The 1929 listings only have the Opera House, while 1930 has nothing for Corning, and 1931 only lists the American. Unsure whether that means anything as far as temporary closures. The 1928 listings show both the American and Opera House, as well as an Airdome, which seems awfully late for one to be operating. Really wish the later maps were available.
The building was constructed sometime between 1893 and 1899. The 1914-15 listings show a Scenic theater, along with the Lyric. Not sure where that was, since the last map is from 1907, and the next is 1929, and not available online. Nothing appears on the 1907 map, but that’s pretty early. The Opera House is a possibility.
So maybe it really was destroyed completely? In that case, the new Rialto/Hardin needs its own entry. Looking at the brickwork on the auditorium, it does seem to be newer than the 1910s.
Some confusion in the history. The building at 419 was not a clothing store. That was the building at 403, which is still there. I think we can be fairly confident that 419 was the Isis, since the later Community name makes perfect sense for a public hall. I’ve added a map view of that building. If we can determine whether 403 was the Wilson, or something else, I have a photo of it.
This is a poor entry, and the building may not have been demolished. The Pace building (at 403 Main St) is a 2 story concrete block structure from 1912, and was originally a clothing store. The 1933 map shows it extended to the rear, and showing movies.
This may have been the same as the Isis, since the capacity is identical at 250 (nothing I’ve seen shows 310 for anything). The Isis appears in listings from 1914-15, up through 1929. New Market is not listed in the 1930 Yearbook. The Community is listed from 1931, but from 1933 on, it appears closed. The 1933 Sanborn is from January, and doesn’t note it as closed. It’s still listed as closed (or at least without capacity) in the 1946 Yearbook, along with a Wilson, and finally disappears in the 1947 edition.
However, a building at 419 Main, which is now under a big ugly shed housing a trucking business, appears on the 1912 map as a theater, and on the 1933 map as a public hall. That use suggests ‘Community’ as a sensible name. Either way, the Isis and Community were likely the same.
It’s not at all clear where the Wilson was, and that has likely been demolished, since most of downtown is gone. It could have been a reopening of the 1933 theater, if that was not the Community.
It was not really ‘destroyed’. The front certainly was, and was replaced by the Hardin Building. The rear of this is definitely an auditorium, and the Rialto is listed in the 1957 yearbook. Later yearbooks are pretty useless, since they only list circuits.
The theater was likely built after 1914-15, and appears on the 1918 map as the Clark, with a capacity of 425. It originally had a very large opera house style balcony, which still appears on the 1933 map. The yearbook for that year lists a capacity of 400. I assume the balcony was greatly reduced at some point. The name was changed to Rialto by 1926 at the latest.
The awful new front was applied sometime after the mid-‘50s. At that point, it was a J.C. Penney, with a redone ground floor, but intact upper facade and cornice.
I wish the later maps were online. I think the next one was 1926 or 29. I had assumed the Temple was in a masonic building, which I could not find. One possibility is 323-325 E 4th, which had a lodge hall above, but the storefront doesn’t look like it was ever a theater (of course it could have been a short-lived upstairs venue). Another possibility might be the opera house, which was a wooden building at about 206 E 4th. It’s been replaced by what looks like an old dealership.
The theater was a remodel of the Wycoff building, which was constructed between 1893 and 1899. There were two stores, and the streetview will still show the old cast iron entry at the rear for the northern storefront, which wrapped around in an ‘L’. It appears that the cheap sheet metal trash was installed to replace a vitrolite front.
Theater and the rest of that half block were demolished this August. They saved the vertical part of the sign, and will ‘rebuild’. Doubtless a cheap metal shed or something similar.
The history needs to be corrected. Bacon’s Opera House appears on the 1883 map, so it was constructed at some point before that. It is shown as 21' tall through the 1893 map, while 1899 and later maps show it 26-28' tall with a mansard roof, indicating a remodel. The conversion to the Atlantic flattened the roof and replaced the facade, but the footprint and stage are the same from the 1913 to the 1923 map.
Only the Majestic and Unique are listed in the 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory. It’s possible no films were shown here until the 1922 remodel.
Shown on the Dec. 1913 map, while the Nov. 1908 map has a dry goods store here. This was closed by April 1923, as the map shows a store here. The building was constructed between 1883 and 1888. For some reason, I did not take a picture of this one.
Appears on the Dec. 1913 map. The Nov. 1908 map has the YMCA here. A lodge hall appears on the second floor on the 1913 map, but is gone on the 1923 map. The building dates to 1891.
Still listed as the Harris in 1955, it appears as the Avoca in the 1956 Yearbook. Still open in 1957, so the mid-‘50s date is wrong. The Yearbooks afterward are less useful, and only list theaters belonging to circuits. It has to have been closed by 1969, when the Legion moved in.
I’m not sure this was ever known as the Harris-Avoca. That name makes no sense. It may have been called the Avoca at some point. The address needs to be corrected. It may originally have been 309 N Elm, but the N-S divider has been moved to High St, and the odds and evens switched sides.
This needs to be corrected to closed. Incredibly ugly building. Maybe someone will pull that trashy dryvit off of it.
The 1929 listings only have the Opera House, while 1930 has nothing for Corning, and 1931 only lists the American. Unsure whether that means anything as far as temporary closures. The 1928 listings show both the American and Opera House, as well as an Airdome, which seems awfully late for one to be operating. Really wish the later maps were available.
The building was constructed sometime between 1893 and 1899. The 1914-15 listings show a Scenic theater, along with the Lyric. Not sure where that was, since the last map is from 1907, and the next is 1929, and not available online. Nothing appears on the 1907 map, but that’s pretty early. The Opera House is a possibility.
So maybe it really was destroyed completely? In that case, the new Rialto/Hardin needs its own entry. Looking at the brickwork on the auditorium, it does seem to be newer than the 1910s.
Some confusion in the history. The building at 419 was not a clothing store. That was the building at 403, which is still there. I think we can be fairly confident that 419 was the Isis, since the later Community name makes perfect sense for a public hall. I’ve added a map view of that building. If we can determine whether 403 was the Wilson, or something else, I have a photo of it.
This is a poor entry, and the building may not have been demolished. The Pace building (at 403 Main St) is a 2 story concrete block structure from 1912, and was originally a clothing store. The 1933 map shows it extended to the rear, and showing movies.
This may have been the same as the Isis, since the capacity is identical at 250 (nothing I’ve seen shows 310 for anything). The Isis appears in listings from 1914-15, up through 1929. New Market is not listed in the 1930 Yearbook. The Community is listed from 1931, but from 1933 on, it appears closed. The 1933 Sanborn is from January, and doesn’t note it as closed. It’s still listed as closed (or at least without capacity) in the 1946 Yearbook, along with a Wilson, and finally disappears in the 1947 edition.
However, a building at 419 Main, which is now under a big ugly shed housing a trucking business, appears on the 1912 map as a theater, and on the 1933 map as a public hall. That use suggests ‘Community’ as a sensible name. Either way, the Isis and Community were likely the same.
It’s not at all clear where the Wilson was, and that has likely been demolished, since most of downtown is gone. It could have been a reopening of the 1933 theater, if that was not the Community.
It was not really ‘destroyed’. The front certainly was, and was replaced by the Hardin Building. The rear of this is definitely an auditorium, and the Rialto is listed in the 1957 yearbook. Later yearbooks are pretty useless, since they only list circuits.
The theater was likely built after 1914-15, and appears on the 1918 map as the Clark, with a capacity of 425. It originally had a very large opera house style balcony, which still appears on the 1933 map. The yearbook for that year lists a capacity of 400. I assume the balcony was greatly reduced at some point. The name was changed to Rialto by 1926 at the latest.
The 1912 Sanborn notes ‘Damaged by Fire Nov 15, 1912 - Walls Only Remain’. That was the reason for the 1913 work.
The awful new front was applied sometime after the mid-‘50s. At that point, it was a J.C. Penney, with a redone ground floor, but intact upper facade and cornice.
I certainly can’t fault your logic. Thanks for all that research.
I wish the later maps were online. I think the next one was 1926 or 29. I had assumed the Temple was in a masonic building, which I could not find. One possibility is 323-325 E 4th, which had a lodge hall above, but the storefront doesn’t look like it was ever a theater (of course it could have been a short-lived upstairs venue). Another possibility might be the opera house, which was a wooden building at about 206 E 4th. It’s been replaced by what looks like an old dealership.
No address at all? The last map available online is 1912, so no help there.
Thanks for the history! It’s so odd that this dinky thing survived longer than the much larger opera house.
Surprising that the much smaller building lasted so long. It’s not a big town, but I assume the opera house offered superior facilities.
The theater was a remodel of the Wycoff building, which was constructed between 1893 and 1899. There were two stores, and the streetview will still show the old cast iron entry at the rear for the northern storefront, which wrapped around in an ‘L’. It appears that the cheap sheet metal trash was installed to replace a vitrolite front.
Theater and the rest of that half block were demolished this August. They saved the vertical part of the sign, and will ‘rebuild’. Doubtless a cheap metal shed or something similar.
The history needs to be corrected. Bacon’s Opera House appears on the 1883 map, so it was constructed at some point before that. It is shown as 21' tall through the 1893 map, while 1899 and later maps show it 26-28' tall with a mansard roof, indicating a remodel. The conversion to the Atlantic flattened the roof and replaced the facade, but the footprint and stage are the same from the 1913 to the 1923 map.
Only the Majestic and Unique are listed in the 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory. It’s possible no films were shown here until the 1922 remodel.
The historical address would have been on Central.
It was still open in 1923. I merely mentioned the lodge hall to show that it may have been expanded by that point. That map also shows a stage.
This was probably something like 200 or 202. 206 is the thing to the east of where the Quarry Twin used to be. My mistake on that.
Shown on the Dec. 1913 map, while the Nov. 1908 map has a dry goods store here. This was closed by April 1923, as the map shows a store here. The building was constructed between 1883 and 1888. For some reason, I did not take a picture of this one.
Appears on the Dec. 1913 map. The Nov. 1908 map has the YMCA here. A lodge hall appears on the second floor on the 1913 map, but is gone on the 1923 map. The building dates to 1891.
Last showing on their FB page is Jan. 3rd 2023. Looks like a church took over the space.
Still listed as the Harris in 1955, it appears as the Avoca in the 1956 Yearbook. Still open in 1957, so the mid-‘50s date is wrong. The Yearbooks afterward are less useful, and only list theaters belonging to circuits. It has to have been closed by 1969, when the Legion moved in.
I’m not sure this was ever known as the Harris-Avoca. That name makes no sense. It may have been called the Avoca at some point. The address needs to be corrected. It may originally have been 309 N Elm, but the N-S divider has been moved to High St, and the odds and evens switched sides.