A courtesy ad with the grand opening ad posted by rivest266 reveals that the Bay View Amusement Center was designed by the Biloxi architectural firm Collins & Collins. Principals were architect John T. Collins and Engineer William J. Collins Jr. An item in the July 28, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Herald said that the Bayview Theatre, owned by E. V. Landraiche, was up for sale. Landraiche also owned and operated the Buck Theatre and Beach Drive-In at Biloxi and the Carver Theatre at Prichard, Alabama.
The Carver was mentioned in the July 28, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Herald. It was owned and operated by a Mr. E. V. Landraiche, who also had theaters in Biloxi.
The “Theatres Under Construction” column of Film Daily for July 21, 1939 had this item listed for Alabama: “Prichard — Gem, 480 seats, Wilson Ave.; Builder: L. Harris; Operator: Chas. Waterall; To be completed 9-1-39.”
A post on a City-Data forum says that the site of the Gem Theatre is now a park. Some streets in the area have been reconfigured, so it’s impossible to tell exactly where the theater was.
The Million Dollar is being operated as an event venue and filming location. Apparently it no longer has a dedicated web site, or the monthly movie screenings. It has this page at the web site of the operating company, the Piovra Group, which also manages 22 other Los Angeles area venues. There are some photos, mostly of the auditorium.
A comment on a Concordia Facebook page by a former projectionist says that this house was built by Delmar Harris in the late 1940s as the Delharco Theatre, became the Strand in the early 1950s, closed for more than a decade and was reopened in 1968 as the Sigma Theatre. It probably became the Apollo in the 1970s.)
This doesn’t quite jibe with other information about the theaters in Concordia that I’ve found (for example the listing of a “Del Harco” Theatre in the 1930 FDY and the mention of the Strand in the minutes of a 1947 City Council meeting, plus the fact that the Strand might have burned in 1948– there is a photo of a fire at the Strand burning, but it is undated.) Still, I have no doubt that Sigma is definitely and aka for this house, and that Delharco and Strand are definite possibilities.
I did discover that the early Concordia movie house called the Lyric became the Iris in 1916, and that the Lyric was at 6th Street and Broadway. I’ve held off on submitting the Lyric/Iris, which was still in operation in 1929, as, given its location, there is some possibility that it was the same theater that eventually became the Apollo.
Here is an item from the May 22, 1926 issue of Motion Picture News which could be about the Montesano Theatre:
“W. P. Armour is well under way with his new 650-seat first-run house at Montesano, and expects to have it ready for opening the latter part of the coming summer season.”
The Armour Theatre Company also operated an earlier house at Montesano called the Gem Theatre.
The July 20, 1917 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor had a notice saying that architect Peter W. Ehlers of San Bernardino had prepared plans for alterations and expansion of the Temple Theatre there. The estimated cost of the project was $15,000.
Issues of Southwest Builder & Contractor from November 22 and December 13, 1918 say that the new theater soon to be built on The Pike for Otis Hoyt was being designed by local architect W. Horace Austin. The new house was on the site of the Columbia Theatre, which was to be demolished after the first of the year.
The correct name of the street is Prairieville Street. Also, this house can be marked as demolished. Historic Google street views show that the last old buildings on the west side of Athens' town square came down sometime between 2008 and 2013.
The Liberty Theatre and Dixie Theatre shared a courtesy ad in the 1944 yearbook of the local high school, suggesting a common ownership at that time.
The first appearance of the Liberty in the Film Daily Yearbook is 1936. It was listed with 400 seats.
The only theater listed at Athens in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory was called the Armory Theatre, and it was also located on the west side of the square, but I’ve been unable to find an address. Trade journals mention a house called the Princess Theatre in 1921 and 1922. A 250-seat house called the Gem Theatre appears in the FDY in 1928, is listed as closed in the early 1930s, then vanishes. The Gem might have been a theater that opened in late 1925 or early 1926, as reported in the December 12, 1925 issue of Universal Weekly:
“THE Dorbandt Bros., well-known exhibitors in Texas will open their new house at Athens, Texas, within a very short time. They have recently purchased a Complete Service Contract [from Universal Pictures] for the new house.”
As reports of them don’t overlap, there is some possibility that the Armory, Princess, Gem, and Liberty all occupied the same building, sequentially.
The April 23, 1921 issue of Moving Picture World ran this item:
“$50,000 New Athens House
“NEW ATHENS, ILL.-Peoples Co-operative Amusement Company has plans by Reister [sic] & Rubach, Murphy Building, East St. Louis, for one-story brick moving picture theatre and dance hall, 53 by 100 feet, with seating capacity of 650, to cost $50,000.”
The correct names of the architects are Frank P. Riester and Otto W. Rubach.
The Blackstone Theatre is listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, one of three theaters listed in Martinsville, the others being the Metropolitan on Morgan Street and the Mystic at 44 N. Main Street.
While the Corona Theatre is not listed in the FDY until 1930, I suspect it was opened sooner. There is a photo of the Corona with the 1927 silent movie Let It Rain on the marquee. It was certainly possible to show an older movie in 1930, but it would have been odd for even a neighborhood house in a competitive theater market like New York to be running a silent movie as its feature film in 1930.
The Corona was originally operated by S&S Theatres, and an item in the February 3, 1926 issue of Variety said that a theater was being built for Strausberg and Small at Junction Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona. This must have been the Corona. Architect for the project was Eugene DeRosa.
Hree’s something from the April 3, 1920 issue of Moving Picture World:
“Fort Wayne House Remodelling [sic]
“For a consideration of $20,000, B. Borkenstein, of Fort Wayne, Ind., has bought the Wells Street Theatre in that city from Edward Hammerle, and has leased it to his son, Alfred Borkenstein, who will assume active management at once. The theatre, which is devoted exclusively to motion pictures, is situated at 1435 Wells street.
“Following the purchase, Mr. Borkenstein announced that the building will be extensively remodeled. The complete interior of the theatre will be redecorated, a new fireproof operating booth will be constructed, and a modern ventilating system will be installed. The remodeling work will not be started for several weeks.”
The building is currently listed for sale on LoopNet for a consideration quite a bit larger than $20,000.
The Maumee Theatre was listed in Film Daily Yearbooks in the late 1920s, and most likely was opened in 1926, when the “Theater Construction” column of the February 3 issue of Variety listed a $50,000 movie theater project on Maumee Avenue in Fort Wayne for Oscar E. Wobrock. The item says that the architect was named C. C. Brunswick, but I’ve been unable to find any other references to an architect of that name, so this could have been a typo.
According to the February 3, 1926 issue of Variety, the theater being built for John Guthrie at Grove City, Pennsylvania had been designed by C. W. Bates and W. H. Cook of Wheeling, West Virginia. This would have been architect Charles W. Bates and his then-partner, engineer William H. Cook. Bates is known for designing a number of theaters in West Virginia and eastern Ohio, including Wheeling’s splendid Capitol Theatre.
The Ithaca Theatre Company was formed in April, 1920, through the consolidation of the Crescent Corporation, the Strand Theater Corporation, and Star Theater, Inc., under the auspices of former vaudevillian William Dillon. The Star Theatre was closed later that year in favor of the company’s other houses, the Strand and Crescent. The May 19, 1921 issue of The Cornell Alumni News reported that the Star Theater building had been sold to the Ithaca Conservatory of Music, and that the school intended to remodel it for use as a gymnasium. The building has since been demolished. Today its site is occupied by the drive-up teller windows and parking lot of a bank.
The house now known as Reel Attractions Cinema began showing movies as the Lux Theatre on February 10, 1948, though the formal grand opening did not take place until February 28. Owner Frank G. Bailey built the house as a replacement for his original Lux Theatre (located just south of the new house) which he had opened in 1911. The new Lux originally seated over 400. The Bailey family owned the Lux until 1960.
In 1977, the name was changed to Golden West Cinema by new owner Bernard Besenski, who owned the Golden West Drive-In near town. Sometime during this period the theater was twinned. The house became the Reel Attractions Cinema in 2007.
The Windsor Theatre is represented on the web site Canada’s Historic Places, which says:
“The heritage value of the Windsor Block lies in its significance as one of the oldest Masonic Halls in Saskatchewan. Constructed in 1896, the property was reported to be one of the few Masonic-owned buildings in western Canada. The property symbolized the Masons' confidence in the future of the town. In 1906 the Masons sold the building to businessman J.D. Cumming.
“The heritage value of the property also resides in its status as a long-standing theatre in the community. In 1912, a theatre was incorporated into the Windsor Block, and became an important venue for live performances and travelling Vaudeville companies. When electricity was added to the building, motion pictures were introduced. The theatre was in operation until 1974. In the years since, the Windsor Block has hosted a variety of commercial and residential tenants.”
A Saskatchewan directory published in 1921 lists only an Esterhazy Theatre at Esterhazy. I’ve been unable to discover if this is an earlier name for the Maple Leaf or not.
This modern theater is probably named for an earlier Olympia Theatre in Assiniboia, probably the one on Main Street mentioned in the previous comment by TivFan. It’s possible that that house dated back to at least as early as 1921, when an Olympia Theatre was the only house at Assiniboia on a list of theaters found in a provincial directory published that year.
A courtesy ad with the grand opening ad posted by rivest266 reveals that the Bay View Amusement Center was designed by the Biloxi architectural firm Collins & Collins. Principals were architect John T. Collins and Engineer William J. Collins Jr. An item in the July 28, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Herald said that the Bayview Theatre, owned by E. V. Landraiche, was up for sale. Landraiche also owned and operated the Buck Theatre and Beach Drive-In at Biloxi and the Carver Theatre at Prichard, Alabama.
The Carver was mentioned in the July 28, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Herald. It was owned and operated by a Mr. E. V. Landraiche, who also had theaters in Biloxi.
The “Theatres Under Construction” column of Film Daily for July 21, 1939 had this item listed for Alabama: “Prichard — Gem, 480 seats, Wilson Ave.; Builder: L. Harris; Operator: Chas. Waterall; To be completed 9-1-39.”
A post on a City-Data forum says that the site of the Gem Theatre is now a park. Some streets in the area have been reconfigured, so it’s impossible to tell exactly where the theater was.
The Million Dollar is being operated as an event venue and filming location. Apparently it no longer has a dedicated web site, or the monthly movie screenings. It has this page at the web site of the operating company, the Piovra Group, which also manages 22 other Los Angeles area venues. There are some photos, mostly of the auditorium.
A comment on a Concordia Facebook page by a former projectionist says that this house was built by Delmar Harris in the late 1940s as the Delharco Theatre, became the Strand in the early 1950s, closed for more than a decade and was reopened in 1968 as the Sigma Theatre. It probably became the Apollo in the 1970s.)
This doesn’t quite jibe with other information about the theaters in Concordia that I’ve found (for example the listing of a “Del Harco” Theatre in the 1930 FDY and the mention of the Strand in the minutes of a 1947 City Council meeting, plus the fact that the Strand might have burned in 1948– there is a photo of a fire at the Strand burning, but it is undated.) Still, I have no doubt that Sigma is definitely and aka for this house, and that Delharco and Strand are definite possibilities.
I did discover that the early Concordia movie house called the Lyric became the Iris in 1916, and that the Lyric was at 6th Street and Broadway. I’ve held off on submitting the Lyric/Iris, which was still in operation in 1929, as, given its location, there is some possibility that it was the same theater that eventually became the Apollo.
Here is an item from the May 22, 1926 issue of Motion Picture News which could be about the Montesano Theatre:
The Armour Theatre Company also operated an earlier house at Montesano called the Gem Theatre.Valley Mall has reverted to its historic name Main Street. Address numbers are unchanged.
Valley Mall has gone back to its historic name, Main Street. Address numbers are unchanged.
The July 20, 1917 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor had a notice saying that architect Peter W. Ehlers of San Bernardino had prepared plans for alterations and expansion of the Temple Theatre there. The estimated cost of the project was $15,000.
Issues of Southwest Builder & Contractor from November 22 and December 13, 1918 say that the new theater soon to be built on The Pike for Otis Hoyt was being designed by local architect W. Horace Austin. The new house was on the site of the Columbia Theatre, which was to be demolished after the first of the year.
The correct name of the street is Prairieville Street. Also, this house can be marked as demolished. Historic Google street views show that the last old buildings on the west side of Athens' town square came down sometime between 2008 and 2013.
The Liberty Theatre and Dixie Theatre shared a courtesy ad in the 1944 yearbook of the local high school, suggesting a common ownership at that time.
The first appearance of the Liberty in the Film Daily Yearbook is 1936. It was listed with 400 seats.
The only theater listed at Athens in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory was called the Armory Theatre, and it was also located on the west side of the square, but I’ve been unable to find an address. Trade journals mention a house called the Princess Theatre in 1921 and 1922. A 250-seat house called the Gem Theatre appears in the FDY in 1928, is listed as closed in the early 1930s, then vanishes. The Gem might have been a theater that opened in late 1925 or early 1926, as reported in the December 12, 1925 issue of Universal Weekly:
As reports of them don’t overlap, there is some possibility that the Armory, Princess, Gem, and Liberty all occupied the same building, sequentially.The April 23, 1921 issue of Moving Picture World ran this item:
The correct names of the architects are Frank P. Riester and Otto W. Rubach.The Blackstone Theatre is listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, one of three theaters listed in Martinsville, the others being the Metropolitan on Morgan Street and the Mystic at 44 N. Main Street.
While the Corona Theatre is not listed in the FDY until 1930, I suspect it was opened sooner. There is a photo of the Corona with the 1927 silent movie Let It Rain on the marquee. It was certainly possible to show an older movie in 1930, but it would have been odd for even a neighborhood house in a competitive theater market like New York to be running a silent movie as its feature film in 1930.
The Corona was originally operated by S&S Theatres, and an item in the February 3, 1926 issue of Variety said that a theater was being built for Strausberg and Small at Junction Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona. This must have been the Corona. Architect for the project was Eugene DeRosa.
Hree’s something from the April 3, 1920 issue of Moving Picture World:
The building is currently listed for sale on LoopNet for a consideration quite a bit larger than $20,000.The State Theatre was listed in the 1928 FDY.
The Maumee Theatre was listed in Film Daily Yearbooks in the late 1920s, and most likely was opened in 1926, when the “Theater Construction” column of the February 3 issue of Variety listed a $50,000 movie theater project on Maumee Avenue in Fort Wayne for Oscar E. Wobrock. The item says that the architect was named C. C. Brunswick, but I’ve been unable to find any other references to an architect of that name, so this could have been a typo.
According to the February 3, 1926 issue of Variety, the theater being built for John Guthrie at Grove City, Pennsylvania had been designed by C. W. Bates and W. H. Cook of Wheeling, West Virginia. This would have been architect Charles W. Bates and his then-partner, engineer William H. Cook. Bates is known for designing a number of theaters in West Virginia and eastern Ohio, including Wheeling’s splendid Capitol Theatre.
The Ithaca Theatre Company was formed in April, 1920, through the consolidation of the Crescent Corporation, the Strand Theater Corporation, and Star Theater, Inc., under the auspices of former vaudevillian William Dillon. The Star Theatre was closed later that year in favor of the company’s other houses, the Strand and Crescent. The May 19, 1921 issue of The Cornell Alumni News reported that the Star Theater building had been sold to the Ithaca Conservatory of Music, and that the school intended to remodel it for use as a gymnasium. The building has since been demolished. Today its site is occupied by the drive-up teller windows and parking lot of a bank.
The current occupant of the Princess Theatre building is the Washington Street Pub, a bar and restaurant.
The house now known as Reel Attractions Cinema began showing movies as the Lux Theatre on February 10, 1948, though the formal grand opening did not take place until February 28. Owner Frank G. Bailey built the house as a replacement for his original Lux Theatre (located just south of the new house) which he had opened in 1911. The new Lux originally seated over 400. The Bailey family owned the Lux until 1960.
In 1977, the name was changed to Golden West Cinema by new owner Bernard Besenski, who owned the Golden West Drive-In near town. Sometime during this period the theater was twinned. The house became the Reel Attractions Cinema in 2007.
The Windsor Theatre is represented on the web site Canada’s Historic Places, which says:
A directory of Saskatchewan published in 1921 lists only an Orpheum Theatre at Estevan.
A Saskatchewan directory published in 1921 lists only an Esterhazy Theatre at Esterhazy. I’ve been unable to discover if this is an earlier name for the Maple Leaf or not.
This modern theater is probably named for an earlier Olympia Theatre in Assiniboia, probably the one on Main Street mentioned in the previous comment by TivFan. It’s possible that that house dated back to at least as early as 1921, when an Olympia Theatre was the only house at Assiniboia on a list of theaters found in a provincial directory published that year.