This is the front page of the Troy Record on June 17, 1944, reporting a blaze at the Griswold. Fire seemed to be a problem with this place. http://tinyurl.com/m9qsyv
CHESTER, CALIF.-On the eve of closing for remodeling, the Chester Theater was severely damaged by fire. Ed Blair, owner, said the loss of about $20,000 was only partially covered by insurance. Mr. and Mrs. Blair, whose home was in the rear of the theater, lost all their personal belongings.
The reason this maps out to Canada is because the street name is misspelled. It’s MacDonald, with the extra a. There is only one building left on the even side of the 400 block, but whether that’s the theater is anybody’s guess.
WOODLAND, CALIF.-Harry Lazzarini, manager of the State and Porter theaters since 1946, has purchased the Rio in Richmond from the Robert L. Lippert circuit.
The theater address needs to be corrected. The actual address is 4501 E. Carson Street. There are several articles in the LA Times starting in 1977 and continuing through the late 1980s which confirm this. There should also be an aka of Pussycat Theater.
This is from the Syracuse Herald Journal in August 1954:
Joseph F. Owens of 518 Bradford Parkway, Syracuse industrialist, has purchased the Strand Theater property at 501 S. Salina Street for investment. The site has a frontage of 100 feet on Salina Street and more than 137 feet on Harrison Street. All details of the sale were handled through Egan Real Estate.
The property leased from the Thomas F. Anderson Estate for theater purposes by the Strand Theater Corp. was subleased to the Lance Theater Corp., New York City. Lease terms provide that the theater revert with the land to the owner upon the expiration of the lease.
The Strand Theater, recently modernized and redecorated, seats about 1,500. The immediate location was the site of the boyhood home of Andrew D. White, first president of Cornell University and distinguished diplomat.
Here is a 1937 photo by Berenice Abott. I bought the book of her photos the other day, “Changing New York 1935-1938”, and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys seeing NYC in the 1930s. http://tinyurl.com/kw3eks
Here is an April 1993 story from the Kerrville Times:
Sometimes a film may premier in Plaza Three Theaters on opening weekend, and sometimes it may never appear at all. Determining what will appear on the three screens is not as simple as it seems, said owner, film booker and Plaza theater manager Patrick Hall. “I can’t just pick any film I want,” Hall said. “There are a lot of variables to consider.” A Dallas agent helps Hall, of the family-owned Rio Entertainment Inc., and other small theaters book films. “It increases our buying powers,” Hall said. “He books for quite a few screens, but they all belong to a lot of different companies.” The agent keeps the theaters updated on what is available, makes recommendations and negotiates film prices.
Aspects Hall must consider when selecting a movie, he said, are what is available, how much a film company wants for it and how long the company wants the theater to play it. “I may have to hold off on a film so I can get one the next week that will do better,” Hall said. For example, Hall said he initially chose not to bring “Star Wars” to Kerrville because “they wanted me to play it eight weeks … To bring a movie to Kerrville for eight weeks, it has got to be a brand new ‘Star Wars’.” Should he have decided to bring in “Star Wars”, he said Kerrville may not have received movies like “Jerry McGuire” or “Absolute Power.” “We don’t have the time and screens to bring all the movies here — there are only so many weeks in a year,“ Hall said. "Sometimes we just have to make some bad choices.”
In other instances, limited releases can keep a movie from reaching Kerrville, With a number of larger theaters vying for a movie, “Kerrville is pretty low on the list” of those releasing films, Hall said. The movie “Mother” was one such film that had only 70 prints available for a four-state area. Hall said for the movie to run in Kerrville it had to be brought in from Macon, Ga.
Here are some 1984 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/n6x48c
http://tinyurl.com/kvdyh3
This is the front page of the Troy Record on June 17, 1944, reporting a blaze at the Griswold. Fire seemed to be a problem with this place.
http://tinyurl.com/m9qsyv
National Amusements is trying to sell this theater, along with 90 others in the chain.
This is from Boxoffice in January 1948:
CHESTER, CALIF.-On the eve of closing for remodeling, the Chester Theater was severely damaged by fire. Ed Blair, owner, said the loss of about $20,000 was only partially covered by insurance. Mr. and Mrs. Blair, whose home was in the rear of the theater, lost all their personal belongings.
The reason this maps out to Canada is because the street name is misspelled. It’s MacDonald, with the extra a. There is only one building left on the even side of the 400 block, but whether that’s the theater is anybody’s guess.
This is from Boxoffice in January 1948:
WOODLAND, CALIF.-Harry Lazzarini, manager of the State and Porter theaters since 1946, has purchased the Rio in Richmond from the Robert L. Lippert circuit.
That’s probably right. I saw the movie but it was years ago at some repertory place in Philly.
“It Couldn’t Happen to a Nicer Guy”, I think. That’s from memory, so I might be a little off.
“Slaughter on Tenth Avenue” opened in 1957, so that might narrow it down a bit.
I think this might be the only Pussycat that doesn’t have an aka. There might be one other but I can’t think of it at the moment.
He was still relatively unknown, as I recall. I think his first film was in 1952, so perhaps he didn’t merit star billing.
The theater address needs to be corrected. The actual address is 4501 E. Carson Street. There are several articles in the LA Times starting in 1977 and continuing through the late 1980s which confirm this. There should also be an aka of Pussycat Theater.
Here is an August 1970 photo from Life magazine:
http://tinyurl.com/n4arf6
Here is a December 1954 photo from Life magazine:
http://tinyurl.com/kjgrfk
Here is an undated color photo from Life magazine:
http://tinyurl.com/nhyybx
Here is an undated color photo from Life:
http://tinyurl.com/nofahs
This is from the Syracuse Herald Journal in August 1954:
Joseph F. Owens of 518 Bradford Parkway, Syracuse industrialist, has purchased the Strand Theater property at 501 S. Salina Street for investment. The site has a frontage of 100 feet on Salina Street and more than 137 feet on Harrison Street. All details of the sale were handled through Egan Real Estate.
The property leased from the Thomas F. Anderson Estate for theater purposes by the Strand Theater Corp. was subleased to the Lance Theater Corp., New York City. Lease terms provide that the theater revert with the land to the owner upon the expiration of the lease.
The Strand Theater, recently modernized and redecorated, seats about 1,500. The immediate location was the site of the boyhood home of Andrew D. White, first president of Cornell University and distinguished diplomat.
One more from the same date:
http://tinyurl.com/m7edo5
Here is a color photo from Life, dated 1954:
http://tinyurl.com/lqyulz
It’s here:
/theaters/1129/
Demolition photo, 1982:
http://tinyurl.com/n7nmdt
Here is a 1935 photo from the LAPL:
http://tinyurl.com/nkpfhh
Here is a 1937 photo by Berenice Abott. I bought the book of her photos the other day, “Changing New York 1935-1938”, and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys seeing NYC in the 1930s.
http://tinyurl.com/kw3eks
Here is a news story from August 2007 about the possible sale of the theater:
http://tinyurl.com/m2p6hd
Here is an April 1993 story from the Kerrville Times:
Sometimes a film may premier in Plaza Three Theaters on opening weekend, and sometimes it may never appear at all. Determining what will appear on the three screens is not as simple as it seems, said owner, film booker and Plaza theater manager Patrick Hall. “I can’t just pick any film I want,” Hall said. “There are a lot of variables to consider.” A Dallas agent helps Hall, of the family-owned Rio Entertainment Inc., and other small theaters book films. “It increases our buying powers,” Hall said. “He books for quite a few screens, but they all belong to a lot of different companies.” The agent keeps the theaters updated on what is available, makes recommendations and negotiates film prices.
Aspects Hall must consider when selecting a movie, he said, are what is available, how much a film company wants for it and how long the company wants the theater to play it. “I may have to hold off on a film so I can get one the next week that will do better,” Hall said. For example, Hall said he initially chose not to bring “Star Wars” to Kerrville because “they wanted me to play it eight weeks … To bring a movie to Kerrville for eight weeks, it has got to be a brand new ‘Star Wars’.” Should he have decided to bring in “Star Wars”, he said Kerrville may not have received movies like “Jerry McGuire” or “Absolute Power.” “We don’t have the time and screens to bring all the movies here — there are only so many weeks in a year,“ Hall said. "Sometimes we just have to make some bad choices.”
In other instances, limited releases can keep a movie from reaching Kerrville, With a number of larger theaters vying for a movie, “Kerrville is pretty low on the list” of those releasing films, Hall said. The movie “Mother” was one such film that had only 70 prints available for a four-state area. Hall said for the movie to run in Kerrville it had to be brought in from Macon, Ga.