The “Paramount” vertical sign in the photo elmorovivo uploaded probably didn’t belong to a theater. Film Daily Yearbooks from the period the photo dates from (it looks like the 1940s) didn’t list a house called the Paramount in Clarksburg. The Paramount listed on Hamill Avenue in the 1921 City Directory was likely a small, neighborhood house that was gone by the mid-1920s. The name Paramount has been (and is) used by many businesses other than theaters. In fact Clarksburg itself currently has company called Paramount Safety Supplies, though it was founded in 2019 so wouldn’t have anything to do with that sign from the 1940s.
The original Grand Theatre in Ronceverte was a wood framed building dating from the 1910s that was demolished to make way for an entirely new building that was erected on the same site in 1937.
The drawing of the Griffin Opera House is from the short-lived architectural firm of Bovell & Molesworth, which consisted of the little-known James Howard Bovell, who had a very brief career, and the well-known George Nepean Molesworth, who had a very long career indeed.
The papers of architect Bernard Herman Prack list a project for Fred Guest at the Empire Theatre in 1922. The specifics of the project are not mentioned. !922 was the same year Prack drew the plans for Guest’s Delta Theatre.
Fred Guest was making plans to build the Delta Theatre as early as 1922, when this item appeared in the November 4 issue of Motion Picture News:
“To Build Theatre in Ont.
“Fred Guest, one of the pioneer moving picture theatre proprietors of Hamilton, Ontario has completed arrangements for the erection of a large moving picture theatre and apartment block in Hamilton to cost upwards of $500,000. The project involves the construction of a theatre having two entrances, one on King Street and the other on Main Street, with individual facilities for fourteen stores and a number of apartment suites.”
Records of the Prack family of architects, who had offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, list the Delta Theatre as a 1922 project for Fred Guest, designed by architect Bernard Herman Prack. Although designed in late 1922, the Delta apparently did not open until sometime in 1925, as the first year I see it listed in the Hamilton City Directory is 1926.
To add to all the other early mentions of the Strand Theatre noted in earlier comments, the house (and owner Fred Guest) were mentioned in the October 14, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World. The item also mentioned Guest’s Empire Theatre.
Paul R. Albert’s History of Plainville says that the Ski-Vue Drive-In was opened in 1953 by George Moore, owner of the Moore Theatre, but it soon ran afoul of the region’s notorious wind. Two months after the opening, the screen tower, designed to withstand winds of 80 miles per hour, was destroyed by a 100-mph wind. The stronger replacement tower was destroyed by another windstorm in 1966. A third major windstorm struck in 1973, this one ripping the roof from the concession building, and the drive-in was closed, never to reopen. Plainville continued to enjoy indoor movies for another decade, though, as the town’s venerable Moore Theatre did not go dark until 1984.
The March 8, 1911 issue of The Nickelodeon said that “[t]he Crescent is the name of a new moving picture theater recently opened at Plainville by E. R. Melotte.
One of the pages on the site Gerald DeLuca linked to cites American Architect and Building News of September 13, 1879 saying that Loomer’s Opera House was designed by architect F. H. Kimball. Later in his career, Francis Hatch Kimball would become noted for designing a number of early skyscrapers from his Manhattan office, but in 1879 he was still practicing in Hartford, Connecticut.
The January 4, 1941 issue of Showmen’s Trade Review reported that demolition of the Grand Theatre in Memphis had begun, making way for a new theater to be built at 332 Beale Street. That project was the house that would be known as the New Daisy Theatre.
This item from the January 4, 1941 issue of Showmen’s Trade Review must be about the New Daisy project, despite the slight address discrepancy:
“Memphis, Tenn.— The city has authorized the first steps toward construction of what will be Memphis' largest negro theatre, a $75,000 structure to be built at 332 Beale St. Replacing an old theatre on that site, the Grand, it will contain 1,100 seats in main floor and balcony. Work of demolishing the present structure has started, and the new theatre is expected to be completed March 15. Owners of the project are Zerilla & Maceri, Memphis theatre firm.”
Here is an item from the January 4, 1941 issue of Showmen’s Trade Review:
“Port Henry, N. Y.— The Kallett Theatre
Circuit has leased the Empire Theatre here and will now proceed with plans to close the house and spend about $25,000 renovating the Star Theatre.”
The item might have been a bit belated, as they sometimes were in many of the trade journals of that period.
The December 27, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World said that architect Birge M. Clark was drawing plans for a 500-seat movie theater to be built at Menlo Park. I don’t know that this project was in fact the Menlo Theatre, but it might have been. It isn’t listed in the guide to Clark’s architectural records and personal papers, which are held by the Stanford University Library, but those records are incomplete. The papers do include material, including a façade drawing, relating to the Varsity Theatre in Palo Alto, which was designed by Reid Brothers in 1927. It’s possible that Clark, who was local, acted as a supervising architect for that project.
When the December 20, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World announced that bids were about to be taken for construction of what was then to have been called the State Theatre, it said that the architect for the project was Leon H. Lempert. Frank Keeney took a long-term lease on the house before it was completed and opened it under his own name.
The Ames Theatre was built a bit later than we thought, so the organ installed in 1920, mentioned in a now-vanished comment by Lost Memory, must not have been for this Ames Theatre, which actually didn’t get that name until 1950. Plans for a theater at Ames Avenue and 24th Street were announced in Moving Picture World of December 13, 1924. Originally to have been designed by George L. Fisher, the final plans were by architect Everett Sherwood Dodds, and some of his drawings appear on this web page, which features a fairly extensive history of the house.
The house opened as the North Star Theatre in August, 1925, and after a brief closure for renovations in late 1949 reopened on January 14, 1950 as the Ames Theatre. In 1958 it was acquired by the Cooper Foundation and converted for use as a live theater. It operated as a repertory house under the name Kingsmark Theatre for about two years before being converted into a supermarket in 1960. From 1970 to 1976 it housed a series of short-lived nightclubs, and since 1976 the building has served as a warehouse.
The building at this address now is apparently a rebuild. The November 15, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World said that “[a]rchitects have drawn plans for a handsome new theatre at Greenville, Texas, to replace the former Colonial Theatre there, which was destroyed by fire. The theatre will be two stories in height and will cost about $30,000.” The earlier Colonial Theatre had been listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.
The November 1, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World had this item that must have been about the Falls Theatre:
“Sam Trapasso and Company of Niagara Falls will build a new theatre at East Falls street and Portage road. The company now operates the Eugenia Theatre in the Cataract city. The plans, prepared by Albert Elia, architect and builder of the Amendola Theatre at Pine avenue and Fifteenth street, call for a house seating 1,400 and a 25-foot stage. There will be a mezzanine floor and a balcony.”
The November 1, 1924 issue of The Moving Picture World, had a short article about the proposed theater George J. Beihler planned to build at Hamburg. The 1,000 seat, $125,000 project was being designed by Buffalo architects Bley & Lyman (Lawrence Bley and Duane Lyman.)
Here is a brief item about the Liberty Theatre from the November 1, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World:
The Liberty Theatre, C. Sawyer, Manager; P. A. Hagen, Projectionist, seats 365. It uses Mazda equipped Simplex projectors. I enjoyed a pleasant chat with Manager Sawyer and Projectionist Hagen.“
An April 20, 2018 article in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader said that the Liberty Theatre opened on May 10, 1919. A projection booth fire on February 1st, 1920 closed the house until March 13 while repairs were made. Sawyer’s ten-year lease on the building ended in 1929, and it was not renewed, as the Liberty had closed in 1928, though the article doesn’t give a date for that event.
An item about the Walter Alschlager’s plans for this house in the November 1, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World said that the building would have an Adamesque façade and the auditorium would be decorated in the Spanish Renaissance style.
The “Paramount” vertical sign in the photo elmorovivo uploaded probably didn’t belong to a theater. Film Daily Yearbooks from the period the photo dates from (it looks like the 1940s) didn’t list a house called the Paramount in Clarksburg. The Paramount listed on Hamill Avenue in the 1921 City Directory was likely a small, neighborhood house that was gone by the mid-1920s. The name Paramount has been (and is) used by many businesses other than theaters. In fact Clarksburg itself currently has company called Paramount Safety Supplies, though it was founded in 2019 so wouldn’t have anything to do with that sign from the 1940s.
The original Grand Theatre in Ronceverte was a wood framed building dating from the 1910s that was demolished to make way for an entirely new building that was erected on the same site in 1937.
“The Red Mill” was the name of a popular operetta by Victor Herbert which premiered in 1906. Quite a few theaters were subsequently named for it.
The drawing of the Griffin Opera House is from the short-lived architectural firm of Bovell & Molesworth, which consisted of the little-known James Howard Bovell, who had a very brief career, and the well-known George Nepean Molesworth, who had a very long career indeed.
The papers of architect Bernard Herman Prack list a project for Fred Guest at the Empire Theatre in 1922. The specifics of the project are not mentioned. !922 was the same year Prack drew the plans for Guest’s Delta Theatre.
Fred Guest was making plans to build the Delta Theatre as early as 1922, when this item appeared in the November 4 issue of Motion Picture News:
Records of the Prack family of architects, who had offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, list the Delta Theatre as a 1922 project for Fred Guest, designed by architect Bernard Herman Prack. Although designed in late 1922, the Delta apparently did not open until sometime in 1925, as the first year I see it listed in the Hamilton City Directory is 1926.To add to all the other early mentions of the Strand Theatre noted in earlier comments, the house (and owner Fred Guest) were mentioned in the October 14, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World. The item also mentioned Guest’s Empire Theatre.
Fred Guest’s Empire Theatre on Barton Street East was mentioned, along with his Strand Theatre, in the October 14, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World.
The Kenilworth Theatre first appears in the 1923 Hamilton City Directory, making a 1922 construction date most likely.
Paul R. Albert’s History of Plainville says that the Ski-Vue Drive-In was opened in 1953 by George Moore, owner of the Moore Theatre, but it soon ran afoul of the region’s notorious wind. Two months after the opening, the screen tower, designed to withstand winds of 80 miles per hour, was destroyed by a 100-mph wind. The stronger replacement tower was destroyed by another windstorm in 1966. A third major windstorm struck in 1973, this one ripping the roof from the concession building, and the drive-in was closed, never to reopen. Plainville continued to enjoy indoor movies for another decade, though, as the town’s venerable Moore Theatre did not go dark until 1984.
The March 8, 1911 issue of The Nickelodeon said that “[t]he Crescent is the name of a new moving picture theater recently opened at Plainville by E. R. Melotte.
One of the pages on the site Gerald DeLuca linked to cites American Architect and Building News of September 13, 1879 saying that Loomer’s Opera House was designed by architect F. H. Kimball. Later in his career, Francis Hatch Kimball would become noted for designing a number of early skyscrapers from his Manhattan office, but in 1879 he was still practicing in Hartford, Connecticut.
The January 4, 1941 issue of Showmen’s Trade Review reported that demolition of the Grand Theatre in Memphis had begun, making way for a new theater to be built at 332 Beale Street. That project was the house that would be known as the New Daisy Theatre.
This item from the January 4, 1941 issue of Showmen’s Trade Review must be about the New Daisy project, despite the slight address discrepancy:
Here is an item from the January 4, 1941 issue of Showmen’s Trade Review:
The item might have been a bit belated, as they sometimes were in many of the trade journals of that period.The December 27, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World said that architect Birge M. Clark was drawing plans for a 500-seat movie theater to be built at Menlo Park. I don’t know that this project was in fact the Menlo Theatre, but it might have been. It isn’t listed in the guide to Clark’s architectural records and personal papers, which are held by the Stanford University Library, but those records are incomplete. The papers do include material, including a façade drawing, relating to the Varsity Theatre in Palo Alto, which was designed by Reid Brothers in 1927. It’s possible that Clark, who was local, acted as a supervising architect for that project.
An issue of the San Mateo Times from April, 1969 made reference to the “…newly opened Menlo Theater in Menlo Park….”
When the December 20, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World announced that bids were about to be taken for construction of what was then to have been called the State Theatre, it said that the architect for the project was Leon H. Lempert. Frank Keeney took a long-term lease on the house before it was completed and opened it under his own name.
The Ames Theatre was built a bit later than we thought, so the organ installed in 1920, mentioned in a now-vanished comment by Lost Memory, must not have been for this Ames Theatre, which actually didn’t get that name until 1950. Plans for a theater at Ames Avenue and 24th Street were announced in Moving Picture World of December 13, 1924. Originally to have been designed by George L. Fisher, the final plans were by architect Everett Sherwood Dodds, and some of his drawings appear on this web page, which features a fairly extensive history of the house.
The house opened as the North Star Theatre in August, 1925, and after a brief closure for renovations in late 1949 reopened on January 14, 1950 as the Ames Theatre. In 1958 it was acquired by the Cooper Foundation and converted for use as a live theater. It operated as a repertory house under the name Kingsmark Theatre for about two years before being converted into a supermarket in 1960. From 1970 to 1976 it housed a series of short-lived nightclubs, and since 1976 the building has served as a warehouse.
The building at this address now is apparently a rebuild. The November 15, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World said that “[a]rchitects have drawn plans for a handsome new theatre at Greenville, Texas, to replace the former Colonial Theatre there, which was destroyed by fire. The theatre will be two stories in height and will cost about $30,000.” The earlier Colonial Theatre had been listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.
An item in the November 1, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World mentioned that Albert Elia had been the builder and architect of the Amendola Theatre.
The November 1, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World had this item that must have been about the Falls Theatre:
The November 1, 1924 issue of The Moving Picture World, had a short article about the proposed theater George J. Beihler planned to build at Hamburg. The 1,000 seat, $125,000 project was being designed by Buffalo architects Bley & Lyman (Lawrence Bley and Duane Lyman.)
Here is a brief item about the Liberty Theatre from the November 1, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World:
An April 20, 2018 article in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader said that the Liberty Theatre opened on May 10, 1919. A projection booth fire on February 1st, 1920 closed the house until March 13 while repairs were made. Sawyer’s ten-year lease on the building ended in 1929, and it was not renewed, as the Liberty had closed in 1928, though the article doesn’t give a date for that event.An item about the Walter Alschlager’s plans for this house in the November 1, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World said that the building would have an Adamesque façade and the auditorium would be decorated in the Spanish Renaissance style.