The Boston Theatre probably opened in early 1908. An article about four theaters then operating on this block of Chicago’s Madison Street, appearing in the August 20, 1910, issue of The Film Index said: “The Boston Theatre was built two and a half years ago by the Boston Theatre Co., at an outlay of $17,000.”
The August 20, 1910, issue of The Film Index had an article about the four movie theaters then operating in this block of Chicago’s Madison Avenue, including the Alcazar. It said that the Alcazar was the first theater on the block, opening in May, 1907, with 300 seats. Built at a cost of $20,000, the Alcazar was the first Chicago movie theater to install a pipe organ. Rick Altman’s Silent Film Sound identifies this as a five-rank Hinners Organ Company tracker model, installed in 1908.
An 800-seat house called the Grand Theatre was operating in East Stroudsburg in 1908, when it was included in the list of American theaters published in the September 5 issue of The Billboard. The Pocono Cinema’s building could date from the 1900s, though the front looks a bit plain for the era. The Grand Theatre of 1908 might have been this theater or a predecessor of the same name.
There was a Casino Theatre operating in Yuma as early as 1916, when it was mentioned in the January 16 issue of The Moving Picture World. The operator was Johna Johansen.
Benson & Bohl Architects designed this theater for Regal Cinemas. There is a small but recognizable rendering of it on this page of the firm’s web site.
Gate City did something with its numbering system, and the old Gate City Theatre building now has a different address. As near as I can tell, it is 271 W. Jackson Street. Google Maps misplaces all the addresses on Jackson Street, so here is a link to the correct location at Bing Maps.
The three story building which fronted the Scott Theatre, seen down the block in Don’s photo, is still standing, too. Its location can be fetched at Bing Maps using the address 245 W. Jackson Street. I don’t think the Scott’s auditorium is still intact, though. In Google’s satellite view, it looks like the roof of most of the auditorium section has been removed, though the walls are still there.
A photo of the stage draperies in the Taylor Theatre appears at the bottom of this page of the September 1, 1951, issue of Boxoffice.
The Taylor Theatre in the photo we currently display on this page is not located at 19 E.Jackson Street, but in a building now occupied by the Ivy Cottage Antique Store at 143 W. Jackson Street. This is probably the building that was built in 1938 for Ralph and Malcolm Taylor. It was the subject of a lawsuit between the Taylor brothers, their landlord, and their original landlord, recorded on this page at FindACase.
The record says that the Taylor Theatre opened on July 15, 1938. Before the construction of this theater, the Taylor brothers operated a smaller theater in Gate City. Most likely it was that earlier theater that was located at 19 E. Jackson Street. Gate City apparently doesn’t have two-digit addresses anymore, though, and I’m not sure what the modern number for old 19 E. Jackson is.
I have set Street View to the correct location, although there is something odd about the addresses in Gate City. Internet searches for several businesses along this and adjacent blocks return results that have numbers on both East and West Jackson, but they overlap, mixed up on the same blocks. Ivy Cottage itself is listed by multiple web sites as being on West Jackson, as are a couple of other nearby businesses, though Google Maps says this is East Jackson. Bing Maps is spot on.
I can’t find any evidence that this house was ever called the Martin Theatre. This fairly long history from the web site of The Sideline, the fitness center that currently occupies the building, says that the Ruffin Amusement Company built the Varsity Theatre in 1949, opening it on August 18, though it had been in the planning stage since 1941. The original theater signage is still on the building, which would be very unlikely if the house had ever had another name.
The Sideline page says that the auditorium still has its original draperies, but the photo Chuck linked to on April 20, 2009, shows a much simpler curtain than does the photo of the original draperies at the top of this page of the September 1, 1951, issue of Boxoffice. Perhaps the original curtain had been stored away and was reinstalled by the current occupant. I suspect that the original draperies would have been removed when a CinemaScope screen was installed a few years after the theater opened.
The photo of the Martin Theatre auditorium that I mentioned in an earlier comment can be seen at the bottom of this page from Boxoffice, September 1, 1951.
A small drawing of the front of the Tower Theatre and a photo showing a glimpse of the dim auditorium from the standee area illustrate an ad for Spongex rug cushion on this page of Boxoffice, October 6, 1941.
Two views of the auditorium of the Dipson Plaza Theatre were featured in an ad for the American Seating Company in the December 8, 1951, issue of Boxoffice
There were two Butte theaters called the Empress. This web page with a photo gives the address of the second Empress Theatre as 101 West Broadway.
According to Lost Butte, Montana, by Richard I. Gibson, Dick Sutton opened this house in 1908 as the Lulu Theatre, named for his daughter. By 1912 it was operating as the Orion Theatre. When the first Empress Theatre, located across the street in the former Maguire Opera House, was destroyed in a spectacular fire on May 25, 1912, the Orion was renamed the Empress and began presenting Sullivan & Considine vaudeville shows.
In 1931, the second Empress suffered a major fire of its own and was never reopened. Its ruins were demolished in 1935.
A Grand Theatre in Sparta, Illinois, is listed in the September 7, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World.
Also, although our Sparta Theatre page says that that house occupied the former site of the Grand, we give its address as 142 Broadway while we give the Grand’s address as 141 Broadway. Were they really on the same site, or were they across the street from each other? If they were on the same site, which is the correct address?
There is a photo of the Capitol Theatre on page 72 of Clarksville, by Liana Mitchell and Joel Wallace (Google Books preview.) The caption says that the theater in the photo opened in 1936, replacing the original Capitol Theatre which had opened across the street in 1928 and had been destroyed by a fire in 1935. A low, rather ugly red brick garage has replaced the handsome Art Deco theater building.
The May 13, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World said that the Crescent Amusement Company had been operating the Elite Theatre at Clarksville for several years. The company was planning to replace the theater with a new building, which was being designed by architects Marr & Holman. The new theater, to be located at Third and Franklin Streets, and seating about 1000, was to be completed within four months.
I’ve been unable to discover whether the new theater was built or not. If it was, it might have opened under a different name. In any case, the Elite Theatre was still in operation at least as late as May, 1916.
A new movie theater was being planned for Sparta in 1916, as reported in the May 6, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World. The owner was Otto Bell, and the architects were Dockendorff & Parkinson of La Crosse. I’ve been unable to discover the name of this theater, assuming that it was completed. But surely Sparta had at least one theater before this modern multiplex was built.
The Sparta Theatre page says that that house opened in 1951 on the site of the Grand Theatre, which had burned down. The Grand was mentioned in the 1942 edition of the International Motion Picture Almanac.
The original Arsenal Theatre opened prior to 1914, according to an article in the July 15, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World. James Clark, of Rowland & Clark, was quoted as saying that they built the theater some time after acquiring the Oakland Theatre in 1911, but before building the Regent in 1914. The Arsenal was later enlarged to 750 seats, but the article doesn’t give a date for that project.
The Belmar Theatre was one of several Rowland & Clark houses designed in the mid-1910s by architect Harry S. Bair. It opened in November, 1914, according to an article in the July 15, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World which quoted James B. Clark.
The Strand Theatre was in operation by 1916. The January 22 issue of The Moving Picture World said that it would open about the first of February. Like several other Rowland & Clark houses of the period, the Strand was designed by architect Harry S. Bair.
The original Arsenal Theatre, opened by Rowland & Clark in 1915, was designed by architect Harry S. Bair. I’m not sure if any of the original 800-seat Arsenal’s structure was incorporated into the 1,150-seat replacement theater that was built by Warner Bros. in 1941, but judging from the Boxoffice article Tinseltoes linked to earlier I think it unlikely. Perhaps the original theater should have its own page.
The Boston Theatre probably opened in early 1908. An article about four theaters then operating on this block of Chicago’s Madison Street, appearing in the August 20, 1910, issue of The Film Index said: “The Boston Theatre was built two and a half years ago by the Boston Theatre Co., at an outlay of $17,000.”
The August 20, 1910, issue of The Film Index had an article about the four movie theaters then operating in this block of Chicago’s Madison Avenue, including the Alcazar. It said that the Alcazar was the first theater on the block, opening in May, 1907, with 300 seats. Built at a cost of $20,000, the Alcazar was the first Chicago movie theater to install a pipe organ. Rick Altman’s Silent Film Sound identifies this as a five-rank Hinners Organ Company tracker model, installed in 1908.
An 800-seat house called the Grand Theatre was operating in East Stroudsburg in 1908, when it was included in the list of American theaters published in the September 5 issue of The Billboard. The Pocono Cinema’s building could date from the 1900s, though the front looks a bit plain for the era. The Grand Theatre of 1908 might have been this theater or a predecessor of the same name.
There was a Casino Theatre operating in Yuma as early as 1916, when it was mentioned in the January 16 issue of The Moving Picture World. The operator was Johna Johansen.
The web site of the designers of this theater, Benson & Bohl Architects, has a photo of it on this page.
Benson & Bohl Architects designed this theater for Regal Cinemas. There is a small but recognizable rendering of it on this page of the firm’s web site.
Gate City did something with its numbering system, and the old Gate City Theatre building now has a different address. As near as I can tell, it is 271 W. Jackson Street. Google Maps misplaces all the addresses on Jackson Street, so here is a link to the correct location at Bing Maps.
The three story building which fronted the Scott Theatre, seen down the block in Don’s photo, is still standing, too. Its location can be fetched at Bing Maps using the address 245 W. Jackson Street. I don’t think the Scott’s auditorium is still intact, though. In Google’s satellite view, it looks like the roof of most of the auditorium section has been removed, though the walls are still there.
A photo of the stage draperies in the Taylor Theatre appears at the bottom of this page of the September 1, 1951, issue of Boxoffice.
The Taylor Theatre in the photo we currently display on this page is not located at 19 E.Jackson Street, but in a building now occupied by the Ivy Cottage Antique Store at 143 W. Jackson Street. This is probably the building that was built in 1938 for Ralph and Malcolm Taylor. It was the subject of a lawsuit between the Taylor brothers, their landlord, and their original landlord, recorded on this page at FindACase.
The record says that the Taylor Theatre opened on July 15, 1938. Before the construction of this theater, the Taylor brothers operated a smaller theater in Gate City. Most likely it was that earlier theater that was located at 19 E. Jackson Street. Gate City apparently doesn’t have two-digit addresses anymore, though, and I’m not sure what the modern number for old 19 E. Jackson is.
I have set Street View to the correct location, although there is something odd about the addresses in Gate City. Internet searches for several businesses along this and adjacent blocks return results that have numbers on both East and West Jackson, but they overlap, mixed up on the same blocks. Ivy Cottage itself is listed by multiple web sites as being on West Jackson, as are a couple of other nearby businesses, though Google Maps says this is East Jackson. Bing Maps is spot on.
I can’t find any evidence that this house was ever called the Martin Theatre. This fairly long history from the web site of The Sideline, the fitness center that currently occupies the building, says that the Ruffin Amusement Company built the Varsity Theatre in 1949, opening it on August 18, though it had been in the planning stage since 1941. The original theater signage is still on the building, which would be very unlikely if the house had ever had another name.
The Sideline page says that the auditorium still has its original draperies, but the photo Chuck linked to on April 20, 2009, shows a much simpler curtain than does the photo of the original draperies at the top of this page of the September 1, 1951, issue of Boxoffice. Perhaps the original curtain had been stored away and was reinstalled by the current occupant. I suspect that the original draperies would have been removed when a CinemaScope screen was installed a few years after the theater opened.
The photo of the Martin Theatre auditorium that I mentioned in an earlier comment can be seen at the bottom of this page from Boxoffice, September 1, 1951.
A photo of the original screen draperies of the Gateway Theatre can be seen at the top of this page of the September 1, 1951, issue of Boxoffice.
A small drawing of the front of the Tower Theatre and a photo showing a glimpse of the dim auditorium from the standee area illustrate an ad for Spongex rug cushion on this page of Boxoffice, October 6, 1941.
Two views of the auditorium of the Dipson Plaza Theatre were featured in an ad for the American Seating Company in the December 8, 1951, issue of Boxoffice
Here is a photo of part of the marquee of the Astor Theatre advertising the 1944 Bing Crosby movie Going My Way.
The Allison Theatre is also listed in the 1932 Orange County Directory (PDF). John P. Allison was the owner and W.A. Osgood the manager.
There were two Butte theaters called the Empress. This web page with a photo gives the address of the second Empress Theatre as 101 West Broadway.
According to Lost Butte, Montana, by Richard I. Gibson, Dick Sutton opened this house in 1908 as the Lulu Theatre, named for his daughter. By 1912 it was operating as the Orion Theatre. When the first Empress Theatre, located across the street in the former Maguire Opera House, was destroyed in a spectacular fire on May 25, 1912, the Orion was renamed the Empress and began presenting Sullivan & Considine vaudeville shows.
In 1931, the second Empress suffered a major fire of its own and was never reopened. Its ruins were demolished in 1935.
A Grand Theatre in Sparta, Illinois, is listed in the September 7, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World.
Also, although our Sparta Theatre page says that that house occupied the former site of the Grand, we give its address as 142 Broadway while we give the Grand’s address as 141 Broadway. Were they really on the same site, or were they across the street from each other? If they were on the same site, which is the correct address?
There is a photo of the Capitol Theatre on page 72 of Clarksville, by Liana Mitchell and Joel Wallace (Google Books preview.) The caption says that the theater in the photo opened in 1936, replacing the original Capitol Theatre which had opened across the street in 1928 and had been destroyed by a fire in 1935. A low, rather ugly red brick garage has replaced the handsome Art Deco theater building.
The May 13, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World said that the Crescent Amusement Company had been operating the Elite Theatre at Clarksville for several years. The company was planning to replace the theater with a new building, which was being designed by architects Marr & Holman. The new theater, to be located at Third and Franklin Streets, and seating about 1000, was to be completed within four months.
I’ve been unable to discover whether the new theater was built or not. If it was, it might have opened under a different name. In any case, the Elite Theatre was still in operation at least as late as May, 1916.
A new movie theater was being planned for Sparta in 1916, as reported in the May 6, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World. The owner was Otto Bell, and the architects were Dockendorff & Parkinson of La Crosse. I’ve been unable to discover the name of this theater, assuming that it was completed. But surely Sparta had at least one theater before this modern multiplex was built.
The Sparta Theatre page says that that house opened in 1951 on the site of the Grand Theatre, which had burned down. The Grand was mentioned in the 1942 edition of the International Motion Picture Almanac.
The original Arsenal Theatre opened prior to 1914, according to an article in the July 15, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World. James Clark, of Rowland & Clark, was quoted as saying that they built the theater some time after acquiring the Oakland Theatre in 1911, but before building the Regent in 1914. The Arsenal was later enlarged to 750 seats, but the article doesn’t give a date for that project.
The Belmar Theatre was one of several Rowland & Clark houses designed in the mid-1910s by architect Harry S. Bair. It opened in November, 1914, according to an article in the July 15, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World which quoted James B. Clark.
The Strand Theatre was in operation by 1916. The January 22 issue of The Moving Picture World said that it would open about the first of February. Like several other Rowland & Clark houses of the period, the Strand was designed by architect Harry S. Bair.
The original Arsenal Theatre, opened by Rowland & Clark in 1915, was designed by architect Harry S. Bair. I’m not sure if any of the original 800-seat Arsenal’s structure was incorporated into the 1,150-seat replacement theater that was built by Warner Bros. in 1941, but judging from the Boxoffice article Tinseltoes linked to earlier I think it unlikely. Perhaps the original theater should have its own page.