The Latchis Theatre opened its doors on September 10, 1949.
Information about the Latchis Theatre goes as follows: First constructed in June 1948, the 60x108ft theater took 15 months for the theater to build. The Latchis was named after the owner’s last name, Peter D. Latchis. What’s unique about the construction of the theater is that it was built without the usage of blueprints. The main foyer features very unique designs including paintings of a double rainbow, the sun’s rays, the moon, Atlas carrying an angel on his shoulder, the earth with a five pointed star, a design of Centaur, a design of Apollo with his chariots, among others. The auditorium features an original capacity of 900 seats, a sky blue ceiling with a blue and gold stage font, an original stage measurement of 17x32ft, and doubledecker dressing rooms built on either side of the stage for both genders.
The Coniston opened on November 17, 1919 with Thomas Carrigan in “Checkers” with no extra short subjects. It was first operated by L.C. Fisher. It was later operated by Ersley A. Blanchard who joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1950s.
The Paramount Theatre opened its doors by Raymond R. Johnston Jr. on April 2, 1930 with Nancy Carroll in “Honey” (unclear if any short subjects were added) with an estimate $140,000 on the building.
The Paramount did receive a couple of ups-and-downs between 1958 and 1962 causing the theater to close a couple of times. The theater ended up closing for the final time on May 31, 1962, and was last operated by Donald L. Dorsey Jr.
Found some info! The Boundary Line Drive-In opened its gates in mid-July 1954 featuring an original capacity of 320 cars and the original screen size of 40x52ft. It was first operated by Stinson Deane with the original projectionist being Caribou native Clarence Dow.
Are you sure it gave away to Breary Farms apartment complex in 1971? Archives from the Sanford Tribute still advertises the Sanford Drive-In until after the 1976 season.
Opened on May 7, 1950 with Edmond O'Brien in “Fighter Squadron” and Jack Paar in “Variety Time” along with an unnamed cartoon. Closed after the 1976 season.
The Belfast Drive-In opened its gates on August 8, 1953 with David Wayne in “The I Don’t Care Girl” and Robert Mitchum in “One Minute To Zero” with no extra short subjects. It was first operated by Kenneth Kurson.
Update: It was tripled in 1982 following the closure of the State Theatre downtown, and in December 1983, the Cinema 3 was taken over by the Ford Theatres chain of Hardinsburg led by the husband-and-wife team of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Ford.
And correction: The Cinema 3 closed in 1989 (not 1998) following the opening of the 6-screen (not 7) Movie Palace Cinemas.
This started life as the “Cinema Theatre”, opening as a single-screener on January 25, 1974 with Robert Redford in “The Way We Were”, and was operated by the Elizabethtown Amusements Company under the leadership of Bob Enoch who also operated the State Theatre at the time. It was later renamed “Elizabethtown Cinema” by the end of the decade, retaining as a single-screener.
It was tripled a couple of years later (probably around the same time the State Theatre closed as a first-run movie house in 1982), but I don’t know any info about it yet. The Cinema 3 continued to operate until it closed at the same time the nearby Movie Palace Cinemas opened as a 7-screen theater in 1989.
This theater started life as the Pythian Temple Theatre when it opened its doors on October 12, 1900 with a live presentation of “Old Jed Prouty” starring Richard Colden. It became simply known as the Pythian Theatre a couple of years later.
It was renamed Strand Theatre in February 1941, and the building was destroyed by a fire on July 22, 1957.
Edited from my April 30, 2020 (11:46 AM) comment: The Harlem Drive-In opened its gates on May 21, 1949 with Larry Parks in “The Swordsman” along with a few short subjects, with an original screen size of 48x55ft. It was first operated by Alfred Haals.
Once remodeled before the 1952 season, the original screen blew down by heavy winds in July 1958 forcing a short closure until screen replacement. The original speakers operated until 1977 when it was replaced with radio.
The Lansdale Theater opened in December 1922, but suffered fire damage in early-January 1923. It reopened later that same year.
On November 1, 1944, the interior of the theater received major damage after a four-point deer ran wild inside the theater, destroying the theater’s organ, broke their wooden grillwork, and damaged multiple seats. Police were able to catch the deer after being trapped beneath the stage.
The Hi-Way Drive-In opened its gates on August 5, 1953 with Marilyn Monroe in “Niagara” with no extra short subjects, with the original installations of a 60ft screen (before the later installations of CinemaScope), a capacity of 400-cars, and a children’s playground in front of the screen.
It was first operated by William Goldman of Royersford who previously managed several Philadelphia area Warner Brothers theatres since 1937. The assistant of the theatre was Ammon L. Mauger of Royersford who started his life as an usher in 1931.
The Hi-Way Drive-In originally started life as a seasonal drive-in but later turned into an all-year drive-in. Budco operated the Hi-Way Drive-In during its later years.
The Hi-Way Drive-In closed for the final time on September 5, 1988 with Corey Haim in “License To Drive” and Bruce Willis in “Die Hard” after the property was bought by Robert Ayerle. It was later demolished to make way for a shopping center.
As of 2023, Giant Food Stores occupies the former theater site.
The Idle Hour Theatre is short-lived. The theater opened its doors on April 13, 1921 with a one-day showing of Marshall Neilan in “Dinty”. This was followed by Charles Chaplin’s “The Kid” a day later. It was first operated by M.E. Church.
The Idle Hour Theatre was originally located on an unknown street but was moved to East Vernon Street in September 1921 for a short period of time before a fire destroyed the Idle Hour Theatre on October 8, 1921. The roof and interior received very serious damage from the fire.
The theater was relocated to a building occupied by Elmer Hughes, and reopened in November 1921 also on East Vernon Street. It was managed by Jason E. Lawhorn.
The Idle Hour Theatre closed a year later in late-1922.
This was the first movie theater to operate in Charlton since the then-troubled Ritz Theatre closure following the arrest of its brief owner in late-1988. Moviegoers across the town of Charlton were forced to watch first-run movies in surrounding towns including Aliba, Knoxville, Osceola, Pella, Oskaloosa, and Centerville among others throughout the following eight years until the opening of the Vision II.
The Vision II Theatre opened as a $2 first-run house on April 14, 1996 with “Mr. Holland’s Opus” at Screen 1 and “Happy Gilmore” at Screen 2 (but did had an open house two days prior). The theater housed a total capacity of 258 seats, with 138 seats at Screen 1 and 110 seats at Screen 2. It was first constructed in October 1995 by volunteers of a local donation group.
The Ritz Theatre opened its doors on August 31, 1927 with Forrest Stanley in “The Cat And The Canary” along with a vaudeville presentation of “Page Kiddies”, an Our Gang short, and a “Topics Of The Day” newsreel. It was first operated by T.W. Thompson.
Not only William L. Perkins architected the Ritz retaining only the facade and building, but Western Electric sound was also installed just before its May 22, 1930 reopening with Charles Farrell in “High Society Blues” along with an unknown comedy and a “sound” newsreel.
It was later operated by Wally Stolfus who installed CinemaScope inside the Ritz Theatre on August 15, 1954 (with “The Robe”).
In the late-1970s, owners Gerald Clark of Osceola and the husband-and-wife management team of Bill and Cindy Cox operated the Ritz Theatre. However, they did had a couple of short closures. Its first closure is an August 1, 1979 lease, and the second is for an unknown amount of reasons on February 28, 1980. Both closures only lasted for a few months. After its second short closure, the Ritz reopened its doors on June 4, 1980.
The Ritz Theatre received too much trouble in the 1980s, causing a few short closures, and a few management changes. What it really ended the Ritz Theatre’s movie house run is that in late-1988, the Ritz closed as a movie house for the final time right after short-lived owner 20-year-old Jeffrey Johannes of Knoxville, Iowa (former Nevada resident who briefly reopened the Ritz after yet again another short closure), pleaded guilty to second-degree theft and failing to pay restitution and meet other terms of his probation. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
This immediately left moviegoers to watch films in Albia, Knoxville, Osceola, Pella, or Centerville. In October 1989, the Ritz reopened as the Ritz Cabaret, a restaurant with live entertainment.
Opened on July 7, 1950.
The Latchis Theatre opened its doors on September 10, 1949.
Information about the Latchis Theatre goes as follows: First constructed in June 1948, the 60x108ft theater took 15 months for the theater to build. The Latchis was named after the owner’s last name, Peter D. Latchis. What’s unique about the construction of the theater is that it was built without the usage of blueprints. The main foyer features very unique designs including paintings of a double rainbow, the sun’s rays, the moon, Atlas carrying an angel on his shoulder, the earth with a five pointed star, a design of Centaur, a design of Apollo with his chariots, among others. The auditorium features an original capacity of 900 seats, a sky blue ceiling with a blue and gold stage font, an original stage measurement of 17x32ft, and doubledecker dressing rooms built on either side of the stage for both genders.
The Coniston opened on November 17, 1919 with Thomas Carrigan in “Checkers” with no extra short subjects. It was first operated by L.C. Fisher. It was later operated by Ersley A. Blanchard who joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1950s.
The Coniston closed in 1963.
The Paramount Theatre opened its doors by Raymond R. Johnston Jr. on April 2, 1930 with Nancy Carroll in “Honey” (unclear if any short subjects were added) with an estimate $140,000 on the building.
The Paramount did receive a couple of ups-and-downs between 1958 and 1962 causing the theater to close a couple of times. The theater ended up closing for the final time on May 31, 1962, and was last operated by Donald L. Dorsey Jr.
Found some info! The Boundary Line Drive-In opened its gates in mid-July 1954 featuring an original capacity of 320 cars and the original screen size of 40x52ft. It was first operated by Stinson Deane with the original projectionist being Caribou native Clarence Dow.
Are you sure it gave away to Breary Farms apartment complex in 1971? Archives from the Sanford Tribute still advertises the Sanford Drive-In until after the 1976 season.
Opened on May 7, 1950 with Edmond O'Brien in “Fighter Squadron” and Jack Paar in “Variety Time” along with an unnamed cartoon. Closed after the 1976 season.
The Belfast Drive-In opened its gates on August 8, 1953 with David Wayne in “The I Don’t Care Girl” and Robert Mitchum in “One Minute To Zero” with no extra short subjects. It was first operated by Kenneth Kurson.
Became a quad in 1989.
Update: It was tripled in 1982 following the closure of the State Theatre downtown, and in December 1983, the Cinema 3 was taken over by the Ford Theatres chain of Hardinsburg led by the husband-and-wife team of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Ford.
And correction: The Cinema 3 closed in 1989 (not 1998) following the opening of the 6-screen (not 7) Movie Palace Cinemas.
The Showtime Cinemas actually opened as a twin in December 1980.
This started life as the “Cinema Theatre”, opening as a single-screener on January 25, 1974 with Robert Redford in “The Way We Were”, and was operated by the Elizabethtown Amusements Company under the leadership of Bob Enoch who also operated the State Theatre at the time. It was later renamed “Elizabethtown Cinema” by the end of the decade, retaining as a single-screener.
It was tripled a couple of years later (probably around the same time the State Theatre closed as a first-run movie house in 1982), but I don’t know any info about it yet. The Cinema 3 continued to operate until it closed at the same time the nearby Movie Palace Cinemas opened as a 7-screen theater in 1989.
Opened in August 1949.
Closed on May 11, 1974 with “Billy Jack”.
Correction: It’s “Ladies At Play”, not “Ladies Don’t Play”.
This theater started life as the Pythian Temple Theatre when it opened its doors on October 12, 1900 with a live presentation of “Old Jed Prouty” starring Richard Colden. It became simply known as the Pythian Theatre a couple of years later.
It was renamed Strand Theatre in February 1941, and the building was destroyed by a fire on July 22, 1957.
The actual opening date is September 9, 1950 with a one-day showing of Randolph Scott in “Colt 45” with no extra short subjects.
Edited from my April 30, 2020 (11:46 AM) comment: The Harlem Drive-In opened its gates on May 21, 1949 with Larry Parks in “The Swordsman” along with a few short subjects, with an original screen size of 48x55ft. It was first operated by Alfred Haals.
Once remodeled before the 1952 season, the original screen blew down by heavy winds in July 1958 forcing a short closure until screen replacement. The original speakers operated until 1977 when it was replaced with radio.
The Harlan Drive-In closed after the 1984 season.
A 1951 aerial view shows the start of the drive-in’s construction.
The Lansdale Theater opened in December 1922, but suffered fire damage in early-January 1923. It reopened later that same year.
On November 1, 1944, the interior of the theater received major damage after a four-point deer ran wild inside the theater, destroying the theater’s organ, broke their wooden grillwork, and damaged multiple seats. Police were able to catch the deer after being trapped beneath the stage.
Reopened as Towne Theatre on November 15, 1967 with “To Sir, With Love”.
The Hi-Way Drive-In opened its gates on August 5, 1953 with Marilyn Monroe in “Niagara” with no extra short subjects, with the original installations of a 60ft screen (before the later installations of CinemaScope), a capacity of 400-cars, and a children’s playground in front of the screen.
It was first operated by William Goldman of Royersford who previously managed several Philadelphia area Warner Brothers theatres since 1937. The assistant of the theatre was Ammon L. Mauger of Royersford who started his life as an usher in 1931.
The Hi-Way Drive-In originally started life as a seasonal drive-in but later turned into an all-year drive-in. Budco operated the Hi-Way Drive-In during its later years.
The Hi-Way Drive-In closed for the final time on September 5, 1988 with Corey Haim in “License To Drive” and Bruce Willis in “Die Hard” after the property was bought by Robert Ayerle. It was later demolished to make way for a shopping center.
As of 2023, Giant Food Stores occupies the former theater site.
The Idle Hour Theatre is short-lived. The theater opened its doors on April 13, 1921 with a one-day showing of Marshall Neilan in “Dinty”. This was followed by Charles Chaplin’s “The Kid” a day later. It was first operated by M.E. Church.
The Idle Hour Theatre was originally located on an unknown street but was moved to East Vernon Street in September 1921 for a short period of time before a fire destroyed the Idle Hour Theatre on October 8, 1921. The roof and interior received very serious damage from the fire.
The theater was relocated to a building occupied by Elmer Hughes, and reopened in November 1921 also on East Vernon Street. It was managed by Jason E. Lawhorn.
The Idle Hour Theatre closed a year later in late-1922.
This was the first movie theater to operate in Charlton since the then-troubled Ritz Theatre closure following the arrest of its brief owner in late-1988. Moviegoers across the town of Charlton were forced to watch first-run movies in surrounding towns including Aliba, Knoxville, Osceola, Pella, Oskaloosa, and Centerville among others throughout the following eight years until the opening of the Vision II.
The Vision II Theatre opened as a $2 first-run house on April 14, 1996 with “Mr. Holland’s Opus” at Screen 1 and “Happy Gilmore” at Screen 2 (but did had an open house two days prior). The theater housed a total capacity of 258 seats, with 138 seats at Screen 1 and 110 seats at Screen 2. It was first constructed in October 1995 by volunteers of a local donation group.
The Ritz Theatre opened its doors on August 31, 1927 with Forrest Stanley in “The Cat And The Canary” along with a vaudeville presentation of “Page Kiddies”, an Our Gang short, and a “Topics Of The Day” newsreel. It was first operated by T.W. Thompson.
Not only William L. Perkins architected the Ritz retaining only the facade and building, but Western Electric sound was also installed just before its May 22, 1930 reopening with Charles Farrell in “High Society Blues” along with an unknown comedy and a “sound” newsreel.
It was later operated by Wally Stolfus who installed CinemaScope inside the Ritz Theatre on August 15, 1954 (with “The Robe”).
In the late-1970s, owners Gerald Clark of Osceola and the husband-and-wife management team of Bill and Cindy Cox operated the Ritz Theatre. However, they did had a couple of short closures. Its first closure is an August 1, 1979 lease, and the second is for an unknown amount of reasons on February 28, 1980. Both closures only lasted for a few months. After its second short closure, the Ritz reopened its doors on June 4, 1980.
The Ritz Theatre received too much trouble in the 1980s, causing a few short closures, and a few management changes. What it really ended the Ritz Theatre’s movie house run is that in late-1988, the Ritz closed as a movie house for the final time right after short-lived owner 20-year-old Jeffrey Johannes of Knoxville, Iowa (former Nevada resident who briefly reopened the Ritz after yet again another short closure), pleaded guilty to second-degree theft and failing to pay restitution and meet other terms of his probation. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
This immediately left moviegoers to watch films in Albia, Knoxville, Osceola, Pella, or Centerville. In October 1989, the Ritz reopened as the Ritz Cabaret, a restaurant with live entertainment.