According to Movie Theatres in Twentieth-Century Jackson, Mississippi, by Jerry Dallas, (Google Documents link) the Century Theatre opened in 1901 as a playhouse. In 1913, it began showing movies intermittently, when no live performances were scheduled, and thereafter movies gradually displaced most of the live events.
The Century Theatre closed in mid-1950, but was extensively renovated and reopened by the end of that year as the Royal Music Hall which, despite its name, was a movie house. Its early success was not long sustained, however, and the Royal closed its doors on June 4, 1959, finally ending the building’s history as a theater.
According to Movie Theatres in Twentieth-Century Jackson, Mississippi, by Jerry Dallas, (Google Documents link) the Pix Theatre closed in 1957 and reopened as the Capri in 1962. Except for a brief closure from August to November, 1980, the Capri then operated continuously into the mid-1980s.
The official web site gives the address of the Fairmont Opera House as 45 Downtown Plaza. Here is the home page of the web site. It has the telephone number at the bottom.
I’m not sure what is at 201 Downtown Plaza. Neither Google Maps nor Bing Maps has views of that location, though both have good views of the actual location of the Opera House. The Opera House is at the southeast corner of Downtown Plaza and Blue Earth Avenue (County Highway 26 at Google Maps.)
According to its official website, this theater is open again under its original name, the Fairmont Opera House. It was originally opened in 1902, and a few years later was renamed the Haynic Theatre when it was leased by partners William Hay and Willie Lincoln Nicolas, who operated it primarily as a movie house.
Hay withdrew from the partnership in the late 1920s, and the house was renamed the Nicolas Theatre. In 1929 it was extensively remodeled. The facade retained its original Renaissance-inspired style, though somewhat simplified, while the interior was given a more modern look in keeping with the popular Art Deco style.
The Nicolas Theatre closed as a cinema in 1980. It was purchased by a community-based organization which reopened the theater in 1981 with live performances. The theater was gradually restored, with much of the labor provided by volunteers. The restoration is now complete. The Fairmont Opera House presents live events, including plays and music, and is also used for community events and is available for private gatherings.
The Vernon Theatre was in operation by 1914, at which time 50th Avenue was still called Fourth Street. The following advertisement appeared in the classified section of The Moving Picture World, July 4, 1914:
“THE VERNON THEATER.— Comer 4th St. and Vernon Ave., Long Island City is for sale. New
Steinway tunnel next door opens soon, factory and
apartment houses erected daily. Big boom expected. Property fireproof brick 55 x 100. Fully equipped, 2 machines, Gold Fibre Curtain, Wurlltzer Orchestra, will seat 600. Everything the latest. License new, business good all year. One hundred per cent investment. Ten cents. Stage attached fully equipped. $10,000 cash required. Call If you mean business.”
In the January 23, 1925, issue of the Queens Borough Daily Star, the Vernon and New Idle Hour Theatres shared an ad, and were running the same program. The locations given were Court House Square (the Idle Hour) and a partly unreadable number in the 100 block of Fourth Street.
Here is a photo of the 1925 Tournament of Roses parade, with the Pasadena Theatre at right. The bottom line of the partly obscured marquee reads “VILLE” (probably the last half of VAUDEVILLE.)
A brief item in the May 7, 1949, issue of Boxoffice said that B. Marcus Priteca had been the architect for the $50,000 remodeling of the Roxy Theatre into the Bay Theatre. The seating capacity of the Bay Theatre was 465.
According to local sources, the Paramount Theatre was built in 1890 as the Park Opera House. A 1987 item in the local newspaper said that the last movie at the Paramount was shown on September 5, 1985. Another item noted that the style of the 1929 remodeling was “Spanish Mediterranean.”
The Champlin Cinema was apparently remodeled and expanded at some point, even though the number of screens remained the same. The Vanney Associates PDF I cited in my previous comment lists two 14-screen Champlin Theatre projects, the first having 58,000 square feet and the second having 63,000 square feet.
The Elk River Theatre is listed as two different projects in the Vanney Associates PDF cited in my previous comment. Apparently Robert Vanney designed both the original theater and the later expansion.
A second entry in the Vanney Associates PDF reveals that Robert Vanney designed the later expansion of the Shakopee Town Square Theatres as well as the original six-screen project.
This house was probably built by Mann Theatres. A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including an undated 8-screen multiplex at Grand Rapids. Vanney has designed many projects for Stephen Mann’s chain.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including a 12-screen multiplex at Plymouth, Minnesota.
The document doesn’t give the theater’s name or year of construction, or the name of the owner, which could be a bit of a problem as Plymouth has two 12-screen theaters. I am assuming that it is the Plymouth Cinema 12 that Vanney designed. Its Cinema Treasures page says that the other 12-plex in Plymouth was opened in 1989 by Cineplex Odeon. This one was built for Stephen Mann. Vanney designed many projects for Mann, but David K. Mesbur was Cineplex Odeon’s exclusive architect from about 1983 to 1990.
If this house opened in 1989, then it was built during the period when David K. Mesbur was the exclusive architect for the Cineplex Odeon chain (1983-1990.)
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including an 8-screen multiplex at Hopkins, Minnesota. There are no 8-screen theaters in Hopkins, so the number was probably a mistake, unless the house opened with 8 screens and they combined two pairs of them to make larger auditoriums. Robert Vanney has designed many theaters for Stephen Mann’s circuit.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including the 8-screen Rosemount Theatre.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including an undated multiplex at Hastings, Minnesota. It is listed as an 8-screen project, though. Perhaps that is an error, or maybe the house did open with only 8 screens. I can’t find any other multiplexes listed in Hastings.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including a seven-screen multiplex at Elk River. This must have been the addition mentioned by boothboy 18. No date is given for the project.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including an undated six-screen multiplex at St.Louis Park. Vanney designed several projects for Mann Theatres, so this was probably one of them.
Unless East Bethel once had another multiplex, this house must have opened with 8 screens. A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including an 8-screen multiplex for East Bethel. No date is given for the project.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including an undated two-screen addition to the existing three-screen Showcase Theatre at Brookings, SD..
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including a nine-screen theater in Eagan, Minnesota.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including a six-screen Shakopee Theatre.
According to Movie Theatres in Twentieth-Century Jackson, Mississippi, by Jerry Dallas, (Google Documents link) the Century Theatre opened in 1901 as a playhouse. In 1913, it began showing movies intermittently, when no live performances were scheduled, and thereafter movies gradually displaced most of the live events.
The Century Theatre closed in mid-1950, but was extensively renovated and reopened by the end of that year as the Royal Music Hall which, despite its name, was a movie house. Its early success was not long sustained, however, and the Royal closed its doors on June 4, 1959, finally ending the building’s history as a theater.
According to Movie Theatres in Twentieth-Century Jackson, Mississippi, by Jerry Dallas, (Google Documents link) the Pix Theatre closed in 1957 and reopened as the Capri in 1962. Except for a brief closure from August to November, 1980, the Capri then operated continuously into the mid-1980s.
Here is a PDF file with a brief biography of W. L. Nicholas.
The official web site gives the address of the Fairmont Opera House as 45 Downtown Plaza. Here is the home page of the web site. It has the telephone number at the bottom.
I’m not sure what is at 201 Downtown Plaza. Neither Google Maps nor Bing Maps has views of that location, though both have good views of the actual location of the Opera House. The Opera House is at the southeast corner of Downtown Plaza and Blue Earth Avenue (County Highway 26 at Google Maps.)
According to its official website, this theater is open again under its original name, the Fairmont Opera House. It was originally opened in 1902, and a few years later was renamed the Haynic Theatre when it was leased by partners William Hay and Willie Lincoln Nicolas, who operated it primarily as a movie house.
Hay withdrew from the partnership in the late 1920s, and the house was renamed the Nicolas Theatre. In 1929 it was extensively remodeled. The facade retained its original Renaissance-inspired style, though somewhat simplified, while the interior was given a more modern look in keeping with the popular Art Deco style.
The Nicolas Theatre closed as a cinema in 1980. It was purchased by a community-based organization which reopened the theater in 1981 with live performances. The theater was gradually restored, with much of the labor provided by volunteers. The restoration is now complete. The Fairmont Opera House presents live events, including plays and music, and is also used for community events and is available for private gatherings.
The Vernon Theatre was in operation by 1914, at which time 50th Avenue was still called Fourth Street. The following advertisement appeared in the classified section of The Moving Picture World, July 4, 1914:
In the January 23, 1925, issue of the Queens Borough Daily Star, the Vernon and New Idle Hour Theatres shared an ad, and were running the same program. The locations given were Court House Square (the Idle Hour) and a partly unreadable number in the 100 block of Fourth Street.Here is a photo of the 1925 Tournament of Roses parade, with the Pasadena Theatre at right. The bottom line of the partly obscured marquee reads “VILLE” (probably the last half of VAUDEVILLE.)
A brief item in the May 7, 1949, issue of Boxoffice said that B. Marcus Priteca had been the architect for the $50,000 remodeling of the Roxy Theatre into the Bay Theatre. The seating capacity of the Bay Theatre was 465.
Linkrot repair. These are the new locations of the Boxoffice items in my previous comment:
Airway Theatre article, May 7, 1949.
Poblocki and Sons ad, May 24, 1947.
According to local sources, the Paramount Theatre was built in 1890 as the Park Opera House. A 1987 item in the local newspaper said that the last movie at the Paramount was shown on September 5, 1985. Another item noted that the style of the 1929 remodeling was “Spanish Mediterranean.”
The Champlin Cinema was apparently remodeled and expanded at some point, even though the number of screens remained the same. The Vanney Associates PDF I cited in my previous comment lists two 14-screen Champlin Theatre projects, the first having 58,000 square feet and the second having 63,000 square feet.
The Elk River Theatre is listed as two different projects in the Vanney Associates PDF cited in my previous comment. Apparently Robert Vanney designed both the original theater and the later expansion.
A second entry in the Vanney Associates PDF reveals that Robert Vanney designed the later expansion of the Shakopee Town Square Theatres as well as the original six-screen project.
This house was probably built by Mann Theatres. A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including an undated 8-screen multiplex at Grand Rapids. Vanney has designed many projects for Stephen Mann’s chain.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including a 12-screen multiplex at Plymouth, Minnesota.
The document doesn’t give the theater’s name or year of construction, or the name of the owner, which could be a bit of a problem as Plymouth has two 12-screen theaters. I am assuming that it is the Plymouth Cinema 12 that Vanney designed. Its Cinema Treasures page says that the other 12-plex in Plymouth was opened in 1989 by Cineplex Odeon. This one was built for Stephen Mann. Vanney designed many projects for Mann, but David K. Mesbur was Cineplex Odeon’s exclusive architect from about 1983 to 1990.
If this house opened in 1989, then it was built during the period when David K. Mesbur was the exclusive architect for the Cineplex Odeon chain (1983-1990.)
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including an 8-screen multiplex at Hopkins, Minnesota. There are no 8-screen theaters in Hopkins, so the number was probably a mistake, unless the house opened with 8 screens and they combined two pairs of them to make larger auditoriums. Robert Vanney has designed many theaters for Stephen Mann’s circuit.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including the 8-screen Rosemount Theatre.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including an undated multiplex at Hastings, Minnesota. It is listed as an 8-screen project, though. Perhaps that is an error, or maybe the house did open with only 8 screens. I can’t find any other multiplexes listed in Hastings.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including a seven-screen multiplex at Elk River. This must have been the addition mentioned by boothboy 18. No date is given for the project.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including an undated six-screen multiplex at St.Louis Park. Vanney designed several projects for Mann Theatres, so this was probably one of them.
Unless East Bethel once had another multiplex, this house must have opened with 8 screens. A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including an 8-screen multiplex for East Bethel. No date is given for the project.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including an undated two-screen addition to the existing three-screen Showcase Theatre at Brookings, SD..
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including a nine-screen theater in Eagan, Minnesota.
A PDF available from the web site of St.Paul architectural firm Vanney Associates lists 25 theater projects designed by Robert F. Vanney, including a six-screen Shakopee Theatre.