As your photo shows, this building was constructed in 1877, so we could update the entry.
It looked a lot nicer before they stripped the cornice off. The Exchange Block across the street got mistreated the same way. The Lyon St theater is still there. I created an entry. It’s the small building second from the corner. This has to have been the Majestic, since the page you found lists the True Value here. That jewelry store was gone by 1909, and the caption is in error saying that it came after the Opera House, which was on the second floor, and had nothing to do with what was in the storefronts.
It sounds like the addresses were changed over the years. The railroad tracks, which were south of Lyon, must have been the initial N-S divider. That also partially explains the Chuck-ism on the Harris listing. The divider is now High St, and it looks like odds and evens have traded sides.
The 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory lists the Majestic, Bijou, Novelty, and Unique. Far too many theaters for a town of about 1,600. By 1925, only the Majestic is still listed.
As was pointed out long ago, the address is wrong. This is currently the American Legion. It’s been spruced up since 2010, although they did destroy the original doors.
The last paragraph is confusing. It was still open at some point after 1977? When was ‘at the time’? That sentence is very poorly written, and ‘going powerful and very strong’ makes no sense at all.
No address information at all? This was likely on Main, but might have been on Ohio or Temple. In fact, how do we know it wasn’t just a new name for the Olympic?
SethG
commented about
Theateron
Nov 19, 2024 at 2:22 pm
Note that this was Main St up through at least 1933.
The address is wrong. The correct address is 104 N 3rd St. The building in the photo was extensively remodeled, and it and the building to the north were joined in a rather bland red brick facade. This appears to have happened in the late ‘50s or early '60s, judging from the style. The space is used by a salon and a chiropractor.
Website is: https://www.milfordpioneertheatre.com/ Sometime after 2015 the marquee was removed, as well as the nice vitrolite ticket windows. Looks really depressing now.
The Opera House referred to was a large wooden building on Cedar, where the bowling alley is today. It was sloppy of me not to have checked the maps, since the ‘New Opera’ name struck me as a clue that there was an old opera house. I’ll add a listing.
There is no such thing as Main St. This must have been on N St. Paul Ave somewhere. It and the Crystal may still exist. There are a few buildings deep enough.
The Orpheum was at 214-216 W. Olive (later Main). The State must have been at about 202-206 E Main. I am pretty sure that the listing we have for the State is junk.
Do we want to call it demolished, or is that too confusing? Although technically in the same building that exists today, the Empress was in one of the ground floor storefronts, which were rearranged during the conversion to the Harlan. The theater space is a staircase and part of the lobby/auditorium of the Harlan.
The history is not correct. The 1899 map shows a small wooden storefront at this address. The October 1909 map shows the theater operating here, in a tin-fronted brick building. The old wooden building was 12 feet tall and was quite shallow. The new building was 18 feet tall, and ran all the way back to the alley. In addition, the business name is misspelled, it is Alpha & Omega, not Alfa-Omega.
The Crescent is the same as the Rose. I’d bet this was closed when the Crescent was built, which was perhaps 1916 or earlier. The hall west of the Gem might have been an opera house across the street, which is now the Ace Hardware. Several unnamed halls appear on other maps, all to the east of this building.
The history is wrong, and the photo of the Crescent added by dmt is this same theater. I found an old postcard showing the Crescent (with no name on the front) right where the Rose is today. I suspect the 1924 date is a name change, or just wrong. In fact, in the photo used here, with more vitrolite missing than when I saw it, it looks like the brick is the same design as the Crescent.
This reopened some time ago, looks like 2018. Sadly, the vitrolite facade was replaced with bland new paneling. They have a website, but their FB is a better source of information: https://www.facebook.com/rosemovietheater
As your photo shows, this building was constructed in 1877, so we could update the entry.
It looked a lot nicer before they stripped the cornice off. The Exchange Block across the street got mistreated the same way. The Lyon St theater is still there. I created an entry. It’s the small building second from the corner. This has to have been the Majestic, since the page you found lists the True Value here. That jewelry store was gone by 1909, and the caption is in error saying that it came after the Opera House, which was on the second floor, and had nothing to do with what was in the storefronts.
It sounds like the addresses were changed over the years. The railroad tracks, which were south of Lyon, must have been the initial N-S divider. That also partially explains the Chuck-ism on the Harris listing. The divider is now High St, and it looks like odds and evens have traded sides.
The 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory lists the Majestic, Bijou, Novelty, and Unique. Far too many theaters for a town of about 1,600. By 1925, only the Majestic is still listed.
As was pointed out long ago, the address is wrong. This is currently the American Legion. It’s been spruced up since 2010, although they did destroy the original doors.
The last paragraph is confusing. It was still open at some point after 1977? When was ‘at the time’? That sentence is very poorly written, and ‘going powerful and very strong’ makes no sense at all.
No address information at all? This was likely on Main, but might have been on Ohio or Temple. In fact, how do we know it wasn’t just a new name for the Olympic?
Note that this was Main St up through at least 1933.
The Legion moved in in 1975.
The address is wrong. The correct address is 104 N 3rd St. The building in the photo was extensively remodeled, and it and the building to the north were joined in a rather bland red brick facade. This appears to have happened in the late ‘50s or early '60s, judging from the style. The space is used by a salon and a chiropractor.
I wonder if this theater didn’t close for an extended period. Both the 1932 and 1949 maps show this space as a store.
Thanks for finding the names!
Website is: https://www.milfordpioneertheatre.com/ Sometime after 2015 the marquee was removed, as well as the nice vitrolite ticket windows. Looks really depressing now.
The Opera House referred to was a large wooden building on Cedar, where the bowling alley is today. It was sloppy of me not to have checked the maps, since the ‘New Opera’ name struck me as a clue that there was an old opera house. I’ll add a listing.
There is no such thing as Main St. This must have been on N St. Paul Ave somewhere. It and the Crystal may still exist. There are a few buildings deep enough.
The Orpheum was at 214-216 W. Olive (later Main). The State must have been at about 202-206 E Main. I am pretty sure that the listing we have for the State is junk.
The building was originally a garage and dealership, and was built in 1913. It was demolished in December 2022.
The F. Mackay building dates to 1898, and is a very attractive quartzite fronted building with a bay. The 1904 map shows it as a general store.
Do we want to call it demolished, or is that too confusing? Although technically in the same building that exists today, the Empress was in one of the ground floor storefronts, which were rearranged during the conversion to the Harlan. The theater space is a staircase and part of the lobby/auditorium of the Harlan.
There are a few pictures of the Lyric here, which should be moved to that listing.
The history is not correct. The 1899 map shows a small wooden storefront at this address. The October 1909 map shows the theater operating here, in a tin-fronted brick building. The old wooden building was 12 feet tall and was quite shallow. The new building was 18 feet tall, and ran all the way back to the alley. In addition, the business name is misspelled, it is Alpha & Omega, not Alfa-Omega.
This theater was located in the same building that later held the Harlan. The address should be 621 Court St. The 1909 map shows an office here.
dmt says the picture is from 1916, and the postcard I found looks quite old. All I can say for sure is that it was built after 1913.
The Crescent is the same as the Rose. I’d bet this was closed when the Crescent was built, which was perhaps 1916 or earlier. The hall west of the Gem might have been an opera house across the street, which is now the Ace Hardware. Several unnamed halls appear on other maps, all to the east of this building.
The history is wrong, and the photo of the Crescent added by dmt is this same theater. I found an old postcard showing the Crescent (with no name on the front) right where the Rose is today. I suspect the 1924 date is a name change, or just wrong. In fact, in the photo used here, with more vitrolite missing than when I saw it, it looks like the brick is the same design as the Crescent.
Are you saying this was the original structure?
This reopened some time ago, looks like 2018. Sadly, the vitrolite facade was replaced with bland new paneling. They have a website, but their FB is a better source of information: https://www.facebook.com/rosemovietheater