Two wooden buildings, both landmarks of Hancock’s earlier days, were virtually destroyed by fire of undetermined origin Thursday night. The Mason building was gutted by flames that spread in an adjacent apartment building.
The Mason building, which had two apartments upstairs, was built by the late Col. William Mason before the turn of the century. Among the Mason structures threatened was the Orpheum Theater, Hancock’s last. The Kenesaw Theater was destroyed by fire in April.
This article is dated 11/7/60. The total loss comment was apparently premature:
Fire Destroys Alma Theater
ALMA (UPI)â€" An early-morning fire destroyed Alma’s only movie house, the Strand Theater, today with firemen fighting the blaze for more than four hours. Alma Police Chief Robert V. Reed said the blaze was discovered by a newsboy picking up his papers in front of the theater at 4:28 am. The newsboy ran next door to the city hall where the police station is located and shouted, “Mr. Reed, there’s a fire at the Strand.”
Reed said the theater closed at 9 p.m Sunday night, almost 7 ½ hours before the blaze broke out. He said the fire apparently started at the rear of the building and spread rapidly. The roof collapsed and the front of the building caved in. “I’d say it is a total loss.” Reed said “The theater is owned by a Mrs. Cassidy of Midland. But we understand she is in Chicago now and we haven’t been contact her for a loss figure.”
Reed said there was no damage to the city hall or other nearby buildings. One firemen was overcome by smoke and was hospitalized.
Broadway stretches through the heart of Camden, a wide street lined with struggling shops and rotting rowhouses, a three-mile tour of desperation and lost hope. Prostitutes flit between vacant stores and abandoned banks, plying an older form of commerce, while drugs are sold on side streets. The old Towers Theater at Broadway and Pine has been replaced by a Citgo gas station. This road has been down a long time – many of the businesses that didn’t burn during the 1971 riots fled.
According to the Mason City Globe-Gazette, the Cecil opened on June 3, 1912, replacing the Wilson Theater, which was in the same location but had burned to the ground.
I was a member of the LA Conservancy a few years ago. They have interesting walking tours of downtown LA, including a tour of the theaters on Broadway.
The theater was severely damaged in a 1950 fire, but obviously was rebuilt:
Most Recent Big Fire 1950 Theatre Blaze
The most spectacular fire in history struck Forest City Jan. 10, 1950. It raged out of control nearly two hours and left only three bare wall of the Forest Theatre standing. Loss to the building and its contents plus the damage to adjacent businesses reached the staggering total of $125,000. Only the heroic efforts of the Forest City Fire department prevented the fire from destroying an entire half block of business buildings. The fire was discovered in the front part of the second floor of the theatre building at 8:40 p.m. The hundred or more persons attending the first show left the theatre in an orderly fashion and no one was injured in the fire.
When the flames had threatened to spread to the Soda Bar building to the north and to Olson Furniture and Lyons to the south, a call for assistance was sent out to Lake Mills, Garner, Clear Lake and Mason City fire departments. The Lake Mills and Garner trucks were the first to report. Clear Lake’s truck froze up near Ventura and was forced to turn back.
An Austin News campaign to get an Austin eyesore cleaned up or demolished reached its climax this week as workmen started destruction of the Symphony theater at 4935 Chicago. Monday unseen workmen sent chunks of plaster and metal reverberating to the concrete floor as they enlarged the gaping hole in the roof started last week. The roof should be completely removed by the end of this week, according to Scott Moore, foreman of the demolition crew. Then the wall on the east side of the brick structure will be leveled.
Whether razing of the theater will bring an end to the court litigation that has gone on for the past three years remained uncertain. When the demolition crews arrived Dave Pielet, building owner, said he had an injunction to stop the work. Later, however, he said he would sue the city for damages. As of Monday, city officials had not heard of any new court action initiated by Pielet.
The theater, vacant since the early 1950s, had long been a source of complaints to the Austin News’ Willing Willie column both as to its condition and as a hangout for young hoodlums. At one time Austin district police commander John Neurauter ordered special inspection of the premises at regular intervals to keep undesirables from gathering there. Last April 3 a number of bricks from a side wall fell from the building and damaged a car parked below.
Early in 1962 the city filed suit against the Symphony as a dangerous building open to vagrants. When Pielet agreed to board up the building and remove an overhanging fire escape the case was dismissed. An inspection conducted by city building inspectors in the fall of 1964, however, showed that the building, previously listed as only 8 per cent depreciated, was now 56 per cent depreciated. They found the inside had been gutted and entry was available to vandals through a large broken window and a door.
As a result of this inspection a suit for demolition was filed last March. A demolition order was issued by Judge Richard Napolitano April 20 in Housing court. However, after Pielet appealed that he intended to fix up the building, Judge Napolitano agreed to lift the order if such action was taken.
On Nov. 10 of last monthâ€"six months after the demolition order had first been issuedâ€"-Napolitano ruled that work done by Pielet had amounted to “just about nothing” and permitted the demolition decree to stand. As the city had already taken bids for the demolition work last summer all it had to do after the Nov. 10 ruling was tell the low bidder to start work.
Here is an article from the Ironwood Daily Globe dated 7/8/30:
CHANGE THEATRE PLANS
Officers of Delft Theaters, Inc., said Saturday that for business reasons they have set aside, temporarily, the plans which they announced a few months ago for building new theaters in Marquette and Escanaba. It was stated, also, that specifications had been sent to contractors and bids asked for remodeling the Strand Theater in Escanaba. It is expected that this work will be started by the middle of July.
The Delft Theater in Munising, it was announced, will be redecorated and improved by the installation of Western Electric sound picture equipment, the same as that used in the Delft Theater in Marquette. This equipment will, it is expected, be ready for operation early in August. Rumors current in Marquette for some time that Delft Theaters, Inc., was about to become affiliated with a large chain of theaters and that 11 Delft theaters in the Upper Peninsula would be sold or leased to a chain organization were declared Saturday by Delft officials to be false. No negotiations are pending for a change of ownership of the Delft properties, they said.
There was an obscenity issue at the theater in January 1970:
‘Curious (Yellow)’ Case Ruling Delayed by Judge
U.S. District Judge Francis G. Whalen delayed ruling Friday on a motion that would prohibit Los Angeles County officials from making further arrests or film seizures involving “I Am Curious, Yellow”.
Long Beach police 48 hours later seized a print of “I Am Curious (Yellow)” which was being shown New Year’s Eve at United Artists Theater, 217 E. Ocean Blvd. But theater officials got another copy of the film a day later, and it is still being exhibited here.
The Montrose Theater was destroyed by fire early Monday morning in what many longtime residents called a sad end to what had been an important part of the community for more than 60 years. The fire erupted at 4:22 a.m. in the stage area — a remnant of the days when the theater hosted live vaudeville shows as well as motion pictures, said John Orr, a fire investigator with the Glendale Fire Department.
This suit states that the Larchmont closed in November 1952. It’s unclear to me if the theater then re-opened and closed at a later date: http://tinyurl.com/yxrvh8
I actually asked my wife that when I was taking the picture yesterday. We agreed that it vaguely looked like a theater but that it was probably not the original building.
Here is an anti-trust lawsuit involving the Rialto, Grove and some other theaters in Elgin:
http://tinyurl.com/3arm8a
Here is an account of the fire on June 26, 1959:
Fire Threatens Business Area Of Hancock
Two wooden buildings, both landmarks of Hancock’s earlier days, were virtually destroyed by fire of undetermined origin Thursday night. The Mason building was gutted by flames that spread in an adjacent apartment building.
The Mason building, which had two apartments upstairs, was built by the late Col. William Mason before the turn of the century. Among the Mason structures threatened was the Orpheum Theater, Hancock’s last. The Kenesaw Theater was destroyed by fire in April.
The correct spelling of the town is Estherville.
This article is dated 11/7/60. The total loss comment was apparently premature:
Fire Destroys Alma Theater
ALMA (UPI)â€" An early-morning fire destroyed Alma’s only movie house, the Strand Theater, today with firemen fighting the blaze for more than four hours. Alma Police Chief Robert V. Reed said the blaze was discovered by a newsboy picking up his papers in front of the theater at 4:28 am. The newsboy ran next door to the city hall where the police station is located and shouted, “Mr. Reed, there’s a fire at the Strand.”
Reed said the theater closed at 9 p.m Sunday night, almost 7 ½ hours before the blaze broke out. He said the fire apparently started at the rear of the building and spread rapidly. The roof collapsed and the front of the building caved in. “I’d say it is a total loss.” Reed said “The theater is owned by a Mrs. Cassidy of Midland. But we understand she is in Chicago now and we haven’t been contact her for a loss figure.”
Reed said there was no damage to the city hall or other nearby buildings. One firemen was overcome by smoke and was hospitalized.
Status should be closed/demolished:
Broadway stretches through the heart of Camden, a wide street lined with struggling shops and rotting rowhouses, a three-mile tour of desperation and lost hope. Prostitutes flit between vacant stores and abandoned banks, plying an older form of commerce, while drugs are sold on side streets. The old Towers Theater at Broadway and Pine has been replaced by a Citgo gas station. This road has been down a long time – many of the businesses that didn’t burn during the 1971 riots fled.
There was a speakeasy above the theater in the 1920s:
http://tinyurl.com/3afxos
According to the Mason City Globe-Gazette, the Cecil opened on June 3, 1912, replacing the Wilson Theater, which was in the same location but had burned to the ground.
I hear that the interior is kind of shabby. Maybe someone can comment who has been in there recently.
I was a member of the LA Conservancy a few years ago. They have interesting walking tours of downtown LA, including a tour of the theaters on Broadway.
In 1957, the Mason City Globe-Gazette was advertising films at the Strand, Cecil, Palace and Lake.
The theater was severely damaged in a 1950 fire, but obviously was rebuilt:
Most Recent Big Fire 1950 Theatre Blaze
The most spectacular fire in history struck Forest City Jan. 10, 1950. It raged out of control nearly two hours and left only three bare wall of the Forest Theatre standing. Loss to the building and its contents plus the damage to adjacent businesses reached the staggering total of $125,000. Only the heroic efforts of the Forest City Fire department prevented the fire from destroying an entire half block of business buildings. The fire was discovered in the front part of the second floor of the theatre building at 8:40 p.m. The hundred or more persons attending the first show left the theatre in an orderly fashion and no one was injured in the fire.
When the flames had threatened to spread to the Soda Bar building to the north and to Olson Furniture and Lyons to the south, a call for assistance was sent out to Lake Mills, Garner, Clear Lake and Mason City fire departments. The Lake Mills and Garner trucks were the first to report. Clear Lake’s truck froze up near Ventura and was forced to turn back.
Demolition began on 12/1/65:
Workmen Start Razing Old Symphony Theater
An Austin News campaign to get an Austin eyesore cleaned up or demolished reached its climax this week as workmen started destruction of the Symphony theater at 4935 Chicago. Monday unseen workmen sent chunks of plaster and metal reverberating to the concrete floor as they enlarged the gaping hole in the roof started last week. The roof should be completely removed by the end of this week, according to Scott Moore, foreman of the demolition crew. Then the wall on the east side of the brick structure will be leveled.
Whether razing of the theater will bring an end to the court litigation that has gone on for the past three years remained uncertain. When the demolition crews arrived Dave Pielet, building owner, said he had an injunction to stop the work. Later, however, he said he would sue the city for damages. As of Monday, city officials had not heard of any new court action initiated by Pielet.
The theater, vacant since the early 1950s, had long been a source of complaints to the Austin News’ Willing Willie column both as to its condition and as a hangout for young hoodlums. At one time Austin district police commander John Neurauter ordered special inspection of the premises at regular intervals to keep undesirables from gathering there. Last April 3 a number of bricks from a side wall fell from the building and damaged a car parked below.
Early in 1962 the city filed suit against the Symphony as a dangerous building open to vagrants. When Pielet agreed to board up the building and remove an overhanging fire escape the case was dismissed. An inspection conducted by city building inspectors in the fall of 1964, however, showed that the building, previously listed as only 8 per cent depreciated, was now 56 per cent depreciated. They found the inside had been gutted and entry was available to vandals through a large broken window and a door.
As a result of this inspection a suit for demolition was filed last March. A demolition order was issued by Judge Richard Napolitano April 20 in Housing court. However, after Pielet appealed that he intended to fix up the building, Judge Napolitano agreed to lift the order if such action was taken.
On Nov. 10 of last monthâ€"six months after the demolition order had first been issuedâ€"-Napolitano ruled that work done by Pielet had amounted to “just about nothing” and permitted the demolition decree to stand. As the city had already taken bids for the demolition work last summer all it had to do after the Nov. 10 ruling was tell the low bidder to start work.
Arthur F.D. Kalbfell and Marie K. Wimberley bought the Robin in 1936, according to this lawsuit:
http://tinyurl.com/2tyk3p
Demolition began in March 1990.
Demolition was in June 1994, according to this blurb:
http://tinyurl.com/yoaw94
Here is a March 2005 article that discusses both theaters:
http://tinyurl.com/2durtb
Here is a 2002 article about a wave of theater closures in Clearwater:
http://tinyurl.com/ywxf9n
This is the building at 431 S. Main as of today. Note the fine architectural detail:
http://tinyurl.com/ysdfz5
Here is an article from the Ironwood Daily Globe dated 7/8/30:
CHANGE THEATRE PLANS
Officers of Delft Theaters, Inc., said Saturday that for business reasons they have set aside, temporarily, the plans which they announced a few months ago for building new theaters in Marquette and Escanaba. It was stated, also, that specifications had been sent to contractors and bids asked for remodeling the Strand Theater in Escanaba. It is expected that this work will be started by the middle of July.
The Delft Theater in Munising, it was announced, will be redecorated and improved by the installation of Western Electric sound picture equipment, the same as that used in the Delft Theater in Marquette. This equipment will, it is expected, be ready for operation early in August. Rumors current in Marquette for some time that Delft Theaters, Inc., was about to become affiliated with a large chain of theaters and that 11 Delft theaters in the Upper Peninsula would be sold or leased to a chain organization were declared Saturday by Delft officials to be false. No negotiations are pending for a change of ownership of the Delft properties, they said.
There was an obscenity issue at the theater in January 1970:
‘Curious (Yellow)’ Case Ruling Delayed by Judge
U.S. District Judge Francis G. Whalen delayed ruling Friday on a motion that would prohibit Los Angeles County officials from making further arrests or film seizures involving “I Am Curious, Yellow”.
Long Beach police 48 hours later seized a print of “I Am Curious (Yellow)” which was being shown New Year’s Eve at United Artists Theater, 217 E. Ocean Blvd. But theater officials got another copy of the film a day later, and it is still being exhibited here.
Here is a short account of the fire:
3/24/87 Daily News
The Montrose Theater was destroyed by fire early Monday morning in what many longtime residents called a sad end to what had been an important part of the community for more than 60 years. The fire erupted at 4:22 a.m. in the stage area — a remnant of the days when the theater hosted live vaudeville shows as well as motion pictures, said John Orr, a fire investigator with the Glendale Fire Department.
Mrs. McIntyre was knocked around by some kids at the La Mar in 1952. She’s not a relative, as far as I know:
http://tinyurl.com/ykd3js
This suit states that the Larchmont closed in November 1952. It’s unclear to me if the theater then re-opened and closed at a later date:
http://tinyurl.com/yxrvh8
It’s always society’s fault:
http://tinyurl.com/sdprn
I actually asked my wife that when I was taking the picture yesterday. We agreed that it vaguely looked like a theater but that it was probably not the original building.