For the temporary location, the 1930 maps are not digitized, and there does not seem to be an armory currently. I did find a newspaper article saying a new armory was constructed in 1928. It seems to have been replaced in the ‘50s.
Needs to be listed as demolished. The current structure is a chintzy cinderblock thing from maybe the ‘80s at oldest. The 1915 Sanborn shows a capacity of 960. The auditorium was pretty large, and the balcony was very deep, the opening forming almost a perfect circle.
I added a picture of the current 117. This was an opera house, built sometime before 1885. On the early maps, it is referred to as a ‘public hall’. By 1914, it is referred to as an opera house, and the extension has been added to the rear. The opera house was on the second floor, with stores below. It is still an opera house on the 1931 map. The building was most recently a thrift store, but appears to be vacant.
Note that on the 1931 map, the first to show addresses, this building was 104-106 E 2nd. 117 W 2nd was a huge one story brick building which looks vaguely industrial. Its address is now 214 W 2nd.
Nothing specifically labeled as a movie theater appears on any map, so I’m pretty confident the opera house was it.
Scammon’s decline was very rapid. Check out the census figures. This was a big coal mining area, and there were good sized towns all over the place. Seems that post 1920, the whole area collapsed. Most only have foundations left downtown. Scammon still has 3-4 old buildings.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Jul 6, 2020 at 12:21 pm
Note that the address is a best guess for something on the fourth lot south of 4th Street on the east side of Main. The theater structure would have been just to the north of the concrete foundation visible just to the south of the house.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Jul 6, 2020 at 12:19 pm
Note that the address is a best guess for something on the third lot north of 2nd street on the east side of Main.
Thanks! Greenwood is so tiny I think the map was only 2-3 sheets, and this was the only theater operating in 1916. I assume that any remodel of the front was restricted to the ground floor.
The building was constructed sometime before 1885, and had been a billiard room with a hall on the third floor. Sometime after it closed, it received an attractive white glazed tile facade, and is today a law office.
The Alhambra appears on the 1909 Sanborn with a capacity of 2,300. The balcony was a massive squared-off ‘U’, and extended all the way to the back wall. The stage seems to be a square centered on the back wall. By 1916 the building is a furniture store. This is either demolished, or the bottom floor was given a revolting dryvit remodel and is the current bank. The proper address was 205 W Sycamore.
If it opened in 1909, it was after July, when the map shows this as a saloon. The structure was originally built sometime before 1885, but was modified over the years. With a hideous remodel, the building is now incorporated into the jewelry store on the corner.
The building at 217 is the same one, but I would guess it was remodeled in the ‘20s, maybe for a bank. The 1916 Sanborn shows an oriel on the building, which is clearly not there now. There was a building on this lot sometime before 1885, but between 1909 and 1916 it was either replaced or extended in the rear.
I’m going to guess at a replacement, because the building at 219 once shared a facade, although it is now missing an oriel as well. So as a theater, it would have been roughly a mirror of 219, with an oriel and a large square awning over the entry. The first 10 or so feet of the wall separating the two buildings was actually a few feet further north than the rest. There are 1927, 1934, and 1965 maps, but they are not digitized.
For the temporary location, the 1930 maps are not digitized, and there does not seem to be an armory currently. I did find a newspaper article saying a new armory was constructed in 1928. It seems to have been replaced in the ‘50s.
Just to clarify, the prior theater was not owned by the Paoikos family until 1926.
To assist in any further research, the 1915 map shows the address to be 39-41.
This is under the wrong theater.
Needs to be listed as demolished. The current structure is a chintzy cinderblock thing from maybe the ‘80s at oldest. The 1915 Sanborn shows a capacity of 960. The auditorium was pretty large, and the balcony was very deep, the opening forming almost a perfect circle.
Surprising that there is no information at all about a theater that is still open.
I added a picture of the current 117. This was an opera house, built sometime before 1885. On the early maps, it is referred to as a ‘public hall’. By 1914, it is referred to as an opera house, and the extension has been added to the rear. The opera house was on the second floor, with stores below. It is still an opera house on the 1931 map. The building was most recently a thrift store, but appears to be vacant.
Note that on the 1931 map, the first to show addresses, this building was 104-106 E 2nd. 117 W 2nd was a huge one story brick building which looks vaguely industrial. Its address is now 214 W 2nd.
Nothing specifically labeled as a movie theater appears on any map, so I’m pretty confident the opera house was it.
By the way, the address is a guess counting up from the south, and assuming the storefronts in the theater building had their own addresses.
Scammon’s decline was very rapid. Check out the census figures. This was a big coal mining area, and there were good sized towns all over the place. Seems that post 1920, the whole area collapsed. Most only have foundations left downtown. Scammon still has 3-4 old buildings.
Note that the address is a best guess for something on the fourth lot south of 4th Street on the east side of Main. The theater structure would have been just to the north of the concrete foundation visible just to the south of the house.
Note that the address is a best guess for something on the third lot north of 2nd street on the east side of Main.
Thanks for finding a name for this!
That would explain the new facade, which definitely looks early ‘20s.
Thanks! Greenwood is so tiny I think the map was only 2-3 sheets, and this was the only theater operating in 1916. I assume that any remodel of the front was restricted to the ground floor.
Just to help with dating, the 1902 map shows small wooden shops on this lot.
The address was originally 11, then the 1909 map shows it as 107, then the 1916 map has 111.
As I understand Joe Vogel’s research, this can’t have been the Fairview. The theater on E Sycamore was still operating at this point.
This theater was open by at least 1916, but the 1909 map shows a small repair shop on the lot.
The building was constructed sometime before 1885, and had been a billiard room with a hall on the third floor. Sometime after it closed, it received an attractive white glazed tile facade, and is today a law office.
By 1905, the Cahn guide calls it the Sipe Theatre. It disagrees slightly on capacity, giving it as 1,100. G.W. Sipe was the manager.
The Alhambra appears on the 1909 Sanborn with a capacity of 2,300. The balcony was a massive squared-off ‘U’, and extended all the way to the back wall. The stage seems to be a square centered on the back wall. By 1916 the building is a furniture store. This is either demolished, or the bottom floor was given a revolting dryvit remodel and is the current bank. The proper address was 205 W Sycamore.
The 1902 Sanborn shows this as Sipe’s Opera House, and the 1916 map shows it with a capacity of 1,000.
If it opened in 1909, it was after July, when the map shows this as a saloon. The structure was originally built sometime before 1885, but was modified over the years. With a hideous remodel, the building is now incorporated into the jewelry store on the corner.
The building at 217 is the same one, but I would guess it was remodeled in the ‘20s, maybe for a bank. The 1916 Sanborn shows an oriel on the building, which is clearly not there now. There was a building on this lot sometime before 1885, but between 1909 and 1916 it was either replaced or extended in the rear.
I’m going to guess at a replacement, because the building at 219 once shared a facade, although it is now missing an oriel as well. So as a theater, it would have been roughly a mirror of 219, with an oriel and a large square awning over the entry. The first 10 or so feet of the wall separating the two buildings was actually a few feet further north than the rest. There are 1927, 1934, and 1965 maps, but they are not digitized.
Address is a guess counting up from the city hall at 112.