Also, there are photos of the Harris State Theatre on page 36 of McKeesport, by Michelle Tryon Wardle-Eggers and John W. Barna (Google Books preview.) An earlier photo of the building appears on page 34. The building was originally a saloon called Altmeyers, but had been converted into a theater by 1908, when it became part of the Harris Amusement Company. It was located on 5th Avenue between Market and Walnut Streets.
McKeesport, by Michelle Tryon Wardle-Eggers and John W. Barna (Google Books preview) says that White’s New Theatre opened in 1908, and was designed by local architect Henry J. Lohman. It was primarily a legitimate house until sold to J. P. Harris in 1920, at which time it was renamed the Harris Theatre. It was demolished in the late 1940s.
TivFan: John P. Harris might have been the person who coined the name Nickelodeon, which was the name of the five-cent movie house he opened with his brother-in-law, Harry Davis, at Pittsburgh in 1905. Before his death in 1926, Harris parlayed his small theatre into a substantial regional chain. There were houses called the Harris Theatre throughout western Pennsylvania. Here is a 1934 newspaper article about the Harris Amusement Company.
The December 2, 1916, issue of insurance industry publication The Standard ran an item about a fire at Savin Rock which destroyed a Wilcox Motion Picture Theatre. I don’t know if the burned house was this theater or a predecessor to this theater:
“New Haven, Conn., November 24. The Jackson Dance Hall, and the Wilcox Motion Picture theatre were destroyed, and several nearby hotels and cottages were damaged by fire tonight at Savin Rock pleasure resort. A high wind was blowing at the time, and fearing that the whole district might be wiped out, the West Haven fire department called on New Haven for assistance. The fire was finally put out after property of value estimated at $78,000 had been destroyed.
“The heaviest losers were: Jackson Dance Hall, $20,000; Wilcox Motion Picture theatre, $20,000; Mrs. White, cottage, $8,000; Fred Kroomer, cottage, $6,000; J. B. Smith, house, $4,000; and G. D. Jackson, house, $3,500.
“All of the buildings were of frame construction.
“The insurance loss was small as many of the buildings were uninsured.”
I’ve found no other dated references to a Wilcox or Wilcox’s Theatre, but there was a Wilcox’s Pier, featuring a large restaurant, fronting on Beach Street just east of Oak Street, and across Beach Street was a Wilcox’s Miniature Railway. They appear on the Savin Rock Map (East) which is linked at this web page.
The April, 1913, issue of a regional magazine called The Northern Crown contains an advertisement for the Mystic Theatre. No address is given, but assuming it was the same house as the current Mystic Theatre, it has gone back to what was probably its original name.
A card headed “Theaters—Riverside” in the Los Angeles Public Library’s California Index quotes this item from the August 17, 1912, issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor:
As 1075 Main Street would have been the Mission Theatre’s address under Riverside’s old numbering system, it must have been called the Auditorium Theater before it became the Orpheum.
This United Artists house in Chula Vista was one of a number of six-screen multiplexes designed for United Artists in the 1980s by San Francisco architect Daniel T. Uesugi.
The United Artists Greenback 6 was designed by San Francisco architect Daniel T. Uesugi, and was one of a number of six-screen projects he designed for UA in the 1980s. There were others in Pasadena, San Diego, and Chula Vista.
The two-screen theater in the Whampoa shopping arcade was designed by San Francisco architect Daniel T. Uesugi, who designed many projects for United Artists in the 1980s.
The United Artists Queensway Cinemas was designed by San Francisco architect Daniel T. Uesugi, and was one of at least three Hong Kong projects he designed for UA.
Black light murals had been around for about a decade before the Chief Theatre was built. The first use of black light decoration in a theater that I know of was at the Academy Theatre in Inglewood, California, designed by architect S. Charles Lee. It opened on November 7, 1939.
On December 17 that year, the Tower Theatre in Fresno, California, was opened. It, too, was designed by Lee for the Fox West Coast circuit, and featured black light murals painted by Tom and Frank Bouman of the A. B. Heinsbergen Company. The Tower even had fibers that would fluoresce under ultraviolet light woven into the auditorium carpets.
I’m not sure if the black light murals of the Academy, which now houses a church, have survived, but those in the Tower are intact.
An article about new theaters in Denver that appeared in the August 5, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World said that finishing touches were being put on the new Rialto Theatre on Curtis Street. However, the Rialto was apparently not a new theater at that time. In this comment on the Isis Theatre page, paulomalley says that the Rialto opened in 1913 as the United States Theatre.
I found the following item about the United States Theatre in the March 4, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World:
“The United States theater, one of Denver’s newest downtown photoplay Houses, which for several months was operated under lease by R. H. McCluskey, has closed down. Plans for the future of the theater are a matter of much discussion in the local field. McCluskey’s retirement is said to be due to the expiration of his lease, which the owners would not renew, and it is understood that Albert Lewin, principal owner, is considering plans for remodelling and enlarging the theater. If his plans mature, it is reported, he will make it one of the largest moving picture houses in Denver and will conduct it himself.”
The September 16, 1916, issue of the same publication said that the United States Theatre in Denver had been remodeled and renamed the Rialto. As the project had cost only $20,000, it’s likely that the changes had been less extensive than originally planned.
The NRHP registration form for the Jefferson Square Historic District reveals that the Sierra Theatre was built in 1884 as Head’s Opera House, and was dedicated on December 17 that year. The theater was on the ground floor and a Masonic hall was upstairs. In 1914, the Masons bought the entire building.
The theater was extensively remodeled in 1916, as noted in the December 23 issue of The Moving Picture World, which said that iron columns had been removed and replaced by girders, and heating upgraded from wood stoves to a steam plant. Four boxes had been added, the stage had been remodeled, and new opera chairs installed. The opening program at the renovated house was Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation.
The September, 1916, issue of The Doherty News, an electrical industry trade publication, features a nocturnal photo of the Rialto on page 17. Text on page 22 describes the theater:
“The new Rialto moving picture theatre on Curtis Street, Denver, is a notable example of electrical illumination. The outside lighting is an important feature as it embraces 2,564 electric bulbs, giving a light equal to 82,250 candlepower, or 7,250 candlepower more than the exterior of the Denver Gas & Electric Light Company’s building. The interior of the Rialto is lighted with 800 incandescent bulbs, and the devices for diffused illumination, when the films are being shown, are complete and also ingenius.”
Robin Chandler-Miles and Norma Miles book Worcester County (Google Books preview) says that Steven Mason built Mason’s Opera House in 1908. Originally three stories, with the theater on the second floor, some time before 1950 the third floor was removed.
Google Maps now calls this stretch of Washington Street Snow Hill Road, and shows the Opera House building in the 200 block. I’ve updated Street View to the location.
The 1905-1906 Cahn guide lists the Grand Opera House in Ashland, Wisconsin, as a second floor theater with 615 seats and a stage 40 feet wide and 30 feet deep. Given those dimensions, the current building as seen in street view and satellite view is not large enough to have accommodated this theater. My guess would be that the auditorium and stage were behind the surviving part of the building, which looks to be not much more than 40 feet square.
The Royal Theatre at Ashland, Wisconsin, was mentioned in the April 1, 1916 issue of the trade journal Motography. The house was owned by Abe and Louis Latz and Leon Schwager.
Ashland, by Christine H. Box (Google Books preview) conflicts with our current description of this theater. It says that the Opera House was built in 1882, partly destroyed by fire in 1903, rebuilt and reopened in 1904. It was located at the corner of Main and Center Streets. It became a movie theater in the 1920s, but closed in 1935. The building was demolished in 1955.
There is an early photo of the Ashland Opera House on this page.
Also, there are photos of the Harris State Theatre on page 36 of McKeesport, by Michelle Tryon Wardle-Eggers and John W. Barna (Google Books preview.) An earlier photo of the building appears on page 34. The building was originally a saloon called Altmeyers, but had been converted into a theater by 1908, when it became part of the Harris Amusement Company. It was located on 5th Avenue between Market and Walnut Streets.
McKeesport, by Michelle Tryon Wardle-Eggers and John W. Barna (Google Books preview) says that White’s New Theatre opened in 1908, and was designed by local architect Henry J. Lohman. It was primarily a legitimate house until sold to J. P. Harris in 1920, at which time it was renamed the Harris Theatre. It was demolished in the late 1940s.
TivFan: John P. Harris might have been the person who coined the name Nickelodeon, which was the name of the five-cent movie house he opened with his brother-in-law, Harry Davis, at Pittsburgh in 1905. Before his death in 1926, Harris parlayed his small theatre into a substantial regional chain. There were houses called the Harris Theatre throughout western Pennsylvania. Here is a 1934 newspaper article about the Harris Amusement Company.
The December 2, 1916, issue of insurance industry publication The Standard ran an item about a fire at Savin Rock which destroyed a Wilcox Motion Picture Theatre. I don’t know if the burned house was this theater or a predecessor to this theater:
I’ve found no other dated references to a Wilcox or Wilcox’s Theatre, but there was a Wilcox’s Pier, featuring a large restaurant, fronting on Beach Street just east of Oak Street, and across Beach Street was a Wilcox’s Miniature Railway. They appear on the Savin Rock Map (East) which is linked at this web page.The April, 1913, issue of a regional magazine called The Northern Crown contains an advertisement for the Mystic Theatre. No address is given, but assuming it was the same house as the current Mystic Theatre, it has gone back to what was probably its original name.
A card headed “Theaters—Riverside” in the Los Angeles Public Library’s California Index quotes this item from the August 17, 1912, issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor:
As 1075 Main Street would have been the Mission Theatre’s address under Riverside’s old numbering system, it must have been called the Auditorium Theater before it became the Orpheum.The UA Marketplace Cinemas in Brea was designed by San Francisco architect Daniel T. Uesugi.
The rebuilding of Cinema 70 as the Galaxy 6 was designed by San Francisco architect Daniel T. Uesugi.
The Galaxy Cinemas in Pleasanton was designed by San Francisco architect Daniel T. Uesugi.
The United Artists Glasshouse 6 was the first of a number of six-screen theaters designed for UA by San Francisco architect Daniel T. Uesugi.
This United Artists house in Chula Vista was one of a number of six-screen multiplexes designed for United Artists in the 1980s by San Francisco architect Daniel T. Uesugi.
The United Artists Greenback 6 was designed by San Francisco architect Daniel T. Uesugi, and was one of a number of six-screen projects he designed for UA in the 1980s. There were others in Pasadena, San Diego, and Chula Vista.
The two-screen theater in the Whampoa shopping arcade was designed by San Francisco architect Daniel T. Uesugi, who designed many projects for United Artists in the 1980s.
The United Artists Sha Tin Cinema was designed by San Francisco architect Daniel T. Uesugi, Uesugi & Associates.
The United Artists Queensway Cinemas was designed by San Francisco architect Daniel T. Uesugi, and was one of at least three Hong Kong projects he designed for UA.
Signature Theatres' Manchester 16 was designed by the San Francisco architectural firm Uesugi & Associates.
Black light murals had been around for about a decade before the Chief Theatre was built. The first use of black light decoration in a theater that I know of was at the Academy Theatre in Inglewood, California, designed by architect S. Charles Lee. It opened on November 7, 1939.
On December 17 that year, the Tower Theatre in Fresno, California, was opened. It, too, was designed by Lee for the Fox West Coast circuit, and featured black light murals painted by Tom and Frank Bouman of the A. B. Heinsbergen Company. The Tower even had fibers that would fluoresce under ultraviolet light woven into the auditorium carpets.
I’m not sure if the black light murals of the Academy, which now houses a church, have survived, but those in the Tower are intact.
An article about new theaters in Denver that appeared in the August 5, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World said that finishing touches were being put on the new Rialto Theatre on Curtis Street. However, the Rialto was apparently not a new theater at that time. In this comment on the Isis Theatre page, paulomalley says that the Rialto opened in 1913 as the United States Theatre.
I found the following item about the United States Theatre in the March 4, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World:
The September 16, 1916, issue of the same publication said that the United States Theatre in Denver had been remodeled and renamed the Rialto. As the project had cost only $20,000, it’s likely that the changes had been less extensive than originally planned.The NRHP registration form for the Jefferson Square Historic District reveals that the Sierra Theatre was built in 1884 as Head’s Opera House, and was dedicated on December 17 that year. The theater was on the ground floor and a Masonic hall was upstairs. In 1914, the Masons bought the entire building.
The theater was extensively remodeled in 1916, as noted in the December 23 issue of The Moving Picture World, which said that iron columns had been removed and replaced by girders, and heating upgraded from wood stoves to a steam plant. Four boxes had been added, the stage had been remodeled, and new opera chairs installed. The opening program at the renovated house was Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation.
The September, 1916, issue of The Doherty News, an electrical industry trade publication, features a nocturnal photo of the Rialto on page 17. Text on page 22 describes the theater:
Robin Chandler-Miles and Norma Miles book Worcester County (Google Books preview) says that Steven Mason built Mason’s Opera House in 1908. Originally three stories, with the theater on the second floor, some time before 1950 the third floor was removed.
Google Maps now calls this stretch of Washington Street Snow Hill Road, and shows the Opera House building in the 200 block. I’ve updated Street View to the location.
The 1905-1906 Cahn guide lists the Grand Opera House in Ashland, Wisconsin, as a second floor theater with 615 seats and a stage 40 feet wide and 30 feet deep. Given those dimensions, the current building as seen in street view and satellite view is not large enough to have accommodated this theater. My guess would be that the auditorium and stage were behind the surviving part of the building, which looks to be not much more than 40 feet square.
The Royal Theatre at Ashland, Wisconsin, was mentioned in the April 1, 1916 issue of the trade journal Motography. The house was owned by Abe and Louis Latz and Leon Schwager.
Ashland, by Christine H. Box, gives the opening date of the Ashland Theatre as March 27, 1942.
Ashland, by Christine H. Box (Google Books preview) conflicts with our current description of this theater. It says that the Opera House was built in 1882, partly destroyed by fire in 1903, rebuilt and reopened in 1904. It was located at the corner of Main and Center Streets. It became a movie theater in the 1920s, but closed in 1935. The building was demolished in 1955.
There is an early photo of the Ashland Opera House on this page.