The Eckel seems to have had many closings and re-openings. I saw one in 1927, and another in 1936, according to this article from the Syracuse Herald:
Eckel Theater To Open Doors Friday Night
The R-K-O Schine Theaters in Syracuse Friday start a triple celebration to usher in the 1936-37 greater show season. The celebration will embrace the reopening of the Eckel Theater, the first anniversary of the combined R-K-0 Schine theater operation, and the showing, at Keith’s, of the cinematic version of Hervey Allen’s modern classic, “Anthony Adverse,” considered one of the outstanding pictures of the year.
The Eckel Theater will be formally opened at ‘6 o'clock Friday as Governor Lehman presses a button in the executive mansion in Albany to part the curtains over the screen and as
Mayor Marvin, in Syracuse, puts the sound equipment in operation in this theater, which has been completely remodeled, redecorated and refurbished at a cost of over $70,000.
Described as the most luxurious theater in this part of the State, the Eckel decorative scheme is modernistic with a collegiate touch, which is given by orange and blue colors predominating â€" those of Syracuse University. The sound reproducing equipment is said to rank with the finest in any theater In America. Supplied and installed by the Radio Corporation of America, it has been adapted to the requirements of the Eckel so as to provide uniform reception in every part of the house.
In Syracuse for the reopening of the Eckel are Fred Myers, booking manager R-K-O Theaters; Nate Blumberg, general manager of R-K-O Theaters; J. M. Schine, president of the Schine Theaters and L. W. Schine, general manager of the Schine Theaters. In speaking of the reopening of the Eckel, J. M. Schine stresses the fact that the Eckel is a theater dedicated to the people of Syracuse and Central New York and to the students of Syracuse University.
The opening will include a radio broadcast from the front of the theater between 6:15 and 6:30, the use of floodlights, short speeches, and music by a full orchestra. Sharing tbe Syracuse Rialto’s spotlight with the Eckel in this gala celebration are the other R-K-O-Schine houses here, the Paramount, the Strand and Keith’s. Each has been made ready to provide outstanding entertainment for their patrons during the new show season.
More than $l5,000 has been spent in Keith’s theater alone to assure greater enjoyment and conveniences for moviegoers. Improvements include a new life-size screen, new, improved sound equipment, new tapestries and drapes, completely remodeled and redecorated lounging rooms and new carpeting throughout the theater.
Here is a 1960 article about integration and the Colonial:
Negro Pickets March Quietly In Bluefield
West Virginia’s first demonstration in the current wave of Negro protests against segregated seating practices came yesterday in Bluefield when long, silent lines of Negro college students picketed two local theatres. There were no Incidents and the demonstration barely attracted a crowd. City police were on hand, they said primarily to protect the demonstrators in case of any reactions.
The Negroes, who identified themselves as students at Bluefield State College, formed a line outside the Colonial Theater about 4 p.m. For an hour they paraded back and forth from the marquee front entrance used by whites to a rear entrance off a parking lot where Negroes are admitted to segregated rear balcony. “We Are Through Walking Alleys and Entering Back Doors” and “Civil Rights Mean Human Rights” were inscriptions on some of the signs worn by the 22 demonstrators in the first group. They dispersed voluntarily at 5 p.m.
About two hours later the Negroes reappeared, wearing the same signs, but their numbers more than doubled. The second group were bundled against the icy night winds and falling snow. After parading around the Colonial, they made two trips to the Granada Theater, about a block away, where segregated seating also is enforced. At the Granada, Negroes enter a front door, also leading to an all-Negro upper balcony section.
Colonial theater co-owner Rodney Keesling said his seating policy was in keeping with local custom. He said ninety percent of his customers were white and they-not the theater-dictate the separation of races. Neither theatre was closed nor did there appear to be any interruption of patrons entering.
The only reaction from whites apparent nearby were signs hastily posted in two grills near the Colonial. They said “Prices Subject to Change at Any Time.” One owner explained he took the step “just in case” – the Negroes should attempt to enter and ask for service. Bluefield State was an all-Negro college until the 1954 Supreme Court desegregation decision when integration was allowed in all West Virginia state-supported colleges.
G. David Schine, scion of the Schine family and seen on the far right side of the bottom picture, is often linked with Roy Cohn during the McCarthy hearings in the early 1950s. There were rumors of an improper relationship between the two men, which apparently were groundless as the photo also shows Mrs. G. David Schine.
For the second consecutive weekend the State theater in downtown Fulton was the target of vandals, according to city police.
A complaint was lodged around 10:30 p.m. Saturday that a group of boys had thrown cans at the marquee and had opened the theater doors and used coarse language. Around 1:30 a.m. Sunday the theater management reported that apples had been thrown at the marquee and a dozen light bulbs were broken as a result.
Also damaged was one of the letters in the marquee. Police said the waitresses at the pizza shop next door to the ctheater cleaned the broken glass and smashed apples from the sidewalk. According to police, the theater marquee had been damaged a week ago.
Here is another 1939 article, written by Barney Oldfield (probably not the race car driver):
The only thing reminding the patron of the Orpheum is the location. Everything else is new and modern. It took the equivalent of the president’s annual salary for handling the government of the United States to redress the theater.
If the show is good at the Nebraska, and it probably always will be since the choice of major product is scheduled for the theater, always remember to go early. There are only 1,236 seats in the theater, and NO standing room.
“Dodge City”, the picture which glamourizes the old frontier jumping-off place in our neighboring state of Kansas, is scheduled to follow the opening “Ice Follies of 1939” on the screen.
Old Orpheum legend: There is the tale, still told around town, that when the house originally opened in 1916, a woman collapsed in the lobby. Snaked out of the crush and into an ambulance, she gave birth to a baby en route to the hospital.
When the “name” contest for the theater was concluded, it was found that 187 names had been suggested for the theater, but Nebraska was predominant in the voting.
Ushers for the Nebraska were selected from the cream of service at the Stuart and Lincoln theaters. The boys are all schooled in courtesy and prompt service and instructed to give the patron the best possible seat available when he arrives.
Women will have a great time in the Nebraska, because there are mirrors every place one may point the eyes, even on the ceiling of the foyer.
It is the intention that the Nebraska shall be the ace movie house of Lincoln, specializing in the best single feature policy available.
The County Theater’s marquee, which has displayed movie titles since the days of “Gone with the Wind,” is ready for another century of celluloid. A new facade, consisting of a three-sided aluminum light box with plexiglass front panels, was attached Tuesday to a frame
extending above the entrance of the East State Street movie house
The marquee replacement completes the $89,500 restoration of the Art Deco exterior of the 1938 theater, said John Toner, executive
director of Closely Watched Films, a local nonprofit group that owns
the building and operates the independent theater.
“The exterior is an extraordinary example of a small-town Art Deco theater,” Toner said. “Doylestown is real lucky to still have its theater”. Closely Watched Films bought the building in 1997 for $325,000 and spent another $500,000 to overhaul the theater from top to bottom. Restoration of the facade was a separate project, funded in part by a $42,900 Keystone Historic Preservation Grant, a $15,000 grant from the Grundy Foundation and two $1,500 grants from the Doylestown Revitalization Board, according to Toner. The theater raised the rest of the $89,500 from its supporters.
The 18-foot-high tower, which spells out “County” in yellow neon letters on a blue background, was replaced in 1998 at a cost of $36,000. Toner said both the original tower and marquee facade were too deteriorated to restore, but the replicas are identical. Some original stainless steel strips were reused. “The marquee itself will look exactly the same as it did when it came down,” he said.
The marquee restoration, which cost $53,500, also included replacing rotten wood in the frame, reinforcing the roof and the underside of the marquee, and putting in new wiring. Bartush Signs of Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County, the same company that remade the letter tower, also rebuilt the marquee panels. Each of the three sides consists of an aluminum box with fluorescent lights that illuminate a plexiglass sheet on which movable letters spell out movie titles.
The restored marquee has blue neon lights along the outer edge and red neon lights on the underside. Neon lighting was part of the original marquee but had not worked for years. Jim Sanders, director of development for the theater, said workers will finish wiring and
installing the marquee by Friday. To accommodate the work, the theater will not show matinees today and Friday.
Local sign ordinance doesn’t play at Des Plaines Theater
Rows of Hollywood-style bulb lights and orange neon lettering remind some old-timers of the days when the Des Plaines Theater marquee advertised 10-cent movies, the kind that didn’t need to be rated for sex and violence. But a city ordinance regulating business signs has no similar sense of nostalgia, and under its provisions the theater marquee has to come down by 1985. However, most city officials and members of the business community say the marquee should be granted an exemption from the sign law.
“The marquee is something that should be preserved,” 2nd Ward Alderman Herb Volberdeng said at a recent bearing on the ordinance. City merchants, particularly those in the downtown area where the
theater is located, fear that a strict interpretation of the 1978 ordinance could mean the old marquee would be replaced with a flat, plain modern sign out of character with the 64-year-old theater building. “If we have to tear the canopy down, people are going to think there’s no theater here anymore. It’s part of Des Plaines,” theater manager John Fraught said at a bearing this week on the sign law. Also, theater owner Richard Balaban estimated the cost of removal at $25,000.
The marquee has been sheltering theatergoers from rain and snow since the building went up in the early 1900s. It survived a theater war that occurred when the now-demolished Echo Theater, a block away on Ellinwood Street, played serials â€" old-time soap operas â€" which were drawing big crowds. The Des Plaines Theater countered with live vaudeville acts and first-run movies, said James Williams, president of the Des Plaines Historical Society, which also opposes replacing the marquee. During the years, the 990-seat theater, unable to keep up with the new shopping mall theaters, began showing second-run films at cheaper ticket prices, Williams said.
Williams said the marquee is part of “what makes the character of an old town like Des Plaines,” and the historical society plans to make the theater building and marquee a candidate for national landmark status.
The sign ordinance goes into effect Jan.1,1985. Sometime before that, the city council can enact a list of proposed changes, which includes a special waiver for the marquee. “I don’t think there will be any problem getting that through,” said Alderman Robert Martin, 3rd, a member of the building code committee. Committee members say the proposed changes will be considered by the council some
time after Christmas. Chamber of Commerce members have long battled the sign ordinance, which outlaws most overhanging street signs and restricts the sizes of other types of signs. They too are expected to support the marquee waiver.
Patrons of the theater also seem to like the old marquee. “It’s a part of a heritage, I think,” Ralph Tobar, a resident of Des Plaines for 18 years, said as he was leaving the theater after a showing of “Mr. Mom.” “The theater and the marquee have been here for a long time and they never bothered anybody before.”
Although it was virtually complete when the construction crews walked out of the building in December, 1926, some improvements were made in the Tivoli by the Stanley Company, most significantly the addition of air conditioning. While the theater had been billed as having “one of the finest ventilation systems available,” it was cooled only by several large fans and blowers which circulated fresh air in the auditorium and in other areas of the theater. In the words of one local resident who frequented the theater in the 1930’s, “It could get as hot as blazes in there in the summer. Imagine it when it was full of perspiring people ”
The cost of air-conditioning a building as large as the theater, particulariy a small-town theater like the Tivoli, was nearly prohibitive, however, and it appeared the owners had no intention of spending the money. But through a purely coincidental set of circumstances, the Tivoli in the late 1930’s did truly become “as cool as a mountaintop.”
Challedon, as many local residents will recall, was a famous race horse raised on the W L Brann farm near Mt. Pleasant in the 1930s. In 1939 the horse won the Preakness and ran second in the Kentucky Derby. But before going onto these successes, Challedon was entered in the Santa Anita Handicap race in California, and Brann and two of his closest friends â€" Dr “Eddie” Thomas, the Frederick surgeon, and Rep. Joe Himes of Ohio, who lived at Prospect Hall â€" traveled to California to watch the race.
At a party the night before the big race, Thomas overheard Jack Warner, one of the Warner Brothers who then owned the Tivoli in Frederick, say he planned to “bet a bundle” on another horse, the favorite. “Pardon me, Mr. Warner,” Thomas might have said, “but I’m afraid you’re betting on the wrong horse The favorite won’t win. The winner will be Challedon.”
The next day Warner took Thomas' advice and bet on Challedon, who won
him $50,000. In gratitude, Warner offered Thomas a portion of his winnings, and persisted that Thomas at least allow him to throw a party in Thomas' honor. Thomas declined, but Warner refused to take “no” for an answer, and offered him practically anything he wanted.
“You can own a theater in Frederick, and I am a dyed-in-the-wool movie fan,” Thomas was said to have responded. “That theater is hot as it can be. You could do a real service for me and for Frederick by air conditioning it ”. With that, Warner called one of his
subordinates in New York and ordered that the work be done, at a cost estimated at over $100,000. In addition to being the most ornate, the Tivoli thus became the first building in Frederick to be air conditioned.
Here is a December 1974 article from the Nevada State Journal when demolition appeared imminent:
IT’S CURTAINS AT LAST FOR HISTORIC ATLANTA MOVIE THEATER
NOW A “DECAYING FASHIONPLATE”
The ornate, mosque-like Fox Theater, a landmark near downtown Atlanta that has been a source of cultural pride for nearly half a century, will show its final film –“The Klansman” – January 2. The “Klansman,” a critically panned Richard Burton – Lee Marvin film taken from a William Bradford Huey novel, is scheduled to end the Fox’s final performance at 11:12 p.m.
“I’m going to put the chains on the doors on the 2nd, and after that, nobody will be let in again,” said E. E. Whitaker, executive vice president of Georgia Theater Co., owner of the huge theater, said to be the last of its kind in the country. “It takes $1,000 a day to open the front door, and some days they don’t take in $100,” Whitaker said."
Opened at Christmas 1929, the Fox is a decaying fashionplate of theater architecture, equipped with indoor weather effects and the Metropolitan Opera in its annual spring performances in Atlanta. The outside is elaborate brick and tile, with the peaked
arches and spires of a Moslem mosque. In recent years, the Fox has been showing the black-oriented action and martial arts genre of film fare.
A “Save the Fox” effort among Atlantans began last summer with a moratorium requested by Mayor Maynard Jackson to forestall destruction of the theater until May 1. Numerous proposals were made to turn the lavish Fox into a music hall or cultural center of some sort, including an offer by local pornography kingpin Mike Thevis to buy the theater and give it to the city. But Thevis is now serving a federal prison term and other groups have apparently been unable to raise the money for the purchase.
The city block on which the Fox and a few other buildings stand has been sold to Southern Bell Telephone Co. for $3.5 million. The telephone company plans to tear down the buildings to make way for office space. A Southern Bell spokesman, Dick Yarborough, said Tuesday, “We’ll step aside for anybody who can come up with the money to buy it from us, $3.5 million, and an alternative that would preserve it.” If no such plan is forthcoming by May 1, he said, “The plans are to tear it down and build an office building.” He added, “The owners told us they were going to tear it down anyway.”
I will admit that this 1939 photo doesn’t show much of the theater, which is just north of the multi-story building on the northeast corner of 5th and Hill. The photo does give some historical context for that era, particularly the streetcars. http://tinyurl.com/yfa39u
Here is an article dated 1/8/50 from the Daily Oklahoman:
‘Claudia’ to Be first Stock Company Show at the Vogue
EXTENSIVE redecoration and refurnishing is under way at the
Vogue theater, formerly the Victoria and still later used as a church, which returns soon to the entertainment field. The neighborhood playhouse at Classen and NW 17 opens January
24 with a stock company presenting six shows a week, drawn from
the established hits of recent years. First offering of The Piper Players will be “Claudia,” long a favorite with theater goers. Succeeding productions will be of equal caliber.
The Piper Players, a company of 20, have had wide experience In
stage presentations on both coasts and are now on a successful road
tour of the midwest. Charles Freeman, general manager of The Cooper
Foundation theaters here, has booked them for an extended stay
on the theory the city is ready for legitimate theater again.
Price scales have not been decided, but they will be in the popular
price range.
Here is an article in the Southeast Economist dated 11/18/37:
Tomorrow afternoon the Southeast community will welcome the grand opening of Warner Brothers' new Rhodes theater, 79th St. and Rhodes Ave., which promises to take a place as one of the finest theaters
in the city. Hundreds of people are expected to throng the streets in front of the theater to witness the opening ceremonies. Merchants of the E. 79th St. district have cooperated to dress their windows and erect pennants, flags and posters welcoming the new theater in a manner which will blend with the gay and festive mood of a premiere.
Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
At 5 p.m. Eleanor Root, recently named Eighth Ward Charter Jubilee beauty queen, will break the ribbon which has sealed the doors of the Warner Brothers' theater, and the community will receive its first glimpse of the interior, which has been termed unique by the nation’s theater architects. Immediately following the ribboncutting ceremony, 30 cement plaques of the footprints of Hollywood stars will be unveiled in the lobby of the theater.
To Unveil Plaques
One set of plaques, including the impressions of Humphrey Bogart, Pat O'Brien and Henry Fonda, will be unveiled by Lois Wilson, who is appearing on the stage of one of the Loop theaters, while a second
set will be dedicated by Toby Wing, who is making an appearance at a Chicago night club. Helen Flint, appearing at the Grand Opera house, will unveil the third set of ten plaques. An elaborate opening program has been arranged for those attending the premiere performances in the Rhodes theater by Marlowe Connor, manager, who is well known in the community and was for a number of years manager of the Grove theater, 76th St. and Cottage Grove Ave.
Following the unveiling of the plaques, the Mothersingers of Arthur Dixon school, under the direction of Florence Jacobsen, will appear on the stage to sing the “Star Spangled Banner.” Short dedicatory
speeches will be given by Judge Eugene J. Holland and Ald. Michael P. Mulcahy (8th). Opening Programs included on the screen program, in addition to a feature picture starring Kenny Baker, erstwhile radio star, will be a color cartoon, an orchestral novelty, a color travelogue,a short reel showing the movie stars making the plaques unveiled in the lobby a Pathe newsreel of Dick Powell and Joan Blondell as they laid the first plaques last Friday.
Merchants Plan Welcome
According to Frank M. Dooley, 819 E. 79th St., chairman of the committee of merchants cooperating to welcome the thousands of fans expected to greet the new theater, special sales will be held for two weeks and posters and pennants are to be put up welcoming the new theater. The Grand Crossing – Chatham Chamber of Commerce and the business men of the E. 79th St. district have endorsed the opening of the new theater and are making special efforts to attract many visitors to the district.
Unique Construction
Modernly designed by C. W. and George L. Rapp, Inc., and constructed in record-breaking time by the J. W. Snyder company, the Rhodes theater is said to represent an advancement in theater construction
that is new and startling. Built solely for sound, the new theater, which is Warner Brothers' 17th in the city and 451st in America, represents the first use of concrete as a decorative scheme in the building of a theater. Extremely plain in exterior decoration, the effect is definitely alluring and the modern lines of the outside are equaled by a modern beauty of the interior.
Typical “First Night."
The block in which the theater is located will be brilliantly illuminated with irridescent lights of the building itself, while a battery of searchlights and floodlights will be focused directly upon the theater’s entrance, making daylight out of darkness throughout the entire evening. A number of motion picture and
newspaper photographers will be on hand to snap celebrities and prominent members of the community in the accepted "first-night” manner of Hollywood and New York, officials revealed yesterday.
The Vogue opened on 2/15/50 with a showing of “The Red Shoes”. There’s a nice picture on that day in the Oxnard-Press Courier, but unfortunately I can’t reproduce it here.
On the right side of the photo, you can see what looks like an excavation. The Hollywood Hotel was at that location, but I recall a newspaper article from 1959 discussing the hotel’s imminent demolition.
Here is an article from the St. Joseph Herald Press dated 3/6/52:
Fire Destroys Bangor Theater
Fire believed to have started in the heating and ventilation system yesterday afternoon destroyed the Sun Theater here with a loss estimated at $35,000 to $40,000. Effective action by volunteer Bangor firemen, aided for a time by South Haven firemen, prevented the roaring blaze from spreading to buildings immediately adjacent on either side.
The theater, owned by Mr. and Mrs. John Eisner of Bangor, was this village’s only movie house. Mr. and Mrs. Eisner were en route to Florida when the blaze occurred. They were recalled from Elkhart, Ind., by a state police message. Their loss was reported substan-
tially covered by insurance.
This morning, only the front wall and propped-up marquee of the building were still standing. Everything inside, including furniture and a new load of films, was in ruins. The loss was described as complete. The shell of the building was still standing, however, except for part of the west wall that fell after the roof caved. The theater’s location is on the north side of Bangor’s main street, 118 Monroe.
Some damage occurred to the roofs of the adjoining buildings from flying sparks, but Mr. and Mrs. Russell Smith, owners of the Bangor Wood shop, praised firemen for holding the damage to a minimum.
The Eckel seems to have had many closings and re-openings. I saw one in 1927, and another in 1936, according to this article from the Syracuse Herald:
Eckel Theater To Open Doors Friday Night
The R-K-O Schine Theaters in Syracuse Friday start a triple celebration to usher in the 1936-37 greater show season. The celebration will embrace the reopening of the Eckel Theater, the first anniversary of the combined R-K-0 Schine theater operation, and the showing, at Keith’s, of the cinematic version of Hervey Allen’s modern classic, “Anthony Adverse,” considered one of the outstanding pictures of the year.
The Eckel Theater will be formally opened at ‘6 o'clock Friday as Governor Lehman presses a button in the executive mansion in Albany to part the curtains over the screen and as
Mayor Marvin, in Syracuse, puts the sound equipment in operation in this theater, which has been completely remodeled, redecorated and refurbished at a cost of over $70,000.
Described as the most luxurious theater in this part of the State, the Eckel decorative scheme is modernistic with a collegiate touch, which is given by orange and blue colors predominating â€" those of Syracuse University. The sound reproducing equipment is said to rank with the finest in any theater In America. Supplied and installed by the Radio Corporation of America, it has been adapted to the requirements of the Eckel so as to provide uniform reception in every part of the house.
In Syracuse for the reopening of the Eckel are Fred Myers, booking manager R-K-O Theaters; Nate Blumberg, general manager of R-K-O Theaters; J. M. Schine, president of the Schine Theaters and L. W. Schine, general manager of the Schine Theaters. In speaking of the reopening of the Eckel, J. M. Schine stresses the fact that the Eckel is a theater dedicated to the people of Syracuse and Central New York and to the students of Syracuse University.
The opening will include a radio broadcast from the front of the theater between 6:15 and 6:30, the use of floodlights, short speeches, and music by a full orchestra. Sharing tbe Syracuse Rialto’s spotlight with the Eckel in this gala celebration are the other R-K-O-Schine houses here, the Paramount, the Strand and Keith’s. Each has been made ready to provide outstanding entertainment for their patrons during the new show season.
More than $l5,000 has been spent in Keith’s theater alone to assure greater enjoyment and conveniences for moviegoers. Improvements include a new life-size screen, new, improved sound equipment, new tapestries and drapes, completely remodeled and redecorated lounging rooms and new carpeting throughout the theater.
Here is a 1960 article about integration and the Colonial:
Negro Pickets March Quietly In Bluefield
West Virginia’s first demonstration in the current wave of Negro protests against segregated seating practices came yesterday in Bluefield when long, silent lines of Negro college students picketed two local theatres. There were no Incidents and the demonstration barely attracted a crowd. City police were on hand, they said primarily to protect the demonstrators in case of any reactions.
The Negroes, who identified themselves as students at Bluefield State College, formed a line outside the Colonial Theater about 4 p.m. For an hour they paraded back and forth from the marquee front entrance used by whites to a rear entrance off a parking lot where Negroes are admitted to segregated rear balcony. “We Are Through Walking Alleys and Entering Back Doors” and “Civil Rights Mean Human Rights” were inscriptions on some of the signs worn by the 22 demonstrators in the first group. They dispersed voluntarily at 5 p.m.
About two hours later the Negroes reappeared, wearing the same signs, but their numbers more than doubled. The second group were bundled against the icy night winds and falling snow. After parading around the Colonial, they made two trips to the Granada Theater, about a block away, where segregated seating also is enforced. At the Granada, Negroes enter a front door, also leading to an all-Negro upper balcony section.
Colonial theater co-owner Rodney Keesling said his seating policy was in keeping with local custom. He said ninety percent of his customers were white and they-not the theater-dictate the separation of races. Neither theatre was closed nor did there appear to be any interruption of patrons entering.
The only reaction from whites apparent nearby were signs hastily posted in two grills near the Colonial. They said “Prices Subject to Change at Any Time.” One owner explained he took the step “just in case” – the Negroes should attempt to enter and ask for service. Bluefield State was an all-Negro college until the 1954 Supreme Court desegregation decision when integration was allowed in all West Virginia state-supported colleges.
G. David Schine, scion of the Schine family and seen on the far right side of the bottom picture, is often linked with Roy Cohn during the McCarthy hearings in the early 1950s. There were rumors of an improper relationship between the two men, which apparently were groundless as the photo also shows Mrs. G. David Schine.
Here is a 1947 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yz9bo5
Darn those kids:
11/10/69
For the second consecutive weekend the State theater in downtown Fulton was the target of vandals, according to city police.
A complaint was lodged around 10:30 p.m. Saturday that a group of boys had thrown cans at the marquee and had opened the theater doors and used coarse language. Around 1:30 a.m. Sunday the theater management reported that apples had been thrown at the marquee and a dozen light bulbs were broken as a result.
Also damaged was one of the letters in the marquee. Police said the waitresses at the pizza shop next door to the ctheater cleaned the broken glass and smashed apples from the sidewalk. According to police, the theater marquee had been damaged a week ago.
Here is another 1939 article, written by Barney Oldfield (probably not the race car driver):
The only thing reminding the patron of the Orpheum is the location. Everything else is new and modern. It took the equivalent of the president’s annual salary for handling the government of the United States to redress the theater.
If the show is good at the Nebraska, and it probably always will be since the choice of major product is scheduled for the theater, always remember to go early. There are only 1,236 seats in the theater, and NO standing room.
“Dodge City”, the picture which glamourizes the old frontier jumping-off place in our neighboring state of Kansas, is scheduled to follow the opening “Ice Follies of 1939” on the screen.
Old Orpheum legend: There is the tale, still told around town, that when the house originally opened in 1916, a woman collapsed in the lobby. Snaked out of the crush and into an ambulance, she gave birth to a baby en route to the hospital.
When the “name” contest for the theater was concluded, it was found that 187 names had been suggested for the theater, but Nebraska was predominant in the voting.
Ushers for the Nebraska were selected from the cream of service at the Stuart and Lincoln theaters. The boys are all schooled in courtesy and prompt service and instructed to give the patron the best possible seat available when he arrives.
Women will have a great time in the Nebraska, because there are mirrors every place one may point the eyes, even on the ceiling of the foyer.
It is the intention that the Nebraska shall be the ace movie house of Lincoln, specializing in the best single feature policy available.
The marquee was replaced in 2000:
County Theater replaces marquee
The County Theater’s marquee, which has displayed movie titles since the days of “Gone with the Wind,” is ready for another century of celluloid. A new facade, consisting of a three-sided aluminum light box with plexiglass front panels, was attached Tuesday to a frame
extending above the entrance of the East State Street movie house
The marquee replacement completes the $89,500 restoration of the Art Deco exterior of the 1938 theater, said John Toner, executive
director of Closely Watched Films, a local nonprofit group that owns
the building and operates the independent theater.
“The exterior is an extraordinary example of a small-town Art Deco theater,” Toner said. “Doylestown is real lucky to still have its theater”. Closely Watched Films bought the building in 1997 for $325,000 and spent another $500,000 to overhaul the theater from top to bottom. Restoration of the facade was a separate project, funded in part by a $42,900 Keystone Historic Preservation Grant, a $15,000 grant from the Grundy Foundation and two $1,500 grants from the Doylestown Revitalization Board, according to Toner. The theater raised the rest of the $89,500 from its supporters.
The 18-foot-high tower, which spells out “County” in yellow neon letters on a blue background, was replaced in 1998 at a cost of $36,000. Toner said both the original tower and marquee facade were too deteriorated to restore, but the replicas are identical. Some original stainless steel strips were reused. “The marquee itself will look exactly the same as it did when it came down,” he said.
The marquee restoration, which cost $53,500, also included replacing rotten wood in the frame, reinforcing the roof and the underside of the marquee, and putting in new wiring. Bartush Signs of Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County, the same company that remade the letter tower, also rebuilt the marquee panels. Each of the three sides consists of an aluminum box with fluorescent lights that illuminate a plexiglass sheet on which movable letters spell out movie titles.
The restored marquee has blue neon lights along the outer edge and red neon lights on the underside. Neon lighting was part of the original marquee but had not worked for years. Jim Sanders, director of development for the theater, said workers will finish wiring and
installing the marquee by Friday. To accommodate the work, the theater will not show matinees today and Friday.
Controversy over the marquee in 1983:
Local sign ordinance doesn’t play at Des Plaines Theater
Rows of Hollywood-style bulb lights and orange neon lettering remind some old-timers of the days when the Des Plaines Theater marquee advertised 10-cent movies, the kind that didn’t need to be rated for sex and violence. But a city ordinance regulating business signs has no similar sense of nostalgia, and under its provisions the theater marquee has to come down by 1985. However, most city officials and members of the business community say the marquee should be granted an exemption from the sign law.
“The marquee is something that should be preserved,” 2nd Ward Alderman Herb Volberdeng said at a recent bearing on the ordinance. City merchants, particularly those in the downtown area where the
theater is located, fear that a strict interpretation of the 1978 ordinance could mean the old marquee would be replaced with a flat, plain modern sign out of character with the 64-year-old theater building. “If we have to tear the canopy down, people are going to think there’s no theater here anymore. It’s part of Des Plaines,” theater manager John Fraught said at a bearing this week on the sign law. Also, theater owner Richard Balaban estimated the cost of removal at $25,000.
The marquee has been sheltering theatergoers from rain and snow since the building went up in the early 1900s. It survived a theater war that occurred when the now-demolished Echo Theater, a block away on Ellinwood Street, played serials â€" old-time soap operas â€" which were drawing big crowds. The Des Plaines Theater countered with live vaudeville acts and first-run movies, said James Williams, president of the Des Plaines Historical Society, which also opposes replacing the marquee. During the years, the 990-seat theater, unable to keep up with the new shopping mall theaters, began showing second-run films at cheaper ticket prices, Williams said.
Williams said the marquee is part of “what makes the character of an old town like Des Plaines,” and the historical society plans to make the theater building and marquee a candidate for national landmark status.
The sign ordinance goes into effect Jan.1,1985. Sometime before that, the city council can enact a list of proposed changes, which includes a special waiver for the marquee. “I don’t think there will be any problem getting that through,” said Alderman Robert Martin, 3rd, a member of the building code committee. Committee members say the proposed changes will be considered by the council some
time after Christmas. Chamber of Commerce members have long battled the sign ordinance, which outlaws most overhanging street signs and restricts the sizes of other types of signs. They too are expected to support the marquee waiver.
Patrons of the theater also seem to like the old marquee. “It’s a part of a heritage, I think,” Ralph Tobar, a resident of Des Plaines for 18 years, said as he was leaving the theater after a showing of “Mr. Mom.” “The theater and the marquee have been here for a long time and they never bothered anybody before.”
JODYB is correct:
‘Challedon’ and the Tivoli
Although it was virtually complete when the construction crews walked out of the building in December, 1926, some improvements were made in the Tivoli by the Stanley Company, most significantly the addition of air conditioning. While the theater had been billed as having “one of the finest ventilation systems available,” it was cooled only by several large fans and blowers which circulated fresh air in the auditorium and in other areas of the theater. In the words of one local resident who frequented the theater in the 1930’s, “It could get as hot as blazes in there in the summer. Imagine it when it was full of perspiring people ”
The cost of air-conditioning a building as large as the theater, particulariy a small-town theater like the Tivoli, was nearly prohibitive, however, and it appeared the owners had no intention of spending the money. But through a purely coincidental set of circumstances, the Tivoli in the late 1930’s did truly become “as cool as a mountaintop.”
Challedon, as many local residents will recall, was a famous race horse raised on the W L Brann farm near Mt. Pleasant in the 1930s. In 1939 the horse won the Preakness and ran second in the Kentucky Derby. But before going onto these successes, Challedon was entered in the Santa Anita Handicap race in California, and Brann and two of his closest friends â€" Dr “Eddie” Thomas, the Frederick surgeon, and Rep. Joe Himes of Ohio, who lived at Prospect Hall â€" traveled to California to watch the race.
At a party the night before the big race, Thomas overheard Jack Warner, one of the Warner Brothers who then owned the Tivoli in Frederick, say he planned to “bet a bundle” on another horse, the favorite. “Pardon me, Mr. Warner,” Thomas might have said, “but I’m afraid you’re betting on the wrong horse The favorite won’t win. The winner will be Challedon.”
The next day Warner took Thomas' advice and bet on Challedon, who won
him $50,000. In gratitude, Warner offered Thomas a portion of his winnings, and persisted that Thomas at least allow him to throw a party in Thomas' honor. Thomas declined, but Warner refused to take “no” for an answer, and offered him practically anything he wanted.
“You can own a theater in Frederick, and I am a dyed-in-the-wool movie fan,” Thomas was said to have responded. “That theater is hot as it can be. You could do a real service for me and for Frederick by air conditioning it ”. With that, Warner called one of his
subordinates in New York and ordered that the work be done, at a cost estimated at over $100,000. In addition to being the most ornate, the Tivoli thus became the first building in Frederick to be air conditioned.
Here is a December 1974 article from the Nevada State Journal when demolition appeared imminent:
IT’S CURTAINS AT LAST FOR HISTORIC ATLANTA MOVIE THEATER
NOW A “DECAYING FASHIONPLATE”
The ornate, mosque-like Fox Theater, a landmark near downtown Atlanta that has been a source of cultural pride for nearly half a century, will show its final film –“The Klansman” – January 2. The “Klansman,” a critically panned Richard Burton – Lee Marvin film taken from a William Bradford Huey novel, is scheduled to end the Fox’s final performance at 11:12 p.m.
“I’m going to put the chains on the doors on the 2nd, and after that, nobody will be let in again,” said E. E. Whitaker, executive vice president of Georgia Theater Co., owner of the huge theater, said to be the last of its kind in the country. “It takes $1,000 a day to open the front door, and some days they don’t take in $100,” Whitaker said."
Opened at Christmas 1929, the Fox is a decaying fashionplate of theater architecture, equipped with indoor weather effects and the Metropolitan Opera in its annual spring performances in Atlanta. The outside is elaborate brick and tile, with the peaked
arches and spires of a Moslem mosque. In recent years, the Fox has been showing the black-oriented action and martial arts genre of film fare.
A “Save the Fox” effort among Atlantans began last summer with a moratorium requested by Mayor Maynard Jackson to forestall destruction of the theater until May 1. Numerous proposals were made to turn the lavish Fox into a music hall or cultural center of some sort, including an offer by local pornography kingpin Mike Thevis to buy the theater and give it to the city. But Thevis is now serving a federal prison term and other groups have apparently been unable to raise the money for the purchase.
The city block on which the Fox and a few other buildings stand has been sold to Southern Bell Telephone Co. for $3.5 million. The telephone company plans to tear down the buildings to make way for office space. A Southern Bell spokesman, Dick Yarborough, said Tuesday, “We’ll step aside for anybody who can come up with the money to buy it from us, $3.5 million, and an alternative that would preserve it.” If no such plan is forthcoming by May 1, he said, “The plans are to tear it down and build an office building.” He added, “The owners told us they were going to tear it down anyway.”
This history of Cranston theaters mentions the Park:
http://tinyurl.com/yyq3hk
There is a photo on this rather comprehensive website:
http://tinyurl.com/y8qncu
Here is a 1989 article from the Lakewood Sun Post:
http://tinyurl.com/yxwlug
Here is an article from Nebraska Life:
http://tinyurl.com/ygskcn
Berkeley Daily Planet, 7/2/04:
http://tinyurl.com/ynzo6s
12/13/06:
http://tinyurl.com/ybh5w2
Booo:
http://tinyurl.com/yaxv3n
I will admit that this 1939 photo doesn’t show much of the theater, which is just north of the multi-story building on the northeast corner of 5th and Hill. The photo does give some historical context for that era, particularly the streetcars.
http://tinyurl.com/yfa39u
The Midland was advertising sound films in 1928.
Here is an article dated 1/8/50 from the Daily Oklahoman:
‘Claudia’ to Be first Stock Company Show at the Vogue
EXTENSIVE redecoration and refurnishing is under way at the
Vogue theater, formerly the Victoria and still later used as a church, which returns soon to the entertainment field. The neighborhood playhouse at Classen and NW 17 opens January
24 with a stock company presenting six shows a week, drawn from
the established hits of recent years. First offering of The Piper Players will be “Claudia,” long a favorite with theater goers. Succeeding productions will be of equal caliber.
The Piper Players, a company of 20, have had wide experience In
stage presentations on both coasts and are now on a successful road
tour of the midwest. Charles Freeman, general manager of The Cooper
Foundation theaters here, has booked them for an extended stay
on the theory the city is ready for legitimate theater again.
Price scales have not been decided, but they will be in the popular
price range.
Here is an article in the Southeast Economist dated 11/18/37:
Tomorrow afternoon the Southeast community will welcome the grand opening of Warner Brothers' new Rhodes theater, 79th St. and Rhodes Ave., which promises to take a place as one of the finest theaters
in the city. Hundreds of people are expected to throng the streets in front of the theater to witness the opening ceremonies. Merchants of the E. 79th St. district have cooperated to dress their windows and erect pennants, flags and posters welcoming the new theater in a manner which will blend with the gay and festive mood of a premiere.
Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
At 5 p.m. Eleanor Root, recently named Eighth Ward Charter Jubilee beauty queen, will break the ribbon which has sealed the doors of the Warner Brothers' theater, and the community will receive its first glimpse of the interior, which has been termed unique by the nation’s theater architects. Immediately following the ribboncutting ceremony, 30 cement plaques of the footprints of Hollywood stars will be unveiled in the lobby of the theater.
To Unveil Plaques
One set of plaques, including the impressions of Humphrey Bogart, Pat O'Brien and Henry Fonda, will be unveiled by Lois Wilson, who is appearing on the stage of one of the Loop theaters, while a second
set will be dedicated by Toby Wing, who is making an appearance at a Chicago night club. Helen Flint, appearing at the Grand Opera house, will unveil the third set of ten plaques. An elaborate opening program has been arranged for those attending the premiere performances in the Rhodes theater by Marlowe Connor, manager, who is well known in the community and was for a number of years manager of the Grove theater, 76th St. and Cottage Grove Ave.
Following the unveiling of the plaques, the Mothersingers of Arthur Dixon school, under the direction of Florence Jacobsen, will appear on the stage to sing the “Star Spangled Banner.” Short dedicatory
speeches will be given by Judge Eugene J. Holland and Ald. Michael P. Mulcahy (8th). Opening Programs included on the screen program, in addition to a feature picture starring Kenny Baker, erstwhile radio star, will be a color cartoon, an orchestral novelty, a color travelogue,a short reel showing the movie stars making the plaques unveiled in the lobby a Pathe newsreel of Dick Powell and Joan Blondell as they laid the first plaques last Friday.
Merchants Plan Welcome
According to Frank M. Dooley, 819 E. 79th St., chairman of the committee of merchants cooperating to welcome the thousands of fans expected to greet the new theater, special sales will be held for two weeks and posters and pennants are to be put up welcoming the new theater. The Grand Crossing – Chatham Chamber of Commerce and the business men of the E. 79th St. district have endorsed the opening of the new theater and are making special efforts to attract many visitors to the district.
Unique Construction
Modernly designed by C. W. and George L. Rapp, Inc., and constructed in record-breaking time by the J. W. Snyder company, the Rhodes theater is said to represent an advancement in theater construction
that is new and startling. Built solely for sound, the new theater, which is Warner Brothers' 17th in the city and 451st in America, represents the first use of concrete as a decorative scheme in the building of a theater. Extremely plain in exterior decoration, the effect is definitely alluring and the modern lines of the outside are equaled by a modern beauty of the interior.
Typical “First Night."
The block in which the theater is located will be brilliantly illuminated with irridescent lights of the building itself, while a battery of searchlights and floodlights will be focused directly upon the theater’s entrance, making daylight out of darkness throughout the entire evening. A number of motion picture and
newspaper photographers will be on hand to snap celebrities and prominent members of the community in the accepted "first-night” manner of Hollywood and New York, officials revealed yesterday.
The Vogue opened on 2/15/50 with a showing of “The Red Shoes”. There’s a nice picture on that day in the Oxnard-Press Courier, but unfortunately I can’t reproduce it here.
On the right side of the photo, you can see what looks like an excavation. The Hollywood Hotel was at that location, but I recall a newspaper article from 1959 discussing the hotel’s imminent demolition.
It just says the north side of Bangor’s main street. I couldn’t find any other references to the address.
Here is an article from the St. Joseph Herald Press dated 3/6/52:
Fire Destroys Bangor Theater
Fire believed to have started in the heating and ventilation system yesterday afternoon destroyed the Sun Theater here with a loss estimated at $35,000 to $40,000. Effective action by volunteer Bangor firemen, aided for a time by South Haven firemen, prevented the roaring blaze from spreading to buildings immediately adjacent on either side.
The theater, owned by Mr. and Mrs. John Eisner of Bangor, was this village’s only movie house. Mr. and Mrs. Eisner were en route to Florida when the blaze occurred. They were recalled from Elkhart, Ind., by a state police message. Their loss was reported substan-
tially covered by insurance.
This morning, only the front wall and propped-up marquee of the building were still standing. Everything inside, including furniture and a new load of films, was in ruins. The loss was described as complete. The shell of the building was still standing, however, except for part of the west wall that fell after the roof caved. The theater’s location is on the north side of Bangor’s main street, 118 Monroe.
Some damage occurred to the roofs of the adjoining buildings from flying sparks, but Mr. and Mrs. Russell Smith, owners of the Bangor Wood shop, praised firemen for holding the damage to a minimum.