This page from the Palm Beach Post web log has several images of the Lake Theatre, including an early drawing from the office of architect Roy Benjamin, showing the proposed building with a different marquee and without the rounded corner.
The Princess Theatre should be marked as demolished. The Tivoli’s auditorium is still standing, but the Princess was in the building that housed the Tivoli’s entrance.
2933 is the address of the theater’s entrance, and 2947 is the address of the entrance to the Garfield Building’s second-floor offices. As the distance of addresses from their associated intersection varies even from block to block, nobody has any software that would pinpoint every address exactly. Fifty feet off is not a big deal, and the image can be easily adjusted to the right spot.
I’m far more annoyed by visitors to the page who update the Street View image without first adjusting it correctly than I am by Google being a short distance off from the exact spot.
Actually, Google Maps puts 2933 N. MLK Drive about 50 feet south of the theater’s front door, as seen in Street View. That’s actually in front of the vacant lot between the theater and the MLK Library. As the text on the Street Views says, address is approximate.
An anonymous memoir I came across at Rootsweb was written by someone who grew up in Elkins in the 1940s and 1950s, and it says that the Hippodrome Theatre was later renamed the Elkins Theatre. The Elkins Theatre was listed in the 1951 International Motion Picture Almanac. It was operated by the Manos family’s Monessen Entertainment Company through its subsidiary, the Elkins Theatre Company.
A history of the First Ward School in Elkins names the Grand and the Hippodrome among the town’s movie theaters in the 1910s. It also mentions houses called the O-Kay Theatre, the New Avenue Theatre, and the Posten Opera House, but doesn’t say whether or not the Opera House ever showed movies. Another source mentions a Casino Theatre at 3rd Street and Kerens Avenue, and another says there was an early movie theater at 214 Davis Avenue. That last might have been either the O-Kay or the New Avenue.
The Hippodrome and the Grand were both mentioned in the January 28, 1922, issue of The Film Daily which said that they had been bought by a circuit headed by M.E. Hymes and R.H. Talbott. The October 23, 1941, issue of the same publication said that L.E. Talbot had dropped the Hippodrome at Elkins from his circuit, and it would be taken over by the Elkins Theatre Company, operators of the Manos Theatre. The 1967 Film Daily Yearbook lists both the Manos Theatre and the Elkins Theatre as still being operated by the Monessen Entertainment Company.
The NRHP registration form for downtown Elkins' historic district lists the Grand Theatre building at 205 Davis Avenue as a contributing structure. It was built in 1909. No architect is named, but the builder was T.R. Whiteman. The Manos Theatre’s front is obviously the result of a later modernization, probably in the very late 1930s or the 1940s, judging from the style.
I don’t think we’re showing the correct address for this theater. 201 Davis is the corner building, with the intersection to its left as your face it, and the photo of the Hippodrome shows a building to the left. Sources on the Internet indicate that the Grand/Manos Theatre was only a few doors south of the Hippodrome, and the Manos building is still standing at 205 Davis Avenue, as is the building at 209 Davis.
The address of the Hippodrome must have been somewhere from 213 to 221 Davis. The entire north end of the block is now occupied by a modern bank building (229 Davis) and its drive-up teller facilities, so the Hippodrome has been demolished.
Don Rittner’s Times Union article about Fred Proctor says that Proctor took over the Lyceum Theatre in 1912. By 1918, the Lyceum was hostinga stock company, according the The New York Clipper of November 27.
Jack, whether the Cascade has a shot at having been the first twin theater or not depends on now early in 1907 it opened. The Twin Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, opened in February, 1907. It’s the earliest two-screen house I’ve come across so far, but there might have been earlier ones. As many early movie theaters were located in converted store buildings, and the larger of those were often divided by supporting columns, the idea of partitioning the space into two rooms could have occurred to a number of theater operators.
This was a bit of a puzzle, as Binghamton has done a bit of street realignment, and the stretch of Water Street the Lyric Theatre was on has been renamed Hawley Street. Hamlin’s Drugs is now a CVS Pharmacy, and the parking lot where the Lyric once stood is still there, with a small CVS sign in front. I’ve updated Street View to that location, which is a bit south of the Google Maps pin icon, just before Hawley Street starts to bend.
The August 12, 1944, issue of The Billboard referred to the East Macon Theatre as “…one of Macon’s leading show houses.” Jack DeVoe had just been named manager of the house, part of the Lucas & Jenkins circuit.
The Berry in Berry Grand was probably Truman C. Berry, who was mentioned as a partner in the Gale Theatre in a 1920 L.A. Times article quoted in this comment on our Roxy Theatre page.
Berry is also mentioned in connection with Siler and Gwin in a 1935 book (available only in snippet view), Reports of cases determined in the District Courts of Appeal of the state of California, Volume 11
The single time I’ve found this theater mentioned in the trade journals it is hyphenated as the Berry-Grand theater. The February 19, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World reported that it had been taken over by L. Uhlig. This was also the only mention of L. Uhlig I’ve found.
A permit for construction costing $300,000 was issued for the theater at 1187-1197 Sixth Avenue in 1944, according to an entry in the Office for Metropolitan History’s Manhattan New Building Database. As new construction had to be approved by the War Production Board at that time, I don’t know if this project was carried out or not. If it was, the architects were Schlanger & Sornik.
The Avon Theatre at 6th Avenue and 47th Street also is mentioned in the John and Drew Eberson archives as a 1952 project (#1624), though the nature and extent of the project is not stated.
The Office for Metropolitan History’s Manhattan NB Database says that the theater at 220-222 E. 59th Street was designed by Norman L. Wax. There is an architect of that name currently practicing in Lawrence, New York, but I don’t know if it’s the same one who designed this theater in 1968.
If the house opened in 1967 (per our introduction), then the 1968 project must have been a remodeling for RKO Stanley Warner, listed as the owners. If it was a remodeling it must have been fairly extensive, as the Database gives the budget as $100,000, which was still a considerable sum in 1968. The Database has no earlier entry for the original construction.
The Office for Metropolitan History’s Manhattan NB Database says that the theater at 1474-1478 Third Avenue was designed by architect John J. McNamara in 1969.
Architects Gronenberg & Leuchtag filed an application for a zoning variance with the Board of Appeals on June 27, 1921, to allow construction of a two story theater, 39 x 132 feet, on the east side of Lee Street, 58 feet north of Hewes Street. That has to have been the Model Theatre.
Herman Gronenberg and Albert J.H. Leuchtag are best knows for designing large, luxurious apartment buildings on the west side of Manhattan, so I don’t know how they came to design a small neighborhood theater in Williamsburg. They did some alterations to Carnegie Hall, and are supposed to have designed some other theaters, but so far I’ve been unable to identify any of them.
The Uptown Theatre probably opened in late 1921 or early 1922. Items in the Bulletin of the Board of Standards and Appeals of the City of New York indicate that the application for a permit to build the theater was made on July 25, 1919, but as late as July 13, 1921, architect George Mort Pollard applied for an extension of the time the board had required for completion of the project. The extension was granted for one year. Adolph Lewisohn was the owner of the theater.
Pollard, best known for his residential buildings, designed at least one other theater in New York, the Harlem Grand. There was also a theater in his artists cooperative studio-apartment building, the Hotel des Artistes, but I’ve found no indication that it was ever used as a movie house.
This page from the Palm Beach Post web log has several images of the Lake Theatre, including an early drawing from the office of architect Roy Benjamin, showing the proposed building with a different marquee and without the rounded corner.
BrockKing13: The Colonial/Wonderland/Princess has a its own page at Cinema Treasures.
The Princess Theatre should be marked as demolished. The Tivoli’s auditorium is still standing, but the Princess was in the building that housed the Tivoli’s entrance.
2933 is the address of the theater’s entrance, and 2947 is the address of the entrance to the Garfield Building’s second-floor offices. As the distance of addresses from their associated intersection varies even from block to block, nobody has any software that would pinpoint every address exactly. Fifty feet off is not a big deal, and the image can be easily adjusted to the right spot.
I’m far more annoyed by visitors to the page who update the Street View image without first adjusting it correctly than I am by Google being a short distance off from the exact spot.
Thanks for the information, Danielkoch. I’ve updated the Street View to show the correct location of the State Theater.
Actually, Google Maps puts 2933 N. MLK Drive about 50 feet south of the theater’s front door, as seen in Street View. That’s actually in front of the vacant lot between the theater and the MLK Library. As the text on the Street Views says, address is approximate.
An anonymous memoir I came across at Rootsweb was written by someone who grew up in Elkins in the 1940s and 1950s, and it says that the Hippodrome Theatre was later renamed the Elkins Theatre. The Elkins Theatre was listed in the 1951 International Motion Picture Almanac. It was operated by the Manos family’s Monessen Entertainment Company through its subsidiary, the Elkins Theatre Company.
A history of the First Ward School in Elkins names the Grand and the Hippodrome among the town’s movie theaters in the 1910s. It also mentions houses called the O-Kay Theatre, the New Avenue Theatre, and the Posten Opera House, but doesn’t say whether or not the Opera House ever showed movies. Another source mentions a Casino Theatre at 3rd Street and Kerens Avenue, and another says there was an early movie theater at 214 Davis Avenue. That last might have been either the O-Kay or the New Avenue.
The Hippodrome and the Grand were both mentioned in the January 28, 1922, issue of The Film Daily which said that they had been bought by a circuit headed by M.E. Hymes and R.H. Talbott. The October 23, 1941, issue of the same publication said that L.E. Talbot had dropped the Hippodrome at Elkins from his circuit, and it would be taken over by the Elkins Theatre Company, operators of the Manos Theatre. The 1967 Film Daily Yearbook lists both the Manos Theatre and the Elkins Theatre as still being operated by the Monessen Entertainment Company.
The NRHP registration form for downtown Elkins' historic district lists the Grand Theatre building at 205 Davis Avenue as a contributing structure. It was built in 1909. No architect is named, but the builder was T.R. Whiteman. The Manos Theatre’s front is obviously the result of a later modernization, probably in the very late 1930s or the 1940s, judging from the style.
I don’t think we’re showing the correct address for this theater. 201 Davis is the corner building, with the intersection to its left as your face it, and the photo of the Hippodrome shows a building to the left. Sources on the Internet indicate that the Grand/Manos Theatre was only a few doors south of the Hippodrome, and the Manos building is still standing at 205 Davis Avenue, as is the building at 209 Davis.
The address of the Hippodrome must have been somewhere from 213 to 221 Davis. The entire north end of the block is now occupied by a modern bank building (229 Davis) and its drive-up teller facilities, so the Hippodrome has been demolished.
Don Rittner’s Times Union article about Fred Proctor says that Proctor took over the Lyceum Theatre in 1912. By 1918, the Lyceum was hostinga stock company, according the The New York Clipper of November 27.
Jack, whether the Cascade has a shot at having been the first twin theater or not depends on now early in 1907 it opened. The Twin Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, opened in February, 1907. It’s the earliest two-screen house I’ve come across so far, but there might have been earlier ones. As many early movie theaters were located in converted store buildings, and the larger of those were often divided by supporting columns, the idea of partitioning the space into two rooms could have occurred to a number of theater operators.
This was a bit of a puzzle, as Binghamton has done a bit of street realignment, and the stretch of Water Street the Lyric Theatre was on has been renamed Hawley Street. Hamlin’s Drugs is now a CVS Pharmacy, and the parking lot where the Lyric once stood is still there, with a small CVS sign in front. I’ve updated Street View to that location, which is a bit south of the Google Maps pin icon, just before Hawley Street starts to bend.
The Ritz is open, but apparently no longer showing movies— at least the current web site doesn’t list any.
The AKA Country Music Opera House does not belong to this theater. It belongs to the Etowah Theatre, as seen in this photo at Flickr.
The Liberty Theatre in Attalla is mentioned in the October 13, 1928, issue of Motion Picture News. The manager’s name was Jack Brown.
The August 12, 1944, issue of The Billboard referred to the East Macon Theatre as “…one of Macon’s leading show houses.” Jack DeVoe had just been named manager of the house, part of the Lucas & Jenkins circuit.
The Berry in Berry Grand was probably Truman C. Berry, who was mentioned as a partner in the Gale Theatre in a 1920 L.A. Times article quoted in this comment on our Roxy Theatre page.
Berry is also mentioned in connection with Siler and Gwin in a 1935 book (available only in snippet view), Reports of cases determined in the District Courts of Appeal of the state of California, Volume 11
The single time I’ve found this theater mentioned in the trade journals it is hyphenated as the Berry-Grand theater. The February 19, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World reported that it had been taken over by L. Uhlig. This was also the only mention of L. Uhlig I’ve found.
Linkrot repair: The Trans-Lux Modern Theatre illustrating an ad for Carrier air conditioners in the March 7, 1936, issue of Boxoffice.
A permit for construction costing $300,000 was issued for the theater at 1187-1197 Sixth Avenue in 1944, according to an entry in the Office for Metropolitan History’s Manhattan New Building Database. As new construction had to be approved by the War Production Board at that time, I don’t know if this project was carried out or not. If it was, the architects were Schlanger & Sornik.
The Avon Theatre at 6th Avenue and 47th Street also is mentioned in the John and Drew Eberson archives as a 1952 project (#1624), though the nature and extent of the project is not stated.
The Office for Metropolitan History’s Manhattan NB Database says that the theater at 220-222 E. 59th Street was designed by Norman L. Wax. There is an architect of that name currently practicing in Lawrence, New York, but I don’t know if it’s the same one who designed this theater in 1968.
If the house opened in 1967 (per our introduction), then the 1968 project must have been a remodeling for RKO Stanley Warner, listed as the owners. If it was a remodeling it must have been fairly extensive, as the Database gives the budget as $100,000, which was still a considerable sum in 1968. The Database has no earlier entry for the original construction.
The Office for Metropolitan History’s Manhattan NB Database says that the theater at 1474-1478 Third Avenue was designed by architect John J. McNamara in 1969.
The 1981 Boxoffice article Tinseltoes linked to says that the Columbia I and II was designed by Drew Eberson.
Architects Gronenberg & Leuchtag filed an application for a zoning variance with the Board of Appeals on June 27, 1921, to allow construction of a two story theater, 39 x 132 feet, on the east side of Lee Street, 58 feet north of Hewes Street. That has to have been the Model Theatre.
Herman Gronenberg and Albert J.H. Leuchtag are best knows for designing large, luxurious apartment buildings on the west side of Manhattan, so I don’t know how they came to design a small neighborhood theater in Williamsburg. They did some alterations to Carnegie Hall, and are supposed to have designed some other theaters, but so far I’ve been unable to identify any of them.
The Uptown Theatre probably opened in late 1921 or early 1922. Items in the Bulletin of the Board of Standards and Appeals of the City of New York indicate that the application for a permit to build the theater was made on July 25, 1919, but as late as July 13, 1921, architect George Mort Pollard applied for an extension of the time the board had required for completion of the project. The extension was granted for one year. Adolph Lewisohn was the owner of the theater.
Pollard, best known for his residential buildings, designed at least one other theater in New York, the Harlem Grand. There was also a theater in his artists cooperative studio-apartment building, the Hotel des Artistes, but I’ve found no indication that it was ever used as a movie house.