This is probably the theater shown on the 1927 Sanborn. It was located at 30 S 4th St. The 1926 listings have it as the Rex. By 1930 the Pearl is the listed theater. The 1931 Yearbook shows a capacity of 250. This was a very plain and basic one story wooden building with a brick front. It was demolished many years ago.
The Grand did not open prior to 1914, unless it had a different name (Imp or Irwin Amusement Co. are possibilites). David’s map is from 1919, not 1914. The Grand is not listed in the 1914-15 AMPD. I have created an entry for the Grand, and his map view should be moved there.
The new facade is very cheap and characterless. Looks like part of a strip mall. The interior appears to have no design at all. The old facade was a bit odd, but was at least historic.
The address is wrong. It’s either 2009 as pointed out many years ago, or 2007 as Wikipedia states. I saw this in September 2009, and I must have just missed the wonderful, shabby, grimy marquee. The whole thing was covered in scaffolding and the marquee had been ripped off, so I only got a few shots of one of the entries. Work is moving very slowly. The scaffolding reappears in the 2024 streetview, after a long absence.
I added a Sanborn view to show the general plan. Neither the Alvin nor New Alvin are listed in the 1914-15 AMPD. It may have been live theater only at that point.
This listing is really awful. There is no history or anything. It is also sort of a mess. Most of the pictures are of the much larger Bijou downtown, which I will create a listing for. Only the color postcard is correct.
This theater was not shown on the 1906 map. It is listed in the 1914-15 AMPD, and appears to have closed before 1926. The 1924 volume of the Sanborn maps covering this area is unfortunately missing. This was demolished many years ago. The buildings on the site today appear to be 1940s department stores.
The picture is the wrong Bijou. I’ll create an entry for that one. This entry is about a much smaller theater way out on the east end of town. Assuming the address is correct, this one is a bit confusing. The 1906 map shows 7707 as a small one story wooden building. By 1924, it has been replaced by a larger one story brick building, but the address is now 7709. 7707 is now the eastern half of a two story wooden building which was an office with a single 7705 address on the 1906 map.
I believe the three story bar at 7709 today was likely the site of the theater. The 1924 map shows the one story brick store at 7709 with a small wooden awning on the front. I am almost positive that was the old theater. It may well have operated with a 7707 address. If that’s the case, then it was demolished by the mid-late 1920s to be replaced by the current building.
For some reason this does not show up on the 1905-06 Sanborn. It’s very hard to tell when the volumes of the Pittsburgh map were created. At any rate, the theater was located in a very old 4 story block of shallow storefronts (built sometime before 1884) which ran the entire block, and around the corner onto 5th. I assume that the theater was closed in 1911 to allow the construction of the current building.
Dates are wrong, or at least misleading. This theater opened in 1906, replacing the Avenue, previously on this site, which had been destroyed by a fire in June 1905. The original architects were MacClure & Spahr. The Avenue was apparently showing films before the fire. It’s unclear what the 1918 opening refers to, but possibly the Grand Opera House stayed away from film initially. If the auditorium was at the very back, facing Forbes, then that was likely a refurbishment of the original Grand Opera House, built sometime before 1884, which survived the 1905 fire with some damage.
As far as the theater near Magee (not Mages), that must have been the later Avenue. There is a 1924 Sanborn which should show it, but the volume containing downtown is missing from the Penn State online collection. I can confirm that 1108 is a parking lot, and has been since at least 2008, and likely much longer. That area of town is in very rough shape, and entire blocks of it has been turned into surface parking.
This listing is confused. I’m not sure which theater caught fire in 1903, but the Avenue was destroyed in a fire in June, 1905. That theater was at about 330-340 5th Ave. It was built sometime before 1884, and was a 4 story brick building about three storefronts wide. It was joined at the rear to another opera house (later the Grand), which faced Diamond St (now Forbes Ave).
The 1884 map shows it as ‘Opera House’ with a Lyceum on the second floor. The 1893 map calls it the Harris Theatre, and the 1906 map shows an empty lot noting that the Avenue was destroyed, with the Grand Opera House to the south damaged by the same fire.
The theater at 1108, if there was one, must have opened much later, and the low capacity matches what must have been a marginal little neighborhood house.
The listing needs to be split. I’ll add a Sanborn view of the older, much larger, theater, and that can be moved if needed.
Here is a good article about the fire, full of interesting detail: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-times-crisfield-fire-of-1928-m/83007419/
Looking at streetview, what I think is today 16219 is a small older house which likely is from the 1920’s at the latest. It is possible that the museum building is located where the theater was. It’s hard to tell how old that is. At any rate, the map will need to be adjusted. I think the problem is that the map we are using has the wrong name for the street (calls it W Ridge Rd, which makes no sense since it runs N-S). If the Grand really was directly across from the church, the location must have been where the old grey/green house is. That style looks ‘40s or '50s, but could date to the early '60s. That site is well north of this theater. Someone with better information will hopefully create a listing.
Here is a good article about the fire, full of interesting detail: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-times-crisfield-fire-of-1928-m/83007419/
Here is a good article about the fire, full of interesting detail: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-times-crisfield-fire-of-1928-m/83007419/
It’s been city hall much longer. That ugly front looks like it dates to the ‘70s or '80s, and it was definitely city hall before 2010, when I photographed it.
I won’t swear to the address being correct, given the source, but the map is way off. There is a Main Ridge Rd, and 16215 is the museum, so 16219 is at least plausible, although the location would not fit such a large building as is described.
I also don’t think the new Lyric opened in 1940. It’s hard to tell, since the architecture of the replacement is very dull, and neither the 1931 or 1940’s Sanborns can be found online, but I don’t find it listed before 1951. Some of the late ‘40s Yearbooks are useless garbage that only have circuit information, so it may have opened any time after 1945. Previously, a Lyric is listed in the '30s, but never with a capacity.
That would be the new Lyric, which at least still exists (as a building). I’ve added a 1923 map view of the Lyric illustrated. This listing will need to be rewritten, and I will add a new Lyric listing. The capacity of the old Lyric was 350 as of 1927.
This is probably the theater shown on the 1927 Sanborn. It was located at 30 S 4th St. The 1926 listings have it as the Rex. By 1930 the Pearl is the listed theater. The 1931 Yearbook shows a capacity of 250. This was a very plain and basic one story wooden building with a brick front. It was demolished many years ago.
This is listed in 1926 and 1927 as the Grand-Maute.
The Grand did not open prior to 1914, unless it had a different name (Imp or Irwin Amusement Co. are possibilites). David’s map is from 1919, not 1914. The Grand is not listed in the 1914-15 AMPD. I have created an entry for the Grand, and his map view should be moved there.
The new facade is very cheap and characterless. Looks like part of a strip mall. The interior appears to have no design at all. The old facade was a bit odd, but was at least historic.
The address is wrong. It’s either 2009 as pointed out many years ago, or 2007 as Wikipedia states. I saw this in September 2009, and I must have just missed the wonderful, shabby, grimy marquee. The whole thing was covered in scaffolding and the marquee had been ripped off, so I only got a few shots of one of the entries. Work is moving very slowly. The scaffolding reappears in the 2024 streetview, after a long absence.
I added a Sanborn view to show the general plan. Neither the Alvin nor New Alvin are listed in the 1914-15 AMPD. It may have been live theater only at that point.
This listing is really awful. There is no history or anything. It is also sort of a mess. Most of the pictures are of the much larger Bijou downtown, which I will create a listing for. Only the color postcard is correct.
This theater was not shown on the 1906 map. It is listed in the 1914-15 AMPD, and appears to have closed before 1926. The 1924 volume of the Sanborn maps covering this area is unfortunately missing. This was demolished many years ago. The buildings on the site today appear to be 1940s department stores.
The picture is the wrong Bijou. I’ll create an entry for that one. This entry is about a much smaller theater way out on the east end of town. Assuming the address is correct, this one is a bit confusing. The 1906 map shows 7707 as a small one story wooden building. By 1924, it has been replaced by a larger one story brick building, but the address is now 7709. 7707 is now the eastern half of a two story wooden building which was an office with a single 7705 address on the 1906 map.
I believe the three story bar at 7709 today was likely the site of the theater. The 1924 map shows the one story brick store at 7709 with a small wooden awning on the front. I am almost positive that was the old theater. It may well have operated with a 7707 address. If that’s the case, then it was demolished by the mid-late 1920s to be replaced by the current building.
Now a bowling alley, and just recently the beautiful original marquee was replaced by cheap tacky plastic trash.
By the way, the plaque marking the site of the theater, which was by the entry to the ‘new’ building, was removed between 2012 and 2014.
For some reason this does not show up on the 1905-06 Sanborn. It’s very hard to tell when the volumes of the Pittsburgh map were created. At any rate, the theater was located in a very old 4 story block of shallow storefronts (built sometime before 1884) which ran the entire block, and around the corner onto 5th. I assume that the theater was closed in 1911 to allow the construction of the current building.
Dates are wrong, or at least misleading. This theater opened in 1906, replacing the Avenue, previously on this site, which had been destroyed by a fire in June 1905. The original architects were MacClure & Spahr. The Avenue was apparently showing films before the fire. It’s unclear what the 1918 opening refers to, but possibly the Grand Opera House stayed away from film initially. If the auditorium was at the very back, facing Forbes, then that was likely a refurbishment of the original Grand Opera House, built sometime before 1884, which survived the 1905 fire with some damage.
As far as the theater near Magee (not Mages), that must have been the later Avenue. There is a 1924 Sanborn which should show it, but the volume containing downtown is missing from the Penn State online collection. I can confirm that 1108 is a parking lot, and has been since at least 2008, and likely much longer. That area of town is in very rough shape, and entire blocks of it has been turned into surface parking.
This listing is confused. I’m not sure which theater caught fire in 1903, but the Avenue was destroyed in a fire in June, 1905. That theater was at about 330-340 5th Ave. It was built sometime before 1884, and was a 4 story brick building about three storefronts wide. It was joined at the rear to another opera house (later the Grand), which faced Diamond St (now Forbes Ave).
The 1884 map shows it as ‘Opera House’ with a Lyceum on the second floor. The 1893 map calls it the Harris Theatre, and the 1906 map shows an empty lot noting that the Avenue was destroyed, with the Grand Opera House to the south damaged by the same fire.
The theater at 1108, if there was one, must have opened much later, and the low capacity matches what must have been a marginal little neighborhood house.
The listing needs to be split. I’ll add a Sanborn view of the older, much larger, theater, and that can be moved if needed.
Does anyone know if the current vertical is a reproduction or restored?
Here is a good article about the fire, full of interesting detail: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-times-crisfield-fire-of-1928-m/83007419/
Looking at streetview, what I think is today 16219 is a small older house which likely is from the 1920’s at the latest. It is possible that the museum building is located where the theater was. It’s hard to tell how old that is. At any rate, the map will need to be adjusted. I think the problem is that the map we are using has the wrong name for the street (calls it W Ridge Rd, which makes no sense since it runs N-S). If the Grand really was directly across from the church, the location must have been where the old grey/green house is. That style looks ‘40s or '50s, but could date to the early '60s. That site is well north of this theater. Someone with better information will hopefully create a listing.
Here is a good article about the fire, full of interesting detail: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-times-crisfield-fire-of-1928-m/83007419/
Here is a good article about the fire, full of interesting detail: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-times-crisfield-fire-of-1928-m/83007419/
It’s been city hall much longer. That ugly front looks like it dates to the ‘70s or '80s, and it was definitely city hall before 2010, when I photographed it.
The picture should be thrown away.
This building apparently existed in 1990 when the NRHP listing for the Crisfield Historic District was created.
I won’t swear to the address being correct, given the source, but the map is way off. There is a Main Ridge Rd, and 16215 is the museum, so 16219 is at least plausible, although the location would not fit such a large building as is described.
I also don’t think the new Lyric opened in 1940. It’s hard to tell, since the architecture of the replacement is very dull, and neither the 1931 or 1940’s Sanborns can be found online, but I don’t find it listed before 1951. Some of the late ‘40s Yearbooks are useless garbage that only have circuit information, so it may have opened any time after 1945. Previously, a Lyric is listed in the '30s, but never with a capacity.
That would be the new Lyric, which at least still exists (as a building). I’ve added a 1923 map view of the Lyric illustrated. This listing will need to be rewritten, and I will add a new Lyric listing. The capacity of the old Lyric was 350 as of 1927.