This is a 1936 ad from the Modesto Bee. Go to the movies or take the chicken – tough choice:
FREE
A Thanksgiving Turkey For You
A 10 Lb. turkey free with every complete engine overhaul.
A 5-lb dressed chicken free with every purchase amounting to over $25.00
2 State Theater tickets with every purchase over $10.00.
1 State Theater ticket with every purchase over $5.00.
The treat’s on usâ€"Come early. Sweeley’s Garage 1211 J Street
Phone 716
Here is a 7/29/65 article from the Modesto Bee about the death of the Esquire:
The theater business in Modesto, like other places throughout the nation, has been hard hit by television. As a result several movie houses have closed down while others operate on a part time basis
or face the final curtain. Orders have been issued to demolish
the old Lyric theater, called the Esquire in its dying days, at 721 10th Street. The Lyric, a converted garage, was the first place in town to show talking pictures with the sound track on the film.
Modesto has watched the movies from the early jumpy and flickering shadows of the nickelodeon days to today’s million dollar wide screen multicolored spectaculars. Although business has picked up, the day of the show palaces of the past is doomed, especially
in the big cities. Many major movie shrines have been demolished in
New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles where property is too expensive for theaters.
Here is an article from the Fresno Bee dated 5/29/31, when Sid ceded control to Fox:
Final papers now are being prepared which will give William Fox control of Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, according to announcement made by Harold B. Franklin, president of Fox West
Coast Theaters. Attorneys are now working on the details, Franklin said. Control of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, considered the show house of the world, will become effective the minute the final details are completed. Franklin added that the taking over of the famous theater will not in any way affect the Fox plans for the building of a new theater in Hollywood.
Sid Grauman, nationally known and colorful showman, will remain in an advisory capacity in the conduct of the theater under the policy to be set by William Fox when the picturesque playhouse passes to actual participation in the Fox country-wide circuit. The same policy instituted by Grauman will remain under the Fox direction. This means that the theater will continue with prerelease showings of the most outstanding screen attractions and with the stage prologues that have a national reputation for originality, beauty and lavish splendor.
Since the opening of Grauman’s Chinese Theater on May 18th, 1927, it has occupied a unique position in national theatricals. Grauman, of course, had considerable reputation before coming to Los Angeles,
but with opening of the Egyptian Theater, his fame grew to world-wide proportions and when the Chinese Theater opened the event was one of the most colorful in the history of the industry.
With the passing of the Chinese into the control of the Fox organization, the theater becomes a part of the circuit in which the great Roxy Theater, the finest in the East, is a unit. In other important cities of the country, William Fox has erected magnificent playhouses, at the present time there is nearing completion in San Francisco a 5,000-seat Fox Theater and before Fall new Fox Theaters will open in San Diego, Visalia, Hanford and Stockton, California, and Phoenix, Arizona.
Here is an article from the Oakland Tribune dated 11/16/24:
NEW THEATER AT ELMHURST OPENS NOVEMBER 20
The Granada Theater, a new motion picture palace located in the heart of East Oakland on East Fourteenth street at Eighty-ninth Avenue, will he dedicated by Mayor Davie Thursday evening, November 20, it is announced.
The new theater will be operated by the Golden State Theater and Realty Corporation, of which Robert A. McNeil is president, with which corporation will be associated John Peters, for the last ten years owner of the two smaller theaters now serving this territory
known as the Elmhurst district. L.J. and J. C. Toffelmier, pioneer
business men of Elmurst, are the builders and owners of the theater.
With a seating capacity of 1200 persons, the Granada will be one
of the most comfortable and modern motion picture theaters in the
Eastbay region. It has being planned with the idea in view of providing every convenience for patrons in surroundings that are at
the same time luxurious and beautiful. To gain this end the builders have dealt most lavishly with the interior.
Upon entering the theater through a double row of doors, the
patron will find himself in a broad, heavily carpeted lobby. From the
lobby one ascends to the balcony by stairways at right and left or
may enter the main auditorium through curtain-draped arches. The full dimensions of the auditorium are immediately revealed, as the balcony projects but a short distance over the rear seat sections.
Among the striking details are the lighting fixtures suspended from the ceiling. The larger fixtures are seven feet in diameter, provide
a dual colored lighting effect and are of cathedral art glass and mica construction. Another bold feature which strikes the eye at once is the richly ornamented curtain which may be drawn across the screen. In harmony with the Spanish atmosphere of the Granada, a rakish Spanish galleon is emblazoned upon this curtain.
Gay drapes are used throughout, and the painter’s artistic brush has traced delicate murals in the niches behind heroic sized vases set into the side walls. An interesting old coat of arms is used as a decorative design in one part of the lobby. A new plaster treatment in the main auditorium creates a most unusual effect. The main lighting for the auditorium is derived from concealed cornice troughs which permit the light to spread out over the decorated areas of the walls and ceilings in a pleasing manner.
A $25,000 Wurlitzer Hope-Jones organ of the newest type which in
the hands of a skilled organist can mimic the human voice or a full
symphony orchestra, has been installed. The heating and ventilating
systems are of the most approved designs and everything has been installed in the operating room equipment to give a perfectly
projected picture upon the screen. Wicker loge chairs, with overstuffed leather cushions, will provide the utmost comfort.
Topping the building will be a huge electric sign which will be visible for dozens of blocks in every direction.
Three additional neighborhood theaters in Oakland, of a class
similar to the Granada, were announced recently by Mortimer
Thomas, treasurer of the Golden State. One theater of 1500 seats
capacity will be built on East Fourteenth street, near 38th avenue, in the Fruitvale district. Another, also seating 1500 persons, will be built on Park Boulevard at East Eighteenth street in the Lake
Merritt district. The third theater, for 1200 persons, will be located in the Dimond district, East Oakland, at Fruitvale avenue and Hopkins Street.
Thanks for the pics from my neck of the woods. The opening date was probably in the early 60s. I saw Snow White, some other Disney film (Bluebeard’s Ghost?) and Sergeant Deadhead (with the Three Stooges) as a five or six year old, circa 1966.
On 4/23/56, the Midway was showing Alfred Hitchcock’s “To Catch a Thief”, with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, along with co-feature “Finger Man”, a gangster movie. The phone number was HI 2-3370. Other local theaters at that time were the Rialto, State, Fortuna, Arcata and Eureka.
I used to go to a coffee shop across the street from Lit’s called the Stanley. They had great pies. That place burned down in the mid 70s. There was also a bar further down South Carolina between Atlantic and Pacific called the Melody Lounge. Harold and the Blue Notes and some other great Philly R&B groups used to play there.
Other theaters in town circa August 1960 were the Rialto, Virginian and Warner Fairmont:
THEATER WON’T DIE – “Closed” Rialto Reopens Friday
The last film at the Rialto was “13 Ghosts.” But the 43-year-old
theater in the Morrison Building on Quarrier Street is not one
of them. After a shutdown of four days, the Rialto will reopen tomorrow with “The Apartment,” the picture being shifted from the Virginian, also a unit of Stanley Warner Corp.
Newspaper ads last week announced that the Rialto would be closed last Sunday night, ending the four-decade life of the theater. John Cox, the Rialto’s manager, was transferred to the Warner Fairmont theater. William Wyatt, manager of the Virginian, was ordered by the Pittsburgh region office to take over the closing of
the Rialto.
Last Monday, Wyatt moved dozens of large cartons into the theater
for packing of the seats. A filing case was removed from the Rialto office to the Virginian. “All I can say now is that the lease for the Rialto has been renewed with the Stanley Warner Corp.” said John Morrison, an owner of the Morrison building. He declined to discuss prospective remodeling of the building, which at its birth in 1917 was the pride of Charleston for its elegance.
This is an unidentified theater in Los Angeles, circa 1950. The audience is integrated. Perhaps someone might recognize the distinctive patterns on the walls. http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics03/00001372.jpg
There is a larger version of the postcard above on this page:
http://tinyurl.com/ykl44m
There is an interior photo on this page that alleges to be the Nickelodeon:
http://tinyurl.com/tq7fr
This is a 1936 ad from the Modesto Bee. Go to the movies or take the chicken – tough choice:
FREE
A Thanksgiving Turkey For You
A 10 Lb. turkey free with every complete engine overhaul.
A 5-lb dressed chicken free with every purchase amounting to over $25.00
2 State Theater tickets with every purchase over $10.00.
1 State Theater ticket with every purchase over $5.00.
The treat’s on usâ€"Come early. Sweeley’s Garage 1211 J Street
Phone 716
Here is a 7/29/65 article from the Modesto Bee about the death of the Esquire:
The theater business in Modesto, like other places throughout the nation, has been hard hit by television. As a result several movie houses have closed down while others operate on a part time basis
or face the final curtain. Orders have been issued to demolish
the old Lyric theater, called the Esquire in its dying days, at 721 10th Street. The Lyric, a converted garage, was the first place in town to show talking pictures with the sound track on the film.
Modesto has watched the movies from the early jumpy and flickering shadows of the nickelodeon days to today’s million dollar wide screen multicolored spectaculars. Although business has picked up, the day of the show palaces of the past is doomed, especially
in the big cities. Many major movie shrines have been demolished in
New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles where property is too expensive for theaters.
Here is an article from the Fresno Bee dated 5/29/31, when Sid ceded control to Fox:
Final papers now are being prepared which will give William Fox control of Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, according to announcement made by Harold B. Franklin, president of Fox West
Coast Theaters. Attorneys are now working on the details, Franklin said. Control of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, considered the show house of the world, will become effective the minute the final details are completed. Franklin added that the taking over of the famous theater will not in any way affect the Fox plans for the building of a new theater in Hollywood.
Sid Grauman, nationally known and colorful showman, will remain in an advisory capacity in the conduct of the theater under the policy to be set by William Fox when the picturesque playhouse passes to actual participation in the Fox country-wide circuit. The same policy instituted by Grauman will remain under the Fox direction. This means that the theater will continue with prerelease showings of the most outstanding screen attractions and with the stage prologues that have a national reputation for originality, beauty and lavish splendor.
Since the opening of Grauman’s Chinese Theater on May 18th, 1927, it has occupied a unique position in national theatricals. Grauman, of course, had considerable reputation before coming to Los Angeles,
but with opening of the Egyptian Theater, his fame grew to world-wide proportions and when the Chinese Theater opened the event was one of the most colorful in the history of the industry.
With the passing of the Chinese into the control of the Fox organization, the theater becomes a part of the circuit in which the great Roxy Theater, the finest in the East, is a unit. In other important cities of the country, William Fox has erected magnificent playhouses, at the present time there is nearing completion in San Francisco a 5,000-seat Fox Theater and before Fall new Fox Theaters will open in San Diego, Visalia, Hanford and Stockton, California, and Phoenix, Arizona.
Here is a 1925 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yfjv7v
Here is an article from the Oakland Tribune dated 11/16/24:
NEW THEATER AT ELMHURST OPENS NOVEMBER 20
The Granada Theater, a new motion picture palace located in the heart of East Oakland on East Fourteenth street at Eighty-ninth Avenue, will he dedicated by Mayor Davie Thursday evening, November 20, it is announced.
The new theater will be operated by the Golden State Theater and Realty Corporation, of which Robert A. McNeil is president, with which corporation will be associated John Peters, for the last ten years owner of the two smaller theaters now serving this territory
known as the Elmhurst district. L.J. and J. C. Toffelmier, pioneer
business men of Elmurst, are the builders and owners of the theater.
With a seating capacity of 1200 persons, the Granada will be one
of the most comfortable and modern motion picture theaters in the
Eastbay region. It has being planned with the idea in view of providing every convenience for patrons in surroundings that are at
the same time luxurious and beautiful. To gain this end the builders have dealt most lavishly with the interior.
Upon entering the theater through a double row of doors, the
patron will find himself in a broad, heavily carpeted lobby. From the
lobby one ascends to the balcony by stairways at right and left or
may enter the main auditorium through curtain-draped arches. The full dimensions of the auditorium are immediately revealed, as the balcony projects but a short distance over the rear seat sections.
Among the striking details are the lighting fixtures suspended from the ceiling. The larger fixtures are seven feet in diameter, provide
a dual colored lighting effect and are of cathedral art glass and mica construction. Another bold feature which strikes the eye at once is the richly ornamented curtain which may be drawn across the screen. In harmony with the Spanish atmosphere of the Granada, a rakish Spanish galleon is emblazoned upon this curtain.
Gay drapes are used throughout, and the painter’s artistic brush has traced delicate murals in the niches behind heroic sized vases set into the side walls. An interesting old coat of arms is used as a decorative design in one part of the lobby. A new plaster treatment in the main auditorium creates a most unusual effect. The main lighting for the auditorium is derived from concealed cornice troughs which permit the light to spread out over the decorated areas of the walls and ceilings in a pleasing manner.
A $25,000 Wurlitzer Hope-Jones organ of the newest type which in
the hands of a skilled organist can mimic the human voice or a full
symphony orchestra, has been installed. The heating and ventilating
systems are of the most approved designs and everything has been installed in the operating room equipment to give a perfectly
projected picture upon the screen. Wicker loge chairs, with overstuffed leather cushions, will provide the utmost comfort.
Topping the building will be a huge electric sign which will be visible for dozens of blocks in every direction.
Three additional neighborhood theaters in Oakland, of a class
similar to the Granada, were announced recently by Mortimer
Thomas, treasurer of the Golden State. One theater of 1500 seats
capacity will be built on East Fourteenth street, near 38th avenue, in the Fruitvale district. Another, also seating 1500 persons, will be built on Park Boulevard at East Eighteenth street in the Lake
Merritt district. The third theater, for 1200 persons, will be located in the Dimond district, East Oakland, at Fruitvale avenue and Hopkins Street.
Here is a photo I took in July 2006:
http://tinyurl.com/ycwvcg
Here are some photos fron July 2006:
http://tinyurl.com/yg5no3
http://tinyurl.com/ycykqc
I think the status should be closed. Here are some photos I took in July 2006:
http://tinyurl.com/va7z6
http://tinyurl.com/sa9pw
Here are two photos I took in July 2006:
http://tinyurl.com/yccbbp
http://tinyurl.com/y6hy96
It looked empty when I went by several months ago. I don’t think it’s being used for anything.
Here a few photos taken in July 2006:
http://tinyurl.com/yjn68f
http://tinyurl.com/ydv2g9
Here is a photo I took in July 2006:
http://tinyurl.com/y4wssb
Here are some photos I took in July 2006:
http://tinyurl.com/y5uhkv
http://tinyurl.com/yaydye
Here they are:
http://tinyurl.com/y6olqq
http://tinyurl.com/ylr9ex
There was an interesting lineup at the State on 1/13/46:
Days And Nights Of Romance And Uproarious Adventure
In TECHNICOLOR!
Out of the legendary East comes an amazing tale of prlncesses and
and paupers… and the genie with the light brown hair!
Spectacular slave girl auctions, luscious dancing girls, the Sultan's
Darling, the Giant who performs miracles… all in
A THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS
Short Hits
John Nesbitt presents
A New, Interesting Passing Parade Story of “THE GREAT AMERICAN MUGGS"
plus
LATEST NEWS EVENTS
Open Daily 9:45 a.m.
MIDNIGHT SHOW TONIGHT-AND MONDAY * TUESDAY
THE FRIENDLY STATE
Thanks for the pics from my neck of the woods. The opening date was probably in the early 60s. I saw Snow White, some other Disney film (Bluebeard’s Ghost?) and Sergeant Deadhead (with the Three Stooges) as a five or six year old, circa 1966.
On 4/23/56, the Midway was showing Alfred Hitchcock’s “To Catch a Thief”, with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, along with co-feature “Finger Man”, a gangster movie. The phone number was HI 2-3370. Other local theaters at that time were the Rialto, State, Fortuna, Arcata and Eureka.
I used to go to a coffee shop across the street from Lit’s called the Stanley. They had great pies. That place burned down in the mid 70s. There was also a bar further down South Carolina between Atlantic and Pacific called the Melody Lounge. Harold and the Blue Notes and some other great Philly R&B groups used to play there.
According to CT contributor crazybob, the Absecon Drive-In was first owned by Walter Reade and later by the Frank family.
There was a motel where the Shore Mall is located? Did it front the Black Horse Pike or was it set on the back of the property?
Other theaters in town circa August 1960 were the Rialto, Virginian and Warner Fairmont:
THEATER WON’T DIE – “Closed” Rialto Reopens Friday
The last film at the Rialto was “13 Ghosts.” But the 43-year-old
theater in the Morrison Building on Quarrier Street is not one
of them. After a shutdown of four days, the Rialto will reopen tomorrow with “The Apartment,” the picture being shifted from the Virginian, also a unit of Stanley Warner Corp.
Newspaper ads last week announced that the Rialto would be closed last Sunday night, ending the four-decade life of the theater. John Cox, the Rialto’s manager, was transferred to the Warner Fairmont theater. William Wyatt, manager of the Virginian, was ordered by the Pittsburgh region office to take over the closing of
the Rialto.
Last Monday, Wyatt moved dozens of large cartons into the theater
for packing of the seats. A filing case was removed from the Rialto office to the Virginian. “All I can say now is that the lease for the Rialto has been renewed with the Stanley Warner Corp.” said John Morrison, an owner of the Morrison building. He declined to discuss prospective remodeling of the building, which at its birth in 1917 was the pride of Charleston for its elegance.
I always wondered what happened to Flipper after his show was canceled. Maybe his residuals ran out.
This is an unidentified theater in Los Angeles, circa 1950. The audience is integrated. Perhaps someone might recognize the distinctive patterns on the walls.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics03/00001372.jpg