did not returned back to its original Casino Theatre name. The Sac Theatre name was used for around three-to-four decades, although I cannot find its closing date at all.
Opened with Jane Powell in “Small Town Girl” along with an unnamed cartoon and a newsreel. The Carroll Drive-In closed on September 26, 1982 with “The Last American Virgin”.
The Sunset Theatre opened its doors on Thanksgiving Day 1948 (November 25, 1948) with “On An Island With You” (unknown if any short subjects were added).
It was first managed by Allen and J.M. Murphy, and was first owned by Harry Pace of Orange City, Iowa (who previously operated many theaters since 1916). Throughout his then-32-year history, Pace operated theaters in Orange City, Traer, Pocahontas, Hawarden, Audubon, Lake City, West Union, Hartley, Jewel, and Alton. However, after operating in West Union for three years, he briefly visited California in 1938 but returned back to Iowa the following year in Audubon for six months before moving to Hartley until 1941. He returned to California before coming back to Iowa in 1944 when he purchased the Sumner Theatre from L.L. Wells.
The 38x120ft theater building cost an estimate $65,000 for construction. Some of these original installations include two-tone aqua and green auditorium walls with matching green for the foyer. Across the stage is a gold silk curtain and the drawing is operated automatically and will be drawn until the films begin. As of 1948, the front exits are hung with wine-colored drapes and Mohawk carpeting of black, tan, and green on a red background running through the length of the aisles. The floors in the lobby, foyer, and powder room have been covered with inlaid rubber tile and the walls in the foyer and lobby were finished in orchid while those in the powder room are dipped light blue. There are two different ticket booths, one outside and the other inside depending on weather conditions. The entire auditorium interior is covered with California Spanish Acoustic material composed of a porous substance which the wall covering is designed to cut out all echoes and vibrations and will allow those in the rear of the theater to hear as well as those seated near the front.
As of 1948, the seats are Haywood-Wakefield modeled seats with tan metal backs and rose colored sponge rubber cushions that tip up automatically when a person stands to leave the auditorium. The side lights in the main auditorium are indirect cone running lights. The lights are softened and glow upward so as not to disturb those who are sitting near them. There are also aisle lights for those arriving after showtime. The projection booth is equipped with the same projectors that were used in the Sumner Theatre, but however those Motio-graph machines were purchased by Pace a short time ago. Some of these new updates include snap-light lens, Simplex carbon lamps, and Western Electric sound.
The heating/cooling system featured two large ducts constructed north and south under the floor along the entire length of the theater. The cold air is drawn off the floor taken by the ducts to the furnace in the basement, heated, and s then forced back into the theater through grills in the back by a large blower on the furnace. Another innovation and improvement is that the Sumner Theatre nearby is the fact that foul air can be taken out of the building through the fans on the roof. This does drive the cold draft being forced directly into the auditorium of the Sumner. These fans also bring in fresh air. For the cooling system at the Sunset is “washed-ai” air-conditioning units which as located in the rear of the theater and opening off the both the powder and cry rooms. This room containing four seats had been wired for sound and is for the convince of those ladies who bring their babies to the theater and find them hard to manage. They can go to the room and see and hear the movie as well as if they were seated in the auditorium but still will not be disturb anyone in the theater.
As of 1948, the original V-type canopy and marquee was constructed of orange, green, and white metal on a maroon colored background. The front of the theatre has been finished in maroon glass tile topped with white below. A total of 450 light bulbs were used for the marquee.
Original information as of 1949 goes as follows: First operated by Harry K. Martin, the Silver Lake Drive-In originally has installations of a 33x48ft screen and a 52x50ft structure. The screen also has a special cement installation with asbestos board and the remainder being covered with aluminum.
The original poles of the theater came from neighboring Bath and as of 1949 holds 600 poles in total, with workmen drawing in 500 loads of gravel and graded it in terraces. The projection booth situated in the center of the theater being 50x20ft which also houses two restrooms, the refreshment stand, and a storage space.
The Vista Theatre opened its doors on September 30, 1938 with Jane Withers in “Keep Smiling” along with the musical short “Hawaiian Cappers”, with an estimate $45,000 in construction and was first operated by the husband-and-wife team of Mr. and Mrs. George Norman.
There is a lot of information about the Vista as of 1938, which goes as follows: The original seats are black and yellow gold upholstered seats, with sidewalls and ceiling dipped in celotex in shades of cream which blend into a warm brown pattern. An indirect lighting scheme is created with three hidden stripes of neon lighting on each side of the auditorium in a color combinations of powder blue, red, and white. A grand total of 522ft of neon was used forming an unusual effect. There are glass doors flanking the box office opening into the lobby with the other doors leading to the foyer. The proscenium arch of the full-sized stage is embellished in three shades of melon. The turquoise curtains are damask with the grain pattern, interwoven with satin threads forming luxurious shades of wheat, and the valance is a gold-colored panned velvet. The exit doors which are decorated in three shade of melon are also turquoise. The rampways that was measured 18in wide are decorated also in shades of melon with copper stripes, and the ceiling shades from beige-to-rich copper. Its carpeting was also the same color combinations of melon, brown, and copper. Mrs. Norman carefully selected the colors in the interior of the Vista which has chosen chartreuse green for the ceiling in the foyer. The walls on the east, or to the front, on either side of the doors are pale mauve. The two panels on the north wall were dipped in sky blue with mixtures of melon, copper, and turquoise.
An addition to the theater as of 1938 features an attracted water fountain on the panel built across a corner. The upper half of the panel is bone white and peach. Below is a gleaming structural glass in deep blue with veins of baby blue. The sparkling fountain attached to the panel is coppenhagen blue porcelain with a base of mediterranean blue. Two benches in white are the only furniture in the foyer. The walls in the lobby are gray and green and the ceilings are pale green. The doors and display fixtures in silver feature chromium hardware. There is also a large 36-inch mirror that reflects the image as one enters. The wrought iron partitions at the front of the foyer were lead into the large mirror that was luxurious lounge in pale yellow and light beige with modern panels of white and gold bordered in dusty pink.
The ladies powder room featured a yellow lemon colored ceiling, floral panel of sea green, soft pink, and yellow accent the turquoise walls. A novel silver powder drum is attached to the wall, with a white leather chair beside it. The sand colored carpet has a design of blue, coral, and brown. The lavatory is constructed out of daffodil tile with inlaid designs of raspberry red, with fixtures in citron yellow. The red tile floor is laid in the men’s room. There are two offices upstairs, one of which leads to the Normans and the other was assistant manager Joe Reilly. The offices featured shades of tan and brown walls.
The air conditioner in the entire theater changes the temperature every five minutes, and the projection booth is constructed of fireproof blocks, steel doors, extra thick cement floors and roof. There are also automatic fire doors just in case of an emergency. Speaking of doors, there are numerous of large emergency doors. Back of the 15x20ft screen features the passage of the sound are two diphonic horns for their Morophonic sound system. Lastly, people who are hard of hearing will be able to enjoy the pictures as well. Whenever a deaf patron desires a set will notify the usher as he enters the theater. The sets are regulated with a small control box making it possible for the user to get extra volume without annoying the person in the next seat.
Fridley Theatres took over the Vista in 1970, and was tripled in mid-December 1982.
The Corral Drive-In opened its gates on May 17, 1950 with Jane High in “Blue Grass Of Kentucky” with no extra short subjects, featuring an original capacity of 450 cars (which eventually downgraded to 375 over time) with installations of Century projection equipments and in-car speakers. It was first operated by Bill Hill and Don Smith, both from Storm Lake.
The Auditorium Theatre, which opened on September 17, 1909 with the play “Human Hearts”, did receive too much trouble from the mid-1950s until the late-1960s due to its multiple ups-and-downs, which results many closures and reopenings.
From 1956 until 1967, the theater received multiple closures. Some of those closures include a short July 9, 1956 closure and a one-month closure in August 1959. The Auditorium was once closed in 1964 which reopened on July 10 that same year, and was closed again on January 1, 1966 for a full year.
After closing for the final time as a movie house in April 1968, the Auditorium went vacant for the fifth straight time in the previous 12 years. This lasted until the YMCA group took over the theater and reopening it in November 1969 as a primary performing arts house but sometimes bring movies as well.
The YMCA operated the Auditorium Theatre until it suffered partial fire damage from a fire that first started at the city hall on January 28, 1983.
The Genoa Theatre actually closed in the middle of 1996.
The “No Tilt Zone” entertainment center didn’t last pretty long, as it was operated from March 2003 until closure in December 2004. The Steadman Brothers felt very sorry for its closure as they pursued a small business improvement grant. At the time, Gary went to meet a local banker to discuss potential for additional funds. Gary replied that it was still unfolding but he wanted to open a budget twin-screen theater that plays both first-run films and live entertainment with 110 seats in each auditorium. However, a very shocking surprise is that the theater’s auditorium was left untouched even before it became the arcade. There are holes on the walls, shattered glass below, and even the ceiling received damaged. There are also either rat bites or water damage on the 480 total seats. Steadman replied that a swamp roof was built over the screening room which was a typical 1940s design idea. Unfortunately, the idea of relaunching as a twin-screen budget theater was revoked for unknown reasons, marking it the second time the theater tried to reopen.
In July 2007, it was announced that the former building would reopen again as a cafe/parlor under the name Spotlight Coffee, Tea, and Ice Cream Company. That closed in either 2014 or 2015, and as of 2023, the building was still on sale.
The Lonergan Theatre opened its doors on May 24, 1915. It was renamed Star Theatre in late August/early September 1930 after it was taken over by new management led by Frank Lupin followed by extensive remodeling.
The Star Theatre name didn’t last long. After a short closure and being taken over by Harold Smith, the theater was renamed Dreamland Theatre and reopened on March 16, 1934.
After more than four years with the usage of the Dreamland name, the Dreamland closed in December 1938 following both extensive reconstruction of the building and remodeling.
The theater was renamed Croft Theatre and reopened its doors on February 1, 1939 with Claude Rains in “They Made Me A Criminal” along with a Hearst Metrotone “News Of The Day” newsreel and a couple of short subjects.
During the late-1950s and early-1960s, the Croft Theatre received a couple of ups-and-downs which received a couple of short closures and reopenings, followed by another short closure in 1962.
Now this is where the information gets very unusual. On August 29, 1963, the Croft Theatre changed its name to the Y.C.S. Theatre and reopened its doors with John Wayne’s “Hatari” plus a couple of short subjects. Despite its unusual name, Y.C.S. stands for Young Catholic Students, as it WAS operated by them of St. John’s High School. The Y.C.S. Theatre plays mostly first-run films but it was sometimes mixed with matinees and special events as well as a couple classic films. This lasted until the mid-1970s.
After a very unexpected operation by a school, the theater went back to normal independent operations in 1975 or 1976. At that same time, the theater was renamed Bancroft Theatre. Unfortunately, this didn’t last long.
Closed on May 25, 1999 with a double feature in all three screens. The Vermont closed with “The Matrix” and “Life” at Screen 1, “Trippin'” and “Senseless” at Screen 2, and “The Mummy” and “Bride Of Chucky” at Screen 3.
There was a video from 1984 by KXAS-TV that shows its chopper flying through downtown McKinney. At the time, its marquee (that was erected a few days before Thanksgiving 1946) was removed.
The Lakeland Drive-In actually held its informal opening on August 26, 1948, before officially opening it on September 2, 1948. Although I cannot find its closing date, it was still open into as late as 1987, but was gone by 1994.
The Spirit Drive-In opened its gates on June 14, 1949 featuring installations of Super-Century Double Shutter projection and Soundmaster In-Car speakers.
According to then-owner George March of the March Brothers who also operated the Royal and Strand Theatres there, he was expecting 400 cars which was the theater’s total then-capacity number to participate the opening, but with a shocking surprise, a total of 550 cars loaded up on grand opening (with 150 cars on grass outside the drive-in property). Whenever the capacity goes over the 400 limit, March got a major idea on adding double exit ramps instead of a single one.
The Spirit Drive-In closed for the final time on September 16, 1984 with “Dreamscape” and “Space Hunter”.
Actually, its part of National Screen Service’s “On The Spot” intermission film from 1964. The announcer was heard saying “How about a pizza? None better anywhere!” while the camera shows all the slices being taken off-camera.
Actually SethG, you are 100% correct on the building.
This triplex opened its doors on July 19, 1985 as the replacement of the Grand Twin Theatre (formerly Grand Theatre) located on Sixth Street downtown. The theater has an original name of “Grand Theatres III” but was officially named simply “Grand Theatres” right after opening. It was actually the fourth Grand Theatre to open in Estherville.
The triplex Grand Theatres was located on the site of the former Red Owl Store building which began remodeling into a theater in December 1984. It featured three screens with a total capacity of 600 seats (with 200 seats in each auditorium) and a video store next door. The theater was renamed “Grand 3 Theatres” in 1997.
NOTE: Although the page said that the Grand 3 Theatres closed for a time in 2002, it was confirmed that the theater did not close at all in 2002. I recently looked up showtime archives from the Grand 3 Theatres and the theater was still strongly running as normal throughout all of 2002.
I’m pretty sure that there are four Grand Theatres in total actually.
The 1st Grand: The first Grand Theatre opened its doors by F.H. Graaf with a capacity of 450 seats, a 12ft lobby, and a 22x125ft auditorium on July 25, 1912 with a presentation of “The Delmar Poster Girls”. That one was destroyed by a fire in 1914.
The 2nd Grand: The second Grand Theatre was relocated to its then-current site and opened its doors on September 20, 1916 with a presentation of “Martha”, also owned by Graaf, with a capacity of 1,000 seats. That one was destroyed by an electrical-related fire on January 8, 1917.
The 3rd Grand: Nearly eight months after the second Grand Theatre was destroyed, the theater was rebuilt on the same site, as it was third time’s the charm when the third Grand Theatre opened on September 19, 1917 featuring fireproof installations (as it was announced by Graaf himself), and had a same amount of seats as the second theater. Talkies were installed in February 1929, followed by remodeling in 1936, and by CinemaScope installations in July 1954. The Grand closed for a short time in February 1970 due to low attendance, but was reopened the following month by new management.
On June 6, 1973, an announcement came that a new theater was built nearby at a location that used to be “Doug’s Stereo Store” according to then-owner Bob Fridley of Fridley Theatres, although the downtown Grand Theatre was still running at the time operated by Al Miller (who also operated the Chief Drive-In at the time). Unfortunately the construction of the mini theater itself nearby did not happen at all.
In April 1977, the Grand Theatre downtown was twinned and was renamed “Grand Twin Theatre”. At the time, the theater was owned by the Community Service Corporation, a subsidiary of First Federal Savings and Loan Association. But on December 18, 1984, then-manager and owner Laddie Kozak announced that construction of a new Fridley triplex theater will be constructed on Central Avenue. This time, the construction did happen.
On July 16, 1985, the downtown Grand Twin Theatre (formerly the Grand Theatre from 1917 until 1977) ran its final showings, and closed its doors for the final time that same evening. This was due to the theater’s relocation from Sixth Street to the new building on Central Avenue. The Grand Theatres III (later the Grand 3 Theatres) would then open its doors three days later on July 19, 1985.
The Park Cinema actually closed in the mid-1980s. It was still open in 1983 judging by advertisements.
The Casino Theater opened its doors on Christmas Eve 1912 with a photoplay presentation of “The North Wind’s Malice”, with an estimate $50,000 on the building. It was first operated by Walford W. Watt and J.J. Harter.
As of 1912, the theater originally housed 750 seats featuring two loges between the lobby. The stage was elevated featuring equipment of scenery, which had four drop curtains. The original projectors as of 1912 are Simplex models, and on the top floor of the building featured a dance hall measured 37x100ft with cloak rooms and restrooms (that which opened one week later).
The 489-seat Casino Theater was renamed the Sac Theater during the first week of February 1948. It was still open in the 1980s.
NOTE: The theater did not returned back to its original Casino Theatre name. The Sac Theatre name was used for around three-to-four decades, although I cannot find its closing date at all.
Opened with Jane Powell in “Small Town Girl” along with an unnamed cartoon and a newsreel. The Carroll Drive-In closed on September 26, 1982 with “The Last American Virgin”.
The 218 actually opened as early as 1952. The earliest info that I can find is from the Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors.
The Sunset Theatre opened its doors on Thanksgiving Day 1948 (November 25, 1948) with “On An Island With You” (unknown if any short subjects were added).
It was first managed by Allen and J.M. Murphy, and was first owned by Harry Pace of Orange City, Iowa (who previously operated many theaters since 1916). Throughout his then-32-year history, Pace operated theaters in Orange City, Traer, Pocahontas, Hawarden, Audubon, Lake City, West Union, Hartley, Jewel, and Alton. However, after operating in West Union for three years, he briefly visited California in 1938 but returned back to Iowa the following year in Audubon for six months before moving to Hartley until 1941. He returned to California before coming back to Iowa in 1944 when he purchased the Sumner Theatre from L.L. Wells.
The 38x120ft theater building cost an estimate $65,000 for construction. Some of these original installations include two-tone aqua and green auditorium walls with matching green for the foyer. Across the stage is a gold silk curtain and the drawing is operated automatically and will be drawn until the films begin. As of 1948, the front exits are hung with wine-colored drapes and Mohawk carpeting of black, tan, and green on a red background running through the length of the aisles. The floors in the lobby, foyer, and powder room have been covered with inlaid rubber tile and the walls in the foyer and lobby were finished in orchid while those in the powder room are dipped light blue. There are two different ticket booths, one outside and the other inside depending on weather conditions. The entire auditorium interior is covered with California Spanish Acoustic material composed of a porous substance which the wall covering is designed to cut out all echoes and vibrations and will allow those in the rear of the theater to hear as well as those seated near the front.
As of 1948, the seats are Haywood-Wakefield modeled seats with tan metal backs and rose colored sponge rubber cushions that tip up automatically when a person stands to leave the auditorium. The side lights in the main auditorium are indirect cone running lights. The lights are softened and glow upward so as not to disturb those who are sitting near them. There are also aisle lights for those arriving after showtime. The projection booth is equipped with the same projectors that were used in the Sumner Theatre, but however those Motio-graph machines were purchased by Pace a short time ago. Some of these new updates include snap-light lens, Simplex carbon lamps, and Western Electric sound.
The heating/cooling system featured two large ducts constructed north and south under the floor along the entire length of the theater. The cold air is drawn off the floor taken by the ducts to the furnace in the basement, heated, and s then forced back into the theater through grills in the back by a large blower on the furnace. Another innovation and improvement is that the Sumner Theatre nearby is the fact that foul air can be taken out of the building through the fans on the roof. This does drive the cold draft being forced directly into the auditorium of the Sumner. These fans also bring in fresh air. For the cooling system at the Sunset is “washed-ai” air-conditioning units which as located in the rear of the theater and opening off the both the powder and cry rooms. This room containing four seats had been wired for sound and is for the convince of those ladies who bring their babies to the theater and find them hard to manage. They can go to the room and see and hear the movie as well as if they were seated in the auditorium but still will not be disturb anyone in the theater.
As of 1948, the original V-type canopy and marquee was constructed of orange, green, and white metal on a maroon colored background. The front of the theatre has been finished in maroon glass tile topped with white below. A total of 450 light bulbs were used for the marquee.
Original information as of 1949 goes as follows: First operated by Harry K. Martin, the Silver Lake Drive-In originally has installations of a 33x48ft screen and a 52x50ft structure. The screen also has a special cement installation with asbestos board and the remainder being covered with aluminum.
The original poles of the theater came from neighboring Bath and as of 1949 holds 600 poles in total, with workmen drawing in 500 loads of gravel and graded it in terraces. The projection booth situated in the center of the theater being 50x20ft which also houses two restrooms, the refreshment stand, and a storage space.
The Vista Theatre opened its doors on September 30, 1938 with Jane Withers in “Keep Smiling” along with the musical short “Hawaiian Cappers”, with an estimate $45,000 in construction and was first operated by the husband-and-wife team of Mr. and Mrs. George Norman.
There is a lot of information about the Vista as of 1938, which goes as follows: The original seats are black and yellow gold upholstered seats, with sidewalls and ceiling dipped in celotex in shades of cream which blend into a warm brown pattern. An indirect lighting scheme is created with three hidden stripes of neon lighting on each side of the auditorium in a color combinations of powder blue, red, and white. A grand total of 522ft of neon was used forming an unusual effect. There are glass doors flanking the box office opening into the lobby with the other doors leading to the foyer. The proscenium arch of the full-sized stage is embellished in three shades of melon. The turquoise curtains are damask with the grain pattern, interwoven with satin threads forming luxurious shades of wheat, and the valance is a gold-colored panned velvet. The exit doors which are decorated in three shade of melon are also turquoise. The rampways that was measured 18in wide are decorated also in shades of melon with copper stripes, and the ceiling shades from beige-to-rich copper. Its carpeting was also the same color combinations of melon, brown, and copper. Mrs. Norman carefully selected the colors in the interior of the Vista which has chosen chartreuse green for the ceiling in the foyer. The walls on the east, or to the front, on either side of the doors are pale mauve. The two panels on the north wall were dipped in sky blue with mixtures of melon, copper, and turquoise.
An addition to the theater as of 1938 features an attracted water fountain on the panel built across a corner. The upper half of the panel is bone white and peach. Below is a gleaming structural glass in deep blue with veins of baby blue. The sparkling fountain attached to the panel is coppenhagen blue porcelain with a base of mediterranean blue. Two benches in white are the only furniture in the foyer. The walls in the lobby are gray and green and the ceilings are pale green. The doors and display fixtures in silver feature chromium hardware. There is also a large 36-inch mirror that reflects the image as one enters. The wrought iron partitions at the front of the foyer were lead into the large mirror that was luxurious lounge in pale yellow and light beige with modern panels of white and gold bordered in dusty pink.
The ladies powder room featured a yellow lemon colored ceiling, floral panel of sea green, soft pink, and yellow accent the turquoise walls. A novel silver powder drum is attached to the wall, with a white leather chair beside it. The sand colored carpet has a design of blue, coral, and brown. The lavatory is constructed out of daffodil tile with inlaid designs of raspberry red, with fixtures in citron yellow. The red tile floor is laid in the men’s room. There are two offices upstairs, one of which leads to the Normans and the other was assistant manager Joe Reilly. The offices featured shades of tan and brown walls.
The air conditioner in the entire theater changes the temperature every five minutes, and the projection booth is constructed of fireproof blocks, steel doors, extra thick cement floors and roof. There are also automatic fire doors just in case of an emergency. Speaking of doors, there are numerous of large emergency doors. Back of the 15x20ft screen features the passage of the sound are two diphonic horns for their Morophonic sound system. Lastly, people who are hard of hearing will be able to enjoy the pictures as well. Whenever a deaf patron desires a set will notify the usher as he enters the theater. The sets are regulated with a small control box making it possible for the user to get extra volume without annoying the person in the next seat.
Fridley Theatres took over the Vista in 1970, and was tripled in mid-December 1982.
The Corral Drive-In opened its gates on May 17, 1950 with Jane High in “Blue Grass Of Kentucky” with no extra short subjects, featuring an original capacity of 450 cars (which eventually downgraded to 375 over time) with installations of Century projection equipments and in-car speakers. It was first operated by Bill Hill and Don Smith, both from Storm Lake.
The Corral Drive-In closed after the 1985 season.
The Auditorium Theatre, which opened on September 17, 1909 with the play “Human Hearts”, did receive too much trouble from the mid-1950s until the late-1960s due to its multiple ups-and-downs, which results many closures and reopenings.
From 1956 until 1967, the theater received multiple closures. Some of those closures include a short July 9, 1956 closure and a one-month closure in August 1959. The Auditorium was once closed in 1964 which reopened on July 10 that same year, and was closed again on January 1, 1966 for a full year.
After closing for the final time as a movie house in April 1968, the Auditorium went vacant for the fifth straight time in the previous 12 years. This lasted until the YMCA group took over the theater and reopening it in November 1969 as a primary performing arts house but sometimes bring movies as well.
The YMCA operated the Auditorium Theatre until it suffered partial fire damage from a fire that first started at the city hall on January 28, 1983.
The Genoa Theatre actually closed in the middle of 1996.
The “No Tilt Zone” entertainment center didn’t last pretty long, as it was operated from March 2003 until closure in December 2004. The Steadman Brothers felt very sorry for its closure as they pursued a small business improvement grant. At the time, Gary went to meet a local banker to discuss potential for additional funds. Gary replied that it was still unfolding but he wanted to open a budget twin-screen theater that plays both first-run films and live entertainment with 110 seats in each auditorium. However, a very shocking surprise is that the theater’s auditorium was left untouched even before it became the arcade. There are holes on the walls, shattered glass below, and even the ceiling received damaged. There are also either rat bites or water damage on the 480 total seats. Steadman replied that a swamp roof was built over the screening room which was a typical 1940s design idea. Unfortunately, the idea of relaunching as a twin-screen budget theater was revoked for unknown reasons, marking it the second time the theater tried to reopen.
In July 2007, it was announced that the former building would reopen again as a cafe/parlor under the name Spotlight Coffee, Tea, and Ice Cream Company. That closed in either 2014 or 2015, and as of 2023, the building was still on sale.
Once operated by Carmike.
It appears that the Newark Drive-In closed for the final time on January 26, 1985. Redstone was the last operator.
This started life as the Fair Mall Cinema Theatre and opened sometime in the early-1970s as a single-screener.
It appears that it was twinned in the 1980s. At the time, it was operated by Carisch Theatres.
The Fair Mall Cinema closed for the final time on January 12, 1995 when the Fair Lakes Cinema 5 opened nearby a day later.
The Fair Lakes 5 Cinemas opened on January 13, 1995. Grand opening ad posted.
The Lonergan Theatre opened its doors on May 24, 1915. It was renamed Star Theatre in late August/early September 1930 after it was taken over by new management led by Frank Lupin followed by extensive remodeling.
The Star Theatre name didn’t last long. After a short closure and being taken over by Harold Smith, the theater was renamed Dreamland Theatre and reopened on March 16, 1934.
After more than four years with the usage of the Dreamland name, the Dreamland closed in December 1938 following both extensive reconstruction of the building and remodeling.
The theater was renamed Croft Theatre and reopened its doors on February 1, 1939 with Claude Rains in “They Made Me A Criminal” along with a Hearst Metrotone “News Of The Day” newsreel and a couple of short subjects.
During the late-1950s and early-1960s, the Croft Theatre received a couple of ups-and-downs which received a couple of short closures and reopenings, followed by another short closure in 1962.
Now this is where the information gets very unusual. On August 29, 1963, the Croft Theatre changed its name to the Y.C.S. Theatre and reopened its doors with John Wayne’s “Hatari” plus a couple of short subjects. Despite its unusual name, Y.C.S. stands for Young Catholic Students, as it WAS operated by them of St. John’s High School. The Y.C.S. Theatre plays mostly first-run films but it was sometimes mixed with matinees and special events as well as a couple classic films. This lasted until the mid-1970s.
After a very unexpected operation by a school, the theater went back to normal independent operations in 1975 or 1976. At that same time, the theater was renamed Bancroft Theatre. Unfortunately, this didn’t last long.
Closed on May 25, 1999 with a double feature in all three screens. The Vermont closed with “The Matrix” and “Life” at Screen 1, “Trippin'” and “Senseless” at Screen 2, and “The Mummy” and “Bride Of Chucky” at Screen 3.
This is taken either in 1982 or 1983.
There was a video from 1984 by KXAS-TV that shows its chopper flying through downtown McKinney. At the time, its marquee (that was erected a few days before Thanksgiving 1946) was removed.
Actually, the fourth screen was added on April 13, 1990.
It appears that it closed in the 1970s. It was gone by 1983.
The Lakeland Drive-In actually held its informal opening on August 26, 1948, before officially opening it on September 2, 1948. Although I cannot find its closing date, it was still open into as late as 1987, but was gone by 1994.
The Spirit Drive-In opened its gates on June 14, 1949 featuring installations of Super-Century Double Shutter projection and Soundmaster In-Car speakers.
According to then-owner George March of the March Brothers who also operated the Royal and Strand Theatres there, he was expecting 400 cars which was the theater’s total then-capacity number to participate the opening, but with a shocking surprise, a total of 550 cars loaded up on grand opening (with 150 cars on grass outside the drive-in property). Whenever the capacity goes over the 400 limit, March got a major idea on adding double exit ramps instead of a single one.
The Spirit Drive-In closed for the final time on September 16, 1984 with “Dreamscape” and “Space Hunter”.
Actually, its part of National Screen Service’s “On The Spot” intermission film from 1964. The announcer was heard saying “How about a pizza? None better anywhere!” while the camera shows all the slices being taken off-camera.
Actually SethG, you are 100% correct on the building.
This triplex opened its doors on July 19, 1985 as the replacement of the Grand Twin Theatre (formerly Grand Theatre) located on Sixth Street downtown. The theater has an original name of “Grand Theatres III” but was officially named simply “Grand Theatres” right after opening. It was actually the fourth Grand Theatre to open in Estherville.
The triplex Grand Theatres was located on the site of the former Red Owl Store building which began remodeling into a theater in December 1984. It featured three screens with a total capacity of 600 seats (with 200 seats in each auditorium) and a video store next door. The theater was renamed “Grand 3 Theatres” in 1997.
I’m pretty sure that there are four Grand Theatres in total actually.
The 1st Grand: The first Grand Theatre opened its doors by F.H. Graaf with a capacity of 450 seats, a 12ft lobby, and a 22x125ft auditorium on July 25, 1912 with a presentation of “The Delmar Poster Girls”. That one was destroyed by a fire in 1914.
The 2nd Grand: The second Grand Theatre was relocated to its then-current site and opened its doors on September 20, 1916 with a presentation of “Martha”, also owned by Graaf, with a capacity of 1,000 seats. That one was destroyed by an electrical-related fire on January 8, 1917.
The 3rd Grand: Nearly eight months after the second Grand Theatre was destroyed, the theater was rebuilt on the same site, as it was third time’s the charm when the third Grand Theatre opened on September 19, 1917 featuring fireproof installations (as it was announced by Graaf himself), and had a same amount of seats as the second theater. Talkies were installed in February 1929, followed by remodeling in 1936, and by CinemaScope installations in July 1954. The Grand closed for a short time in February 1970 due to low attendance, but was reopened the following month by new management.
On June 6, 1973, an announcement came that a new theater was built nearby at a location that used to be “Doug’s Stereo Store” according to then-owner Bob Fridley of Fridley Theatres, although the downtown Grand Theatre was still running at the time operated by Al Miller (who also operated the Chief Drive-In at the time). Unfortunately the construction of the mini theater itself nearby did not happen at all.
In April 1977, the Grand Theatre downtown was twinned and was renamed “Grand Twin Theatre”. At the time, the theater was owned by the Community Service Corporation, a subsidiary of First Federal Savings and Loan Association. But on December 18, 1984, then-manager and owner Laddie Kozak announced that construction of a new Fridley triplex theater will be constructed on Central Avenue. This time, the construction did happen.
On July 16, 1985, the downtown Grand Twin Theatre (formerly the Grand Theatre from 1917 until 1977) ran its final showings, and closed its doors for the final time that same evening. This was due to the theater’s relocation from Sixth Street to the new building on Central Avenue. The Grand Theatres III (later the Grand 3 Theatres) would then open its doors three days later on July 19, 1985.
The Gloucester Cinema was located at the site of a former dealership, and opened in early 1991 with a total capacity of 361 seats.