There was trouble in Pittsburg in 1916, as noted in the July 1 issue of Motography: “Manager O. A. Bandy, of the Mystic Theater at Pittsburg, Kansas, has been charged by the Kansas censors with exhibiting immoral shows. A test case has been set down for trial.”
We have no way of knowing if this house was the nameless nickel theater referred to in this item from the March, 1912 issue of Motography, but it provides an interesting glimpse into the early days of movie exhibition:
“Kansas Schools and Theaters Co-operate
“The moving picture show, frequently charged with teaching the young idea to shoot in the wrong direction, is to be made an ally of the school room in instructing the pupils of Columbus, Kansas, schools in geography. The board of education has contracted with a nickel theater to present one afternoon each week moving picture films selected by Superintendent Shenk, which will depict life among the people of whom the children are studying in geography. Superintendent Shenk thinks this will add interest the geography work and also have a tendency to improve the general tone of the picture shows.”
The Ritz probably opened in 1928. It was mentioned in the January 8, 1929 Film Daily as one of the houses in the region that had been closed due to a flu epidemic. It was listed in the 1929 FDY but not in the 1928 or earlier editions. Previously, New Albany had been served by a house called the Dreamland Theatre which, the caption of a photo from circa 1920 says was a “tent show” near the west end of what is now Bankhead Street.
1928 was the Dreamland’s last FDY listing, so the Ritz most likely replaced it, possibly at the same location. The Dreamland was listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD, and a earth-floored structure labeled “Moving Pictures” appears at 43 Mills Street (now in the 100W block of Bankhead Street) on the 1913 Sanborn map, the newest available for New Albany.
The February, 1912 Sanborn map of Coshocton, the most recent available, shows “Moving Pictures” at the old Pastime Theatre, 538 Main Street, and also shows “Moving Pictures” next door at 536 A Main Street. I think that must have been the Luna. In between is a shallow storefront labeled “Conf'y” (confectionery) at 536 B Main. The only other theater on the map is the Sixth Street. The Luna is not listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD, but there is a new house called the Electric Theatre just down the block at 526.
The Sixth Street Theatre must have been rebuilt or extensively remodeled in 1924, judging from this item that appeared in the July 5 issue of Moving Picture World: “Work on the new Sixth Street Theatre, Coshocton, Ohio, which was begun several weeks ago, now is at a complete standstill on account of the local trades union resenting contracts let to a Columbus, Ohio, company, who, the unions contend, conduct an ‘open shop.’ All building trades have been called off the building.”
The Sixth Street was one of four theaters listed at Coshocton in the 1914-1915 AMPD. The Pastime and Utahna were also listed, but the fourth was a house called the Electric Theatre, at 526 Main Street. I’ve been unable to discover anything else about the Electric.
Here is an item from the July, 1911 issue of the trade journal Motography: “The Utahna is the name of a new moving picture theater recently opened at Coshocton, said to be the handsomest of its kind in the state. The interior is decorated by hand oil paintings. The front is particularly handsome, being a glare of electric lights and a huge electric sign extends out over the pavement. The house is under the same management as the Luna Theater of that city and it is the purpose to maintain even a better standard of entertainment than has been established at the older house.”
The Elm Theater was in operation by 1922, being mentioned in both the April 3 and April 20 issues of The Kentucky Post. An article about the construction of the new Ludlow Theatre appeared in Showmen’s Trade Review of October 13, 1945, saying that the new house “…will be built for Louis Wiethe and Harry Hilling. Hilling is the operator of the existing Ludlow Theatre which will be replaced by the new structure.” The 1945 FDY lists only the the Elm Theatre at Ludlow, so it must have been the one being replaced by the new house, which opened January 4, 1947. The 1914-1915 AMPD lists only the Wilma Theatre, 2 Elm Street, at Ludlow, so the Elm must have opened later.
The October 13, 1945 issue of Showmen’s Trade Review said that a remodeling of the Broadway Theatre in Covington had recently been completed by the F& Y Building Service.
Another item about the 1923 mystery theater planned for Fifth Avenue is this one from the August 11, 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review: “PITTSBURGH, PA. - Rubin & VeShancey, Union Arcade have completed plans for the $75.000 to $100,000 soon to be erected Fifth Avenue, near Mages St., by Owner, The Majestic Theatre Corporation, Jos. C. Marcus, 2014 Fifth Ave.”
This is probably the house that was the subject of this item in the August 11, 1923 issue of Exhibitors Trade Review: “TRENTON, N. J.- Walter Hankin, 39 State Street, Trenton, has completed plans for the theatre to be placed on Olden & Walnut Aves., by Owner, George E. Ten Eyck, care architect.”
A 1941 photo on this web page shows the spelling Gaiety on the theater’s small sign. I’ve also come across a blog post mentioning in passing “Ten Eyck’s Gaiety Theatre.”
This item from Exhibitors Trade Review of August 11, 1923 might be about this house: “L. F. W. Stuebe, 415 Adams Bldg., Danville, Ill., has completed plans for the theatre soon to be erected by C. P. McDonogh, Milford.” The architect’s full name was Leonard Frederick William Stuebe.
The August 11, 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review said that James Cardina had bought a Marr & Colton Concert organ for this new theater under construction on Bailey Avenue.
Exhibitors Trade Review of August 11, 1923 said that W. W. Berinstein’s Hudson Theatre at Albany had been almost totally destroyed by a recent fire. Berinstein also operated the Colonial Theatre in Albany, as well as houses in Troy, Elmira, and Schenectady.
The 350-seat Regent Theatre is the only house listed at Eureka, Kansas in the 1926 FDY. The absence of the Princess was probably an oversight, as there was a movie theater on that theater’s site as early as 1917, while the name Princess appears in trade journals as early as January, 1925, and the Princess is listed in later editions of the FDY. In 1923 a new theater was proposed on the northwest corner of 4th and Main, though I’ve been unable to confirm that the project was carried out. If it was, then it might have been the Regent.
I’ve found the Princess mentioned in trade journals as early as January, 1925. A 1917 Sanborn map shows a movie theater on the Princess’s site, though the flanking storefronts were numbered 116 and 118, with 120 and 122 being the numbers for a garage to the north, the location of the Safeway market in our vintage photo.
The theater probably had a different name in 1917. The 1914-1915 AMPD lists three houses at Eureka. One, the Gem, was listed on S. Main St., but no locations were given for the other two, the Crescent and the Electric, so one of those might have been the house that became the Princess. The Electric is mentioned in trade journals a late as 1923.
Trade and construction journals in 1923 note a proposal for a new theater on the northwest corner of 4th and Main streets in Eureka, but I’ve been unable to discover if the proposal was carried out. In any case, both the northwest and southeast corners of 4th and Main are now occupied by modern buildings, so the Princess and any theater that might have been built on the northwest corner have been demolished.
A 1932 item I can’t date precisely because it only appears in a snippet of Google books search says “…Klock has taken over Dickinson’s Uptown Theatre at Neodesha , Kas . , and will assume operation of the house on April 24.” This is the only reference to a Neodesha house called the Uptown I have yet seen.
Here is an item from the July 13, 1929 Motion Picture News:
“Dickinson Absorbs Klock’s Houses In Neodesha, Kans.
“A total of twenty-four motion picture theatres is now held by the Glen W. Dickinson circuit, the two Glen E. Klock houses in Neodesha, Kans., being acquired by the Dickinson chain last week. The purchase price
was not disclosed. The key house will be completely redecorated and installed with W. E. Sound equipment, according to Chester D. Bell, general manager of the Dickinson circuit. The opening is set for September 1.”
A Gene [mistake?] Klock had acquired the Princess Theatre in Neodesha, according to The Billboard of October 30, 1926.
Among theater changes listed in Kansas in the July 23, 1934 Film Daily is the notice “NEODESHA - Crescent (dismantled).” Oddly, a new house called the Gem appeared under the “openings” heading in the same column. The Gem was run by an A. J. Long, and was mentioned again in the December 8 issue of the <em<Daily, so lasted at least half a year.
The Billboard of March 6, 1909 mentioned a New Theatre in Neodesha, though it provided no details other than the names of the manager (J. D. Allen) and booking agent (J. J. Coleman.) The 610-seat Blakeslee Theatre, Barton Blakeslee manager, is listed in the 1909-1910 Cahn guide. Oddly, J. D. Allen was listed in the guide as the bill poster for the house. I guess he got downgraded.
The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory still lists the Glendale Theatre at 704 4th Street (renamed Broadway in 1918) but also lists a second Glendale Theatre at 521 4th Street (this would have been on the block where the post office is now.) There were also houses called the Jewell City Theatre and the Majestic Theatre, with no addresses provided.
After reexamining a history of the Gustine area by Patricia Carson Snoke I am convinced that the Gustine Theatre was the former Gustine Opera House, which Ms. Snoke says opened in May, 1912. It was equipped to show movies from the beginning, but also presented vaudeville and a variety of local events. In 1915 it was sold to Peter Bladt, who remodeled it, giving it a sloped floor for the first time.
On March 7, 1920 a projection booth fire broke out during the show. A capacity audience escaped unscathed, though a bucket brigade using water from a nearby horse trough failed to save the building or two neighboring structures. There were presumed casualties, however. Several goldfish who had been kept in the trough by a local were missing following the conflagration, and were assumed to have perished in the flames, or perhaps under the feet of the bucket brigade.
The correct address of the Valley Theatre is 498 Fifth Street. The timeline in a locally published history of the Gustine area by Patricia Carson Snoke says that Jack Frates built the Victoria Theatre in 1920. It was remodeled and renamed Valley Theatre in 1948. It closed in 1954 and the building was converted for use as a bowling alley in 1958.
As Trolleyguy notes in the previous comment, the most recent occupant of the building was an antique mall, said to be permanently closed in a notation on the March, 2024 Google street view. Real estate web sites say the unoccupied building is currently listed for sale at $375,000.
This house might have opened earlier than 1919, or perhaps there was an earlier theater of the same name. This item is from Moving Picture World of November 17, 1917: “GUSTINE, CALIF.—Gustine theater has opened under the management of Fred Muller.” Gustine had a movie theater at least as early as 1916, when the April1 MPW had this item: “Gustine, Cal.—P. J. Bladt has taken over a theater here and has installed a Power’s Cameragraph No. 6A and a Fort Wayne Compensarc.”
The Gustine Theatre suffered a fire in 1920, as reported in the April 3 Exhibitors Herald: “NEWMAN. CAL.— The Gustine theatre was destroyed recently by fire which originated in the projection room.”
The notice datelined Columbia, MO, in Boxoffice of December 11, 1948 said “A. B. Coleman plans to open the new Frances, a 400-seater, to cater the Negro trade, early in January. Construction is underway.”
The March, 1912 issue of Motography said that “[t]he Grand, an up-to-date motion picture theater, has been opened at Bessemer.”
There was trouble in Pittsburg in 1916, as noted in the July 1 issue of Motography: “Manager O. A. Bandy, of the Mystic Theater at Pittsburg, Kansas, has been charged by the Kansas censors with exhibiting immoral shows. A test case has been set down for trial.”
We have no way of knowing if this house was the nameless nickel theater referred to in this item from the March, 1912 issue of Motography, but it provides an interesting glimpse into the early days of movie exhibition:
The Ritz probably opened in 1928. It was mentioned in the January 8, 1929 Film Daily as one of the houses in the region that had been closed due to a flu epidemic. It was listed in the 1929 FDY but not in the 1928 or earlier editions. Previously, New Albany had been served by a house called the Dreamland Theatre which, the caption of a photo from circa 1920 says was a “tent show” near the west end of what is now Bankhead Street.
1928 was the Dreamland’s last FDY listing, so the Ritz most likely replaced it, possibly at the same location. The Dreamland was listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD, and a earth-floored structure labeled “Moving Pictures” appears at 43 Mills Street (now in the 100W block of Bankhead Street) on the 1913 Sanborn map, the newest available for New Albany.
The February, 1912 Sanborn map of Coshocton, the most recent available, shows “Moving Pictures” at the old Pastime Theatre, 538 Main Street, and also shows “Moving Pictures” next door at 536 A Main Street. I think that must have been the Luna. In between is a shallow storefront labeled “Conf'y” (confectionery) at 536 B Main. The only other theater on the map is the Sixth Street. The Luna is not listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD, but there is a new house called the Electric Theatre just down the block at 526.
The Sixth Street Theatre must have been rebuilt or extensively remodeled in 1924, judging from this item that appeared in the July 5 issue of Moving Picture World: “Work on the new Sixth Street Theatre, Coshocton, Ohio, which was begun several weeks ago, now is at a complete standstill on account of the local trades union resenting contracts let to a Columbus, Ohio, company, who, the unions contend, conduct an ‘open shop.’ All building trades have been called off the building.”
The Sixth Street was one of four theaters listed at Coshocton in the 1914-1915 AMPD. The Pastime and Utahna were also listed, but the fourth was a house called the Electric Theatre, at 526 Main Street. I’ve been unable to discover anything else about the Electric.
Here is an item from the July, 1911 issue of the trade journal Motography: “The Utahna is the name of a new moving picture theater recently opened at Coshocton, said to be the handsomest of its kind in the state. The interior is decorated by hand oil paintings. The front is particularly handsome, being a glare of electric lights and a huge electric sign extends out over the pavement. The house is under the same management as the Luna Theater of that city and it is the purpose to maintain even a better standard of entertainment than has been established at the older house.”
The Elm Theater was in operation by 1922, being mentioned in both the April 3 and April 20 issues of The Kentucky Post. An article about the construction of the new Ludlow Theatre appeared in Showmen’s Trade Review of October 13, 1945, saying that the new house “…will be built for Louis Wiethe and Harry Hilling. Hilling is the operator of the existing Ludlow Theatre which will be replaced by the new structure.” The 1945 FDY lists only the the Elm Theatre at Ludlow, so it must have been the one being replaced by the new house, which opened January 4, 1947. The 1914-1915 AMPD lists only the Wilma Theatre, 2 Elm Street, at Ludlow, so the Elm must have opened later.
The October 13, 1945 issue of Showmen’s Trade Review said that a remodeling of the Broadway Theatre in Covington had recently been completed by the F& Y Building Service.
Another item about the 1923 mystery theater planned for Fifth Avenue is this one from the August 11, 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review: “PITTSBURGH, PA. - Rubin & VeShancey, Union Arcade have completed plans for the $75.000 to $100,000 soon to be erected Fifth Avenue, near Mages St., by Owner, The Majestic Theatre Corporation, Jos. C. Marcus, 2014 Fifth Ave.”
This is probably the house that was the subject of this item in the August 11, 1923 issue of Exhibitors Trade Review: “TRENTON, N. J.- Walter Hankin, 39 State Street, Trenton, has completed plans for the theatre to be placed on Olden & Walnut Aves., by Owner, George E. Ten Eyck, care architect.”
A 1941 photo on this web page shows the spelling Gaiety on the theater’s small sign. I’ve also come across a blog post mentioning in passing “Ten Eyck’s Gaiety Theatre.”
This item from Exhibitors Trade Review of August 11, 1923 might be about this house: “L. F. W. Stuebe, 415 Adams Bldg., Danville, Ill., has completed plans for the theatre soon to be erected by C. P. McDonogh, Milford.” The architect’s full name was Leonard Frederick William Stuebe.
The August 11, 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review said that James Cardina had bought a Marr & Colton Concert organ for this new theater under construction on Bailey Avenue.
Exhibitors Trade Review of August 11, 1923 said that W. W. Berinstein’s Hudson Theatre at Albany had been almost totally destroyed by a recent fire. Berinstein also operated the Colonial Theatre in Albany, as well as houses in Troy, Elmira, and Schenectady.
The 350-seat Regent Theatre is the only house listed at Eureka, Kansas in the 1926 FDY. The absence of the Princess was probably an oversight, as there was a movie theater on that theater’s site as early as 1917, while the name Princess appears in trade journals as early as January, 1925, and the Princess is listed in later editions of the FDY. In 1923 a new theater was proposed on the northwest corner of 4th and Main, though I’ve been unable to confirm that the project was carried out. If it was, then it might have been the Regent.
I’ve found the Princess mentioned in trade journals as early as January, 1925. A 1917 Sanborn map shows a movie theater on the Princess’s site, though the flanking storefronts were numbered 116 and 118, with 120 and 122 being the numbers for a garage to the north, the location of the Safeway market in our vintage photo.
The theater probably had a different name in 1917. The 1914-1915 AMPD lists three houses at Eureka. One, the Gem, was listed on S. Main St., but no locations were given for the other two, the Crescent and the Electric, so one of those might have been the house that became the Princess. The Electric is mentioned in trade journals a late as 1923.
Trade and construction journals in 1923 note a proposal for a new theater on the northwest corner of 4th and Main streets in Eureka, but I’ve been unable to discover if the proposal was carried out. In any case, both the northwest and southeast corners of 4th and Main are now occupied by modern buildings, so the Princess and any theater that might have been built on the northwest corner have been demolished.
A 1932 item I can’t date precisely because it only appears in a snippet of Google books search says “…Klock has taken over Dickinson’s Uptown Theatre at Neodesha , Kas . , and will assume operation of the house on April 24.” This is the only reference to a Neodesha house called the Uptown I have yet seen.
Here is an item from the July 13, 1929 Motion Picture News:
A Gene [mistake?] Klock had acquired the Princess Theatre in Neodesha, according to The Billboard of October 30, 1926.Among theater changes listed in Kansas in the July 23, 1934 Film Daily is the notice “NEODESHA - Crescent (dismantled).” Oddly, a new house called the Gem appeared under the “openings” heading in the same column. The Gem was run by an A. J. Long, and was mentioned again in the December 8 issue of the <em<Daily, so lasted at least half a year.
The Billboard of March 6, 1909 mentioned a New Theatre in Neodesha, though it provided no details other than the names of the manager (J. D. Allen) and booking agent (J. J. Coleman.) The 610-seat Blakeslee Theatre, Barton Blakeslee manager, is listed in the 1909-1910 Cahn guide. Oddly, J. D. Allen was listed in the guide as the bill poster for the house. I guess he got downgraded.
The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory still lists the Glendale Theatre at 704 4th Street (renamed Broadway in 1918) but also lists a second Glendale Theatre at 521 4th Street (this would have been on the block where the post office is now.) There were also houses called the Jewell City Theatre and the Majestic Theatre, with no addresses provided.
After reexamining a history of the Gustine area by Patricia Carson Snoke I am convinced that the Gustine Theatre was the former Gustine Opera House, which Ms. Snoke says opened in May, 1912. It was equipped to show movies from the beginning, but also presented vaudeville and a variety of local events. In 1915 it was sold to Peter Bladt, who remodeled it, giving it a sloped floor for the first time.
On March 7, 1920 a projection booth fire broke out during the show. A capacity audience escaped unscathed, though a bucket brigade using water from a nearby horse trough failed to save the building or two neighboring structures. There were presumed casualties, however. Several goldfish who had been kept in the trough by a local were missing following the conflagration, and were assumed to have perished in the flames, or perhaps under the feet of the bucket brigade.
The correct address of the Valley Theatre is 498 Fifth Street. The timeline in a locally published history of the Gustine area by Patricia Carson Snoke says that Jack Frates built the Victoria Theatre in 1920. It was remodeled and renamed Valley Theatre in 1948. It closed in 1954 and the building was converted for use as a bowling alley in 1958.
As Trolleyguy notes in the previous comment, the most recent occupant of the building was an antique mall, said to be permanently closed in a notation on the March, 2024 Google street view. Real estate web sites say the unoccupied building is currently listed for sale at $375,000.
This house might have opened earlier than 1919, or perhaps there was an earlier theater of the same name. This item is from Moving Picture World of November 17, 1917: “GUSTINE, CALIF.—Gustine theater has opened under the management of Fred Muller.” Gustine had a movie theater at least as early as 1916, when the April1 MPW had this item: “Gustine, Cal.—P. J. Bladt has taken over a theater here and has installed a Power’s Cameragraph No. 6A and a Fort Wayne Compensarc.”
The Gustine Theatre suffered a fire in 1920, as reported in the April 3 Exhibitors Herald: “NEWMAN. CAL.— The Gustine theatre was destroyed recently by fire which originated in the projection room.”
The notice datelined Columbia, MO, in Boxoffice of December 11, 1948 said “A. B. Coleman plans to open the new Frances, a 400-seater, to cater the Negro trade, early in January. Construction is underway.”