The two blocks between 1650 and 1672 Washington are occupied by a Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy, respectively. No trace of any theater building from the teens. Status should be closed/demolished.
The La Tijera Theater has been sold for approximately $300,000 by the Mo-Kan Theater Co. to J.T. Tregoning, Raymond Tauber and Vincent Rehers. The building will be converted into a 16-lane bowling alley with a cocktail bar and cafe. The alley will open in January.
A Madison-Pulaski businessman made an interesting observation this week. Seems parking is still prohibited in front of 4110 Madison, site of the old Marbro theater, razed this summer. The “No Parking” signs originally served to keep the curb area in front of the theater entrance free of cars. The businessman pointed out that this space could be turned Into metered parking for the benefit of shoppers in the area.
Here is an excerpt from an article in the Charleston Daily Mail dated 10/21/51:
HUNTINGTON, (AP)â€" Fire at daybreak Saturday destroyed Huntington’s newest theater and one of its larger department stores. Some fire damages and heavy water damage also was suffered by a cafe, a furniture store, 5 and 10 cent store and a shoe store.
The flames apparently broke out in the J. C. Penney Co in the 1800 block of Third Ave., in the downtown district. The scene is just across the street from the West Virginia Electric Co destroyed by a S200,000 fire on Labor Day. Penney’s was gutted, leaving only the framework standing. The flames burned out heavy transformers in the alley behind the building and leaped into the Tipton theater, which fronts on Fourth Ave., the main business street.
Tons of water were poured into the ornate theater before the blaze was brought under control about 7 a.m., two and a half hours after the first alarm brought most of the city’s fire equipment rushing to the scene.
The City Council has ordered demolition of the Village Theater, 602 N. Azusa Avenue, within 90 days, rejecting a proposal by the owner to use part of the building as offices. Edwards Theater Circuit, which owns the building, had asked permission to close off the theater and and use the front part of the building for offices. The building has been closed for several months.
Here is an article from the Abilene Daily Reporter dated 9/9/36:
CHILDRESS THEATER RAZED BY BLAZE
CHILDRESS, Sept. 9.â€"The Palace theater building was razed today in an early-morning fire, the loss approaching $60,000. The theater, the City News Stand and the Palace Barber shop were damaged. It had not been determined what caused the fire, which was discovered at 4:30 a.m. When firemen arrived, the building was a mass of flames inside and it took three hours to bring it under control.
Here is an article dated 11/27/45 from the Edwardsville Intelligencer:
Granite City, Nov.27â€"Fire early today destroyed the interior of the Washington Theater here and caused damage estimated at $75,000. Fire chief Louis Grotz said the blaze apparently started in the projection booth shortly before 5 a.m. and spread quickly through the 1,750 seat structure along air conduits. Fire companies from Granite City and Madison finally brought the flames under control.
Here is a description of the fire from the Austin, MN Daily Herald:
BEDFORD, IA â€" Fire destroyed the Rialto Theater Building in Bedford today. Preliminary estimates placed the loss at $160,000. The fire was discovered at about 2 a.m. The building was burned out, along with the Ben Scane plumbing shop and the Wogan electric shop and tavern. Both shops also were located in the theater building.
Ben Scane, the Bedford fire chief, turned in the alarm when he was awakened by the barking of his dog. Scane and his wife live in an apartment at the rear of his plumbing shop in the theater. The Scanes escaped in their night clothes. All their possessions were lost.
Here is an article from the Galveston Daily News dated 12/17/51:
FIRE GUTS THEATER
DALLAS, Dec. 16 (IT)â€"Fire gutted a Dallas theater early Sunday, breaking out 14 minutes after it had closed. The four-alarm blaze at the Haskell Theater was reported at 11:49 p.m. No one was in the theater when it began.
There may have been a predecessor, according to excerpt from a 12/26/47 article in the Denton Journal:
ELKTON FIRE RUINS TWO HOTELS AND THEATER
Sweeping through the business district of Elkton early Saturday morning, a half-million dollar fire destroyed two hotels, the town’s only theater and several minor businesses. More than 100 persons were forced to flee to the streets before the blaze was brought under control by firemen from three states.
The Ritz Hotel, the New Central Hotel and the New Theatre were destroyed. Other buildings which were damaged included the J. J. Newberry 5-and-10-cent store, the Janis Shop, a restaurant, a liquor store and a photographer’s shop.
That looks like the photo posted on the Bear Tooth Pub page. Are these two different theaters?
It looks like a freeway offramp runs right through the former location of this theater.
Here is an article about renovation dated 10/29/08:
http://tinyurl.com/6k3l7q
The two blocks between 1650 and 1672 Washington are occupied by a Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy, respectively. No trace of any theater building from the teens. Status should be closed/demolished.
Here is an LA Times article dated 12/14/52:
The La Tijera Theater has been sold for approximately $300,000 by the Mo-Kan Theater Co. to J.T. Tregoning, Raymond Tauber and Vincent Rehers. The building will be converted into a 16-lane bowling alley with a cocktail bar and cafe. The alley will open in January.
From The Austin (IL) News, dated 10/21/64:
IS CITY OVERLOOKING REVENUE SOURCE?
A Madison-Pulaski businessman made an interesting observation this week. Seems parking is still prohibited in front of 4110 Madison, site of the old Marbro theater, razed this summer. The “No Parking” signs originally served to keep the curb area in front of the theater entrance free of cars. The businessman pointed out that this space could be turned Into metered parking for the benefit of shoppers in the area.
Here is an excerpt from an article in the Charleston Daily Mail dated 10/21/51:
HUNTINGTON, (AP)â€" Fire at daybreak Saturday destroyed Huntington’s newest theater and one of its larger department stores. Some fire damages and heavy water damage also was suffered by a cafe, a furniture store, 5 and 10 cent store and a shoe store.
The flames apparently broke out in the J. C. Penney Co in the 1800 block of Third Ave., in the downtown district. The scene is just across the street from the West Virginia Electric Co destroyed by a S200,000 fire on Labor Day. Penney’s was gutted, leaving only the framework standing. The flames burned out heavy transformers in the alley behind the building and leaped into the Tipton theater, which fronts on Fourth Ave., the main business street.
Tons of water were poured into the ornate theater before the blaze was brought under control about 7 a.m., two and a half hours after the first alarm brought most of the city’s fire equipment rushing to the scene.
From the LA Times, 8/13/72:
The City Council has ordered demolition of the Village Theater, 602 N. Azusa Avenue, within 90 days, rejecting a proposal by the owner to use part of the building as offices. Edwards Theater Circuit, which owns the building, had asked permission to close off the theater and and use the front part of the building for offices. The building has been closed for several months.
Here is a photo from Google maps:
http://snipurl.com/5ayy1
Here are some November 2008 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/682tcq
http://tinyurl.com/5rbnls
http://tinyurl.com/5byozo
http://tinyurl.com/5vv2jr
Any time. Thanks for the encouragement.
A one handed photo taken Friday night. It is what it is:
http://tinyurl.com/6lon9w
I went to Canters on Friday night, strictly for research purposes. My dedication to CT knows no bounds.
http://tinyurl.com/6p6l4l
Does my $700 bottle of wine fit in the cup holder?
Good question. There’s no indication that there was a second Palace in Childress, so perhaps the walls stayed up and they rebuilt.
Here is an article from the Abilene Daily Reporter dated 9/9/36:
CHILDRESS THEATER RAZED BY BLAZE
CHILDRESS, Sept. 9.â€"The Palace theater building was razed today in an early-morning fire, the loss approaching $60,000. The theater, the City News Stand and the Palace Barber shop were damaged. It had not been determined what caused the fire, which was discovered at 4:30 a.m. When firemen arrived, the building was a mass of flames inside and it took three hours to bring it under control.
Maybe they took out some seats after the fire, if they originally had 1750.
Here is an article dated 11/27/45 from the Edwardsville Intelligencer:
Granite City, Nov.27â€"Fire early today destroyed the interior of the Washington Theater here and caused damage estimated at $75,000. Fire chief Louis Grotz said the blaze apparently started in the projection booth shortly before 5 a.m. and spread quickly through the 1,750 seat structure along air conduits. Fire companies from Granite City and Madison finally brought the flames under control.
Here is a description of the fire from the Austin, MN Daily Herald:
BEDFORD, IA â€" Fire destroyed the Rialto Theater Building in Bedford today. Preliminary estimates placed the loss at $160,000. The fire was discovered at about 2 a.m. The building was burned out, along with the Ben Scane plumbing shop and the Wogan electric shop and tavern. Both shops also were located in the theater building.
Ben Scane, the Bedford fire chief, turned in the alarm when he was awakened by the barking of his dog. Scane and his wife live in an apartment at the rear of his plumbing shop in the theater. The Scanes escaped in their night clothes. All their possessions were lost.
Here is an article from the Galveston Daily News dated 12/17/51:
FIRE GUTS THEATER
DALLAS, Dec. 16 (IT)â€"Fire gutted a Dallas theater early Sunday, breaking out 14 minutes after it had closed. The four-alarm blaze at the Haskell Theater was reported at 11:49 p.m. No one was in the theater when it began.
If you try to map out Eastern Avenue, it automatically changes it to Eastern Boulevard, so the address in the description would be incorrect.
The owner in 1963 was Ova Cornett. Capacity at that time was 150 cars.
There is a small interior photo on the current occupant’s site:
http://www.beadworldnw.com/
There may have been a predecessor, according to excerpt from a 12/26/47 article in the Denton Journal:
ELKTON FIRE RUINS TWO HOTELS AND THEATER
Sweeping through the business district of Elkton early Saturday morning, a half-million dollar fire destroyed two hotels, the town’s only theater and several minor businesses. More than 100 persons were forced to flee to the streets before the blaze was brought under control by firemen from three states.
The Ritz Hotel, the New Central Hotel and the New Theatre were destroyed. Other buildings which were damaged included the J. J. Newberry 5-and-10-cent store, the Janis Shop, a restaurant, a liquor store and a photographer’s shop.
Here is an expanded view of the photo at the top of the page:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014820.jpg