A 1991 NRHP documentation form concerning theaters in Idaho attributes the design of the Panida Theatre to Portland architect Edward A. Miller. Other sources indicate that Miller also designed the Egyptian Theatre in Seattle, the Egyptian Theatre in Portland, and (probably) the Venetian Theatre in Portland.
Other than the announcement of its opening in an issue of Motion Picture News, I’ve been unable to find anything about the Majestic Theatre on the Internet. However, the residential buildings north of McCree Way look like they were built before 1926 themselves, so I’m wondering if the addresses in Rochester might have been shifted at some point after 1926.
The March 6, 1926, issue of Motion Picture News reported that the Campus Theatre in Berkeley had opened on January 20. The item noted that the new Golden State Theatres house was of Moorish design, and that it had been decorated by the Robert E. Powers Studios, but failed to mention architect James E. Narbett.
I suspect that this house is the Needham Theatre listed in the 1927 FDY. Motion Picture News of March 6, 1926, reported that the Needham Theatre had formally opened on February 11. The Paramount-affiliated house had a Robert Morton organ.
A close-up view of the entrance to the Victory Theatre in Salt Lake City appears at the top of this page of the March 6, 1926, issue of Motion Picture News.
The California Theatre in Petaluma was on a list of theaters operated by the T&D circuit that was published in April, 1927. The circuit was also operating the Mystic Theatre at that time.
A New Park Theatre is listed as a T&D circuit house at Paso Robles in the 1926 edition of the Film Daily Yearbook. I’ve found a T&D Theatre at Paso Robles mentioned as early as 1924, and one source says that Turner & Dahnken began operating a theater in Paso Robles in the late 1910s. It’s possible that all three referred to the same theater. It’s also possible that the Park Theatre closed when the new T&D Theatre on 12th Street was opened in 1930.
I’ve also found a reference to the Wurlitzer organ from the T&D Theatre being donated to the church in 1931. I suspect that the organ was from the old house, and not the new one. By the time the new T&D was opened, silent movies were pretty much gone, so my guess would be that it never had an organ.
The photo page lostmemory linked to is gone, but it might have been this web page that has two photos of the T&D Theatre(click thumbnails.) Another small photo can be seen on this page.
Page 97 of Gary Lacher and Steve Stone’s Theatres of Portland features two photos of Graeper’s Egyptian Theatre (Google Books preview.) The text attributes the design of the theater to Portland architect Edward A. Miller.
The year after the Portland Egyptian opened, a very similar Egyptian Theatre opened in Seattle. According to the text of this advertisement for Heywood Wakefield seats in the March 6, 1926, issue of Motion Picture News, the Seattle Egyptian was also designed by E. A. Miller.
An ad for Heywood Wakefield seats on this page of the March 6, 1926, issue of Motion Picture News features a drawing of the Egyptian Theatre’s auditorium. The text calls the house “Warners' Elaborate and Unique new ‘Egyptian’ Theatre in Seattle….” and attributes the design of the house to the Portland, Oregon, architect E. A. Miller.
There is little information available about Edward A. Miller, but Gary Lacher and Steven Stone’s Theatres of Portland attributes the design of the slightly earlier Egyptian Theatre in that city to him as well. The fronts of the two theaters are quite similar, so I have no doubt that the attribution is correct.
When General Drive-In Corporation (which became General Cinema Corporation in 1964) began building indoor theaters in shopping centers throughout the country in the 1960s, the company hired architect William Reisman to design them. There were a handful of basic plans, and virtually all new General Cinema houses for more than a decade were variations on one or another of them.
This weblog post has renderings of six of the the GC houses Reisman designed. I don’t think the house at Capital Plaza is among them, but it might have resembled one of them.
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Ashburn is one of seven projects for the chain that have been designed by the Dallas architectural firm Hodges & Associates. A location at Littleton, Colorado, is also open, and locations in Austin, TX, Yonkers, NY, Richardson, TX, Kalamazoo, MI and San Francisco, CA are either under construction or in the bidding stage.
Gallatin Valley Cinema is the name on this theater’s front as seen in a slide show on this page of the web site of Hodges & Associates, the Dallas architectural firm that designed this and several other projects for Hollywood Theatres.
The Metropolitan Cinemas was designed by the Dallas architectural firm Hodges & Associates. Three photos can be seen on this page of the firm’s web site.
The Alamo Quarry Cinema was designed by the Dallas architectural firm Hodges & Associates. Photos of it are featured on this page of the firm’s web site.
Gold Class Cinemas at The Arboretum was designed for Village Roadshow by the Dallas architectural firm Hodges & Associates. It is one of several Gold Class Cinemas pictured in a slide show at the firm’s web site.
This multiplex was opened on May 7, 2010, as part of the expansion into the United States of the theater division of Australian entertainment conglomerate Village Roadshow Limited. Originally operated as Gold Class Cinemas, the theater offered a bar, cafe, food service in the auditorium, and a ticket price of $29.
iPic-Gold Class Entertainment took over operation of Village Roadshow’s American locations in September, 2010, and the following year, the locations were rebranded as iPic Theatre, and began offering admission at the lower price of $19 for patrons who didn’t want full food service in the auditorium.
Another Gold Class Cinemas multiplex opened at Fairview, Texas, on the same day the Austin house opened. Both were designed by the Dallas architectural firm Hodges & Associates, also designers of other Gold Class Cinema projects. Photos of several Gold Class Cinemas (but without identification of the specific locations) are displayed at the firm’s web site.
Hodges' Entertainment Design Group continues to design projects for iPic, and currently has a theater under construction in Los Angeles, at the former location of the Avco Center Cinemas in Westwood. The firm also designs projects for Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas.
This article from the Kansas City Business Journal of June 25, 2000, says that the Chelsea Theatre had run its last show on June 15. The only other information about the theater was that it had about 200 seats and a large stage, had been presenting adult entertainment for about a quarter of a century, and occupied a building from the early 20th century that had once housed a glove factory.
Somebody has bothered to give the Chelsea Theatre a page at Emporis, but the only useful information is that construction on the building ended in 1972. That suggests that it was converted from its former use at that time, so it must never have operated as anything other than an adult theater. Internet searches fetch quite a few results for the Old Chelsea Theatre (as they usually call it), but all of them refer to events from the 1970s or later. It appears that the house usually presented live burlesque, with movies as an added attraction.
A 1991 NRHP documentation form concerning theaters in Idaho attributes the design of the Panida Theatre to Portland architect Edward A. Miller. Other sources indicate that Miller also designed the Egyptian Theatre in Seattle, the Egyptian Theatre in Portland, and (probably) the Venetian Theatre in Portland.
Other than the announcement of its opening in an issue of Motion Picture News, I’ve been unable to find anything about the Majestic Theatre on the Internet. However, the residential buildings north of McCree Way look like they were built before 1926 themselves, so I’m wondering if the addresses in Rochester might have been shifted at some point after 1926.
The March 6, 1926, issue of Motion Picture News reported that the Campus Theatre in Berkeley had opened on January 20. The item noted that the new Golden State Theatres house was of Moorish design, and that it had been decorated by the Robert E. Powers Studios, but failed to mention architect James E. Narbett.
I suspect that this house is the Needham Theatre listed in the 1927 FDY. Motion Picture News of March 6, 1926, reported that the Needham Theatre had formally opened on February 11. The Paramount-affiliated house had a Robert Morton organ.
A close-up view of the entrance to the Victory Theatre in Salt Lake City appears at the top of this page of the March 6, 1926, issue of Motion Picture News.
The California Theatre in Petaluma was on a list of theaters operated by the T&D circuit that was published in April, 1927. The circuit was also operating the Mystic Theatre at that time.
A New Park Theatre is listed as a T&D circuit house at Paso Robles in the 1926 edition of the Film Daily Yearbook. I’ve found a T&D Theatre at Paso Robles mentioned as early as 1924, and one source says that Turner & Dahnken began operating a theater in Paso Robles in the late 1910s. It’s possible that all three referred to the same theater. It’s also possible that the Park Theatre closed when the new T&D Theatre on 12th Street was opened in 1930.
I’ve also found a reference to the Wurlitzer organ from the T&D Theatre being donated to the church in 1931. I suspect that the organ was from the old house, and not the new one. By the time the new T&D was opened, silent movies were pretty much gone, so my guess would be that it never had an organ.
The photo page lostmemory linked to is gone, but it might have been this web page that has two photos of the T&D Theatre(click thumbnails.) Another small photo can be seen on this page.
A close-up photo of the Modjeska Theatre’s entrance can be seen at the bottom of this page of the March 6, 1926, issue of Motion Picture News.
A nocturnal photo of the American Theatre in Butte can be seen on this page of the March 6, 1926, issue of Motion Picture News.
A photo of the Pompeii Theatre’s entrance and marquee can be seen on this page of the March 6, 1926, issue of Motion Picture News.
Page 97 of Gary Lacher and Steve Stone’s Theatres of Portland features two photos of Graeper’s Egyptian Theatre (Google Books preview.) The text attributes the design of the theater to Portland architect Edward A. Miller.
The year after the Portland Egyptian opened, a very similar Egyptian Theatre opened in Seattle. According to the text of this advertisement for Heywood Wakefield seats in the March 6, 1926, issue of Motion Picture News, the Seattle Egyptian was also designed by E. A. Miller.
An ad for Heywood Wakefield seats on this page of the March 6, 1926, issue of Motion Picture News features a drawing of the Egyptian Theatre’s auditorium. The text calls the house “Warners' Elaborate and Unique new ‘Egyptian’ Theatre in Seattle….” and attributes the design of the house to the Portland, Oregon, architect E. A. Miller.
There is little information available about Edward A. Miller, but Gary Lacher and Steven Stone’s Theatres of Portland attributes the design of the slightly earlier Egyptian Theatre in that city to him as well. The fronts of the two theaters are quite similar, so I have no doubt that the attribution is correct.
When General Drive-In Corporation (which became General Cinema Corporation in 1964) began building indoor theaters in shopping centers throughout the country in the 1960s, the company hired architect William Reisman to design them. There were a handful of basic plans, and virtually all new General Cinema houses for more than a decade were variations on one or another of them.
This weblog post has renderings of six of the the GC houses Reisman designed. I don’t think the house at Capital Plaza is among them, but it might have resembled one of them.
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Ashburn is one of seven projects for the chain that have been designed by the Dallas architectural firm Hodges & Associates. A location at Littleton, Colorado, is also open, and locations in Austin, TX, Yonkers, NY, Richardson, TX, Kalamazoo, MI and San Francisco, CA are either under construction or in the bidding stage.
Gallatin Valley Cinema is the name on this theater’s front as seen in a slide show on this page of the web site of Hodges & Associates, the Dallas architectural firm that designed this and several other projects for Hollywood Theatres.
The Metropolitan Cinemas was designed by the Dallas architectural firm Hodges & Associates. Three photos can be seen on this page of the firm’s web site.
The Gateway Cinema was designed by the Dallas architectural firm Hodges & Associates. Four photos can be seen on this page of the firm’s web site.
Four Photos of the Colleyville Cinema can be seen on this page of the web site of the theater’s architects, Hodges & Associates.
The Alamo Quarry Cinema was designed by the Dallas architectural firm Hodges & Associates. Photos of it are featured on this page of the firm’s web site.
Here is Big Screen Cinema Guide’s photo gallery of this house when it still had the Village Roadshow signage on it.
Gold Class Cinemas at The Arboretum was designed for Village Roadshow by the Dallas architectural firm Hodges & Associates. It is one of several Gold Class Cinemas pictured in a slide show at the firm’s web site.
This multiplex was opened on May 7, 2010, as part of the expansion into the United States of the theater division of Australian entertainment conglomerate Village Roadshow Limited. Originally operated as Gold Class Cinemas, the theater offered a bar, cafe, food service in the auditorium, and a ticket price of $29.
iPic-Gold Class Entertainment took over operation of Village Roadshow’s American locations in September, 2010, and the following year, the locations were rebranded as iPic Theatre, and began offering admission at the lower price of $19 for patrons who didn’t want full food service in the auditorium.
Another Gold Class Cinemas multiplex opened at Fairview, Texas, on the same day the Austin house opened. Both were designed by the Dallas architectural firm Hodges & Associates, also designers of other Gold Class Cinema projects. Photos of several Gold Class Cinemas (but without identification of the specific locations) are displayed at the firm’s web site.
Hodges' Entertainment Design Group continues to design projects for iPic, and currently has a theater under construction in Los Angeles, at the former location of the Avco Center Cinemas in Westwood. The firm also designs projects for Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas.
It’s iPic on their web site, not Ipic.
This article from the Kansas City Business Journal of June 25, 2000, says that the Chelsea Theatre had run its last show on June 15. The only other information about the theater was that it had about 200 seats and a large stage, had been presenting adult entertainment for about a quarter of a century, and occupied a building from the early 20th century that had once housed a glove factory.
Somebody has bothered to give the Chelsea Theatre a page at Emporis, but the only useful information is that construction on the building ended in 1972. That suggests that it was converted from its former use at that time, so it must never have operated as anything other than an adult theater. Internet searches fetch quite a few results for the Old Chelsea Theatre (as they usually call it), but all of them refer to events from the 1970s or later. It appears that the house usually presented live burlesque, with movies as an added attraction.