All the period sources I’ve found say that Albert Willey was a real estate promoter and developer, and later a contractor, but not an architect. This brief biography published around 1918 is typical:
“Willey, Albert L.
Born in Freeville, Tompkins County, NY, Jan. 18, 1855, son of Samuel B. and Esther (Greenfield) Willey. He was educated in the public schools and academy of the town and opened a saw and grist mill. He did a thriving business and when the oportunity rose to dispose of the business he did so to his advantage. He purchased a farm in Cuba Lake, NY and later carried on the business of a meat market in Cortland, NY. He later returned to Freeville and became proprietor of a general store. In 1895 he came to Broome County and went into the real estate business with offices in Johnson City. He purchased two valuable tracts of land known as the Allen property and the Cook property and plotted them out into residential lots. He continued along this line, doing contracting along with his real estate business. He married in 1875, Helen E. Head of Lansing, Tompkins County, NY. They had children, Clarence A. Horace M. and Frederick R.“
It’s possible that the Willey Block was designed in-house by Willey’s firm, but I’ve been unable to discover the name of the actual architect. The decorative trim on the two lower floors looks as though it might have been ordered out of a catalog, though.
DavidZornig: If you’re referring to this photo that kencmcintyre linked to, it was probably taken in 1922, the year Clara Kimball Young appeared in The Worldly Madonna, so it would depict the Dome Theatre that burned with the rest of the pier in 1924. But you’re right, the old theater would not have been called the Fox Dome, as the West Coast Theatres circuit was not taken over by Fox until a few years after the new Dome Theatre was built.
The Globe Theatre on Woodland Avenue is briefly mentioned in this item from the September 9, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World:
“New Company Buys Three Theaters.
“Cleveland, O.—The Freer Theater Company, just organized, has announced the purchase of three picture theaters here. The theaters are the Haltnorth, Globe and Fountain, all in the vicinity of Woodland avenue and E. 55th street. M. B. Horowitz and Louis Israel head the company.”
I’ve found no later references to a Freer Theater Company, but M. B. Horwitz (the correct spelling) and Mr. Israel remained in the exhibition business and were mentioned a number of times in the trade publications.
Mikeoaklandpark: This theater was called the Shore from 1947 to 1952, and had opened as the Embassy Theatre in 1911. It became the City Square Theatre in the 1920s, and was the Beach Theatre from 1952 until closing.
The November 11, 1926, issue of the Reading Times said that the Park Theatre would open that night. The opening feature was Her Big Night, starring Laura LaPlante, plus there were vaudeville acts, an organ recital, and the Park Orchestra.
The Gettysburg Times was probably using the word “recently” rather loosely. I’ve found references to the Strand Theatre dating back to 1919. The January 24 issue of The Film Daily noted that Carr & Schad had purchased a lot at Ninth and Spring Streets in Reading on which they expected to begin construction of a new theater by April 1. The earliest listings I’ve found for the Strand in the Reading newspaper appeared in late March, 1920, so the project might have suffered some delays, but the Strand was definitely open by 1920.
Reading’s original Bijou Theatre was destroyed by a fire in the spring of 1900. The opening of the new Bijou Theatre was reported in the January 8, 1901, issue of the Reading News-Times. The auditorium was on Cherry Street, and access from Penn Street was via a new lobby through an existing building called Keystone Hall
The February 10, 1912, issue of The Moving Picture World published this item about the opening of the Olivet Theatre:
“Reading, Pa. — The Olivet, Reading’s newest picture theater, just completed at 647 Schuylkill Avenue, has opened. The house is very cozy, splendidly furnished, has ample exits, wide aisles, [unreadable] lighting arrangements, etc.”
The June 26, 1916, issue of the Reading Times rhapsodized about the pleasures awaiting the public at the opening that afternoon of the Arcadia Theatre:
“The Arcadia, Reading’s latest and largest photoplay theatre, is to be opened auspiciously Monday afternoon under the management of Carr & Schad, Inc., and an anxiously waiting public will marvel at the remarkable transformation of the well-known site, which is one of the best established theatrical spots in this community. So much has been said about the Arcadia, with its delicate decorations, designed by one of America’s leading theatrical artists, its lighting effects, the big screen in a setting planned and set by the head stage director of the Keith circuit, that words fail to do justice to the magnificent interior, and when the audiences are ushered into the Arcadia, they will almost think it impossible that such a decided change could be made in so short a period, the theatre being closed but seven weeks. The entrance at 734 and 736 Penn street is the only mark that will suggest or recall the days of the former theatre. Carr & Schad, Inc., pioneers in the local motion picture Industry, have always endeavored to give the public the best available service and the Arcadia is to present only a brilliant array of program features that will appeal to all classes of photoplay followers.”
There followed a very long, and equally effusive, preview of the Arcadia’s opening attractions, with much of it devoted to Bille Burke, star of the serial Gloria’s Romance, the first chapter of which was to be part of the program.
The June 11, 1921 issue of the Reading Times reported that the New York firm of E. C. Horne & Sons had been chosen to design the repairs and addition to the Rajah Temple which had been devastated by a fire the previous month.
An article in the September 9, 1937, issue of the Reading Times says that the old Bijou Theatre, a burlesque house at 734 Penn Street, was renamed the Palace in 1910. In 1916 it was taken over by Carr & Schad and completely remodeled, reopening on June 26 as the New Arcadia Theatre.
The Bijou was in operation prior to 1905, so even with Carr & Schad’s remodeling of 1916 the house was probably quite ready for replacement when it was demolished in 1928 to make way for the new Astor Theatre.
This article from the July 8, 1928, Reading Eagle says that the Princess Theatre had closed for renovations and would reopened as the Arcadia Theatre about July 23. The Princess had opened in 1913.
However, a January 28, 1968, Reading Eagle article said that “[a]nother downtown theater was the Crescent at 819 Penn St., opened in 1910, with the name changed to the Princess in 1913.” The same article says that the Ritz Theatre was torn down in the 1950s to make way for a city parking lot.
I still haven’t found anything explicitly stating that the Arcadia became the Ritz, but I’m sure the Crescent/Princess/Arcadia/Ritz were all the same theater.
The January 1, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World lists Carr & Schad’s Princess Theatre at 819 Penn Street (the correct address for the Ritz.) when the first Arcadia Theatre was demolished in 1928 to make way for the Astor Theatre, the Princess was renamed the Arcadia.
this article in the December 30, 1940, issue of theReading Eagle says that Carr & Schad were expending $15,000 for improvements to the Arcadia Theatre, which had been closed for many years. They later must have decided to rename the house the Ritz before reopening it in 1941.
Our description says the Astor opened in 1938. This must be a typo. It opened in 1928. The September 11 issue of the Reading Times said that the projected opening date was September 21.
A January 9, 1926, article in the Gettysburg Times listed a number of theaters recently completed, under construction, or under contract that had been designed in the office of Philadelphia architect William Harold Lee. Three houses were listed at Reading: the Colonial, the Strand, and a house called the Penn Street Theatre. All three projects were for Carr & Schad. I don’t see a Penn Street Theatre listed, so maybe it’s missing or it operated under a different name.
14 S. Oak Street looks to be a fairly modern building. Its facade is set back a bit from the sidewalk and there is a balcony at the second floor. It’s possible that a new front was built onto an old building, but it’s also possible that the Valentine Theatre building has been demolished and replaced.
Google’s camera car didn’t travel along 11th Street, so I’ve set Street View to look along the block. The State Theatre was in the first building facing 11th Street, next to the small park on the corner. The Avalon Theatre was in the third building on the block.
Google’s camera car didn’t travel along 11th Street. The Avalon Theatre is the middle building of the five facing 11th (the lowest one.) The State Theatre was in the first.
In late 1930, two of Huntingdon’s movie theaters suffered major fires. This item is from the Janaury 2, 1931, issue of The Film Daily:
“Huntingdon, Pa. — The Grand, closed for months following a fire, will be reopened about Feb. 1 by the Patriotic Order Sons of America, with Western Electric equipment. The Clifton was destroyed by fire recently.”
The March 5 issue of the same publication noted that the POSA had sold the Grand Theatre to A. N. Notopolous. The reopening of the Clifton Theatre was noted in the May 24 issue, in which it was listed as new theater. As it had taken over four months to get the Clifton reopened, the damage must have been quite extensive.
It’s possible that Century took over the project after the Regal signage had been installed but before the theaters had opened. That view with the crowd out front does look like it would be opening night, but it might be one of those very realistic digital renderings. In the daylight photo with the Regal name on the building it doesn’t look like the theater is open.
Benson & Bohl reconfigured their web site and the link I posted earlier no longer works. Maybe this one will stick around longer.
Thanks, Stick82. We mistakenly had the State listed on Oak Street. Now we can surmise that it’s address was probably 3 S. Hickory. If you would like to comment on the State Theatre, there is a link to its Cinema Treasures page in the “Nearby Theaters” field on the right side of this page. There is also a page for the Hollywood Theatre, and we just added a page for the Theatorium, with a couple of vintage photos from 1913 (though I don’t suppose you’d be old enough to remember that long-gone theater, which was probably closed by 1929.)
The building now at 112 S. Oak Street is probably the same building the Theatorium occupied, but William Harold Lee’s fancy facade, which can be seen in one of the 1913 photos I just uploaded, has been removed, probably in the late 1920s. It was probably considered too elaborate for ordinary retail use.
All the period sources I’ve found say that Albert Willey was a real estate promoter and developer, and later a contractor, but not an architect. This brief biography published around 1918 is typical:
It’s possible that the Willey Block was designed in-house by Willey’s firm, but I’ve been unable to discover the name of the actual architect. The decorative trim on the two lower floors looks as though it might have been ordered out of a catalog, though.DavidZornig: If you’re referring to this photo that kencmcintyre linked to, it was probably taken in 1922, the year Clara Kimball Young appeared in The Worldly Madonna, so it would depict the Dome Theatre that burned with the rest of the pier in 1924. But you’re right, the old theater would not have been called the Fox Dome, as the West Coast Theatres circuit was not taken over by Fox until a few years after the new Dome Theatre was built.
The Globe Theatre on Woodland Avenue is briefly mentioned in this item from the September 9, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World:
I’ve found no later references to a Freer Theater Company, but M. B. Horwitz (the correct spelling) and Mr. Israel remained in the exhibition business and were mentioned a number of times in the trade publications.Charles Phoenix wrote recently about his all-too-brief encounter with the Compton Drive-In.
Mikeoaklandpark: This theater was called the Shore from 1947 to 1952, and had opened as the Embassy Theatre in 1911. It became the City Square Theatre in the 1920s, and was the Beach Theatre from 1952 until closing.
The November 11, 1926, issue of the Reading Times said that the Park Theatre would open that night. The opening feature was Her Big Night, starring Laura LaPlante, plus there were vaudeville acts, an organ recital, and the Park Orchestra.
The Gettysburg Times was probably using the word “recently” rather loosely. I’ve found references to the Strand Theatre dating back to 1919. The January 24 issue of The Film Daily noted that Carr & Schad had purchased a lot at Ninth and Spring Streets in Reading on which they expected to begin construction of a new theater by April 1. The earliest listings I’ve found for the Strand in the Reading newspaper appeared in late March, 1920, so the project might have suffered some delays, but the Strand was definitely open by 1920.
Reading’s original Bijou Theatre was destroyed by a fire in the spring of 1900. The opening of the new Bijou Theatre was reported in the January 8, 1901, issue of the Reading News-Times. The auditorium was on Cherry Street, and access from Penn Street was via a new lobby through an existing building called Keystone Hall
The February 10, 1912, issue of The Moving Picture World published this item about the opening of the Olivet Theatre:
The June 26, 1916, issue of the Reading Times rhapsodized about the pleasures awaiting the public at the opening that afternoon of the Arcadia Theatre:
There followed a very long, and equally effusive, preview of the Arcadia’s opening attractions, with much of it devoted to Bille Burke, star of the serial Gloria’s Romance, the first chapter of which was to be part of the program.The June 11, 1921 issue of the Reading Times reported that the New York firm of E. C. Horne & Sons had been chosen to design the repairs and addition to the Rajah Temple which had been devastated by a fire the previous month.
An article in the September 9, 1937, issue of the Reading Times says that the old Bijou Theatre, a burlesque house at 734 Penn Street, was renamed the Palace in 1910. In 1916 it was taken over by Carr & Schad and completely remodeled, reopening on June 26 as the New Arcadia Theatre.
The Bijou was in operation prior to 1905, so even with Carr & Schad’s remodeling of 1916 the house was probably quite ready for replacement when it was demolished in 1928 to make way for the new Astor Theatre.
This article from the July 8, 1928, Reading Eagle says that the Princess Theatre had closed for renovations and would reopened as the Arcadia Theatre about July 23. The Princess had opened in 1913.
However, a January 28, 1968, Reading Eagle article said that “[a]nother downtown theater was the Crescent at 819 Penn St., opened in 1910, with the name changed to the Princess in 1913.” The same article says that the Ritz Theatre was torn down in the 1950s to make way for a city parking lot.
I still haven’t found anything explicitly stating that the Arcadia became the Ritz, but I’m sure the Crescent/Princess/Arcadia/Ritz were all the same theater.
The January 1, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World lists Carr & Schad’s Princess Theatre at 819 Penn Street (the correct address for the Ritz.) when the first Arcadia Theatre was demolished in 1928 to make way for the Astor Theatre, the Princess was renamed the Arcadia.
this article in the December 30, 1940, issue of theReading Eagle says that Carr & Schad were expending $15,000 for improvements to the Arcadia Theatre, which had been closed for many years. They later must have decided to rename the house the Ritz before reopening it in 1941.
Our description says the Astor opened in 1938. This must be a typo. It opened in 1928. The September 11 issue of the Reading Times said that the projected opening date was September 21.
A January 9, 1926, article in the Gettysburg Times listed a number of theaters recently completed, under construction, or under contract that had been designed in the office of Philadelphia architect William Harold Lee. Three houses were listed at Reading: the Colonial, the Strand, and a house called the Penn Street Theatre. All three projects were for Carr & Schad. I don’t see a Penn Street Theatre listed, so maybe it’s missing or it operated under a different name.
14 S. Oak Street looks to be a fairly modern building. Its facade is set back a bit from the sidewalk and there is a balcony at the second floor. It’s possible that a new front was built onto an old building, but it’s also possible that the Valentine Theatre building has been demolished and replaced.
Google’s camera car didn’t travel along 11th Street, so I’ve set Street View to look along the block. The State Theatre was in the first building facing 11th Street, next to the small park on the corner. The Avalon Theatre was in the third building on the block.
Google’s camera car didn’t travel along 11th Street. The Avalon Theatre is the middle building of the five facing 11th (the lowest one.) The State Theatre was in the first.
In late 1930, two of Huntingdon’s movie theaters suffered major fires. This item is from the Janaury 2, 1931, issue of The Film Daily:
The March 5 issue of the same publication noted that the POSA had sold the Grand Theatre to A. N. Notopolous. The reopening of the Clifton Theatre was noted in the May 24 issue, in which it was listed as new theater. As it had taken over four months to get the Clifton reopened, the damage must have been quite extensive.Linkrot repair: Architects Benson & Bohl have reconfigured their web site. Photos of the Pacific Culver Stadium 12 can now be found at this link.
Linkrot repair: Benson & Bohl have reconfigured their web site. Photos of the Regal Cinemas in Oceanside are now here.
It’s possible that Century took over the project after the Regal signage had been installed but before the theaters had opened. That view with the crowd out front does look like it would be opening night, but it might be one of those very realistic digital renderings. In the daylight photo with the Regal name on the building it doesn’t look like the theater is open.
Benson & Bohl reconfigured their web site and the link I posted earlier no longer works. Maybe this one will stick around longer.
Thanks, Stick82. We mistakenly had the State listed on Oak Street. Now we can surmise that it’s address was probably 3 S. Hickory. If you would like to comment on the State Theatre, there is a link to its Cinema Treasures page in the “Nearby Theaters” field on the right side of this page. There is also a page for the Hollywood Theatre, and we just added a page for the Theatorium, with a couple of vintage photos from 1913 (though I don’t suppose you’d be old enough to remember that long-gone theater, which was probably closed by 1929.)
The building now at 112 S. Oak Street is probably the same building the Theatorium occupied, but William Harold Lee’s fancy facade, which can be seen in one of the 1913 photos I just uploaded, has been removed, probably in the late 1920s. It was probably considered too elaborate for ordinary retail use.