There is an eBay listing for a program from Schine’s Temple Theatre in Fairport, dated the week of January 1, 1933.
An advertisement for an insurance agency in a 1952 issue of the local newspaper gives the agency’s location as 83 South Main Street, “Next to Temple Theatre.” There’s still a building just south of that location that looks like a theater. Today it is occupied by the Fairport Masonic Lodge, with an address of 87 S. Main Street.
This probably is the Temple Theatre, and given the name, it’s possible that it has always been owned by the Masons, and leased out by them for part-time use as a movie theater- not an uncommon arrangement in small American towns.
The front of the building is fairly simple, but has a bit of Colonial Revival detail. It has a gabled roof, but the auditorium section is more boxlike. The front might have been updated at some point. I can easily picture the building dating from the early 1930s, but probably not earlier, unless it has had a major remodeling.
The theatres page of the Pittsburg, Kansas Memories web site says that the Cozy Theatre opened in 1930, and operated as the Cinema Theatre from 1969 until closing in 1983 (the page says that the building “burned down” in spring, 1983, though the American Classic Images photo that lostmemory linked to in an earlier comment, showing the burned-out theater, is dated August, 1982. ACI also has this photo of the Cozy dated March, 1985.)
An advertisement for Boller Brothers in the July 10, 1926, issue of The Reel Journal lists this house as the Cook Theatre. David and Noelles list of known Boller theaters gives the house the aka’s Cook and Missouri Twin.
An advertisement for Boller Brothers in the July 10, 1926, issue of The Reel Journal listed the Strand Theatre in St. Charles as one of the firm’s projects. David and Noelle’s list of known Boller Theatres lists the Strand as a 1925 project.
An advertisement for Boller Brothers in the July 10, 1926, issue of The Reel Journal listed the Novelty Theatre in Topeka as one of the firm’s works. David and Noelle’s list of known Boller theaters has 1926 and 1944 as the years when the Bollers worked on the Novelty, and also gives the house the aka Crystal Theatre.
The June 5, 1926, issue of The Reel Journal said that the new Madrid Theatre in Kansas City had been designed by the architectural firm of DeFoe & Besecke (Victor DeFoe and Walter A. Besecke.)
The Midland Theatre has been demolished. Its site, and that of two adjacent buildings, is now the site of the modern structure housing the Kansas Teachers Credit Union. The historic building that now houses Harry’s Cafe is at 412 N. Broadway, and was next door to the theater.
This web page about Pittsburg’s theaters says that the Midland was torn down in 1973. It also says that there was a theater at this address as early as 1907, originally known as the Wonderland, then the Vaudome, and then the Electric. This web page has information about them, and features a 1908 Sanborn map showing the location of the theater and another on the same block, the Palace.
However, the page also says that the Electric Theatre was torn down about 1919, along with an adjacent grocery store, and replaced with a new theater called the Klock, which later became the Midland. I’m not sure that the Electric was demolished, though. This page from the same web site has several photos of Broadway looking north from Fourth Street, and it looks to me as though the Klock/Midland had the same footprint as the building that housed the Wonderland/Vaudome/Electric. I think it’s possible that the original theater building only underwent a major remodeling when it became the Klock.
The Klock Theatre was set to open soon, according to an item datelined Pittsburg in the September 9, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World:
:“To the person or persons guessing the date or nearest date of the opening of the Klock theater here, a prize of ten dollars will be awarded. This contest is an unusual one. Most theaters on opening offer a prize for the best name suggested. The advertisements in the Pittsburg newspapers say: ‘Look the building over and make your guess.’ The managers, Messrs. Klock and Klock, are uncertain as to the opening date. The contest closed August 19, so it is presumed that the theater will open shortly.”
The history page of the Fox Colonial Theatre’s web site mentions the Klock/Midland Theatre a few times, noting that the 1926 remodeling of the house was designed by Boller Brothers, and that 1926 was the year the Klock was renamed Midland.
The Fox Colonial web page also says that the Art Deco marquee placed on the Fox in 1959, and still in place now, had been moved there from the Midland. The pittsburgksmemories web page says that the Midland closed in 1958.
The best photographic view of the Midland I’ve found is on this page of the book Pittsburg by Randy Roberts and Janette Mauk, and it’s only a partial view. Still, it gives an idea of the somehwat Italian look that Boller Brothers gave the facade in their design for the 1926 remodeling. The marquee that was later moved to the Fox is recognizable.
When the Colonial Theatre reopened on May 30, 1926, following a remodeling carried out by its new operators, the Midland Theatre circuit, it hosted the world premier of the Paramount feature Good and Naughty, starring Pola Negri. The event was reported in the June 5 issue of The Reel Journal.
The January 1, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World ran the following item about the Columbus Theatre:
“The Ascher Brothers opened their fine theater, the Columbus, Sixty-third street and Ashland avenue, this city, on Saturday, December 18. The Ascher Brothers justly consider the Columbus one of the most beautiful in their long chain of houses. Architect Newhouse says of the design of the interior: ‘It has always been my aim while designing theaters to avoid the trouble often found — too many useless
seats, due to the arrangement. I decided to substitute the amphitheater arrangement for the seats and place the screen in such a position as to afford a clear and direct view from any seat in the auditorium. The use of the dome lighting system, by which the management can burn 150 sixty-watt lamps throughout the performance and keep the house well lighted without affecting the picture will meet with popular favor.’”
The September 14, 1916, issue of Engineering News had an article about a Stratford Theatre at Germantown Avenue and Venango Street (Google Books scan.) The article described the construction of the concrete girder supporting the theater’s proscenium arch. As the Strand is the only theater at that intersection listed at Cinema Treasures, I’m wondering if this house opened as the Stratford?
The nomination form for the inclusion of the Junction City Opera House on the National Register of Historic Places says that the building was designed by architects George Wells and J. C. Holland. The auditorium section of the building began presenting movies on a regular schedule in 1919, operating under the name City Theatre. During this period the building still contained municipal offices as well as the theater. The interior of the structure was completely rebuilt into a modern movie theater in 1937.
The building’s exterior incorporates elements of both the Victorian Italianate and Romanesque Revival styles of architecture.
Various performers were appearing at the Pantages in Spokane as early as October, 1907, as listed in the 1907-08 edition of Henry’s Official Western Theatrical Guide.
A brief history of Spokane’s movie theaters published in the July 15, 1913, issue of The Moving Picture World says that the house that became the Rex Theatre in 1912 had actually opened on August 22, 1908, as the Empire Theatre, a Cineograph house. Cineograph was an early process for making movies with sound. The article doesn’t say how long the Empire operated as a Cineograph house, but does say that B.W. Copeland took over the theater in 1912, remodeled it and renamed it the Rex.
A May 20, 1944, item in The Billboard mentions a Nu-Rex Theatre in Spokane, which was probably this same house. Nu-Rex operator James A. Pike had taken over the Empress Theatre and established a policy of first-run movies with a stage show at that house, and had abandoned stage shows at the Nu-Rex, switching it to an all-movies policy on January 1.
A comment by Dave Zarkin on this Blogger post gives the address of the Rex Theatre as 326 Riverside Avenue, and recalls that in the mid 1960s the house was showing what were then called “girlie movies,” which I’m quite sure are not the same thing as “chick flicks.”
The January 26, 1915, issue of the Spokane Spokesman Review had an article about the opening of the Liberty Theatre, which had taken place the previous night. The article is accompanied by three interior photos of the new theater.
A somewhat clearer photo of the auditorium from the stage, dated 1925, can be seen here, from the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.
Exterior photos of the Liberty can be seen on this page from the Puget Sound Theatre Organ Society web site.
I have to clarify my previous comment as to the location of the New Liberty. The entrance of the theater was on Main Street, but the building ran through the block and the auditorium section was actually on Commerce Street, across from the Majestic Theatre. The Hippodrome Theatre was across Main Street from the New Liberty.
Comparing Don’s postcard with some other photos of Fort Worth, I now think the Odeon might have been in the block north of 10th Street, rather than the block south of 10th Street. The theater south of 10th Street, across from the New Liberty, was the Hippodrome, seen at left in this photo. Street View is still looking in the direction of the Odeon, but its site was less than a block away, now buried under the convention center building.
Don’s link got lost, so here it is again. Judging from the surviving landmarks, the Odeon must have been on the west side of Main Street in the block south of 10th Street (the 1100 block.) That would have put it across the street from the entrance to the New Liberty Theatre, which was in the second building south of 10th Street. Everything along Main Street south of 9th Street (including the street itself) was obliterated when the Tarrant County Convention Center was built.
Because the intersection of 10th and Main is entirely gone, Google Maps will never be able to find the Odeon’s actual location, so I’ve set Street View to the Convention Center’s entrance at 9th and Main Streets. The theater was a full block south of this location.
The book Fort Worth, Outpost on the Trinity, by Oliver Knight, Cissy Stewart Lale, says that the Odeon Theatre was built by J.S. Phillips in 1910, and was the first purpose-built movie theater in Fort Worth. I found the Odeon mentioned in the December 13, 1913, issue of The Moving Picture World, still being operated by J.S. Phillips, who was by then the national vice president of the Motion Picture Exhibitors' League.
Jan Jones' book Renegades, Showmen & Angels: A Theatrical History of Fort Worth from 1873-2001 gives a timeline for the New Liberty Theatre. It opened on September 7, 1924, as the Ritz Theatre, a legitimate house. In January, 1926, the house converted to vaudeville as the Pantages Theatre. The vaudeville programming was not a great success, and until 1928 the Pantages circuit offered varied programs of movies, road shows, and performances by the circuit’s own stock company, the Pantages Players, until finally giving up the lease.
In 1928, the house became the Civic Repertory Theatre, a venture which lasted only nine weeks. November, 1929, brought another repertory company to the house, and it operated briefly as the Plaza Theatre. Finally, in 1930, the house was sold to Leon Lewis, who renamed it the New Liberty and operated it as a movie house until 1948.
The New Liberty theatre was on the southeast corner of 10th and Main Streets, across the street from the second Majestic Theatre. Google Maps will not be able to find this location as the entire intersection, along with several others downtown, was obliterated when the city’s convention center was built.
Erie Avenue has been renamed Denison Parkway. I’ve found three historic references to theaters being built on Erie Avenue:
The May 1, 1910, issue of The American Contractor said that bids were being taken for a theater to be built on West Erie Avenue. The project was to include a third storey that would be used as a 14-room addition to the Hotel Cascade.
A notice in the January 22, 1921, issue of The American Contractor contracts had been let for a 1,268-seat theater at 14 E. Erie Avenue for the Liberty Theatre Company. I’ve also found a reference to a Liberty Theatre being designed for the Schine circuit in 1928 by Victor Rigaumont on a site at at 16-18 Erie Avenue, so it’s possible that the original Liberty was replaced by a new building at that time.
American Classic Images also has photos of a Corning Cinema, which might have been a later name for the Fox. Unfortunately, no address is given so I don’t know if this one was on Erie Avenue or not.
The Glenwood Theatre was designed by architect Louis Allmendinger. Notice that the construction contract for the project had been let was published in the January 22, 1921, issue of The American Contractor.
Here is a black-and-white night view, ca. 1935, of the Uptown’s marquee and vertical sign, from the Jane Froman papers.
A long article about Columbia’s movie theaters published in Columbia Business Times (currently online here) has a few lines about the Uptown. It says that the house opened in 1907 as the Bijo Dream, and operated for twenty years under that and three subsequent names: Broadway Odeon, Cozy and Uptown. From 1927 until 1935, the building was used for retail business, and then was reopened as the Uptown Theatre.
I’m not sure if “Bijo” is a mistake or not, as the text uses the name in two different locations, but it’s possible that it should read Bijou Dream, which was a popular name for theaters during the nickelodeon era.
Here is a hyperlink to the article RobbKCity mentioned in the previous comment. It is from the March 11, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World. There are small photos of the facade and the auditorium. The article doesn’t give an exact opening date, but implies that the Linwood had opened not too long before the article was published.
The April 6, 1922, issue of Manufacturers Record ran this item dated Kansas City: “Capitol Enterprises will expend $50,000 to remodel Linwood Theater, 3034 Prospect Ave.”
None of the buildings on this block now resemble the Linwood Theatre building in the 1916 MPW photo. I’m quite sure the theater has been demolished.
An article in The Moving Picture World of January 1, 1916, said that the St. Louis Amusement Company had opened the Ritz theater at 208-210 N. 6th Street as an all-picture house on December 11, 1915. The Ritz operated from eleven o'clock each morning until eleven o'clock at night, with the admission price being ten cents at all times.
There is an eBay listing for a program from Schine’s Temple Theatre in Fairport, dated the week of January 1, 1933.
An advertisement for an insurance agency in a 1952 issue of the local newspaper gives the agency’s location as 83 South Main Street, “Next to Temple Theatre.” There’s still a building just south of that location that looks like a theater. Today it is occupied by the Fairport Masonic Lodge, with an address of 87 S. Main Street.
This probably is the Temple Theatre, and given the name, it’s possible that it has always been owned by the Masons, and leased out by them for part-time use as a movie theater- not an uncommon arrangement in small American towns.
The front of the building is fairly simple, but has a bit of Colonial Revival detail. It has a gabled roof, but the auditorium section is more boxlike. The front might have been updated at some point. I can easily picture the building dating from the early 1930s, but probably not earlier, unless it has had a major remodeling.
The theatres page of the Pittsburg, Kansas Memories web site says that the Cozy Theatre opened in 1930, and operated as the Cinema Theatre from 1969 until closing in 1983 (the page says that the building “burned down” in spring, 1983, though the American Classic Images photo that lostmemory linked to in an earlier comment, showing the burned-out theater, is dated August, 1982. ACI also has this photo of the Cozy dated March, 1985.)
An advertisement for Boller Brothers in the July 10, 1926, issue of The Reel Journal lists this house as the Cook Theatre. David and Noelles list of known Boller theaters gives the house the aka’s Cook and Missouri Twin.
An advertisement for Boller Brothers in the July 10, 1926, issue of The Reel Journal listed the Strand Theatre in St. Charles as one of the firm’s projects. David and Noelle’s list of known Boller Theatres lists the Strand as a 1925 project.
An advertisement for Boller Brothers in the July 10, 1926, issue of The Reel Journal listed the Novelty Theatre in Topeka as one of the firm’s works. David and Noelle’s list of known Boller theaters has 1926 and 1944 as the years when the Bollers worked on the Novelty, and also gives the house the aka Crystal Theatre.
The June 5, 1926, issue of The Reel Journal said that the new Madrid Theatre in Kansas City had been designed by the architectural firm of DeFoe & Besecke (Victor DeFoe and Walter A. Besecke.)
The Midland Theatre has been demolished. Its site, and that of two adjacent buildings, is now the site of the modern structure housing the Kansas Teachers Credit Union. The historic building that now houses Harry’s Cafe is at 412 N. Broadway, and was next door to the theater.
This web page about Pittsburg’s theaters says that the Midland was torn down in 1973. It also says that there was a theater at this address as early as 1907, originally known as the Wonderland, then the Vaudome, and then the Electric. This web page has information about them, and features a 1908 Sanborn map showing the location of the theater and another on the same block, the Palace.
However, the page also says that the Electric Theatre was torn down about 1919, along with an adjacent grocery store, and replaced with a new theater called the Klock, which later became the Midland. I’m not sure that the Electric was demolished, though. This page from the same web site has several photos of Broadway looking north from Fourth Street, and it looks to me as though the Klock/Midland had the same footprint as the building that housed the Wonderland/Vaudome/Electric. I think it’s possible that the original theater building only underwent a major remodeling when it became the Klock.
The Klock Theatre was set to open soon, according to an item datelined Pittsburg in the September 9, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World:
The history page of the Fox Colonial Theatre’s web site mentions the Klock/Midland Theatre a few times, noting that the 1926 remodeling of the house was designed by Boller Brothers, and that 1926 was the year the Klock was renamed Midland.The Fox Colonial web page also says that the Art Deco marquee placed on the Fox in 1959, and still in place now, had been moved there from the Midland. The pittsburgksmemories web page says that the Midland closed in 1958.
The best photographic view of the Midland I’ve found is on this page of the book Pittsburg by Randy Roberts and Janette Mauk, and it’s only a partial view. Still, it gives an idea of the somehwat Italian look that Boller Brothers gave the facade in their design for the 1926 remodeling. The marquee that was later moved to the Fox is recognizable.
When the Colonial Theatre reopened on May 30, 1926, following a remodeling carried out by its new operators, the Midland Theatre circuit, it hosted the world premier of the Paramount feature Good and Naughty, starring Pola Negri. The event was reported in the June 5 issue of The Reel Journal.
The January 1, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World ran the following item about the Columbus Theatre:
The September 14, 1916, issue of Engineering News had an article about a Stratford Theatre at Germantown Avenue and Venango Street (Google Books scan.) The article described the construction of the concrete girder supporting the theater’s proscenium arch. As the Strand is the only theater at that intersection listed at Cinema Treasures, I’m wondering if this house opened as the Stratford?
The Cleve Theatre was designed by the F&Y Building Service, according to the latest version of the theater’s official web site.
The nomination form for the inclusion of the Junction City Opera House on the National Register of Historic Places says that the building was designed by architects George Wells and J. C. Holland. The auditorium section of the building began presenting movies on a regular schedule in 1919, operating under the name City Theatre. During this period the building still contained municipal offices as well as the theater. The interior of the structure was completely rebuilt into a modern movie theater in 1937.
The building’s exterior incorporates elements of both the Victorian Italianate and Romanesque Revival styles of architecture.
Various performers were appearing at the Pantages in Spokane as early as October, 1907, as listed in the 1907-08 edition of Henry’s Official Western Theatrical Guide.
A brief history of Spokane’s movie theaters published in the July 15, 1913, issue of The Moving Picture World says that the house that became the Rex Theatre in 1912 had actually opened on August 22, 1908, as the Empire Theatre, a Cineograph house. Cineograph was an early process for making movies with sound. The article doesn’t say how long the Empire operated as a Cineograph house, but does say that B.W. Copeland took over the theater in 1912, remodeled it and renamed it the Rex.
A May 20, 1944, item in The Billboard mentions a Nu-Rex Theatre in Spokane, which was probably this same house. Nu-Rex operator James A. Pike had taken over the Empress Theatre and established a policy of first-run movies with a stage show at that house, and had abandoned stage shows at the Nu-Rex, switching it to an all-movies policy on January 1.
A comment by Dave Zarkin on this Blogger post gives the address of the Rex Theatre as 326 Riverside Avenue, and recalls that in the mid 1960s the house was showing what were then called “girlie movies,” which I’m quite sure are not the same thing as “chick flicks.”
The January 26, 1915, issue of the Spokane Spokesman Review had an article about the opening of the Liberty Theatre, which had taken place the previous night. The article is accompanied by three interior photos of the new theater.
A somewhat clearer photo of the auditorium from the stage, dated 1925, can be seen here, from the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.
Exterior photos of the Liberty can be seen on this page from the Puget Sound Theatre Organ Society web site.
I have to clarify my previous comment as to the location of the New Liberty. The entrance of the theater was on Main Street, but the building ran through the block and the auditorium section was actually on Commerce Street, across from the Majestic Theatre. The Hippodrome Theatre was across Main Street from the New Liberty.
Comparing Don’s postcard with some other photos of Fort Worth, I now think the Odeon might have been in the block north of 10th Street, rather than the block south of 10th Street. The theater south of 10th Street, across from the New Liberty, was the Hippodrome, seen at left in this photo. Street View is still looking in the direction of the Odeon, but its site was less than a block away, now buried under the convention center building.
Don’s link got lost, so here it is again. Judging from the surviving landmarks, the Odeon must have been on the west side of Main Street in the block south of 10th Street (the 1100 block.) That would have put it across the street from the entrance to the New Liberty Theatre, which was in the second building south of 10th Street. Everything along Main Street south of 9th Street (including the street itself) was obliterated when the Tarrant County Convention Center was built.
Because the intersection of 10th and Main is entirely gone, Google Maps will never be able to find the Odeon’s actual location, so I’ve set Street View to the Convention Center’s entrance at 9th and Main Streets. The theater was a full block south of this location.
The book Fort Worth, Outpost on the Trinity, by Oliver Knight, Cissy Stewart Lale, says that the Odeon Theatre was built by J.S. Phillips in 1910, and was the first purpose-built movie theater in Fort Worth. I found the Odeon mentioned in the December 13, 1913, issue of The Moving Picture World, still being operated by J.S. Phillips, who was by then the national vice president of the Motion Picture Exhibitors' League.
Jan Jones' book Renegades, Showmen & Angels: A Theatrical History of Fort Worth from 1873-2001 gives a timeline for the New Liberty Theatre. It opened on September 7, 1924, as the Ritz Theatre, a legitimate house. In January, 1926, the house converted to vaudeville as the Pantages Theatre. The vaudeville programming was not a great success, and until 1928 the Pantages circuit offered varied programs of movies, road shows, and performances by the circuit’s own stock company, the Pantages Players, until finally giving up the lease.
In 1928, the house became the Civic Repertory Theatre, a venture which lasted only nine weeks. November, 1929, brought another repertory company to the house, and it operated briefly as the Plaza Theatre. Finally, in 1930, the house was sold to Leon Lewis, who renamed it the New Liberty and operated it as a movie house until 1948.
The New Liberty theatre was on the southeast corner of 10th and Main Streets, across the street from the second Majestic Theatre. Google Maps will not be able to find this location as the entire intersection, along with several others downtown, was obliterated when the city’s convention center was built.
Erie Avenue has been renamed Denison Parkway. I’ve found three historic references to theaters being built on Erie Avenue:
The May 1, 1910, issue of The American Contractor said that bids were being taken for a theater to be built on West Erie Avenue. The project was to include a third storey that would be used as a 14-room addition to the Hotel Cascade.
A notice in the January 22, 1921, issue of The American Contractor contracts had been let for a 1,268-seat theater at 14 E. Erie Avenue for the Liberty Theatre Company. I’ve also found a reference to a Liberty Theatre being designed for the Schine circuit in 1928 by Victor Rigaumont on a site at at 16-18 Erie Avenue, so it’s possible that the original Liberty was replaced by a new building at that time.
American Classic Images also has photos of a Corning Cinema, which might have been a later name for the Fox. Unfortunately, no address is given so I don’t know if this one was on Erie Avenue or not.
The Glenwood Theatre was designed by architect Louis Allmendinger. Notice that the construction contract for the project had been let was published in the January 22, 1921, issue of The American Contractor.
coweyhere’s link fetches a Flickr “this page is private” notice, so here is a hyperlink to the picture in the photostream page.
Here is a black-and-white night view, ca. 1935, of the Uptown’s marquee and vertical sign, from the Jane Froman papers.
A long article about Columbia’s movie theaters published in Columbia Business Times (currently online here) has a few lines about the Uptown. It says that the house opened in 1907 as the Bijo Dream, and operated for twenty years under that and three subsequent names: Broadway Odeon, Cozy and Uptown. From 1927 until 1935, the building was used for retail business, and then was reopened as the Uptown Theatre.
I’m not sure if “Bijo” is a mistake or not, as the text uses the name in two different locations, but it’s possible that it should read Bijou Dream, which was a popular name for theaters during the nickelodeon era.
Here is a hyperlink to the article RobbKCity mentioned in the previous comment. It is from the March 11, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World. There are small photos of the facade and the auditorium. The article doesn’t give an exact opening date, but implies that the Linwood had opened not too long before the article was published.
The April 6, 1922, issue of Manufacturers Record ran this item dated Kansas City: “Capitol Enterprises will expend $50,000 to remodel Linwood Theater, 3034 Prospect Ave.”
None of the buildings on this block now resemble the Linwood Theatre building in the 1916 MPW photo. I’m quite sure the theater has been demolished.
An article in The Moving Picture World of January 1, 1916, said that the St. Louis Amusement Company had opened the Ritz theater at 208-210 N. 6th Street as an all-picture house on December 11, 1915. The Ritz operated from eleven o'clock each morning until eleven o'clock at night, with the admission price being ten cents at all times.