The Rocket’s final ad in the local Daily Sentinel said it was showing “Summer School” and “Back to the Beach” on “FRI-SAT-SUN”. That ad ran through Labor Day, Sept. 5, 1987, all the way through Thursday, Sept. 10. It was gone on Friday, Sept. 11, so I’m guessing that the Rocket’s final night was Sept. 4.
This time, the answer to davidcoppock’s question took a little digging, though not a full year’s worth. (Sorry for the delay.) Tsaya is a Navajo word for “house under the rock,” and also the name of a trading post known to the Navajo near the Four Corners region.
That was pretty much the only use of the word until 2005, when Pablo Holman invented a small purse (or cell-phone holster) that straps to a woman’s thigh and named it the Tsaya. Was he thinking of the Navajo word when he did that? I’ll let you know if I ever find out.
(Update: That guy, Pablos Holman, wrote to explain that “Tsaya is the Japanese word for the sheath of a Samurai sword. Usually transliterated as "saya” though.“)
The Mountain Mail had an article on June 21, 2018 that provided the full history.
The building went up in 1888, replacing the Craig Opera that had burned down. The first event in the new Salida Opera House was a New Year’s Ever party featuring light from 75 electric bulbs.
The theater shut down from 1901 to 1914, when it reopened showing movies as the Empress Theatre.
A fire in January 1942 gutted the rear of what had become the Salida Theatre. It was renamed the Unique in 1966, “when it was owned by Louis (sic) and Mary Groy.”
In 2007, the city condemned the building. That year, Salcat Industries, owned by Bobby Hartslief of South Africa, bought the Unique and stabilized the building. In 2011 new owner Tim Pollak of Florence, Italy, razed the back of the building to save the front 40 feet and its façade. Later that decade, the inside was converted to three storefronts on the first floor and three condos on the second, and that’s what it looked like at the time of the article.
The Mountain Mail, June 2, 1966: “Thursday installation of the new marquee at the “new” theater in Salida was completed. At the same location as the Salida Theatre, Lewis Groy has completely remodeled the theatre inside and out and has given it a new name, the Unique. With close to 500 seats downstairs on the completely new concrete floor and with the inside and out showing a new coat of paint, the place really has the “new look.” ”
This theater reopened soon after BigScreen’s post as Peak Cinemas. New home page: http://peakcinemas.com/
Huerfano World Journal, March 21, 2019: “Peak Cinemas celebrated with a ribbon cutting on March 7, hosted by the Trinidad and Las Animas County Chamber of Commerce, marking new ownership and big changes. Formally (sic) the Movie Picture Showhouse, Peak Cinemas, at 3600 East Main Street in Trindad, welcomed a crowd of nearly 400 with a special day-early showing of the new Captain Marvel movie in all four theaters … New owners Kenneth and Robert Beck, a father-son duo, have come to an agreement with International Bank to revive Trinidad’s movie experience. Inspiration stuck for veterans Kenneth and Robert with the desire to reopen the Peak Cinema’s drive-in movie theater just down the road which has been closed since the late 1980’s. Looking to the future brings hopes of reopening the drive-in theater.”
Now home to Triple-H Self Storage, which lists its address as 22240 Highway 160, according to the Dec. 6, 2018 Huerfano World Journal. The photo accompanying the story showed the old Trail concession / projection building still there.
Considering the Motion Picture Almanac dates above, this was probably the end. Boxoffice, April 18, 1977: “Erratic weather patterns created a dust storm with high winds which destroyed the screen tower of the Starlite Drive-In, Rocky Ford, and partially destroyed the tower in the LaJunta Drive-In.”
Photo by Marti Dodge, according to its undated postcard, published by McGrew Color Graphics of Kansas City MO. I don’t know its copyright status, but I’d bet money that it’s not CC licensed.
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Nov. 23, 1966: “The Black Hills Amusement Co. will operate the State hardtop and the Soui (sic) Drive-In, Rapid City, S.D. The firm also runs the Elk and Rapid houses and two drive-ins in the city. Former owners were John and Tom George.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, April 9, 1958: “Les Dollison has opened the new 500-seat Loma, Socorro, N. M. It replaces the former Loma, which burned some time back.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, April 17, 1957: “The Midway Drive-In, near Lilbourne (sic), Mo., has been taken over by Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Giddens from owner Bill Fitzpatrick.”
And here’s one more name, from Motion Picture Exhibitor, April 17, 1957: “The Grandee (sic?) Drive-In, Sullivan, Mo., is being operated this season by Mr. and Mrs. High Graham, former Webster operators here (in St. Louis).”
This photo, commissioned by the Ballantyne Company, was published in the 1960 Theatre Catalog, AKA the April 6, 1960 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, which I believe is in the public domain.
Published as part of the Adler Silhouette Letter Co. ad in the 1960 Theatre Catalog, AKA the April 6, 1960 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, which I believe is in the public domain.
irpworks was right about an amazing wealth of Lubbock theater pictures available, but his link no longer works. What you need to look for is the Winston Reeves Photograph Collection at Texas Tech University. When the link I supplied gets broken by some Tech reshuffling a decade or two from now, at least you’ll know where to look.
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 14, 1962: “W. O. Bearden has closed the Chief, Lubbock, Tex., which he has owned and operated for 23 years. He stated that he should have closed the theatre long before but had kept it open for sentimental reasons. Beardon also operates the Arcadia, indoors, and the Red Raider, Westerner, and Golden Horseshoe drive-ins, Lubbock, plus holdings in Amarillo, Tex., and Clivis (sic), N.M.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 14, 1962: “W. O. Bearden has closed the Chief, Lubbock, Tex., which he has owned and operated for 23 years. He stated that he should have closed the theatre long before but had kept it open for sentimental reasons. Beardon also operates the Arcadia, indoors, and the Red Raider, Westerner, and Golden Horseshoe drive-ins, Lubbock, plus holdings in Amarillo, Tex., and Clivis (sic), N.M.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 7, 1962: “Mrs. Bill Petty has taken over the operation of the Roxy and Rex, indoor, and the 55 Drive-In, Munday, Tex. Her husband spends most of his time on a ranch near Munday recuperating from a heart ailment. They have a son who looks after the operation of the theatres.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Jan. 10, 1962: “The Moto-Vu Drive-In, Warrenton, Mo., is being dismantled, and reports are the property will be used as a trailer court."
Motion Picture Exhibitor, April 18, 1962: “Eugene Tacke will build a new drive-in at Warrenton, Mo., on the site of the old Moto-Vu, which was razed last year.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Aug. 1, 1962: “Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Tacke who operate the Vita and the Moto-Vue Drive-In, Warrenton, Mo., have written to friends here saying they are vacationing in Minnesota and will not return until October when they will reopen the Vita.”
I guess they expected to open a few months sooner. Motion Picture Exhibitor, Dec. 20, 1961: “Dave Ayoub and George Ogdee have opened the new 77 Drive-In in the San Benito-Harlingen, Tex., area.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Dec. 20, 1961: “Buford Kanz, Pioneer Drive-In, Cross Plains, Tex., has accepted a position in Mount Carmel, Ill., and his parents will operate the drive-in during his absence.”
The Rocket’s final ad in the local Daily Sentinel said it was showing “Summer School” and “Back to the Beach” on “FRI-SAT-SUN”. That ad ran through Labor Day, Sept. 5, 1987, all the way through Thursday, Sept. 10. It was gone on Friday, Sept. 11, so I’m guessing that the Rocket’s final night was Sept. 4.
This time, the answer to davidcoppock’s question took a little digging, though not a full year’s worth. (Sorry for the delay.) Tsaya is a Navajo word for “house under the rock,” and also the name of a trading post known to the Navajo near the Four Corners region.
That was pretty much the only use of the word until 2005, when Pablo Holman invented a small purse (or cell-phone holster) that straps to a woman’s thigh and named it the Tsaya. Was he thinking of the Navajo word when he did that? I’ll let you know if I ever find out.
(Update: That guy, Pablos Holman, wrote to explain that “Tsaya is the Japanese word for the sheath of a Samurai sword. Usually transliterated as "saya” though.“)
The Mountain Mail had an article on June 21, 2018 that provided the full history.
The building went up in 1888, replacing the Craig Opera that had burned down. The first event in the new Salida Opera House was a New Year’s Ever party featuring light from 75 electric bulbs.
The theater shut down from 1901 to 1914, when it reopened showing movies as the Empress Theatre.
A fire in January 1942 gutted the rear of what had become the Salida Theatre. It was renamed the Unique in 1966, “when it was owned by Louis (sic) and Mary Groy.”
In 2007, the city condemned the building. That year, Salcat Industries, owned by Bobby Hartslief of South Africa, bought the Unique and stabilized the building. In 2011 new owner Tim Pollak of Florence, Italy, razed the back of the building to save the front 40 feet and its façade. Later that decade, the inside was converted to three storefronts on the first floor and three condos on the second, and that’s what it looked like at the time of the article.
The Mountain Mail, June 2, 1966: “Thursday installation of the new marquee at the “new” theater in Salida was completed. At the same location as the Salida Theatre, Lewis Groy has completely remodeled the theatre inside and out and has given it a new name, the Unique. With close to 500 seats downstairs on the completely new concrete floor and with the inside and out showing a new coat of paint, the place really has the “new look.” ”
This theater reopened soon after BigScreen’s post as Peak Cinemas. New home page: http://peakcinemas.com/
Huerfano World Journal, March 21, 2019: “Peak Cinemas celebrated with a ribbon cutting on March 7, hosted by the Trinidad and Las Animas County Chamber of Commerce, marking new ownership and big changes. Formally (sic) the Movie Picture Showhouse, Peak Cinemas, at 3600 East Main Street in Trindad, welcomed a crowd of nearly 400 with a special day-early showing of the new Captain Marvel movie in all four theaters … New owners Kenneth and Robert Beck, a father-son duo, have come to an agreement with International Bank to revive Trinidad’s movie experience. Inspiration stuck for veterans Kenneth and Robert with the desire to reopen the Peak Cinema’s drive-in movie theater just down the road which has been closed since the late 1980’s. Looking to the future brings hopes of reopening the drive-in theater.”
Now home to Triple-H Self Storage, which lists its address as 22240 Highway 160, according to the Dec. 6, 2018 Huerfano World Journal. The photo accompanying the story showed the old Trail concession / projection building still there.
Considering the Motion Picture Almanac dates above, this was probably the end. Boxoffice, April 18, 1977: “Erratic weather patterns created a dust storm with high winds which destroyed the screen tower of the Starlite Drive-In, Rocky Ford, and partially destroyed the tower in the LaJunta Drive-In.”
Photo by Marti Dodge, according to its undated postcard, published by McGrew Color Graphics of Kansas City MO. I don’t know its copyright status, but I’d bet money that it’s not CC licensed.
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Nov. 23, 1966: “The Black Hills Amusement Co. will operate the State hardtop and the Soui (sic) Drive-In, Rapid City, S.D. The firm also runs the Elk and Rapid houses and two drive-ins in the city. Former owners were John and Tom George.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, April 9, 1958: “Les Dollison has opened the new 500-seat Loma, Socorro, N. M. It replaces the former Loma, which burned some time back.”
From the April 24, 1957 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, which I believe to be in the public domain.
From the April 24, 1957 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, which I believe to be in the public domain.
Motion Picture Exhibitor, April 17, 1957: “The Midway Drive-In, near Lilbourne (sic), Mo., has been taken over by Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Giddens from owner Bill Fitzpatrick.”
And here’s one more name, from Motion Picture Exhibitor, April 17, 1957: “The Grandee (sic?) Drive-In, Sullivan, Mo., is being operated this season by Mr. and Mrs. High Graham, former Webster operators here (in St. Louis).”
This photo, commissioned by the Ballantyne Company, was published in the 1960 Theatre Catalog, AKA the April 6, 1960 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, which I believe is in the public domain.
Published as part of the Adler Silhouette Letter Co. ad in the 1960 Theatre Catalog, AKA the April 6, 1960 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor, which I believe is in the public domain.
Published in the 1961 Theatre Catalog (AKA the April 12, 1961 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor), which I believe is in the public domain.
irpworks was right about an amazing wealth of Lubbock theater pictures available, but his link no longer works. What you need to look for is the Winston Reeves Photograph Collection at Texas Tech University. When the link I supplied gets broken by some Tech reshuffling a decade or two from now, at least you’ll know where to look.
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 14, 1962: “W. O. Bearden has closed the Chief, Lubbock, Tex., which he has owned and operated for 23 years. He stated that he should have closed the theatre long before but had kept it open for sentimental reasons. Beardon also operates the Arcadia, indoors, and the Red Raider, Westerner, and Golden Horseshoe drive-ins, Lubbock, plus holdings in Amarillo, Tex., and Clivis (sic), N.M.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 14, 1962: “W. O. Bearden has closed the Chief, Lubbock, Tex., which he has owned and operated for 23 years. He stated that he should have closed the theatre long before but had kept it open for sentimental reasons. Beardon also operates the Arcadia, indoors, and the Red Raider, Westerner, and Golden Horseshoe drive-ins, Lubbock, plus holdings in Amarillo, Tex., and Clivis (sic), N.M.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, March 7, 1962: “Mrs. Bill Petty has taken over the operation of the Roxy and Rex, indoor, and the 55 Drive-In, Munday, Tex. Her husband spends most of his time on a ranch near Munday recuperating from a heart ailment. They have a son who looks after the operation of the theatres.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Feb. 21, 1962: “The North Drive-In, which opened Feb. 2 for the season, is being taken over by the Wehrenberg Circuit.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Jan. 10, 1962: “The Moto-Vu Drive-In, Warrenton, Mo., is being dismantled, and reports are the property will be used as a trailer court."
Motion Picture Exhibitor, April 18, 1962: “Eugene Tacke will build a new drive-in at Warrenton, Mo., on the site of the old Moto-Vu, which was razed last year.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Aug. 1, 1962: “Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Tacke who operate the Vita and the Moto-Vue Drive-In, Warrenton, Mo., have written to friends here saying they are vacationing in Minnesota and will not return until October when they will reopen the Vita.”
I guess they expected to open a few months sooner. Motion Picture Exhibitor, Dec. 20, 1961: “Dave Ayoub and George Ogdee have opened the new 77 Drive-In in the San Benito-Harlingen, Tex., area.”
Motion Picture Exhibitor, Dec. 20, 1961: “Buford Kanz, Pioneer Drive-In, Cross Plains, Tex., has accepted a position in Mount Carmel, Ill., and his parents will operate the drive-in during his absence.”