I wonder if the Airdome operated in conjunction with the old Opera House down the street, which was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory as the “Electric Theatre, 410 Pointz Ave.?” I can imagine this being their summer location, in the days before air conditioning.
This house appears to have operated as a movie theater as early as 1914, when the American Motion Picture Directory listed the “Electric Theatre, 410 Pointz Ave.”
The January 1, 1927 issue of Moving Picture World had this announcement about the new Stevenson Theatres house to be built at Burlington: “BURLINGTON, N. C.—Stevenson Theatres. Inc., S. S. Stevenson, Carolina Theatre has awarded contract for theatre and office building, 59 by 167 feet. Theatre will have seating capacity 700 in main auditorium and 1,000 in balconies. Estimated cost, $150,000.”
And it appears my suspicion was correct. Moving Picture World of June 18, 1927 had this item: “‘U’ Names Two Managers Dan Michalove, general manager of Universal Chain Theatrical Enterprises, Inc., has appointed Montague Salmon manager of the new ‘U’ theatre, the Revere, nearing completion at Revere, Mass. Salmon also will supervise the Capitol, Somerville, Mass. Mark Hanna has been appointed manager of the Capitol.”
The 1941 MGM Theatre report cited earlier by Ron Salters said that the Revere was then over fifteen years old, but I wonder if it could have been this project noted in the January 1, 1927 issue of Moving Picture World: “REVERE, MASS.—Capabianco Construction Company, 46 Cornhill street, Boston, has contract for one-story theatre to be erected on Broadway for J. A. Di Pesa, 20 Pembertno square, Boston. Estimated cost $155,522.”
This house probably opened in 1927, if this item in the January 1 issue of Moving Picture World that year is correct: “WILLISTON, FLA.—George W. Livingston, of Newberry, has contract for theatre to be erected on site of Reddick Building on Noble avenue for Williston Development Corporation.”
There was a bit more detail in the item that had been published by Manufacturers' Record of November 18, 1926: “Fla., Williston George W. Livingston, Contr., Newberry, has contract for construction of concrete theater building on site of Reddick Building, Noble Ave., owned by Williston Development Corp.; plans call for remodeling buildings and erection of theater in rear, with lobby connecting to Noble Ave.”
The 250-seat Williston Theatre listed in the 1926 FDY was probably the predecessor to this house. If it was indeed on Main Street, as our description says, then it must have been an entirely different theater from the Arcade.
It’s likely that the new, larger theater on Noble Avenue never operated as the Williston, as the 1927 and 1928 FDYs list only a house called the Regent at Williston, and then only the Arcade in 1929 and later. Williston itself is not listed in 1930, but it returns in 1931 when the Arcade is the only house listed, and with 400 seats. The Arcade is listed as closed in 1932 and 1933, then Williston itself vanishes from the FDY again until 1938.
This item from the January 1, 1927 Moving Picture World was probably about the Galva Theater: “GALVA, ILL.—J. A. Miller & Son have general contract to erect up-to-date two-story moving picture theatre, with seating capacity of 500, located on Market street, east of Princess Theatre. Large stage suitable for vaudeville will be constructed, including orchestra pit. Pipe organ costing $4,000 will be installed. A. W. Trevor will be manager.”
The original Prytania Theatre was destroyed by a fire in late 1926. Here is a January 1, 1927 Moving Picture World item about Saenger Theatres' intention to replace the house: “NEW ORLEANS, LA.—M. H. Jacobs, of Saenger Theatres, Inc., 1401 Tulane street, plans to rebuild Prytania Theatre at Prytania and Lecontine streets, destroyed by fire.” The Billboard of December 4, 1926 said the fire had taken place on November 27.
The only early mention of a theater in Troy I’ve been able to find in the trade journals is on a list of exhibitors recently visiting Kansas City, from the January 1, 1927 issue of Moving Picture World, which includes “C. W. Norman, Leland Theatre, Troy, Kas.” This was not the Airdome, as the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists a Leland Opera House at Troy, which is also listed in FDYs in 1926 and 1929. This appears to have been Troy’s main movie theater of the period. In 1950 Troy had a house called the LaBelle Theatre, mentioned in the April 8 issue of Boxoffice, and I don’t think it was an aka for the Opera House.
Boxoffice of December 15, 1951 said the the Fruitvale Theatre would close on the 19th for renovations inside and out, and would reopen on Christmas Day.
The October 9, 1915 issue of Motion Picture News had this item about the opening of the Hub Theater:
“THE Hub theatre has been opened at Mill Valley, under the management of A. C. Pabst. The New Hub theatre is a handsome house, fitting in superbly with its beautful surroundings, and was erected by C. H. Mehrten, of Berkeley, treasurer of the Motion Picture Exhibitors’ League of California. Mr. Mehrten has operated a number of houses in the San Francisco Bay territory, and is now conducting the Varsity theatre in the College City. The matinee and evening performances on the opening day were well attended, many of the leading citizens of Mill Valley being present, including Mayor Jones, who made an address of welcome. The theatre has a seating capacity of about six hundred.”
An article in the October 9 Moving Picture World noted that the house was to have been completed in early summer, but late spring rains had interfered with construction, leading to delays.
The predecessor of the Hart Theatre was called the Valerie Theatre. The two houses had the same operators in 1920, Pollock & Boyd, and the Valerie was closed when the Hart opened, but the new house was named for Miss Frances Hart, the owner of the property on which the theater was built.
This clip from from the Ferndale Enterprise of July 9, 1918 turned up at a genealogy site: “R. Pollock, proprietor of the Valerie Theatre in Ferndale, will probably take possession of the Trilma Theatre in Fortuna on July 15th… W.E. Legg, proprietor of the Trilma, and formerly connected with The Enterprise, plans to go to work at the shipyards…”
I’m having a hard time reconciling the description of this theater with the geographical facts of Fargo. For one thing, the Leshkowitz tower that was demolished in 2023 was on 2nd St S. near downtown Fargo, miles east of West Acres. West Acres Mall itself is a long way south of Main Avenue. The theater could not possibly have been on Main Avenue, behind the senior citizens housing tower, and at the mall.
As near as I can find, the Cinema 1 & 2 opened at West Hills Mall in the 1970s and might have closed in the 1980s when a six-screen theater was opened, though it’s possible that the twin was incorporated into the six-plex. One source says that the six screen was later augmented by a three screen house in an adjacent building with its own entrance, and in the late 1990s these two buildings were combined, remodeled and enlarged to create today’s Marcus West Acres 14 Cinemas.
The earliest aerial view of the mall (1976) doesn’t show any outbuildings that might have housed a theater, but the 1984 view shows a small building that could have housed a twin, on part of the site of the current Marcus 14. It looks too small for six screens. The next available view, from 1991, shows the building expanded enough to house six screens. The 1997 view is essentially unchanged, but the 2003 shows the place almost as it is now, though at that time it was a 12-screen operation.
I suppose there is a possibility that the twin was originally inside the mall, and later moved into its own freestanding building, but I haven’t been able to find any evidence of this. Aside from that, it seems likely that the twin is still there as part of the Marcus 14 building.
Opened as an 800-seat single-screener by ABC Southeastern Theatres in 1971, the Pembroke Mall UltraVision Theatre was designed by the architectural firm Six Associates, based on a concept developed by the firm’s head, William Bringhurst McGehee, in conjunction with Wilby-Kincey Theatre Service, in 1967. A second screen in a building mirroring the first was added in 1974. The UltraVision houses were known for their very large, deeply curved screens and their continental seating formats.
The UltraVision theaters were a very late manifestation of the large cinema format, and within a few years were considered obsolete. The Pembroke Mall twin was closed and demolished in 1987, being replaced by an 8-screen multiples inside the mall in 1990. In 2024 the last surviving part of of the original Pembroke Mall was itself demolished, to be replaced by a modern mixed-use development.
Views at Historic Aerials show this cinema still standing in 2011 and replaced by a freshly paved parking lot in 2012. The views are dated only by year, so we don’t know when during that period the building was demolished, only that it was gone by the end of 2012.
This was one of ABC Southeastern’s UltraVision houses, though it lacked the elliptical design of many of the chain’s cinemas opened in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Still, I believe all of the ABC Southeastern houses of this period were designed by the architectural firm Six Associates.
An item datelined Columbus Junction in The Show World of July 3, 1909, said that “A. Westcott, Marshalltown, and G. G. Peck will open a picture theater here.” I’ve been unable to connect this project specifically to the Lyric, but it’s possible that it was the same house.
The 1918 Sanborn map of Fairmont shows a “Moving Picture Theater” at 316 Adams, just up the hill from the site of the Virginia. It wasn’t on the 1912 map. I haven’t been able to identify this mystery theater.
A history of theater concession stands by Lucy Hulls (PDF here) says that the Virginia installed a permanent stand on one side of its large lobby as part of major refurbishments in 1924, which would make it one of the earlier cinemas to provide such a facility.
The 1912 Sanborn map of Fairmont shows the Hippodrome at 413-415 Adams Street. It was the easternmost of four moving picture houses on the street, and was almost directly across the street from the vacant lot where the Fairmont Theatre would later be built.
The Princess Theatre opened on October 14, 1915. The Fairmont West Virginian reported that the planned 1:00 pm opening had to be delayed until 6:00 pm due to the failure of the film reels to arrive on time.
An item datelined Fairmont in the July 17, 1913 issue of Construction Record had said that “[w]ork will soon be started on erecting a one-story brick moving picture theatre on Jefferson street, for F J. Galliger, Main street, from private plans. Cost $10,000.” If that project was the Princess then Mr. Galliger’s plans took quite a while to come to fruition, and I’ve found no more mentions of him.
The Gazette article with the information is no longer available online, but it said that the Forest Theatre opened in 1927 as the Castle Theatre and was renamed Forest Theatre in 1940, so we can delete the redundant page for the Castle Theatre. The Forest operated until it was gutted by a fire in July, 1966. The theater’s site is now occupied by part of a bank. The bank uses the address 231 S. White Street, but the theater’s number was probably a bit lower, perhaps 225 S. White.
The correct address for the Collegiate Theatre is 214 S. White Avenue. Opened in 1939, the theater was destroyed by an explosion and fire on March 12, 1940. The building’s owner, local fast food purveyor Shorty Joyner, had the house rebuilt and it operated until shortly after Wake Forest College moved to Winston-Salem in 1956. At that time, Mr. Joyner moved his hot dog restaurant into the building, where it remains today.
The theater’s history is recounted on >this web page from the Wake Forest Historical Museum.
I wonder if the Airdome operated in conjunction with the old Opera House down the street, which was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory as the “Electric Theatre, 410 Pointz Ave.?” I can imagine this being their summer location, in the days before air conditioning.
This house appears to have operated as a movie theater as early as 1914, when the American Motion Picture Directory listed the “Electric Theatre, 410 Pointz Ave.”
The January 1, 1927 issue of Moving Picture World had this announcement about the new Stevenson Theatres house to be built at Burlington: “BURLINGTON, N. C.—Stevenson Theatres. Inc., S. S. Stevenson, Carolina Theatre has awarded contract for theatre and office building, 59 by 167 feet. Theatre will have seating capacity 700 in main auditorium and 1,000 in balconies. Estimated cost, $150,000.”
And it appears my suspicion was correct. Moving Picture World of June 18, 1927 had this item: “‘U’ Names Two Managers Dan Michalove, general manager of Universal Chain Theatrical Enterprises, Inc., has appointed Montague Salmon manager of the new ‘U’ theatre, the Revere, nearing completion at Revere, Mass. Salmon also will supervise the Capitol, Somerville, Mass. Mark Hanna has been appointed manager of the Capitol.”
The 1941 MGM Theatre report cited earlier by Ron Salters said that the Revere was then over fifteen years old, but I wonder if it could have been this project noted in the January 1, 1927 issue of Moving Picture World: “REVERE, MASS.—Capabianco Construction Company, 46 Cornhill street, Boston, has contract for one-story theatre to be erected on Broadway for J. A. Di Pesa, 20 Pembertno square, Boston. Estimated cost $155,522.”
This house probably opened in 1927, if this item in the January 1 issue of Moving Picture World that year is correct: “WILLISTON, FLA.—George W. Livingston, of Newberry, has contract for theatre to be erected on site of Reddick Building on Noble avenue for Williston Development Corporation.”
There was a bit more detail in the item that had been published by Manufacturers' Record of November 18, 1926: “Fla., Williston George W. Livingston, Contr., Newberry, has contract for construction of concrete theater building on site of Reddick Building, Noble Ave., owned by Williston Development Corp.; plans call for remodeling buildings and erection of theater in rear, with lobby connecting to Noble Ave.”
The 250-seat Williston Theatre listed in the 1926 FDY was probably the predecessor to this house. If it was indeed on Main Street, as our description says, then it must have been an entirely different theater from the Arcade.
It’s likely that the new, larger theater on Noble Avenue never operated as the Williston, as the 1927 and 1928 FDYs list only a house called the Regent at Williston, and then only the Arcade in 1929 and later. Williston itself is not listed in 1930, but it returns in 1931 when the Arcade is the only house listed, and with 400 seats. The Arcade is listed as closed in 1932 and 1933, then Williston itself vanishes from the FDY again until 1938.
This item from the January 1, 1927 Moving Picture World was probably about the Galva Theater: “GALVA, ILL.—J. A. Miller & Son have general contract to erect up-to-date two-story moving picture theatre, with seating capacity of 500, located on Market street, east of Princess Theatre. Large stage suitable for vaudeville will be constructed, including orchestra pit. Pipe organ costing $4,000 will be installed. A. W. Trevor will be manager.”
The original Prytania Theatre was destroyed by a fire in late 1926. Here is a January 1, 1927 Moving Picture World item about Saenger Theatres' intention to replace the house: “NEW ORLEANS, LA.—M. H. Jacobs, of Saenger Theatres, Inc., 1401 Tulane street, plans to rebuild Prytania Theatre at Prytania and Lecontine streets, destroyed by fire.” The Billboard of December 4, 1926 said the fire had taken place on November 27.
The only early mention of a theater in Troy I’ve been able to find in the trade journals is on a list of exhibitors recently visiting Kansas City, from the January 1, 1927 issue of Moving Picture World, which includes “C. W. Norman, Leland Theatre, Troy, Kas.” This was not the Airdome, as the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists a Leland Opera House at Troy, which is also listed in FDYs in 1926 and 1929. This appears to have been Troy’s main movie theater of the period. In 1950 Troy had a house called the LaBelle Theatre, mentioned in the April 8 issue of Boxoffice, and I don’t think it was an aka for the Opera House.
Boxoffice of December 15, 1951 said the the Fruitvale Theatre would close on the 19th for renovations inside and out, and would reopen on Christmas Day.
The October 9, 1915 issue of Motion Picture News had this item about the opening of the Hub Theater:
An article in the October 9 Moving Picture World noted that the house was to have been completed in early summer, but late spring rains had interfered with construction, leading to delays.The Strand Theatre is listed in the 1926 FDY with 416 seats, so it must have opened a bit earlier than we’d thought.
A May 6, 1935 item in Motion Picture Herald said that the 450-seat New Strand Theatre in Caro had recently been re-opened by Ashman Brothers.
The predecessor of the Hart Theatre was called the Valerie Theatre. The two houses had the same operators in 1920, Pollock & Boyd, and the Valerie was closed when the Hart opened, but the new house was named for Miss Frances Hart, the owner of the property on which the theater was built.
This photo shows the original Fortuna Theatre, demolished in 1937 to make way for the new house. The original theater was in operation by 1926.
This clip from from the Ferndale Enterprise of July 9, 1918 turned up at a genealogy site: “R. Pollock, proprietor of the Valerie Theatre in Ferndale, will probably take possession of the Trilma Theatre in Fortuna on July 15th… W.E. Legg, proprietor of the Trilma, and formerly connected with The Enterprise, plans to go to work at the shipyards…”
I’m having a hard time reconciling the description of this theater with the geographical facts of Fargo. For one thing, the Leshkowitz tower that was demolished in 2023 was on 2nd St S. near downtown Fargo, miles east of West Acres. West Acres Mall itself is a long way south of Main Avenue. The theater could not possibly have been on Main Avenue, behind the senior citizens housing tower, and at the mall.
As near as I can find, the Cinema 1 & 2 opened at West Hills Mall in the 1970s and might have closed in the 1980s when a six-screen theater was opened, though it’s possible that the twin was incorporated into the six-plex. One source says that the six screen was later augmented by a three screen house in an adjacent building with its own entrance, and in the late 1990s these two buildings were combined, remodeled and enlarged to create today’s Marcus West Acres 14 Cinemas.
The earliest aerial view of the mall (1976) doesn’t show any outbuildings that might have housed a theater, but the 1984 view shows a small building that could have housed a twin, on part of the site of the current Marcus 14. It looks too small for six screens. The next available view, from 1991, shows the building expanded enough to house six screens. The 1997 view is essentially unchanged, but the 2003 shows the place almost as it is now, though at that time it was a 12-screen operation.
I suppose there is a possibility that the twin was originally inside the mall, and later moved into its own freestanding building, but I haven’t been able to find any evidence of this. Aside from that, it seems likely that the twin is still there as part of the Marcus 14 building.
Opened as an 800-seat single-screener by ABC Southeastern Theatres in 1971, the Pembroke Mall UltraVision Theatre was designed by the architectural firm Six Associates, based on a concept developed by the firm’s head, William Bringhurst McGehee, in conjunction with Wilby-Kincey Theatre Service, in 1967. A second screen in a building mirroring the first was added in 1974. The UltraVision houses were known for their very large, deeply curved screens and their continental seating formats.
The UltraVision theaters were a very late manifestation of the large cinema format, and within a few years were considered obsolete. The Pembroke Mall twin was closed and demolished in 1987, being replaced by an 8-screen multiples inside the mall in 1990. In 2024 the last surviving part of of the original Pembroke Mall was itself demolished, to be replaced by a modern mixed-use development.
Views at Historic Aerials show this cinema still standing in 2011 and replaced by a freshly paved parking lot in 2012. The views are dated only by year, so we don’t know when during that period the building was demolished, only that it was gone by the end of 2012.
This was one of ABC Southeastern’s UltraVision houses, though it lacked the elliptical design of many of the chain’s cinemas opened in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Still, I believe all of the ABC Southeastern houses of this period were designed by the architectural firm Six Associates.
An item datelined Columbus Junction in The Show World of July 3, 1909, said that “A. Westcott, Marshalltown, and G. G. Peck will open a picture theater here.” I’ve been unable to connect this project specifically to the Lyric, but it’s possible that it was the same house.
The 1918 Sanborn map of Fairmont shows a “Moving Picture Theater” at 316 Adams, just up the hill from the site of the Virginia. It wasn’t on the 1912 map. I haven’t been able to identify this mystery theater.
A history of theater concession stands by Lucy Hulls (PDF here) says that the Virginia installed a permanent stand on one side of its large lobby as part of major refurbishments in 1924, which would make it one of the earlier cinemas to provide such a facility.
The Princess Theatre was at 220 Jefferson Street, just off Adams Street.
The 1912 Sanborn map of Fairmont shows the Hippodrome at 413-415 Adams Street. It was the easternmost of four moving picture houses on the street, and was almost directly across the street from the vacant lot where the Fairmont Theatre would later be built.
The Princess Theatre opened on October 14, 1915. The Fairmont West Virginian reported that the planned 1:00 pm opening had to be delayed until 6:00 pm due to the failure of the film reels to arrive on time.
An item datelined Fairmont in the July 17, 1913 issue of Construction Record had said that “[w]ork will soon be started on erecting a one-story brick moving picture theatre on Jefferson street, for F J. Galliger, Main street, from private plans. Cost $10,000.” If that project was the Princess then Mr. Galliger’s plans took quite a while to come to fruition, and I’ve found no more mentions of him.
The Gazette article with the information is no longer available online, but it said that the Forest Theatre opened in 1927 as the Castle Theatre and was renamed Forest Theatre in 1940, so we can delete the redundant page for the Castle Theatre. The Forest operated until it was gutted by a fire in July, 1966. The theater’s site is now occupied by part of a bank. The bank uses the address 231 S. White Street, but the theater’s number was probably a bit lower, perhaps 225 S. White.
The correct address for the Collegiate Theatre is 214 S. White Avenue. Opened in 1939, the theater was destroyed by an explosion and fire on March 12, 1940. The building’s owner, local fast food purveyor Shorty Joyner, had the house rebuilt and it operated until shortly after Wake Forest College moved to Winston-Salem in 1956. At that time, Mr. Joyner moved his hot dog restaurant into the building, where it remains today.
The theater’s history is recounted on >this web page from the Wake Forest Historical Museum.