Boxoffice of October 1, 1938 had news about the Royal: “Extensive remodeling recently was made at the Royal, Bentonville, by M. J. Kilbourn and his son, Payne, and plans are being made to reopen the house soon. New sound equipment will be installed.”
A history of Bentonville quoted on this web page says about the old Opera House that “[a]bout 1922 the building was bought by M. J. Kilburn [sic] who had it rebuilt into a movie picture house. The entrance was again moved to the front of the building. The inside had a stage downstairs and seats down, as well as up in the balcony. There were two small rooms in the front that opened onto the street in front of the building. These were rented for small cafes or real estate offices. The big outside balcony was taken down and a marquee was put up. The building was used as a theater until a few years before it was taken down. The last few years before the building was razed, it was used only for storage.”
This history also noted that the Opera House was built after the winter of 1880-81 when most of the north side of the town square had been razed in a fire, but the exact year of construction is unknown. The original Opera House was upstairs and had served as a movie theater for a while (perhaps it had been the original Royal) but was closed in 1914, after which it was used as an armory for some time. The building was finally demolished in 1962.
Plans for this theater were announced in the August 9, 1913 issue of Motography: “The Garden City Theater Company of Peoria was incorporated on Thursday with a capital of ten thousand dollars, which means that the city is to have another motion picture theater. The new company, which is composed of prominent theatrical men is already planning its first theater, to be built at the corner of Garden and Tyng streets. Reeves & Baillie are drawing the plans for the same and work is to be started and rushed to completion as soon as possible.”
The architectural firm of William Hawks Reeves and John M. Baillie was established at Peoria in 1893 and for more than two decades was one of the leading firms in the region.
This item from Moving Picture World of March 11, 1922 suggests that the Royal moved into this location that year: “M. J. Kilbourn has opened his new Royal Theatre at Bentonville, Ark. It seats 400.”
The Royal might have either began as an airdome or added one in 1913, judging from this item in the August 9 issue of Motography that year: “The New Royal airdome at Bentonville, Leister & Blake,
owners, has opened up for business.” The capitalized “New” in front of the name suggests there could have been an even earlier Royal somewhere in town.
Google Street View shows the Roosevelt Theatre at 38 Sycamore Street. Some years ago, plans were afoot to renovate and reopen the theater, but those plans appear to have fallen victim to the pandemic. Some photos of the building and a few renderings and floor plans can still be seen on the web site of arcollab, the firm that was providing the plans for the project.
I came across this Facebook post from the Rogers Historical Museum, and it says that 115 W. Walnut was the address of a movie house called the Ozark Theatre that opened on April 15, 1910. Unfortunately the post doesn’t go into any detail about the building’s later history.
I haven’t seen the Arkansas Historical Society magazine that is supposed to have information about this theater, but I’ve checked every Film Daily Year Book from 1926 through 1940 (except 1939, which I don’t have access to) and there is no Rogers Theatre listed at Rogers in any of them. From 1933 on, the only house listed at Rogers is the Victory.
What I have found is this Facebook post from the Rogers Historical Museum, which is about an early theater called the Ozark, but it gathered a few comments about the Rogers Theatre, including one with an aerial photo. A comment from the museum itself says the Rogers opened between 1940 and 1943 and operated intermittently until 1962. It was located at 206 W. Walnut Street, so our original description is complete nonsense.
The Gem operated at least into 1917, when it was mentioned in the January 6 issue of Moving Picture World. Later the town had houses called the Lyric (by 1919,) the Victoria (by 1920,) and the Lion Head (permanently closed in June or July, 1922.) The only theater listed at Rogers in the 1926 FDY was the Victory.
The plaque marking the historic Victory Theatre, displayed on the official web site, says that it opened on December 5, 1927, but there is a house called the Victory Theatre listed at Rogers in the 1926 FDY, and there is also a reference to the house in the June 19, 1926 Motion Picture News. I suspect a predecessor theater. A house called the Victoria (a possible aka?) was in operation at Rogers at least as early as 1920, mentioned in the September 4 Moving Picture World.
I’m not pointing any fingers, but somebody made out like a bandit when the Gillis Opera House was replaced by a new building, if this item from the June 19, 1926 Motion Picture News is any indication: “Establish Rental Record in Kansas City, Mo.
“A RECORD in North Side theatre property rental was established in Kansas City this week. The first ground floor store room in the new Gillis Theatre, now under construction on the site where the old Gillis recently was demolished by an explosion, will rent for $7,200 a year over a 10-year period—about $3.40 a square foot. The lease was obtained by Paul Pruzan from the Werby Realty & Investment Company.”
The June 19, 1926 issue of Motion Picture News had this article about local reaction to the opening of the Ritz:
“ Baxter Springs Citizens Like Ritz Theatre
“The new Ritz Theatre, Baxter Springs, Kan., owned by John I. Cooper, was packed to the guards during its recent opening, and both the owner and Clare Rehm, manager, expressed their appreciation for the magnificent response made by the people of Baxter Springs and vicinity.
“Mr. Cooper said today that the newly installed Blizzard cooling system would be put in a state of perfection within a day or two and that the show house would be made as cool as a cave during the summer weather.
“The theatre contains 346 opera chairs in the parquet and 167 in the balcony, making a total of 507 seats.
“Mrs. Roy Brooks, organist of the Victory Theatre, Rogers, Ark., also owned by Mr. Cooper, came to Baxter Springs to play the Wurlitzer theatre organ during the initial show and the music was praised highly.”
Two Pendleton movie houses bore the name Cosy Theatre between 1906 and 1919. A house in the 200 block of S. Main Street, opened in 1908 as the Orpheum Theatre, was renamed the Cosy on April 23, 1916. The first Cosy had been taken over by a new owner in 1915, remodeled and expanded, and renamed the Temple Theatre, which opened on September 27 that year. The first Cosy/Temple was at approximately 348 S. Main Street.
The Temple Theatre operated until mid-April, 1917, then reopened after a few days as the Arcade Theatre, which was still listed in the FDY in 1926 (with 350 seats) but was gone in 1927. The building is still standing, though much remodeled, the theater space being occupied by part of a large hardware store.
The March 7, 1936 issue of Motion Picture Herald had this item about the United Artists:
:“J. J. Parker’s new United Artists theatre in Pendleton, Ore., has been opened following remodeling. The house has a seating capacity of 600. Victor M. Keady, for the past six years assistant manager at the Broadway in Portland, and prior to that for a number of years with Loew’s State in Los Angeles, has been named manager.”
The reference to remodeling made me wonder if the house had operated earlier under a different name, but if it did I’ve been unable to track it down. Through the early 1930s the only theaters active in Pendleton were the Alta and the Rivoli, both of which are accounted for. Earlier houses called the Arcade and the Rialto closed before 1929. As the earliest photos of the United Artists show a façade indicating construction no later than the 1920s, the building certainly had an earlier life, but perhaps only as a retail store or some other non-theatrical use.
The July 17, 1948 issue of Boxoffice ran a brief item saying that work was progressing rapidly on the new theater being built by L. A. Moore at Umatilla, Oregon.
Does anyone have any idea of which theater in Newport was called the Capital (or Capitol) in 1921, when this item about its planned expansion appeared in the April 2 Moving Picture World? “NEWPORT, ARK.—Extensive improvements will be made to Capital Theatre. A forty-two-foot extension will be built, making room for 300 additional seats. Balconies also will be enlarged, twenty-two-foot stage constructed to accommodate home talent and road shows. Typhoon fans will be installed. Address R. T. Meibbon, manager.” The 500-seat Capitol Theatre is the only house listed at Newport in the 1926 FDY.
The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists three theaters at Eureka Springs: the Best, the Wilke, and a house (possibly this one) called the Electric M. P. Parlor.
The phrase Motion Picture Parlor also occurs in connection with Eureka Springs in this item from the June 27, 1908 issue of The Billboard: “SCAGGS is manager of the S&S. L. S. & R. Amusement Co., operating the Eureka Motion Picture Parlor at Eureka Springs, Ark. He has been identified with the moving picture world for several seasons, and has operated in some of the largest cities. Mr. Skaggs is a hustler and persistent advertiser, and his motto is— ‘Nothing too good for the public.’”
The Facebook page of the Eureka Springs Historical Museum provides this post with a brief history and one interior photo of the Opera House. A bit more history is covered in some of the comments on the post. The building was converted into a church by 1923, and was either partly burned or simply dismantled for its lumber sometime in the 1930s.
The Wilke Theatre is one of three houses listed at Eureka Springs in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, the others being the Best and the Electric Motion Picture Parlor. By 1926, the only house listed at Eureka Springs in the FDY was the Commodore (listed at Cinema Treasures as the New Basin.)
Two other Eureka Springs theater names appeared in the July 7, 1923 issue of Moving Picture World, which said “K. T. Poplim of the Empire Theatre at Eureka Springs. Ark., has closed the Blue Mouse Theatre of that place.” The Blue Mouse only remained closed for a week though, its reopening being announced in the July 14 issue of MPW.
Empire and Blue Mouse could, of course, have been akas for earlier Eureka Springs movie houses.
The Best Theatre is one of three houses listed at Eureka Springs in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, the others being the Wilke and the Electric Motion Picture Parlor. By 1926, the only house listed at Eureka Springs in the FDY was called the Commodore.
The Peoples Theatre operated at least into the 1960s. In a comment on Water Winter Wonderland’s page for the house, the then-owners' niece recalls working there during that decade.
A belated answer to Leslie: The December 22, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World mentions a theater at Waupaca called the Lyric. Its manager, Charles Cohen, had recently bought the building in which the theater was located and planned to remodel and expand the seating capacity to 400. There could have been earlier theaters. While it may be of note that Waupaca was not listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, the Lyric at least was in operation by 1917.
Here are a few words about the Grand from the May 25, 1907 issue of Moving Picture World: “The clean, wholesome show at a popular price is appreciated by the Calumet public. Almost every evening the theater is crowded and the variety of pictures which is presented makes the entertainment always new.”
The August 18, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World carried this brief notice" “CALUMET, MICH.—The Crown theater has been opened to the public.”
Here is something about the Bijou from the May 25, 1907 MPW: “The Bijou Theater of Calumet contemplates an expansion in the direction in the near future and a modern moving picture show will be fitted up in the Corgan building just opposite the present Bijou.”
From 1908 into the early 1910s, the most commonly mentioned Calumet theaters were the Grand and the Star, but neither of those is listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. Instead, there are only the Royal Theatre, 305 6th Street, and an Acme Motion Picture, no address given. Nevertheless, the Star was mentioned in the May 6, 1916 MPW. It was to be remodeled and expanded. As the Crown opened in 1917, and was supposed to have been in the old Bijou building, I am wondering if perhaps Star was an aka for the Bijou?
Two buildings labeled “Motion Pictures” appear on the 1922 Sanborn map of Bedford, both on J Street. The wider one must have been the Lawrence Theatre, and the narrower one, which was at 1519 J Street, thus must have been the Grand. The cigar shop next door to the theater in the 1910 postcard view is still there on the 1922 map. A modern-looking structure at 1517 today might be the cigar shop’s building, but the Grand’s site is now part of a parking lot.
The Lawrence must have been the theater labeled “Motion Pictures” at 1605 J Street on the 1922 Sanborn map of Bedford. The map shows a rather shallow balcony and no stage. Current Google Street view (here) shows an interesting old brick building with a crenelated second floor parapet wall. The three-bay façade with a taller center section still has a fairly theatrical appearance, even though there is no marquee. It looks to be in good condition, at least on the exterior, and is currently occupied by a business called Crane’s Leather and Shoe Store.
Boxoffice of October 1, 1938 had news about the Royal: “Extensive remodeling recently was made at the Royal, Bentonville, by M. J. Kilbourn and his son, Payne, and plans are being made to reopen the house soon. New sound equipment will be installed.”
A history of Bentonville quoted on this web page says about the old Opera House that “[a]bout 1922 the building was bought by M. J. Kilburn [sic] who had it rebuilt into a movie picture house. The entrance was again moved to the front of the building. The inside had a stage downstairs and seats down, as well as up in the balcony. There were two small rooms in the front that opened onto the street in front of the building. These were rented for small cafes or real estate offices. The big outside balcony was taken down and a marquee was put up. The building was used as a theater until a few years before it was taken down. The last few years before the building was razed, it was used only for storage.”
This history also noted that the Opera House was built after the winter of 1880-81 when most of the north side of the town square had been razed in a fire, but the exact year of construction is unknown. The original Opera House was upstairs and had served as a movie theater for a while (perhaps it had been the original Royal) but was closed in 1914, after which it was used as an armory for some time. The building was finally demolished in 1962.
Plans for this theater were announced in the August 9, 1913 issue of Motography: “The Garden City Theater Company of Peoria was incorporated on Thursday with a capital of ten thousand dollars, which means that the city is to have another motion picture theater. The new company, which is composed of prominent theatrical men is already planning its first theater, to be built at the corner of Garden and Tyng streets. Reeves & Baillie are drawing the plans for the same and work is to be started and rushed to completion as soon as possible.”
The architectural firm of William Hawks Reeves and John M. Baillie was established at Peoria in 1893 and for more than two decades was one of the leading firms in the region.
This item from Moving Picture World of March 11, 1922 suggests that the Royal moved into this location that year: “M. J. Kilbourn has opened his new Royal Theatre at Bentonville, Ark. It seats 400.”
The Royal might have either began as an airdome or added one in 1913, judging from this item in the August 9 issue of Motography that year: “The New Royal airdome at Bentonville, Leister & Blake, owners, has opened up for business.” The capitalized “New” in front of the name suggests there could have been an even earlier Royal somewhere in town.
Google Street View shows the Roosevelt Theatre at 38 Sycamore Street. Some years ago, plans were afoot to renovate and reopen the theater, but those plans appear to have fallen victim to the pandemic. Some photos of the building and a few renderings and floor plans can still be seen on the web site of arcollab, the firm that was providing the plans for the project.
I came across this Facebook post from the Rogers Historical Museum, and it says that 115 W. Walnut was the address of a movie house called the Ozark Theatre that opened on April 15, 1910. Unfortunately the post doesn’t go into any detail about the building’s later history.
I haven’t seen the Arkansas Historical Society magazine that is supposed to have information about this theater, but I’ve checked every Film Daily Year Book from 1926 through 1940 (except 1939, which I don’t have access to) and there is no Rogers Theatre listed at Rogers in any of them. From 1933 on, the only house listed at Rogers is the Victory.
What I have found is this Facebook post from the Rogers Historical Museum, which is about an early theater called the Ozark, but it gathered a few comments about the Rogers Theatre, including one with an aerial photo. A comment from the museum itself says the Rogers opened between 1940 and 1943 and operated intermittently until 1962. It was located at 206 W. Walnut Street, so our original description is complete nonsense.
The Gem operated at least into 1917, when it was mentioned in the January 6 issue of Moving Picture World. Later the town had houses called the Lyric (by 1919,) the Victoria (by 1920,) and the Lion Head (permanently closed in June or July, 1922.) The only theater listed at Rogers in the 1926 FDY was the Victory.
The plaque marking the historic Victory Theatre, displayed on the official web site, says that it opened on December 5, 1927, but there is a house called the Victory Theatre listed at Rogers in the 1926 FDY, and there is also a reference to the house in the June 19, 1926 Motion Picture News. I suspect a predecessor theater. A house called the Victoria (a possible aka?) was in operation at Rogers at least as early as 1920, mentioned in the September 4 Moving Picture World.
I’m not pointing any fingers, but somebody made out like a bandit when the Gillis Opera House was replaced by a new building, if this item from the June 19, 1926 Motion Picture News is any indication: “Establish Rental Record in Kansas City, Mo.
“A RECORD in North Side theatre property rental was established in Kansas City this week. The first ground floor store room in the new Gillis Theatre, now under construction on the site where the old Gillis recently was demolished by an explosion, will rent for $7,200 a year over a 10-year period—about $3.40 a square foot. The lease was obtained by Paul Pruzan from the Werby Realty & Investment Company.”
The June 19, 1926 issue of Motion Picture News had this article about local reaction to the opening of the Ritz:
Two Pendleton movie houses bore the name Cosy Theatre between 1906 and 1919. A house in the 200 block of S. Main Street, opened in 1908 as the Orpheum Theatre, was renamed the Cosy on April 23, 1916. The first Cosy had been taken over by a new owner in 1915, remodeled and expanded, and renamed the Temple Theatre, which opened on September 27 that year. The first Cosy/Temple was at approximately 348 S. Main Street.
The Temple Theatre operated until mid-April, 1917, then reopened after a few days as the Arcade Theatre, which was still listed in the FDY in 1926 (with 350 seats) but was gone in 1927. The building is still standing, though much remodeled, the theater space being occupied by part of a large hardware store.
The March 7, 1936 issue of Motion Picture Herald had this item about the United Artists:
The reference to remodeling made me wonder if the house had operated earlier under a different name, but if it did I’ve been unable to track it down. Through the early 1930s the only theaters active in Pendleton were the Alta and the Rivoli, both of which are accounted for. Earlier houses called the Arcade and the Rialto closed before 1929. As the earliest photos of the United Artists show a façade indicating construction no later than the 1920s, the building certainly had an earlier life, but perhaps only as a retail store or some other non-theatrical use.The Historic Rivoli Theater official web site provides periodic updates on the progress of the renovation project.
The July 17, 1948 issue of Boxoffice ran a brief item saying that work was progressing rapidly on the new theater being built by L. A. Moore at Umatilla, Oregon.
Does anyone have any idea of which theater in Newport was called the Capital (or Capitol) in 1921, when this item about its planned expansion appeared in the April 2 Moving Picture World? “NEWPORT, ARK.—Extensive improvements will be made to Capital Theatre. A forty-two-foot extension will be built, making room for 300 additional seats. Balconies also will be enlarged, twenty-two-foot stage constructed to accommodate home talent and road shows. Typhoon fans will be installed. Address R. T. Meibbon, manager.” The 500-seat Capitol Theatre is the only house listed at Newport in the 1926 FDY.
The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists three theaters at Eureka Springs: the Best, the Wilke, and a house (possibly this one) called the Electric M. P. Parlor.
The phrase Motion Picture Parlor also occurs in connection with Eureka Springs in this item from the June 27, 1908 issue of The Billboard: “SCAGGS is manager of the S&S. L. S. & R. Amusement Co., operating the Eureka Motion Picture Parlor at Eureka Springs, Ark. He has been identified with the moving picture world for several seasons, and has operated in some of the largest cities. Mr. Skaggs is a hustler and persistent advertiser, and his motto is— ‘Nothing too good for the public.’”
The Facebook page of the Eureka Springs Historical Museum provides this post with a brief history and one interior photo of the Opera House. A bit more history is covered in some of the comments on the post. The building was converted into a church by 1923, and was either partly burned or simply dismantled for its lumber sometime in the 1930s.
The Wilke Theatre is one of three houses listed at Eureka Springs in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, the others being the Best and the Electric Motion Picture Parlor. By 1926, the only house listed at Eureka Springs in the FDY was the Commodore (listed at Cinema Treasures as the New Basin.)
Two other Eureka Springs theater names appeared in the July 7, 1923 issue of Moving Picture World, which said “K. T. Poplim of the Empire Theatre at Eureka Springs. Ark., has closed the Blue Mouse Theatre of that place.” The Blue Mouse only remained closed for a week though, its reopening being announced in the July 14 issue of MPW.
Empire and Blue Mouse could, of course, have been akas for earlier Eureka Springs movie houses.
The Best Theatre is one of three houses listed at Eureka Springs in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, the others being the Wilke and the Electric Motion Picture Parlor. By 1926, the only house listed at Eureka Springs in the FDY was called the Commodore.
The Peoples Theatre operated at least into the 1960s. In a comment on Water Winter Wonderland’s page for the house, the then-owners' niece recalls working there during that decade.
A belated answer to Leslie: The December 22, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World mentions a theater at Waupaca called the Lyric. Its manager, Charles Cohen, had recently bought the building in which the theater was located and planned to remodel and expand the seating capacity to 400. There could have been earlier theaters. While it may be of note that Waupaca was not listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, the Lyric at least was in operation by 1917.
Here are a few words about the Grand from the May 25, 1907 issue of Moving Picture World: “The clean, wholesome show at a popular price is appreciated by the Calumet public. Almost every evening the theater is crowded and the variety of pictures which is presented makes the entertainment always new.”
The August 18, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World carried this brief notice" “CALUMET, MICH.—The Crown theater has been opened to the public.”
Here is something about the Bijou from the May 25, 1907 MPW: “The Bijou Theater of Calumet contemplates an expansion in the direction in the near future and a modern moving picture show will be fitted up in the Corgan building just opposite the present Bijou.”
From 1908 into the early 1910s, the most commonly mentioned Calumet theaters were the Grand and the Star, but neither of those is listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. Instead, there are only the Royal Theatre, 305 6th Street, and an Acme Motion Picture, no address given. Nevertheless, the Star was mentioned in the May 6, 1916 MPW. It was to be remodeled and expanded. As the Crown opened in 1917, and was supposed to have been in the old Bijou building, I am wondering if perhaps Star was an aka for the Bijou?
The 1922 Sanborn map of Bedford shows a garage with a 25 car capacity at 1416 I Street.
Two buildings labeled “Motion Pictures” appear on the 1922 Sanborn map of Bedford, both on J Street. The wider one must have been the Lawrence Theatre, and the narrower one, which was at 1519 J Street, thus must have been the Grand. The cigar shop next door to the theater in the 1910 postcard view is still there on the 1922 map. A modern-looking structure at 1517 today might be the cigar shop’s building, but the Grand’s site is now part of a parking lot.
The Lawrence must have been the theater labeled “Motion Pictures” at 1605 J Street on the 1922 Sanborn map of Bedford. The map shows a rather shallow balcony and no stage. Current Google Street view (here) shows an interesting old brick building with a crenelated second floor parapet wall. The three-bay façade with a taller center section still has a fairly theatrical appearance, even though there is no marquee. It looks to be in good condition, at least on the exterior, and is currently occupied by a business called Crane’s Leather and Shoe Store.