This house was mentioned in the February 12, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World: “The Central opera house at McHenry, Ill., has been running moving pictures only on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.”
This item appears in the May 28, 1927 Moving Picture World: “A. R. Langston has opened the Langston Theatre at Arcola, Ill., and the house is one of the finest little theatres in that territory.” I don’t know if it had anything to do with the Ritz, but I’m putting it on this page to see if anyone knows anything about it.
The May 28, 1927 issue of Moving Picture World ran a brief notice that the Miner Theatre at St. Cloud was being remodeled by Finkelstein and Ruben for use by roadshows.
The Alhambra Theatre started at 3215 Penn and in 1927 moved into a new building next door. News that architect O. K. Westphal had designed the new house for theater owner Harry Dickerman appeared in the May 28, 1927 issue of Motion Picture Herald. The permit for construction had just been issued.
The People’s Theatre at Crosby was mentioned in the May 28, 1927 issue of Moving Picture World. Owner George Thorpe and his son Harvey were planning to build a stage at the house to accomodate vaudeville and road shows. They also operated the Orpheum Theatre at Ironton, and planned to build a new 400-seat house in that town.
The May 28, 1927 issue of Motion Picture Herald said that “C. H. Sevatius, owner of the Casino in Milaca, Minn., is making extensive improvements on the theatre.”
This theater was mentioned in the “Illinois Theatre Changes” column of Moving Picture World for October 21, 1916: “Oneida, Ill. The Park Theater opened September 27 with the ‘Eternal City.; The music is furnished by a five piece orchestra.” The house might have been a seasonal operation in its early years, or this might have been when it began operating as a movie house.
The April 22, 1916 issue of MPW mentioned “Paul Ericson’s Cozy theater” at Oneida. I don’t know if this was a second house or only an aka for the Park.
I am wondering if the Del Rio might have been a reopening of the old Star Theatre, which vanished from the FDY after 1929? The Star was last listed with 300 seats, and the Del Rio first appeared in the 1931 edition with 360 seats. The Del Rio was listed as a Fox house from the beginning. The Star was last listed as owned by K&F Theatres of Denver, who were also running the Rio Grande in 1929. Fox probably took control of both of K&F’s Las Cruces houses at the same time. In the economic conditions of the period, would Fox have been more likely to build a new house or just gussie up an old one that was still serviceable?
From the October 28, 1933 Film Daily: “Las Cruces, N. M.—The rebuilt Rio Grande, Foxwesco house destroyed by fire several months ago, will be opened Nov. 1. It will replace the Del Rio, which was reopened at the time of the fire.”
Aside from the news that the Rio Grande had a major fire, this brief item reveals that Fox West Coast was running the house early on.In fact the 1930 FDY lists it as owned by Wesco Corporation, headquartered at Washington and Vermont in Los Angeles, which was Fox-West Coast’s Boulevard Theatre. The 1929 FDY had listed the Rio and the Star as owned by Denver-based K&F Theatres.
The Capitol was a new house in 1923. This item is from the November 10 issue of Moving Picture World that year: “K. Kelty, formerly manager of the Strand Theatre, Yarmouth, N. S., has been appointed manager of the Capitol Theatre, a new theatre at Kentville, N. S., owned by F. G. Spencer.”
Two theater projects for Kentville were mentioned in the January 16, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World: “Fine New House for Kentville. Kentville, N. S.-With a population of but 2,400, Kentville is to be as well supplied with high-class moving picture theaters as any town its size in the dominion. Clark and Hiltz, who are now running the Nickelette are building a new theater, that is to have a seating capacity of 900 people, and R. W. Seliz, proprietor of the Arena, a summer theater, has purchased land and will start work in May on a house of almost equal size.”
I’ve been unable to discover if both or either of these theaters got built, or anything about them if they were.
Was this house entirely new in 1948, or was it an older theater that was remodeled? It’s the only house listed on Wyandotte E., which was where the May, 1917 issue of the trade journal Construction said an unnamed theater was to be altered: “Windsor, Ont.-Architect J. C. Pennington, Labelle Building, is preparing plans for an addition to a theatre on Wyandotte street east to cost $5,000; M. D. Armaby, 152 Wyandotte street east, is the owner.”
Here is an item from the May, 1917 issue of the Canadian trade journal Construction: “Trail. B.C. - Victor Blanci and Rod McDonald have been awarded the general contract for the erection of a theatre for the Trail Opera House Company, Limited, to cost $15,000.”
The Fox Theatre at Sprague and Monroe was originally to have been an atmospheric house designed by John Eberson, when it was in its planning stage in 1928, but financing problems due in part to the onset of the depression lead to delays and a change in architects. This early notice about the original project appeared in the September 29, 1928 issue of Pacific Builder and Engineer:
“Ready for Bids Soon-Theater. Sprague and Monroe. Revised plans nearing completion, bids will be called within 30-60 days accordg to Louis Cohen, (now at Davenport Hotel), mgr Real Estate Dept, West Coast Theaters Corp, Los Angeles. To be financed by LN Rosenbaum & Co, New York, Seattle Theater Bldg, Seattle. (Prev anned) Local ARCHTS Riggs and Van Tyne, Peyton Bldg, main plans by ARCHT John Eberson, Chicago and NY. Fireprf constr, stl, re and brk constr, overage of exits; atmospheric style; ext frame, brk trim with t cover stl and conc skeleton; 13 shops on Sprague st; 1 sty 30' deep, 3 stys to be back of shops; 8 shops on Monroe 30' deep; theater lounges on 2nd, 3rd, 4th flrs above shops; main entrance on Sprague and Monroe; rotunda, double tower effect; auditrm 48' hi; auditrm 3000 capy, $1,400,000.”
As much as I like John Eberson’s work, I can’t help but think that Spokane got very lucky, given how splendid the theater turned out as designed by Robert Reamer and Anthony Heinsbergen.
The November 24, 1928 issue of Pacific Builder and Engineer had a brief notice about the Woodland Theatre project. The theater would occupy half the building, which was 100x90 feet. The remainder was occupied by a store, 25x90 and a stage terminal (bus station) also 25x90. The 50x90 foot theater was to seat 418.
The Royal Theatre at Guelph was designed in 1934 for developer Joseph Wolfond by the city’s leading architect, William Austin Mahoney. As the project was announced in December, 1933, it was probably opened before the end of 1934.
The Royal theatre was one of three houses listed at Woodstock in 1938, the others being the Capitol and the Princess. The Royal was designed in 1937 for Samuel D. Axelrod by Guelph architect William Austin Mahoney, and might have opened before the end of 1937. Mahoney also designed the Royal Theatre at Guelph in 1934 and the Grand Theatre at Fergus in 1928.
The Orpheum Theatre was mentioned in the 1923 edition of the Westville Hugh School Janus Yearbook. An even earlier mention was in the November 15, 1912 issue of The Player in a list of “Houses which book independently” which says “Westville, Orpheum; Mike Gerrib.” The surname connects the Orpheum to a mention of Westville’s Eagle Theatre in the February 18, 1928 issue of Exhibitors Herald which notes that it was being operated by a Walter Gerrib.
Despite the 1912 mention, the Orpheum is not one of the three theaters listed at Westville in the 1914-1915 AMPD. The Eagle is listed, but the other two were the Union and a house called The Ark Theatre at 5 S. State Street. On the 1915 Sanborn map of Westville, 5 S. State is a vacant store, but there is a building at 12 S. State labeled “Motion Pictures” immediately north of an alley that used to run west from State Street just midway between Main Street and South Street, so just where Apple Maps puts the pin icon for modern 102 S. State. I’m thinking this must have been the Orpheum, possibly with the aka Union in 1914. The site was a vacant lot on the 1909 Sanborn.
The site of the second theater on the 1915 map was also a vacant lot in 1909. That one, then 23 N. State, on the east side of State a bit less than halfway north from Main to Short Street, was probably the Eagle/State. Interestingly, the 1909 map shows two storefronts labeled as Electric Theatres, one across and a bit north from the Eagle, and one on the northwest corner of State and Main.
The Eagle Theatre at Westville was mentioned in the February 18, 1928 issue of Exhibitors Herald. It was being operated by Walter Gerrib. In later years the State was being operated by Mike Gerrib. A December 7, 1957 Boxoffice item congratulated Mike Gerrib on his 70th birthday, with “…the wish that he will continue his operation of the Georgetown at Georgetown and the State, Westville for many years to come.”
What would become the Miller Theatre on Sutter Avenue was announced in the May 16, 1914 issue of Real Estate Record and Builders Guide: “SUTTER AV.-Farber & Markwitz, 189 Montague st, are preparing plans for a 1-sty brick moving picture theatre and stores at the southwest corner of Sutter and Miller avs, for M. Lesselbaum, 432 Ashford st, owner. Cost, about $18,000.”
An item in the May 1, 1914 issue of Real Estate Record and Builders Guide has me wondering if this house might have opened earlier than we thought, or was this just an earlier proposal for the same intersection that fell through? The item said that architect Paul H. LaVelle was preparing plans for a $100,000 brick and terra cotta theater and two stores, 70x175 feet, at Jackson and Westchester Avenue. The project was to be built for Harthill (or Hartbill?) Realty and Mortgage Company, Joseph Hersberg, president. Bids were to be taken on the general contract around May 20.
It took me a while to realize that this item from the May 2, 1914 issue of Real Estate Record and Builders Guide was about the Williamsburg Theatre. There were so many theaters on this short stretch of Broadway, it must have been a great place for kids who loved movies to grow up.
The Miller Theatre likely opened in 1914. The May 2 issue of Real Estate Record and Builders Guide that year carried this notice: “SARATOGA AV, es, 67 n St. Marks av, 1-sty brick theatre. 52.2x52.3, slag roof: cost, $10.000; owner, Main Bldg. Co., 1464 Eastern parkway; architects, Eisenla & Carlson, 16 Court st. Plan No. 2523.”
This house was mentioned in the February 12, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World: “The Central opera house at McHenry, Ill., has been running moving pictures only on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.”
The Fairy Theatre was one of three houses listed at Granville in the 1914-1915 AMPD. The others were the Majestic and the New Star.
The November, 1913 Sanborn map of Henry shows the Opera House at what is now addresses 316-318 Edward Street.
This item appears in the May 28, 1927 Moving Picture World: “A. R. Langston has opened the Langston Theatre at Arcola, Ill., and the house is one of the finest little theatres in that territory.” I don’t know if it had anything to do with the Ritz, but I’m putting it on this page to see if anyone knows anything about it.
The May 28, 1927 issue of Moving Picture World ran a brief notice that the Miner Theatre at St. Cloud was being remodeled by Finkelstein and Ruben for use by roadshows.
The Alhambra Theatre started at 3215 Penn and in 1927 moved into a new building next door. News that architect O. K. Westphal had designed the new house for theater owner Harry Dickerman appeared in the May 28, 1927 issue of Motion Picture Herald. The permit for construction had just been issued.
The People’s Theatre at Crosby was mentioned in the May 28, 1927 issue of Moving Picture World. Owner George Thorpe and his son Harvey were planning to build a stage at the house to accomodate vaudeville and road shows. They also operated the Orpheum Theatre at Ironton, and planned to build a new 400-seat house in that town.
The May 28, 1927 issue of Motion Picture Herald said that “C. H. Sevatius, owner of the Casino in Milaca, Minn., is making extensive improvements on the theatre.”
This theater was mentioned in the “Illinois Theatre Changes” column of Moving Picture World for October 21, 1916: “Oneida, Ill. The Park Theater opened September 27 with the ‘Eternal City.; The music is furnished by a five piece orchestra.” The house might have been a seasonal operation in its early years, or this might have been when it began operating as a movie house.
The April 22, 1916 issue of MPW mentioned “Paul Ericson’s Cozy theater” at Oneida. I don’t know if this was a second house or only an aka for the Park.
I am wondering if the Del Rio might have been a reopening of the old Star Theatre, which vanished from the FDY after 1929? The Star was last listed with 300 seats, and the Del Rio first appeared in the 1931 edition with 360 seats. The Del Rio was listed as a Fox house from the beginning. The Star was last listed as owned by K&F Theatres of Denver, who were also running the Rio Grande in 1929. Fox probably took control of both of K&F’s Las Cruces houses at the same time. In the economic conditions of the period, would Fox have been more likely to build a new house or just gussie up an old one that was still serviceable?
From the October 28, 1933 Film Daily: “Las Cruces, N. M.—The rebuilt Rio Grande, Foxwesco house destroyed by fire several months ago, will be opened Nov. 1. It will replace the Del Rio, which was reopened at the time of the fire.”
Aside from the news that the Rio Grande had a major fire, this brief item reveals that Fox West Coast was running the house early on.In fact the 1930 FDY lists it as owned by Wesco Corporation, headquartered at Washington and Vermont in Los Angeles, which was Fox-West Coast’s Boulevard Theatre. The 1929 FDY had listed the Rio and the Star as owned by Denver-based K&F Theatres.
The Capitol was a new house in 1923. This item is from the November 10 issue of Moving Picture World that year: “K. Kelty, formerly manager of the Strand Theatre, Yarmouth, N. S., has been appointed manager of the Capitol Theatre, a new theatre at Kentville, N. S., owned by F. G. Spencer.”
Two theater projects for Kentville were mentioned in the January 16, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World: “Fine New House for Kentville. Kentville, N. S.-With a population of but 2,400, Kentville is to be as well supplied with high-class moving picture theaters as any town its size in the dominion. Clark and Hiltz, who are now running the Nickelette are building a new theater, that is to have a seating capacity of 900 people, and R. W. Seliz, proprietor of the Arena, a summer theater, has purchased land and will start work in May on a house of almost equal size.”
I’ve been unable to discover if both or either of these theaters got built, or anything about them if they were.
Was this house entirely new in 1948, or was it an older theater that was remodeled? It’s the only house listed on Wyandotte E., which was where the May, 1917 issue of the trade journal Construction said an unnamed theater was to be altered: “Windsor, Ont.-Architect J. C. Pennington, Labelle Building, is preparing plans for an addition to a theatre on Wyandotte street east to cost $5,000; M. D. Armaby, 152 Wyandotte street east, is the owner.”
Here is an item from the May, 1917 issue of the Canadian trade journal Construction: “Trail. B.C. - Victor Blanci and Rod McDonald have been awarded the general contract for the erection of a theatre for the Trail Opera House Company, Limited, to cost $15,000.”
The Fox Theatre at Sprague and Monroe was originally to have been an atmospheric house designed by John Eberson, when it was in its planning stage in 1928, but financing problems due in part to the onset of the depression lead to delays and a change in architects. This early notice about the original project appeared in the September 29, 1928 issue of Pacific Builder and Engineer:
“Ready for Bids Soon-Theater. Sprague and Monroe. Revised plans nearing completion, bids will be called within 30-60 days accordg to Louis Cohen, (now at Davenport Hotel), mgr Real Estate Dept, West Coast Theaters Corp, Los Angeles. To be financed by LN Rosenbaum & Co, New York, Seattle Theater Bldg, Seattle. (Prev anned) Local ARCHTS Riggs and Van Tyne, Peyton Bldg, main plans by ARCHT John Eberson, Chicago and NY. Fireprf constr, stl, re and brk constr, overage of exits; atmospheric style; ext frame, brk trim with t cover stl and conc skeleton; 13 shops on Sprague st; 1 sty 30' deep, 3 stys to be back of shops; 8 shops on Monroe 30' deep; theater lounges on 2nd, 3rd, 4th flrs above shops; main entrance on Sprague and Monroe; rotunda, double tower effect; auditrm 48' hi; auditrm 3000 capy, $1,400,000.”
As much as I like John Eberson’s work, I can’t help but think that Spokane got very lucky, given how splendid the theater turned out as designed by Robert Reamer and Anthony Heinsbergen.
The November 24, 1928 issue of Pacific Builder and Engineer had a brief notice about the Woodland Theatre project. The theater would occupy half the building, which was 100x90 feet. The remainder was occupied by a store, 25x90 and a stage terminal (bus station) also 25x90. The 50x90 foot theater was to seat 418.
The Grand Theatre at Fergus was designed by Guelph architect William Austin Mahoney.
The Royal Theatre at Guelph was designed in 1934 for developer Joseph Wolfond by the city’s leading architect, William Austin Mahoney. As the project was announced in December, 1933, it was probably opened before the end of 1934.
The Royal theatre was one of three houses listed at Woodstock in 1938, the others being the Capitol and the Princess. The Royal was designed in 1937 for Samuel D. Axelrod by Guelph architect William Austin Mahoney, and might have opened before the end of 1937. Mahoney also designed the Royal Theatre at Guelph in 1934 and the Grand Theatre at Fergus in 1928.
The Orpheum Theatre was mentioned in the 1923 edition of the Westville Hugh School Janus Yearbook. An even earlier mention was in the November 15, 1912 issue of The Player in a list of “Houses which book independently” which says “Westville, Orpheum; Mike Gerrib.” The surname connects the Orpheum to a mention of Westville’s Eagle Theatre in the February 18, 1928 issue of Exhibitors Herald which notes that it was being operated by a Walter Gerrib.
Despite the 1912 mention, the Orpheum is not one of the three theaters listed at Westville in the 1914-1915 AMPD. The Eagle is listed, but the other two were the Union and a house called The Ark Theatre at 5 S. State Street. On the 1915 Sanborn map of Westville, 5 S. State is a vacant store, but there is a building at 12 S. State labeled “Motion Pictures” immediately north of an alley that used to run west from State Street just midway between Main Street and South Street, so just where Apple Maps puts the pin icon for modern 102 S. State. I’m thinking this must have been the Orpheum, possibly with the aka Union in 1914. The site was a vacant lot on the 1909 Sanborn.
The site of the second theater on the 1915 map was also a vacant lot in 1909. That one, then 23 N. State, on the east side of State a bit less than halfway north from Main to Short Street, was probably the Eagle/State. Interestingly, the 1909 map shows two storefronts labeled as Electric Theatres, one across and a bit north from the Eagle, and one on the northwest corner of State and Main.
The Eagle Theatre at Westville was mentioned in the February 18, 1928 issue of Exhibitors Herald. It was being operated by Walter Gerrib. In later years the State was being operated by Mike Gerrib. A December 7, 1957 Boxoffice item congratulated Mike Gerrib on his 70th birthday, with “…the wish that he will continue his operation of the Georgetown at Georgetown and the State, Westville for many years to come.”
What would become the Miller Theatre on Sutter Avenue was announced in the May 16, 1914 issue of Real Estate Record and Builders Guide: “SUTTER AV.-Farber & Markwitz, 189 Montague st, are preparing plans for a 1-sty brick moving picture theatre and stores at the southwest corner of Sutter and Miller avs, for M. Lesselbaum, 432 Ashford st, owner. Cost, about $18,000.”
An item in the May 1, 1914 issue of Real Estate Record and Builders Guide has me wondering if this house might have opened earlier than we thought, or was this just an earlier proposal for the same intersection that fell through? The item said that architect Paul H. LaVelle was preparing plans for a $100,000 brick and terra cotta theater and two stores, 70x175 feet, at Jackson and Westchester Avenue. The project was to be built for Harthill (or Hartbill?) Realty and Mortgage Company, Joseph Hersberg, president. Bids were to be taken on the general contract around May 20.
It took me a while to realize that this item from the May 2, 1914 issue of Real Estate Record and Builders Guide was about the Williamsburg Theatre. There were so many theaters on this short stretch of Broadway, it must have been a great place for kids who loved movies to grow up.
The Miller Theatre likely opened in 1914. The May 2 issue of Real Estate Record and Builders Guide that year carried this notice: “SARATOGA AV, es, 67 n St. Marks av, 1-sty brick theatre. 52.2x52.3, slag roof: cost, $10.000; owner, Main Bldg. Co., 1464 Eastern parkway; architects, Eisenla & Carlson, 16 Court st. Plan No. 2523.”