The March 25, 1950, issue of Boxoffice Magazine includes the Edna Theatre in its list of new houses opened the previous year. It gives the cost of the project as $250,000.
I’ve dug up a bit more information about the Colonial Theatre, subject of some discussion above, but there are still some gaps (such as no address and no original opening date) so if anyone has additional information about it, please post it at the Cinema Treasures Colonial Theatre page.
Also, although the Gem Theatre web site says that the YMCA Theatre was destroyed by fire in 1936, the May 8, 1937, issue of Boxoffice Magazine reported that, among the visitors to film row in Charlotte that week, was W.A. Powell of the YMCA Theatre in Kannapolis. Sounds like it was still open.
And then the January 8, 1938, issue of Boxoffice carried an item headed “Kannapolis Fire Costly” which said: “Fire destroyed the YMCA Theatre here recently, originating from causes as yet undetermined. The ‘Y’ and the theatre building were erected as one unit in 1922 by the Cannon Mills at a cost of $500,000.”
I’ve heard that time moves more slowly in the South, so perhaps it was still 1936 in North Carolina when the YMCA burned, but already rolling into 1938 in the rest of the world? But if that is so, what am I to make of the fact that the Cabarrus Genealogical Society tells me the Gem itself was built in 1938? Perhaps time isn’t slower in the South, but simply a bit eccentric?
Or was it the case, as later issues of Boxoffice reported, that it was the Dixie Theatre, not the Gem, which was built to replace the YMCA Theatre? Maybe somebody in Kannapolis could check the archives of the local newspaper to clear up this temporal confusion.
Additionally, from Boxoffice Magazine, February 5, 1938: At Kannapolis, N.C., the Cannon towel interests are erecting a new theatre to replace the YMCA structure, destroyed by fire recently, and in addition are opening a new house for colored trade. These ventures will give Kannapolis four houses, three maintained by the Cannon interests, the fourth, the Colonial, on the outskirts of town, is a pretentious house offering competition from Morris Legendre and associates…."
The Dixie was supposed to open by May, 1938, but a later issue of Boxoffice reveals that a shortage of materials delayed its completion.
Could the “house for colored trade” mentioned in the article have been the Palace?
The December 16, 1974, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that the Van Croix Theatre was being demolished to make way for a parking lot to serve Flagship Bank of Melbourne. It also said that the theater had been opened in 1925.
OK, over on the Gem Theatre page, on February 26, 2009, Steve Thomas said the Colonial was on North Main Street, and that it went out of business in 1955. He says it remained closed for many years, and he has a photo of it from about ten years after it closed, so that might rule out the Fine Arts of 1964 as a successor to the Colonial.
Also, a May 22, 2006, comment by goodoleboy on the Gem page says that the Main Theatre was on Cannon Boulevard in North Kannapolis, so we can rule out that as a name change.
The Main might have been built in 1947. The June 28 issue of Boxoffice that year reported that a group of Kannapolis GIs were building a 600 seat theatre on Cannon Boulevard at Jackson. Unless there were two theaters on Cannon Boulevard, the new house must have been the Main.
From the Google Maps satellite and street views, it looks like everything on North Main Street near the center of town has been wiped out, so probably the Colonial, and certainly the Fine Arts (if it was a different theater) are both landfill.
Possibly it was expanded. As the manager used the word “gutted” it seems likely that at least some of the existing walls were used. Perhaps the original Colonial had a stage house, and the auditorium might have been expanded into that space.
In any case, the Colonial was in operation by March 29, 1941, when Boxoffice reported that Sam Trincher (various issues of Boxoffice use this alternate spelling of the name) of Legendre Theatres had announced that Kenneth Kornahrens, manager of the Colonial, was leaving and would join the service.
The last mention of the Colonial I’ve come across is in the September 2, 1950, issue of Boxoffice, in an item about a promotion for “Father of the Bride.”
The October 1, 1950, issue of Boxoffice mentions a Main Theatre in Kannapolis. A name change, perhaps? And then The February 9, 1964, issue carried an item about a robbery at the Fine Arts Theatre at 99 W. Main Street, Kannapolis. Another possible name change?
The December 21, 1940, issue of Boxoffice Magazine ran an item telling of personnel shifts at various Kannapolis theaters resulting from the recent opening of the Swanee Theatre.
The December 17, 1938, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that the new Dixie Theatre in Kannapolis was nearing completion and would be opened in January.
Either the local writer was wrong about the Colonial never being rebuilt, or there was a later Colonial Theatre in Kannapolis. The June 24, 1946, issue of Boxoffice said that H.H. Everett was taking over operation of the Colonial Theatre on July 1. The house had been built and operated by Morris Legendre and Sam Trencher.
The March 2, 1940, issue of Boxoffice ran an article about the Colonial fire, and said that manager Sam Trencher had announced that the gutted theater would be rebuilt, and that he expected it to reopen within six to eight weeks.
For many years, the Coliseum was operated by a fellow named Dude Smith. That’s how he was styled in many issues of Boxoffice Magazine from the 1930s through the 1950s. Other issues give his formal name of Claude H. Smith, but I prefer Dude.
Dude bought the Coliseum and another Tillamook house, the Castle, in the mid-1930s. In 1952, he opened a drive-in nearby called the Tillavue. At some time he added the Columbia Theatre at St. Helens, Oregon, to his holdings. He operated all these theaters until his death, at which time (according to Boxoffice’s issue of March 4, 1963) they were taken over by the administrator of his estate, a Mr. Gus Elbow Jr.
A small photo of Dude Smith accompanies a thumbnail biography of him, commemorating his twenty years in movie exhibition, published in the March 17, 1945, issue of Boxoffice. The last line of the biography reads “His hobby is exploitation.”
I think Dude deserves a plaque in the Coliseum’s lobby.
The Boxoffice item about the Valley Drive-In was only one paragraph, saying that the theater’s manager, Tom Nail, had reported the grand opening a big success, with 1703 visitors from 15 states signing the guest register, that several hundred gallons of root beer had been given away, and that there had been a drawing for prizes which included a sheepskin rug and a portable television set. Why a theater would give out a television set I don’t know.
The place might not have remained open long. I can’t find any later references to the Valley Drive-In in Boxoffice. If there’s been a lot of development in the area since 1969, odds are the site is now under some supermarket parking lot and no trace of it will be noticeable.
Oh, and the typo was mine, so Boxoffice is off the hook for that one, at least.
From Boxoffice Magazine, October 13, 1945: “WINDSOR. COLO.— G.I. Richards, who entered the motion picture exhibition business here in 1912 when he took over an upstairs showcase through a mortgage, has sold the Windsor Theatre to Ben Riggs, former operator of the Antlers Hotel in Wellington, Kas..”
From Boxoffice, November 9, 1946: “WINDSOR, COLO.— R.L. Stanger of Frederick and Ted Knox of Denver are the new owners of the Windsor Theatre. They bought it from Ben Riggs and immediately closed it to install new sound and projection equipment and make other improvements. Riggs has bought a business in Sterling.”
A later issue of Boxoffice says that Riggs had bought the Windsor in September, 1945.
The February 22, 1947 issue says: “Mickey Stanger, partner in the Windsor, Windsor, Colo., has bought out his partner, Ted Knox.” And on another page of the same issue: “Ted Knox has disposed of his share of the Windsor, which he purchased last fall in partnership with R.A. Stanger. The latter’s uncle, Everett Sloan of Denver, has taken an interest in the house and will assist Stanger in the operation.”
Perhaps also of interest, the June 12, 1954, issue of Boxoffice has an article about the drive-in Stanger was building in Denver, though the article misnames it the “Evand” Drive-In. It also says it was to be the ninth drive-in built in the Denver area.
Windsor itself got a drive-in called the Valley in 1969, according to the July 21 issue of Boxoffice that year. I can’t find either of these drive-ins listed at Cinema Treasures. In fact, no drive-ins at all are listed yet for Denver.
Boxoffice Magazine references to the El Rey go back as far as the July 17, 1937, issue, which reported that Dan Tocchini, who had recently taken over the house from Bruno Vecharelli, was planning to spend $15,000 on renovations for the 400-seat theater.
Various issues of Boxoffice from 1946 to 1948 tell of progress on a new theater in Sebastopol called the Analy, built by Tocchini and Tony Gambogi, operators of the El Rey. The item about the new house in the May 15, 1948, issue says that the partners would probably runt he El Rey on a weekends-only policy after the Analy opened.
The Analy is mentioned in various issues of Boxoffice into the 1950s, but the El Rey disappears by the late 1940s, so was probably closed completely after the Analy opened. I can’t find an address for the Analy, but Boxoffice gives the seating capacity as 850, and says it was to be a “stadium style” house.
It’s difficult to find the fate of the Analy on the Internet, as Sebastopol has an Analy High School with an active theatre arts program, and the school calls its auditorium the Analy Theatre. I don’t think it’s the same building, though, as the high school is out on the edge of town, and its web site says that their theatre, currently under renovation, has been in use for eighty years.
Interestingly enough, the recent occupant of the premises at the El Rey’s address as listed above is the Analy Furniture Co-op.
The November 12, 1949, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that Blumenfeld Theatres had recently opened their new Belmont Theatre on El Camino Real. The magazine said that 900-seat house was designed by William B. David, and William W. Wolf of San Francisco was the architect (meaning Wolf probably signed his name to the permits, but David was the actual architect.)
Neither the Lodi nor the State is here yet. I was going to submit them last night but got distracted. In the meantime, I found a couple more references to the State in Boxoffice. It might have been operating as late as 1956.
There are also items about a Midway Drive-In in Lodi that opened in 1949, and a Tokay Drive-In which changed owners in 1955. I don’t know if these are actually the same theater with a name change, though. There was no address given for either.
The State must have had some prestige at one time. The January 15, 1938, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that the musical film “The Goldwyn Follies” would have its world premier at Wometco’s State Theatre in Miami on January 28. It referred to the State as a “popular Flagler Street house.”
Boxoffice, September 17, 1949: “The Ritz, Huron, Calif., has been opened by R.D. Ruff.” (They got his first initial wrong in this one.)
Then, in the December 3, 1949 issue: “A.D. Ruff opened his new Ritz Theatre in Huron, California, a 700-seat house.”
There are several items mentioning the Ritz being operated by Roy Martinez in various issues of Boxoffice into the 1970s, and then it drops from sight.
Food blogger Chowhound says that La Esquinita Mi Pueblo Taqueria is right next door to the Ritz. The taqueria’s address is 36905 S. Lassen Ave., so the Ritz, being next door to the south, must be at or about 36907 S. Lassen Ave.. Google Maps finds it there, at least.
This is from Boxoffice Magazine, October 22, 1944: “OAK RIDGE, TENN— The Grove Theatre, newest and largest of the three motion picture houses here, has opened its doors. It is located in the western section and will serve also for concert and road attractions playing here. It will seat 1000 persons.”
This Grove Theater replaced an earlier house of the same name that was destroyed by fire.
From Boxoffice Magazine, November 13, 1943: “DALLAS— P.G. Cameron is watching finishing touches go into his new Grove Theatre at Pleasant Grove, about five miles southeast of here. Chairs which he purchased in several lots over the country, about 500 in all, are being installed. The Grove was destroyed by fire early in the year and permission to rebuild was obtained by Cameron from WPB.”
WPB was the War Production Board, a WWII government agency which controlled access to materials critical to the war effort, including most building materials.
The Lodi Theatre has been demolished and replaced by a modern post office building, but the State Theatre’s building is still there. It is now occupied by a banquet hall called The Merlot. The give their address as 23 W. Elm, but it’s the same building. The Merlot’s web site says the State opened in 1912 (the building looks that old) and was owned by Paramount Pictures (local urban legend, most likely. The State probably just had a contract to run Paramount releases at some time in its history.)
Lodi also had a Lodi Theatre and a State Theatre operating in the 1940s and 1950s. From brief items in various issues of Boxoffice, I’ve found that the State had 400 seats, closed in 1954, and was last operated by Fox West Coast after being operated for some time by T&D. I haven’t yet found any other details about either of them.
Additional information: The July 24, 1948, issue of Boxoffice said that Mason Shaw’s new 485-seat theater at Saratoga was being designed by architect A.A. Cantin.
Another missing (or not aka'ed) Altoona Theater is the Sun, listed in the September 3, 1949, issue of Boxoffice as being under renovation by Lewis Hausser.
This Paseo Theatre was a replacement for an earlier house of the same name which was destroyed by fire on January 25, 1943. The July 8, 1944, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that a permit to rebuild the theater had been issued and contracts were to be let within a month. Both the new and old houses had 750 seats. The architect of the rebuilt Paseo was Charles A. Smith.
The new Paseo opened in 1945, and was the subject of an article in the May 26 issue of Boxoffice that year. This article says that architect Smith had designed the original Paseo, which had been built in an existing, pre-1920 building in 1940. The article does not make clear whether or not the existing building had ever been a theater.
There was also a walk-in Spot Theatre in Siloam Springs. It was scheduled to open on November 9, 1946, according to the November 2 issue of Boxoffice Magazine that year.
The March 25, 1950, issue of Boxoffice Magazine includes the Edna Theatre in its list of new houses opened the previous year. It gives the cost of the project as $250,000.
I’ve dug up a bit more information about the Colonial Theatre, subject of some discussion above, but there are still some gaps (such as no address and no original opening date) so if anyone has additional information about it, please post it at the Cinema Treasures Colonial Theatre page.
Also, although the Gem Theatre web site says that the YMCA Theatre was destroyed by fire in 1936, the May 8, 1937, issue of Boxoffice Magazine reported that, among the visitors to film row in Charlotte that week, was W.A. Powell of the YMCA Theatre in Kannapolis. Sounds like it was still open.
And then the January 8, 1938, issue of Boxoffice carried an item headed “Kannapolis Fire Costly” which said: “Fire destroyed the YMCA Theatre here recently, originating from causes as yet undetermined. The ‘Y’ and the theatre building were erected as one unit in 1922 by the Cannon Mills at a cost of $500,000.”
I’ve heard that time moves more slowly in the South, so perhaps it was still 1936 in North Carolina when the YMCA burned, but already rolling into 1938 in the rest of the world? But if that is so, what am I to make of the fact that the Cabarrus Genealogical Society tells me the Gem itself was built in 1938? Perhaps time isn’t slower in the South, but simply a bit eccentric?
Or was it the case, as later issues of Boxoffice reported, that it was the Dixie Theatre, not the Gem, which was built to replace the YMCA Theatre? Maybe somebody in Kannapolis could check the archives of the local newspaper to clear up this temporal confusion.
Additionally, from Boxoffice Magazine, February 5, 1938: At Kannapolis, N.C., the Cannon towel interests are erecting a new theatre to replace the YMCA structure, destroyed by fire recently, and in addition are opening a new house for colored trade. These ventures will give Kannapolis four houses, three maintained by the Cannon interests, the fourth, the Colonial, on the outskirts of town, is a pretentious house offering competition from Morris Legendre and associates…."
The Dixie was supposed to open by May, 1938, but a later issue of Boxoffice reveals that a shortage of materials delayed its completion.
Could the “house for colored trade” mentioned in the article have been the Palace?
The December 16, 1974, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that the Van Croix Theatre was being demolished to make way for a parking lot to serve Flagship Bank of Melbourne. It also said that the theater had been opened in 1925.
OK, over on the Gem Theatre page, on February 26, 2009, Steve Thomas said the Colonial was on North Main Street, and that it went out of business in 1955. He says it remained closed for many years, and he has a photo of it from about ten years after it closed, so that might rule out the Fine Arts of 1964 as a successor to the Colonial.
Also, a May 22, 2006, comment by goodoleboy on the Gem page says that the Main Theatre was on Cannon Boulevard in North Kannapolis, so we can rule out that as a name change.
The Main might have been built in 1947. The June 28 issue of Boxoffice that year reported that a group of Kannapolis GIs were building a 600 seat theatre on Cannon Boulevard at Jackson. Unless there were two theaters on Cannon Boulevard, the new house must have been the Main.
From the Google Maps satellite and street views, it looks like everything on North Main Street near the center of town has been wiped out, so probably the Colonial, and certainly the Fine Arts (if it was a different theater) are both landfill.
Possibly it was expanded. As the manager used the word “gutted” it seems likely that at least some of the existing walls were used. Perhaps the original Colonial had a stage house, and the auditorium might have been expanded into that space.
In any case, the Colonial was in operation by March 29, 1941, when Boxoffice reported that Sam Trincher (various issues of Boxoffice use this alternate spelling of the name) of Legendre Theatres had announced that Kenneth Kornahrens, manager of the Colonial, was leaving and would join the service.
The last mention of the Colonial I’ve come across is in the September 2, 1950, issue of Boxoffice, in an item about a promotion for “Father of the Bride.”
The October 1, 1950, issue of Boxoffice mentions a Main Theatre in Kannapolis. A name change, perhaps? And then The February 9, 1964, issue carried an item about a robbery at the Fine Arts Theatre at 99 W. Main Street, Kannapolis. Another possible name change?
The December 21, 1940, issue of Boxoffice Magazine ran an item telling of personnel shifts at various Kannapolis theaters resulting from the recent opening of the Swanee Theatre.
The December 17, 1938, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that the new Dixie Theatre in Kannapolis was nearing completion and would be opened in January.
Either the local writer was wrong about the Colonial never being rebuilt, or there was a later Colonial Theatre in Kannapolis. The June 24, 1946, issue of Boxoffice said that H.H. Everett was taking over operation of the Colonial Theatre on July 1. The house had been built and operated by Morris Legendre and Sam Trencher.
The March 2, 1940, issue of Boxoffice ran an article about the Colonial fire, and said that manager Sam Trencher had announced that the gutted theater would be rebuilt, and that he expected it to reopen within six to eight weeks.
For many years, the Coliseum was operated by a fellow named Dude Smith. That’s how he was styled in many issues of Boxoffice Magazine from the 1930s through the 1950s. Other issues give his formal name of Claude H. Smith, but I prefer Dude.
Dude bought the Coliseum and another Tillamook house, the Castle, in the mid-1930s. In 1952, he opened a drive-in nearby called the Tillavue. At some time he added the Columbia Theatre at St. Helens, Oregon, to his holdings. He operated all these theaters until his death, at which time (according to Boxoffice’s issue of March 4, 1963) they were taken over by the administrator of his estate, a Mr. Gus Elbow Jr.
A small photo of Dude Smith accompanies a thumbnail biography of him, commemorating his twenty years in movie exhibition, published in the March 17, 1945, issue of Boxoffice. The last line of the biography reads “His hobby is exploitation.”
I think Dude deserves a plaque in the Coliseum’s lobby.
The Boxoffice item about the Valley Drive-In was only one paragraph, saying that the theater’s manager, Tom Nail, had reported the grand opening a big success, with 1703 visitors from 15 states signing the guest register, that several hundred gallons of root beer had been given away, and that there had been a drawing for prizes which included a sheepskin rug and a portable television set. Why a theater would give out a television set I don’t know.
The place might not have remained open long. I can’t find any later references to the Valley Drive-In in Boxoffice. If there’s been a lot of development in the area since 1969, odds are the site is now under some supermarket parking lot and no trace of it will be noticeable.
Oh, and the typo was mine, so Boxoffice is off the hook for that one, at least.
From Boxoffice Magazine, October 13, 1945: “WINDSOR. COLO.— G.I. Richards, who entered the motion picture exhibition business here in 1912 when he took over an upstairs showcase through a mortgage, has sold the Windsor Theatre to Ben Riggs, former operator of the Antlers Hotel in Wellington, Kas..”
From Boxoffice, November 9, 1946: “WINDSOR, COLO.— R.L. Stanger of Frederick and Ted Knox of Denver are the new owners of the Windsor Theatre. They bought it from Ben Riggs and immediately closed it to install new sound and projection equipment and make other improvements. Riggs has bought a business in Sterling.”
A later issue of Boxoffice says that Riggs had bought the Windsor in September, 1945.
The February 22, 1947 issue says: “Mickey Stanger, partner in the Windsor, Windsor, Colo., has bought out his partner, Ted Knox.” And on another page of the same issue: “Ted Knox has disposed of his share of the Windsor, which he purchased last fall in partnership with R.A. Stanger. The latter’s uncle, Everett Sloan of Denver, has taken an interest in the house and will assist Stanger in the operation.”
Perhaps also of interest, the June 12, 1954, issue of Boxoffice has an article about the drive-in Stanger was building in Denver, though the article misnames it the “Evand” Drive-In. It also says it was to be the ninth drive-in built in the Denver area.
Windsor itself got a drive-in called the Valley in 1969, according to the July 21 issue of Boxoffice that year. I can’t find either of these drive-ins listed at Cinema Treasures. In fact, no drive-ins at all are listed yet for Denver.
Boxoffice Magazine references to the El Rey go back as far as the July 17, 1937, issue, which reported that Dan Tocchini, who had recently taken over the house from Bruno Vecharelli, was planning to spend $15,000 on renovations for the 400-seat theater.
Various issues of Boxoffice from 1946 to 1948 tell of progress on a new theater in Sebastopol called the Analy, built by Tocchini and Tony Gambogi, operators of the El Rey. The item about the new house in the May 15, 1948, issue says that the partners would probably runt he El Rey on a weekends-only policy after the Analy opened.
The Analy is mentioned in various issues of Boxoffice into the 1950s, but the El Rey disappears by the late 1940s, so was probably closed completely after the Analy opened. I can’t find an address for the Analy, but Boxoffice gives the seating capacity as 850, and says it was to be a “stadium style” house.
It’s difficult to find the fate of the Analy on the Internet, as Sebastopol has an Analy High School with an active theatre arts program, and the school calls its auditorium the Analy Theatre. I don’t think it’s the same building, though, as the high school is out on the edge of town, and its web site says that their theatre, currently under renovation, has been in use for eighty years.
Interestingly enough, the recent occupant of the premises at the El Rey’s address as listed above is the Analy Furniture Co-op.
The November 12, 1949, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that Blumenfeld Theatres had recently opened their new Belmont Theatre on El Camino Real. The magazine said that 900-seat house was designed by William B. David, and William W. Wolf of San Francisco was the architect (meaning Wolf probably signed his name to the permits, but David was the actual architect.)
Neither the Lodi nor the State is here yet. I was going to submit them last night but got distracted. In the meantime, I found a couple more references to the State in Boxoffice. It might have been operating as late as 1956.
There are also items about a Midway Drive-In in Lodi that opened in 1949, and a Tokay Drive-In which changed owners in 1955. I don’t know if these are actually the same theater with a name change, though. There was no address given for either.
The State must have had some prestige at one time. The January 15, 1938, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that the musical film “The Goldwyn Follies” would have its world premier at Wometco’s State Theatre in Miami on January 28. It referred to the State as a “popular Flagler Street house.”
Boxoffice, September 17, 1949: “The Ritz, Huron, Calif., has been opened by R.D. Ruff.” (They got his first initial wrong in this one.)
Then, in the December 3, 1949 issue: “A.D. Ruff opened his new Ritz Theatre in Huron, California, a 700-seat house.”
There are several items mentioning the Ritz being operated by Roy Martinez in various issues of Boxoffice into the 1970s, and then it drops from sight.
Food blogger Chowhound says that La Esquinita Mi Pueblo Taqueria is right next door to the Ritz. The taqueria’s address is 36905 S. Lassen Ave., so the Ritz, being next door to the south, must be at or about 36907 S. Lassen Ave.. Google Maps finds it there, at least.
This is from Boxoffice Magazine, October 22, 1944: “OAK RIDGE, TENN— The Grove Theatre, newest and largest of the three motion picture houses here, has opened its doors. It is located in the western section and will serve also for concert and road attractions playing here. It will seat 1000 persons.”
This Grove Theater replaced an earlier house of the same name that was destroyed by fire.
From Boxoffice Magazine, November 13, 1943: “DALLAS— P.G. Cameron is watching finishing touches go into his new Grove Theatre at Pleasant Grove, about five miles southeast of here. Chairs which he purchased in several lots over the country, about 500 in all, are being installed. The Grove was destroyed by fire early in the year and permission to rebuild was obtained by Cameron from WPB.”
WPB was the War Production Board, a WWII government agency which controlled access to materials critical to the war effort, including most building materials.
Thanks, Ken.
The Lodi Theatre has been demolished and replaced by a modern post office building, but the State Theatre’s building is still there. It is now occupied by a banquet hall called The Merlot. The give their address as 23 W. Elm, but it’s the same building. The Merlot’s web site says the State opened in 1912 (the building looks that old) and was owned by Paramount Pictures (local urban legend, most likely. The State probably just had a contract to run Paramount releases at some time in its history.)
Lodi also had a Lodi Theatre and a State Theatre operating in the 1940s and 1950s. From brief items in various issues of Boxoffice, I’ve found that the State had 400 seats, closed in 1954, and was last operated by Fox West Coast after being operated for some time by T&D. I haven’t yet found any other details about either of them.
Additional information: The July 24, 1948, issue of Boxoffice said that Mason Shaw’s new 485-seat theater at Saratoga was being designed by architect A.A. Cantin.
Another missing (or not aka'ed) Altoona Theater is the Sun, listed in the September 3, 1949, issue of Boxoffice as being under renovation by Lewis Hausser.
This Paseo Theatre was a replacement for an earlier house of the same name which was destroyed by fire on January 25, 1943. The July 8, 1944, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that a permit to rebuild the theater had been issued and contracts were to be let within a month. Both the new and old houses had 750 seats. The architect of the rebuilt Paseo was Charles A. Smith.
The new Paseo opened in 1945, and was the subject of an article in the May 26 issue of Boxoffice that year. This article says that architect Smith had designed the original Paseo, which had been built in an existing, pre-1920 building in 1940. The article does not make clear whether or not the existing building had ever been a theater.
There was also a walk-in Spot Theatre in Siloam Springs. It was scheduled to open on November 9, 1946, according to the November 2 issue of Boxoffice Magazine that year.