This web page says that a style 110 Wurlitzer organ, opus 421, was installed in the Hub Theatre in 1921. It was replaced by a style E Wurlitzer, opus 1101, in 1925. The Hub was most likely this project noted in the June 11, 1921 issue of Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide:
“Irving Margon, 355 East 149th st, has completed plans for a 1-sty brick moving picture theatre, 50x151x50x122 ft. on the south side of Westchester av, 128 ft south of Bergen av, for A. Santini, 441 East 149th st. owner. Cost, $70,000.”
The Pantheon Theatre was designed by architects Margon & Glaser (Irving Margon and Charles Glaser.) It was extensively remodeled in 1928, and
was renamed the Kelton Theatre in July of that year. It was closed around 1930.
The July 3, 1909 issue of Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide ran this brief item about an expansion of the Unique Theatre:
“ 14TH ST, Nos. 134-136 East, l-sty brick rear extension, 46x32, girders to 4-sty brick theatre; cost, $15,000; owner. S. Schinasi. 1 West 95th st; architect, S. S. Sugar, 113 East 19th st. Plan No. 1555.”
S. S. Sugar would soon move his office to 42nd Street.
There are three photos and a floor plan of Loew’s Seventh Avenue Theatre on pages 354 and 355 of the October, 1910 issue of Architects' and Builders' Magazine (scan at Google Books.)
The Schine circuit took over operation of the Strand in 1944, according to a March 21, 2015 article in the Cumberland Times-News. The Strand’s last day of Operation was September 4, 1972.
The March, 1912 issue of Architecture & Building has several photos and drawings of Loew’s Greeley Square Theatre starting on page 134 (Google Books scan.)
A Reproduco organ had recently been installed in the Maple Heights Theatre at Maple Heights, Ohio, according to an ad for the Reproduco company in the July 7, 1928 issue of Exhibitors Herald The house and its manager, Charles Pelcnik, were also mentioned in the November 3, 1928 issue of Universal Weekly. The October 20, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Herald ran this item:
“Selected Theatres Circuit has sold the Maple Heights theatre building consisting of the 1600-seat theatre, two stores and an upstairs suite to Anna and Jerry Hridel of the Janda Furniture Co., who will convert the property into another furniture store.”
The New Family Theatre was still operating under that name in 1925, when it was mentioned in several issues of The Moving Picture World in March and April. One item said that the new owners, Fitzpatrick and McElroy, were planning to remodel the house. As the name of the house was New Family in the December 4, 1915 item I noted in my previous comment any move from 31 N. Main to 114 N. Main probably took place before then.
The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists only the New Family Theatre (with no adress) and the Maple City Theatre as 31 S. Main Street.
This article from the August 22, 2014 issue of the Hiawatha World says that the Arrow Theatre originally opened in 1973. The house closed in 2014 due to the high cost of conversion to digital projection.
The July 24, 1964 issue of the Morgantown Post ran an article about the 40th Anniversary show at the Metropolitan Theatre, to take place that evening with a presentation of the 1924 silent movie “Blood and Sand.” A piano would substitute for the organ, dismantled in the early 1940s, which had accompanied the movies in the theater’s early years. The Metropolitan had regularly featured Keith-Orpheum vaudeville acts in its early years, and the house survived being gutted by a fire in the early 1930s
There were two houses called the Swisher Theatre in Morgantown, but I’ve been unable to discover if they were on the same or different sites. Swisher’s Theatre, a 700-seat, second-floor house, was listed in the 1901-1902 Cahn guide. In the 1909-1910 guide the Swisher Theatre is listed as a ground floor house with 1,350 seats.
The second Swisher was built in 1904-1906 according to a 1912 book, Genealogical and Personal History of the Upper Monongahela Valley, West Virginia, by Bernard L. Butcher. Howard L. Swisher was the owner of the theaters, and active in their management for a number of years.
As the Cahn guide lists the Walnut Street Theatre as a 700-seat, second floor theater, it is possible that it was the house built in 1895 as part of the Odd Fellows Lodge building, at the corner of Walnut and High Street.
Here is a bit of information about the first Palace Theatre from the March 11, 1922 issue of Exhibitors Trade Review:“The old Star Theatre at Sheppton, Pa., run for years by Michael Dromboski, manager of the Herseker Theatre at West Hazleton, Pa., has been re-christened the Palace by the new owner, Angelo Bott, who also holds the Liberty Theatre at Nuremberg, Pa.”Sheppton also once had a house called the Rex Theatre, the remodeling of which was noted in a couple of trade journals in April, 1941.
There are photos of the building at 129-131 North Brand with both theater names on it, so there’s no doubt that the 1914 Palace Grand become the TD&L sometime in the early 1920s. Unless the 1917 directory also has a theater with yet another name listed at the North Brand address, it most likely simply got the Palace Grand’s address wrong.
The second JEM Theatre didn’t operate for long after opening in September, 1940, to replace the first JEM next door which had been ruined by a fire in April. In 1943 the new house was converted into a bowling alley, which closed in 1947. The building remained vacant for fourteen years, until it was restored for theatrical use in 1961. The JEM has managed to remain in operation since then, converting to digital projection in 2011.
An Orient Theatre at Harmony, Minnesota, was mentioned in the August 17, 1918 issue of The Moving Picture World. A history of the house on the current JEM Theatre’s web site says that the Orient was at 20 Main Ave. North. It was bought by J. M. Rostvold in December, 1935, and renamed the JEM Theatre.
The original theater building was seriously damaged by a fire on April 25, 1940. Rostvold then built the New JEM on the lot next door at 14 Main Ave. North, opening it in September, 1940. The original theater building was repaired and converted to retail space.
Harry Beeson’s West End Theatre was described in the 1909-1910 Cahn guide as a 1,800-seat, ground floor house with a stage 62 feet between side walls and 43 feet from the footlights to the back wall. The height to the rigging loft was 60 feet. There were six players in the orchestra.
A History of Uniontown: The County Seat of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, By James Hadden, published in 1913, says that the West End Theatre opened on October 20, 1903 with a play titled “The Sultan of Sulu.”
The Park Theatre was renovated in 1946 by the State Theater Company of Point Pleasant, as noted in a brief article headed “Theater Work Completed” in the July 11, 1946 issue of The Athens Messenger from Athens, Ohio. The article said that State had bought the house from the Alpine Theater Circuit several months previously and had begun renovations immediately, but work had been delayed by shortages of equipment and materials. Improvements included new sound and projection equipment and a new heating plant and air conditioning. The stage was also enlarged, and the outer lobby enclosed.
I just found this item in the August 20, 1936 issue of The Film Daily:
“Pomeroy, O. — Incorporators of the Meigs Theater Co., opening a new movie theater here Sept. 1, are Walter B. Urling, R. T. Jennings and George Davis.”
The July 29 issue of the same journal had said that the new theater in Pomeroy would be “…in the upper business block….” which is another indication that the Meigs was probably on 2nd Street.
The August 24 issue of Film Daily noted that the Alpine Theatre Company, which had plans to open a new theater in the Masonic Building at Middleport, was also reconditioning a theater in Pomeroy. It’s possible that the house in question was the Electric.
A house in Middleport called the Gem Theatre was mentioned in the September 30, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World. Then there is this item from the March 1, 1924 issue of the same journal:
:“MIDDLEPORT, O.— J. E. Lyons has plans by John Niskee, Huntington, W. Va., for one-story brick moving picture theatre, 113 by 36 feet.”
Middleport is mentioned again in the August 24, 1936 issue of The Film Daily:
“New Theater for Middleport
“Middleport, 0. — – Alpine Theater Co. has leased the Masonic Temple here for a theater, and work of remodeling will be started immediately. The same company is also re-conditioning a theater at Pomeroy.”
This undated photo from the Meigs County Library shows an early and quite attractive movie theater at left, but it is located on Mill Street. It’s name is not discernible Perhaps this was the Gem.
The Meigs Theatre and Electric Theatre were two different houses. The Electric was in an ordinary commercial building while the Meigs was in a converted church, and sat on a rise above the street with a long stairway and ramp leading up to the entrance. Here is a photo of the Meigs Theatre.
As the building at 236 Main is an ordinary commercial block I’m assuming it was the Electric Theatre. I’ve been unable to find an address for the Meigs Theatre, but I don’t see a rise such as it occupied anywhere along Main Street in Google street views so it might have been on 2nd Street, which is one short block above Main Street.
This web page says that a style 110 Wurlitzer organ, opus 421, was installed in the Hub Theatre in 1921. It was replaced by a style E Wurlitzer, opus 1101, in 1925. The Hub was most likely this project noted in the June 11, 1921 issue of Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide:
The Pantheon Theatre was designed by architects Margon & Glaser (Irving Margon and Charles Glaser.) It was extensively remodeled in 1928, and was renamed the Kelton Theatre in July of that year. It was closed around 1930.
The July 3, 1909 issue of Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide ran this brief item about an expansion of the Unique Theatre:
S. S. Sugar would soon move his office to 42nd Street.There are three photos and a floor plan of Loew’s Seventh Avenue Theatre on pages 354 and 355 of the October, 1910 issue of Architects' and Builders' Magazine (scan at Google Books.)
The Schine circuit took over operation of the Strand in 1944, according to a March 21, 2015 article in the Cumberland Times-News. The Strand’s last day of Operation was September 4, 1972.
bamtino’s very first comment on this theater says that it opened on November 18, 1911.
The March, 1912 issue of Architecture & Building has several photos and drawings of Loew’s Greeley Square Theatre starting on page 134 (Google Books scan.)
A Reproduco organ had recently been installed in the Maple Heights Theatre at Maple Heights, Ohio, according to an ad for the Reproduco company in the July 7, 1928 issue of Exhibitors Herald The house and its manager, Charles Pelcnik, were also mentioned in the November 3, 1928 issue of Universal Weekly. The October 20, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Herald ran this item:
The New Family Theatre was still operating under that name in 1925, when it was mentioned in several issues of The Moving Picture World in March and April. One item said that the new owners, Fitzpatrick and McElroy, were planning to remodel the house. As the name of the house was New Family in the December 4, 1915 item I noted in my previous comment any move from 31 N. Main to 114 N. Main probably took place before then.
The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists only the New Family Theatre (with no adress) and the Maple City Theatre as 31 S. Main Street.
This article from the August 22, 2014 issue of the Hiawatha World says that the Arrow Theatre originally opened in 1973. The house closed in 2014 due to the high cost of conversion to digital projection.
The July 24, 1964 issue of the Morgantown Post ran an article about the 40th Anniversary show at the Metropolitan Theatre, to take place that evening with a presentation of the 1924 silent movie “Blood and Sand.” A piano would substitute for the organ, dismantled in the early 1940s, which had accompanied the movies in the theater’s early years. The Metropolitan had regularly featured Keith-Orpheum vaudeville acts in its early years, and the house survived being gutted by a fire in the early 1930s
There were two houses called the Swisher Theatre in Morgantown, but I’ve been unable to discover if they were on the same or different sites. Swisher’s Theatre, a 700-seat, second-floor house, was listed in the 1901-1902 Cahn guide. In the 1909-1910 guide the Swisher Theatre is listed as a ground floor house with 1,350 seats.
The second Swisher was built in 1904-1906 according to a 1912 book, Genealogical and Personal History of the Upper Monongahela Valley, West Virginia, by Bernard L. Butcher. Howard L. Swisher was the owner of the theaters, and active in their management for a number of years.
As the Cahn guide lists the Walnut Street Theatre as a 700-seat, second floor theater, it is possible that it was the house built in 1895 as part of the Odd Fellows Lodge building, at the corner of Walnut and High Street.
The Warner Theatre opened on June 12, 1931 with the George Arliss film “Millionaire.”
Here is a bit of information about the first Palace Theatre from the March 11, 1922 issue of Exhibitors Trade Review:“The old Star Theatre at Sheppton, Pa., run for years by Michael Dromboski, manager of the Herseker Theatre at West Hazleton, Pa., has been re-christened the Palace by the new owner, Angelo Bott, who also holds the Liberty Theatre at Nuremberg, Pa.”Sheppton also once had a house called the Rex Theatre, the remodeling of which was noted in a couple of trade journals in April, 1941.
AKA Orpheum Theatre around 1929, per John Keiler’s obituary of May 24.
There are photos of the building at 129-131 North Brand with both theater names on it, so there’s no doubt that the 1914 Palace Grand become the TD&L sometime in the early 1920s. Unless the 1917 directory also has a theater with yet another name listed at the North Brand address, it most likely simply got the Palace Grand’s address wrong.
The second JEM Theatre didn’t operate for long after opening in September, 1940, to replace the first JEM next door which had been ruined by a fire in April. In 1943 the new house was converted into a bowling alley, which closed in 1947. The building remained vacant for fourteen years, until it was restored for theatrical use in 1961. The JEM has managed to remain in operation since then, converting to digital projection in 2011.
An Orient Theatre at Harmony, Minnesota, was mentioned in the August 17, 1918 issue of The Moving Picture World. A history of the house on the current JEM Theatre’s web site says that the Orient was at 20 Main Ave. North. It was bought by J. M. Rostvold in December, 1935, and renamed the JEM Theatre.
The original theater building was seriously damaged by a fire on April 25, 1940. Rostvold then built the New JEM on the lot next door at 14 Main Ave. North, opening it in September, 1940. The original theater building was repaired and converted to retail space.
Harry Beeson’s West End Theatre was described in the 1909-1910 Cahn guide as a 1,800-seat, ground floor house with a stage 62 feet between side walls and 43 feet from the footlights to the back wall. The height to the rigging loft was 60 feet. There were six players in the orchestra.
A History of Uniontown: The County Seat of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, By James Hadden, published in 1913, says that the West End Theatre opened on October 20, 1903 with a play titled “The Sultan of Sulu.”
The Park Theatre was renovated in 1946 by the State Theater Company of Point Pleasant, as noted in a brief article headed “Theater Work Completed” in the July 11, 1946 issue of The Athens Messenger from Athens, Ohio. The article said that State had bought the house from the Alpine Theater Circuit several months previously and had begun renovations immediately, but work had been delayed by shortages of equipment and materials. Improvements included new sound and projection equipment and a new heating plant and air conditioning. The stage was also enlarged, and the outer lobby enclosed.
I just found this item in the August 20, 1936 issue of The Film Daily:
The July 29 issue of the same journal had said that the new theater in Pomeroy would be “…in the upper business block….” which is another indication that the Meigs was probably on 2nd Street.The August 24 issue of Film Daily noted that the Alpine Theatre Company, which had plans to open a new theater in the Masonic Building at Middleport, was also reconditioning a theater in Pomeroy. It’s possible that the house in question was the Electric.
A house in Middleport called the Gem Theatre was mentioned in the September 30, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World. Then there is this item from the March 1, 1924 issue of the same journal:
Middleport is mentioned again in the August 24, 1936 issue of The Film Daily:This undated photo from the Meigs County Library shows an early and quite attractive movie theater at left, but it is located on Mill Street. It’s name is not discernible Perhaps this was the Gem.The Meigs Theatre and Electric Theatre were two different houses. The Electric was in an ordinary commercial building while the Meigs was in a converted church, and sat on a rise above the street with a long stairway and ramp leading up to the entrance. Here is a photo of the Meigs Theatre.
As the building at 236 Main is an ordinary commercial block I’m assuming it was the Electric Theatre. I’ve been unable to find an address for the Meigs Theatre, but I don’t see a rise such as it occupied anywhere along Main Street in Google street views so it might have been on 2nd Street, which is one short block above Main Street.
Official opening date was January 16, 1922.