The October 24, 1927, issue of The Film Daily said that the Rose Theatre in Thomasville, Georgia, had recently been opened by the Interstate Amusement Company. The Rose was designed by architect C. K. Howell.
A survey of Greenville’s architecture for the NRHP says that the Rivoli Theatre was designed by the local architectural firm Beacham & LeGrand (James Douthit Beacham and Leon LeGrand.) It says that they also designed a house called the Piedmont Theatre. We don’t have a Piedmont Theatre listed for Greenville, and I’ve been unable to discover when it was operating or whether it later operated under another name.
scmovietheatres and the Greenville County Historical Society’s book Remebering Greenville both say that the Rivoli Theatre opened in 1925. The book also notes that the Rivoli became the Fox Theatre in 1949. The Fox remained in operation the longest of any of Greenville’s Main Street theaters, finally closing in 1978 according to an article quoted on this page at Greenville Film House.
Miller’s Theatre was expanded in 1916, according to an item in the October 21 issue of Southwest Contractor & Manufacturer. Construction was to begin immediately on an addition 28x60 feet. There would be anew stage, and seating capacity was to be increased by 210. A sprinkler system was to be installed throughout the theater, and the entire house would be redecorated. The project was being carried out by the Milwaukee Building Company.
In the August 1, 1941, issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor there was an item saying that Clifford Balch had made plans for a theater on Maclay Avenue in San Fernando for Maude L. and John T. Rennie. This house was refereed to at least once as Rennie’s Towne Theatre in The Film Daily (Towne appears to have been the original spelling of the theater’s name.) If the Towne did open in 1942, it must have been the project designed by Balch.
Now that I’ve seen photos of the Azteca Theatre, and the Town (Centre) Theatre has been added, with an approximate opening year of 1942, I suspect that the project that Clifford Balch designed for the Rennies in 1941 was the Town Theatre, which was referred to as Rennie’s Towne Theatre at least once in The Film Daily.
A history of the San Fernando Hardware Company Building (PDF here), which was designed by Edward J. Borgmeyer in 1925, says that Borgmeyer also designed the Rennie Theatre, which had opened earlier that year. Although the paper doesn’t cite a source for the claim, it does seem plausible. Before its remodeling, the theater definitely had the look of the mid-1920s, and Borgmeyer was a well-known theater architect by 1925.
Interestingly, Borgmeyer had designed another movie theater in San Fernando almost a decade earlier. The project was noted in the May 13, 1916, issue of Southwest Contractor & Manufacturer. So far I’ve been unable to find the name of that theater or any details about it.
Walter S. Keller was the architect of the Plaza Theatre, according to his page at the University of Washington’s Pacific Coast Architecture Database. He also designed the Cabrillo Theatre next door.
Walter S. Keller was the architect of the Cabrillo Theatre, according to Southwest Contractor & Manufacturer of November 7, 1914. The construction permit had just been issued to contractors Armstrong & Peffley. Loupy & Pignot were the owners of the project.
Keller was also the architect of the adjacent Plaza Theatre, according to his page at ArchitectDB.
The November 7, 1914, issue of Southwest Contractor & Manufacturer ran an item about an addition to the Lyric Theatre in Upland. The addition was to be 34x50 feet, and the theater was to get a new pressed brick front, marble and tile lobby, and other improvements as well. The $4,500 project was designed by Los Angeles architect Homer W. Glidden.
I wonder if the Lyric got a new name along with the remodeling job? The Colonial/Upland Theatre might be the same house.
Linkrot repair: The brief item about the renovation of the Middleboro Theatre in Boxoffice of August 14, 1948, can now be found here. The item says that the architects for the extensive renovation were Krokyn & Browne of Boston.
Charles Hodgdon had opened the Park Theatre by 1917, and had renamed it the Middleboro Theatre by 1934. Charles and David Hodgdon were still operating the Middleboro when it was renovated in 1948.
The Schine circuit’s Vernon Theatre in Mount Vernon, Ohio, was listed in the “Theaters Under Construction” column of The Film Daily, April 9, 1938. The architect for the project was John Eberson.
The Riverside Theatre in Cleveland was listed in the “New Theaters” column of The Film Daily for April 9, 1938. The item named the architect only as Burrows. This must have been George Howard Burrows, architect of at least five other theaters in north central Ohio.
Skirball Brothers built Akron’s Forum Theatre in 1938, according to an item in the April 9 issue of The Film Daily that year. The architect for the project was John Eberson.
According to the April 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily, when the Colonial Theatre was rebuilt following the fire that year, the architect for the project was Clarence Kivett. This was seven years before Kivett formed a partnership with Ralph E. Myers. From 1945 to 1975, Kivett & Myers was the leading architectural design firm in Kansas City.
The Greendale Theatre was listed in the “Theaters Planned” column of the April 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily“Worcester — Greendale, 1,200 seats; Architect: C. Buckley; Cost: $200,000.”Architect Cornelius W. Buckley’s later firm, C. W. Buckley Inc., was in operation at least into the early 1970s.
Though not yet named, the University Theatre was probably the project that was listed as being under construction in the April 9, 1938 issue of The Film Daily:
“Charlottesville — New, 580 seats, West Main St.; Builder: Jefferson and Lafayette Theaters, Inc.; Architect: Pruitt & Brown; Cost: $60,000.”
Pruitt & Brown was a firm based in New York City, but with branch offices in Virginia and in Oklahoma.
The April 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily listed the Blatt Brothers' Governor Theatre in Somerset among the new theaters under construction in Pennsylvania. The 1,000-seat house was to cost $65,000, and was set to open on April 20.
The item says that the theater was designed by an architectural firm called Walker & Mong, but I think it might have been a Pennsylvania architect who appears in the American Institute of Architects database as George L. Walker Mong. The AIA might have made a mistake, but it seems more likely that it would have been the magazine that made it.
This page has a late photo of the Majestic Theatre. Judging from the cars it was taken in the late 1940s or early 1950s. The Majestic had no attraction board on its marquee, and the posters in the cases are too small to read.
The Majestic Theatre was built in 1907. The March 23 issue of the Chicago finance and real estate journal The Economist ran this item about the project:
“Marshall & Fox are completing plans for the Majestic theater which Boyle & Holzman will build at Johnstown, Pa. It will be two stories high, 64x150, and on the roof there will be a garden. It will have a seating capacity of 1,200 and will cost $75,000.”>
Marshall & Fox designed Johnstown’s most splendid theater in the Beaux Arts style, but perched atop it a pergola for the Majestic’s roof garden. This feature is displayed in two early postcard photos of the house at JohnstownCafe (scroll down to reach the thumbnails near the bottom of the page.)
The Majestic was listed in the 1908-1909 edition of the Cahn guide as a ground floor house with 605 orchestra seats, 367 in the balcony, and a gallery accommodating 450. It had a good sized stage (40x62 feet) capable of accommodating all but the most elaborate traveling productions. However, the 1913-1914 Cahn guide said that the house was playing vaudeville exclusively.
A Robin Theatre was mentioned in the August 14, 1915, issue of The Moving Picture World (it had been “extensively altered” and new equipment had been installed), but its address was given as 2301 Robin Avenue. There is no 2300 block of Robin Avenue now, and probably wasn’t then, either, unless the street has since been drastically renumbered, so the address was probably a mistake. We can’t be sure that it was this Robin Theatre that the item was about, but it’s a possibility.
Thanks for the update, Ron. As this theater opened in 1918, then it must have been the project designed by S. L. Milton that was recorded in the American Contractor item I cited in my previous comment.
I’ve found only one earlier reference to architect Milton, from 1914, but there are several references to a contractor named S. L. Milton from the early 1920s. Maybe he found there was more money in contracting. But then the clean lines of this little building are quite modern for 1918. Maybe he was just too far ahead of his time as an architect.
A 1938 advertisement for the Manos circuit’s theaters in Latrobe names them as the Manos, the Grand, and the Olympic, so the Paramount must have been the one that had been renamed Manos by that year.
Here is an item from the September 2, 1936, issue of The Film Daily:
“Latrobe, Pa. — Mike Manos, president of Manos Enterprises, which recently acquired the Temple and Chase Street Theaters in Kane, announces the purchase of all holdings of the Indiana County Theater Co., including the Paramount and Olympic here, the lease on the local Grand, the Richelieu at Blairsville, the Casino and the Arcadia at Vandergrift and the Empire at Homer City.”
From its appearance in the photo above, and from the satellite view at Google Maps, I suspect that the Manos Theatre was the former Paramount, which opened around the beginning of August, 1916, according to the report in the August 5 issue of The Moving Picture World:
“The new Paramount theater was thrown
open to the public of Latrobe, Pa., several days ago, and made a splendid impression. The house, which is owned by Peter Lampropolis, is said to be the finest between Pittsburgh and Johnstown. It is up-to-date in every way and has a seating capacity of 1,000, including a spacious balcony. The building itself measures 100 by 50 feet and and is of fireproof construction throughout. The exterior is quite attractive, while the interior combines the highest degree of good taste and comfort. Entrance to the auditorium is had from a well-arranged lobby, from each end of which wide stairways lead to the balcony seating 480 persons. The main floor of the auditorium has 520 seats, with wide aisles.”
Issues of The American Contractor from late 1915 carry notices about the Lampropolis theater project in Latrobe, and name the architect as M. Nirdlinger. Maximilian Nirdlinger also designed the Kenyon Opera House in Pittsburgh and a 1921 theater project in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that I’ve not yet been able to identify.
Michael Manos took over the lease on the Grand Theatre in Latrobe from the Indiana County Theatre Company in 1936, according to an item in the September 2 issue of The Film Daily. He also acquired Latrobe’s Paramount and Olympic Theatres in the same deal.
There are a couple of early photos of the Grand Theatre on this page at Pittsburg, Kansas Memories.
The October 24, 1927, issue of The Film Daily said that the Rose Theatre in Thomasville, Georgia, had recently been opened by the Interstate Amusement Company. The Rose was designed by architect C. K. Howell.
I just noticed that in this 1925 photo (linked earlier by Lost Memory) the Rivoli’s marquee says “Gala Opening Sept. Seventh.”
A survey of Greenville’s architecture for the NRHP says that the Rivoli Theatre was designed by the local architectural firm Beacham & LeGrand (James Douthit Beacham and Leon LeGrand.) It says that they also designed a house called the Piedmont Theatre. We don’t have a Piedmont Theatre listed for Greenville, and I’ve been unable to discover when it was operating or whether it later operated under another name.
scmovietheatres and the Greenville County Historical Society’s book Remebering Greenville both say that the Rivoli Theatre opened in 1925. The book also notes that the Rivoli became the Fox Theatre in 1949. The Fox remained in operation the longest of any of Greenville’s Main Street theaters, finally closing in 1978 according to an article quoted on this page at Greenville Film House.
Miller’s Theatre was expanded in 1916, according to an item in the October 21 issue of Southwest Contractor & Manufacturer. Construction was to begin immediately on an addition 28x60 feet. There would be anew stage, and seating capacity was to be increased by 210. A sprinkler system was to be installed throughout the theater, and the entire house would be redecorated. The project was being carried out by the Milwaukee Building Company.
In the August 1, 1941, issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor there was an item saying that Clifford Balch had made plans for a theater on Maclay Avenue in San Fernando for Maude L. and John T. Rennie. This house was refereed to at least once as Rennie’s Towne Theatre in The Film Daily (Towne appears to have been the original spelling of the theater’s name.) If the Towne did open in 1942, it must have been the project designed by Balch.
Now that I’ve seen photos of the Azteca Theatre, and the Town (Centre) Theatre has been added, with an approximate opening year of 1942, I suspect that the project that Clifford Balch designed for the Rennies in 1941 was the Town Theatre, which was referred to as Rennie’s Towne Theatre at least once in The Film Daily.
A history of the San Fernando Hardware Company Building (PDF here), which was designed by Edward J. Borgmeyer in 1925, says that Borgmeyer also designed the Rennie Theatre, which had opened earlier that year. Although the paper doesn’t cite a source for the claim, it does seem plausible. Before its remodeling, the theater definitely had the look of the mid-1920s, and Borgmeyer was a well-known theater architect by 1925.
Interestingly, Borgmeyer had designed another movie theater in San Fernando almost a decade earlier. The project was noted in the May 13, 1916, issue of Southwest Contractor & Manufacturer. So far I’ve been unable to find the name of that theater or any details about it.
Walter S. Keller was the architect of the Plaza Theatre, according to his page at the University of Washington’s Pacific Coast Architecture Database. He also designed the Cabrillo Theatre next door.
Walter S. Keller was the architect of the Cabrillo Theatre, according to Southwest Contractor & Manufacturer of November 7, 1914. The construction permit had just been issued to contractors Armstrong & Peffley. Loupy & Pignot were the owners of the project.
Keller was also the architect of the adjacent Plaza Theatre, according to his page at ArchitectDB.
The November 7, 1914, issue of Southwest Contractor & Manufacturer ran an item about an addition to the Lyric Theatre in Upland. The addition was to be 34x50 feet, and the theater was to get a new pressed brick front, marble and tile lobby, and other improvements as well. The $4,500 project was designed by Los Angeles architect Homer W. Glidden.
I wonder if the Lyric got a new name along with the remodeling job? The Colonial/Upland Theatre might be the same house.
Linkrot repair: The brief item about the renovation of the Middleboro Theatre in Boxoffice of August 14, 1948, can now be found here. The item says that the architects for the extensive renovation were Krokyn & Browne of Boston.
Charles Hodgdon had opened the Park Theatre by 1917, and had renamed it the Middleboro Theatre by 1934. Charles and David Hodgdon were still operating the Middleboro when it was renovated in 1948.
The Schine circuit’s Vernon Theatre in Mount Vernon, Ohio, was listed in the “Theaters Under Construction” column of The Film Daily, April 9, 1938. The architect for the project was John Eberson.
The Riverside Theatre in Cleveland was listed in the “New Theaters” column of The Film Daily for April 9, 1938. The item named the architect only as Burrows. This must have been George Howard Burrows, architect of at least five other theaters in north central Ohio.
Skirball Brothers built Akron’s Forum Theatre in 1938, according to an item in the April 9 issue of The Film Daily that year. The architect for the project was John Eberson.
According to the April 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily, when the Colonial Theatre was rebuilt following the fire that year, the architect for the project was Clarence Kivett. This was seven years before Kivett formed a partnership with Ralph E. Myers. From 1945 to 1975, Kivett & Myers was the leading architectural design firm in Kansas City.
The Greendale Theatre was listed in the “Theaters Planned” column of the April 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily“Worcester — Greendale, 1,200 seats; Architect: C. Buckley; Cost: $200,000.”Architect Cornelius W. Buckley’s later firm, C. W. Buckley Inc., was in operation at least into the early 1970s.
Though not yet named, the University Theatre was probably the project that was listed as being under construction in the April 9, 1938 issue of The Film Daily:
Pruitt & Brown was a firm based in New York City, but with branch offices in Virginia and in Oklahoma.The April 9, 1938, issue of The Film Daily listed the Blatt Brothers' Governor Theatre in Somerset among the new theaters under construction in Pennsylvania. The 1,000-seat house was to cost $65,000, and was set to open on April 20.
The item says that the theater was designed by an architectural firm called Walker & Mong, but I think it might have been a Pennsylvania architect who appears in the American Institute of Architects database as George L. Walker Mong. The AIA might have made a mistake, but it seems more likely that it would have been the magazine that made it.
This page has a late photo of the Majestic Theatre. Judging from the cars it was taken in the late 1940s or early 1950s. The Majestic had no attraction board on its marquee, and the posters in the cases are too small to read.
The Majestic Theatre was built in 1907. The March 23 issue of the Chicago finance and real estate journal The Economist ran this item about the project:
Marshall & Fox designed Johnstown’s most splendid theater in the Beaux Arts style, but perched atop it a pergola for the Majestic’s roof garden. This feature is displayed in two early postcard photos of the house at JohnstownCafe (scroll down to reach the thumbnails near the bottom of the page.)The Majestic was listed in the 1908-1909 edition of the Cahn guide as a ground floor house with 605 orchestra seats, 367 in the balcony, and a gallery accommodating 450. It had a good sized stage (40x62 feet) capable of accommodating all but the most elaborate traveling productions. However, the 1913-1914 Cahn guide said that the house was playing vaudeville exclusively.
A Robin Theatre was mentioned in the August 14, 1915, issue of The Moving Picture World (it had been “extensively altered” and new equipment had been installed), but its address was given as 2301 Robin Avenue. There is no 2300 block of Robin Avenue now, and probably wasn’t then, either, unless the street has since been drastically renumbered, so the address was probably a mistake. We can’t be sure that it was this Robin Theatre that the item was about, but it’s a possibility.
Thanks for the update, Ron. As this theater opened in 1918, then it must have been the project designed by S. L. Milton that was recorded in the American Contractor item I cited in my previous comment.
I’ve found only one earlier reference to architect Milton, from 1914, but there are several references to a contractor named S. L. Milton from the early 1920s. Maybe he found there was more money in contracting. But then the clean lines of this little building are quite modern for 1918. Maybe he was just too far ahead of his time as an architect.
A Grand Theatre in Latrobe is mentioned in the January 22, 1910, issue of The Moving Picture World.
A 1938 advertisement for the Manos circuit’s theaters in Latrobe names them as the Manos, the Grand, and the Olympic, so the Paramount must have been the one that had been renamed Manos by that year.
Here is an item from the September 2, 1936, issue of The Film Daily:
From its appearance in the photo above, and from the satellite view at Google Maps, I suspect that the Manos Theatre was the former Paramount, which opened around the beginning of August, 1916, according to the report in the August 5 issue of The Moving Picture World:Issues of The American Contractor from late 1915 carry notices about the Lampropolis theater project in Latrobe, and name the architect as M. Nirdlinger. Maximilian Nirdlinger also designed the Kenyon Opera House in Pittsburgh and a 1921 theater project in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that I’ve not yet been able to identify.Michael Manos took over the lease on the Grand Theatre in Latrobe from the Indiana County Theatre Company in 1936, according to an item in the September 2 issue of The Film Daily. He also acquired Latrobe’s Paramount and Olympic Theatres in the same deal.