Season 2 of Hill Street Blues, first episode, had an extended scene in the hotel next to the Optic. The marquee was green and white, as opposed to red and white as seen in the opening credits of the Rockford Files. There was also an adult book store next to the theater.
Here is a March 2006 opinion (or e-pinion, perhaps) from icorvallis.com about the closing of the Whiteside:
Numbers don’t favor revival of old Whiteside Theater
by Paul Turner
In the course of kindling the phoenix of the Avalon Cinema, I stumbled upon a piece of Corvallis history: the ticket stub from the last show at the Whiteside Theater. It was from January 2002. The movie was “Lord of the Rings.” It was the last movie on the last night that the last movie palace in Corvallis had something shimmering on its silver screen.
The Whiteside Theater is owned by Regal Cinemas, the same folks who bring you the Ninth Street Cinemas. They closed the Whiteside a couple of years before Carmike dropped that 12-plex into north town. Wonder if they ever considered that keeping the Whiteside open might’ve made Carmike back off our fair hamlet – at least for a while. Every day when I walk past the closed doors of the Whiteside, I contemplate the circumstantial dominos that fell and led to her fall. People still wonder why I opened a theater across the street rather than putting my energy into the Corvallis icon. When folks ask directly, I usually cut them short by pointing out, “If you have a million-five you’re not doing anything with, I’ll be glad to take her on.”
Here is a bio from tulsapreservationcommission.com. They may use the same fact checker as the Historical Society:
MAJESTIC THEATER (406 South Main Street)
Constructed in 1918, the Majestic Theater was Tulsa’s first theater designed for motion pictures. The 570-seat theater was the first in the city to be equipped for sound. It was also the first theater to include a pipe organ, and was once the possessor of the largest marquee in the state. In 1929, it was the first theater in the state of Oklahoma to show the “Jazz Singer,” Hollywood’s first “talkie.” In 1952, it was the first theater to show a 3-D movie, “Bwana Devil.” The popularity of the Majestic began to decline as suburban theaters, such as the Brook and the Delman, began attracting Tulsa audiences. By the late 1960s, the Majestic’s focus had become limited to adults-only films. The last motion picture was shown at the Majestic on September 9, 1973.
This site gives the address of the Rialto as 7 West 3rd Street, and states that it opened as the Empress in 1917. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of this information: http://tinyurl.com/gnse5
Miami is one of my planned overnights on my Route 66 trip this summer. The itinerary from Los Angeles includes overnights in Kingman and Winslow AZ, Grants and Santa Rosa NM, Amarillo TX, El Reno and Miami OK, Rolla and St. Louis MO, and Chicago. This is about two hundred miles a day on the Mother Road.
According to this site, in the early days men were not admitted to the theater without jacket and tie. I don’t think that would work today: http://tinyurl.com/jges9
Here is a short biography of Irving and Mary Cohen, the owners of the Allendale in the 1940s and 50s:
http://www.transitdrivein.com/history.htm
Season 2 of Hill Street Blues, first episode, had an extended scene in the hotel next to the Optic. The marquee was green and white, as opposed to red and white as seen in the opening credits of the Rockford Files. There was also an adult book store next to the theater.
For the technically minded (which excludes me), here is an article about sound recording at the theater:
http://tinyurl.com/qcnj6
Didn’t hear about that one. I will make a note, though.
Here is a March 2005 article about the renovation of the Wildey:
http://tinyurl.com/n9kek
Here is another photo of the Lincoln. Scroll to the bottom of the page:
http://www.silverscreens.com/en_nash.html
Here is the Saenger website with some older photos:
http://tinyurl.com/s2rys
Here is an article about the organist at the Alabama:
http://tinyurl.com/rlu62
Denis Quad was excellent in “The Day After Tomorrow”.
We don’t discriminate here on CT. Ratholes and palaces are all fair game for discussion.
Here is a March 2006 opinion (or e-pinion, perhaps) from icorvallis.com about the closing of the Whiteside:
Numbers don’t favor revival of old Whiteside Theater
by Paul Turner
In the course of kindling the phoenix of the Avalon Cinema, I stumbled upon a piece of Corvallis history: the ticket stub from the last show at the Whiteside Theater. It was from January 2002. The movie was “Lord of the Rings.” It was the last movie on the last night that the last movie palace in Corvallis had something shimmering on its silver screen.
The Whiteside Theater is owned by Regal Cinemas, the same folks who bring you the Ninth Street Cinemas. They closed the Whiteside a couple of years before Carmike dropped that 12-plex into north town. Wonder if they ever considered that keeping the Whiteside open might’ve made Carmike back off our fair hamlet – at least for a while. Every day when I walk past the closed doors of the Whiteside, I contemplate the circumstantial dominos that fell and led to her fall. People still wonder why I opened a theater across the street rather than putting my energy into the Corvallis icon. When folks ask directly, I usually cut them short by pointing out, “If you have a million-five you’re not doing anything with, I’ll be glad to take her on.”
Here is an article about the closing of the Capitol 6:
http://tinyurl.com/kzsso
The theater is in foreclosure and may sold at auction next week:
http://tinyurl.com/psg3e
Here is another article from Okielegacy about the Ranger:
http://tinyurl.com/qodym
Here is a bio from tulsapreservationcommission.com. They may use the same fact checker as the Historical Society:
MAJESTIC THEATER (406 South Main Street)
Constructed in 1918, the Majestic Theater was Tulsa’s first theater designed for motion pictures. The 570-seat theater was the first in the city to be equipped for sound. It was also the first theater to include a pipe organ, and was once the possessor of the largest marquee in the state. In 1929, it was the first theater in the state of Oklahoma to show the “Jazz Singer,” Hollywood’s first “talkie.” In 1952, it was the first theater to show a 3-D movie, “Bwana Devil.” The popularity of the Majestic began to decline as suburban theaters, such as the Brook and the Delman, began attracting Tulsa audiences. By the late 1960s, the Majestic’s focus had become limited to adults-only films. The last motion picture was shown at the Majestic on September 9, 1973.
This site gives the address of the Rialto as 7 West 3rd Street, and states that it opened as the Empress in 1917. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of this information:
http://tinyurl.com/gnse5
Miami is one of my planned overnights on my Route 66 trip this summer. The itinerary from Los Angeles includes overnights in Kingman and Winslow AZ, Grants and Santa Rosa NM, Amarillo TX, El Reno and Miami OK, Rolla and St. Louis MO, and Chicago. This is about two hundred miles a day on the Mother Road.
Here are some photos of the Coleman from a Route 66 website:
http://tinyurl.com/fabrn
There is another photo on this site:
http://tinyurl.com/p3j52
Here is an article about the Metcalf family:
http://tinyurl.com/mhaod
Here is a 2004 article about the Rialto:
http://tinyurl.com/omepy
Here is an interesting article about the Saenger and the Silent Film Festival:
http://tinyurl.com/qnxar
Here is an article about the renovation of the Lyric:
http://tinyurl.com/mwfwh
Here is an interesting article about the renovation of the Melba:
http://tinyurl.com/mnc2r
This April 2006 article discusses ongoing renovation:
http://tinyurl.com/zf6js
According to this site, in the early days men were not admitted to the theater without jacket and tie. I don’t think that would work today:
http://tinyurl.com/jges9