The significance of this theatre is that it was completely destroyed by a May 6th, 1930 tornado still considered one of the Top 10 most destructive twisters in the history of Texas. The Frost had just made the conversion to sound films choosing the Wright-DeCoster sound system for its playout. But within months, the entire town of Frost was basically obliterated by the aforementioned tornado. The Frost Theatre was not operating during the deadly storm that cost more than 10% of the town their lives and the entire agricultural season to be wrecked.
There are multiple shots of the entire business district and town in ruins with one appearing faintly showing the remnants of the theater building next to the neighboring bank. (It’s in the photos section.) Frost Theatre owner V.B. Young survived the storm and pledged to rebuild the theatre in roughly the same spot as the original. It is not believed that he accomplished his goal and the neighboring bank took a bit more of a footprint in its relatively quick rebuilding.
In 1935, Charles Barker rebuilt and opened the new Frost Theatre with Jim Shirley. A projection booth fire on November 11, 1944 appears to have ended operations there. Due to War material shortages, Barker appears to have converted an existing retail building to a third and final location using the Frost Theatre moniker. (And if it continued in the same spot, that can be corrected.)
The Frost changed hands with Mr. and Mrs. Ross Willoughby operating it for two years after the War. Jonas Jantz and his wife ran it into the 1950s but Mr. Jantz died November 4, 1956. The theatre appears to have closed not long after his passing. (The town’s population had dropped to under 600 making further theater operation challenging especially in the television era.) The building was converted for other purposes.
The Gem Theatre appears to have opened on May 4, 1911 with a live band event. However, it was predominately a film theatre with some live events and vaudeville in its programming mix. Business in town was boosted in 1917 when the only theatre in nearby La Belle just 6 miles away burned down. At that point, there were two movie theaters in the small town as the opera house largely converted to movies under the Princess Theatre nameplate. The Gem hosted the film, “Battle Cry for Peace,” with a live orchestra in November of 1917. That was the film to have played in La Belle at its Crystal Theatre the day it burned down. “The Covered Wagon” was one of the theater’s biggest silent era hits in the history of the Gem.
In 1930, the Gem installed Gates Motiotone sound to play talking pictures. W.E. Porter closed the venue for the summer in 1933 returing to reopen it in September of that year. The theatre closed due to business conditions later though was relaunched by Mertz Film Amusement Company in 1937 with a refresh. Once again, it closed effectively ending business as the Gem in September of 1939. It was sold at a trustee auction to a group of local merchants in October of 1939 and was used as a community center with some sporadic film screenings apparently not under the Gem nameplate.
The Rialto opened August 6, 1940 as the replacement to the burned down Rex Theatre. First film, “His Girl Friday.” The Theatre closed permanently on February 21, 1955 with Jesse James vs. the Daltons. A minor fire after that screening led to a seat sale and the building was repaired and used for other retail purposes. In 1970, the building housed the local public library.
The Hippodrome launched September 4, 1911 with two Mutual photoplays, a big feature and vaudeville acts. Cady & Hiele programmed the venue which wasn’t quite completed at the first show and could not handle the crowd which fell short of a full house. The venue had an airdome adjacent to it, as well.
Sol Burka took on the venue in 1922 and, after a refresh, he reopened as the Blue Ridge Theatre on April 17, 1922 with Paramount movies. The opening title was Gloria Swanson in “The Great Moment.” Vaudeville was from B.F. Keith when programmed. The theater closed the expiry of 15-year lease.
Reading the local paper, the Royal Theatre was completely destroyed on February 1, 1924. If you’re keeping score, the Royal fire also destroyed the neighboring Shoop Motor Garage, the White Front Garage, the North Side Cafe, and the Green City U.S. Post Office. Flames shot up as high as 150 feet as explosives were in three of the buildings - the two garages and the movie theatre.
If the trade press is correct, George Sommers moved the movie screenings to the existing opera house until a new theatre was created. The new Royal Theatre opened but transitioned names at least twice early in the sound era.
The Lindina launched July 29, 1932 with Hoot Gibson in “Wild Horses” and Dolores del Rio in “Girl of the Rio.” In 1942, the theatre was taken on by the Pirtle Theatre Circuit. It closed on May 27, 1956 as the last theatre in operation between Kirksville, Missouri and Quincy, Illinois.
Winoko Corporation opened the Spa Motor Movie Drive-In on June 22, 1950 with “Canyon Passage.” The original name of the venue was due to Excelsior Springs' being established as a spa community in the 1880s and whose fame peaked in 1948 when Harry S. Truman stayed at the Elms Hotel and Spa in 1948 on the night he was informed of his projected loss to Thomas Dewey and then his win the next morning when the results were more fully tallied.
The Spa was sold to Commonwealth Circuit who reopened for the 1953 season on April 17, 1953 changing from the Spa Motor Movie to the Pines Drive-In with “Bonzo Goes to College.” It was never called the Spa Motor-Vu although it’s a great name.
As the River Oaks Theatre adult cinema, the venue opened with Denyse Roland in “The D(irty) Girls” and Marla Ellis “Warm Nights and Hot Pleasures” (upper left) on January 4, 1967. As the ads state, the River Oaks was in River Oaks - in case there was any confusion.
It may well have ended at the River Oaks in River Oaks with Karen Drake in “The House of Cats” and Janet Damon in “The Fat Black Pussycat” (bottom right). Protests were abundant in January and February of 1967 and once the adult movies were gone, everybody knew that no other type of film would draw attention to the River Oaks which was demolished two years later.
Technically, this opened and closed as the River Oaks Theater. It launched for Interstate Theatres Circuit on April 27, 1945 with “Here Come the Waves.” The theatre was subleased in 1952 when Interstate divested of many theaters as a result of the Paramount decree.
As an independent , it switched to widescreen projection showing CinemaScope titles beginning on January 3, 1955. The operator bolted after a 20-year leasing expiry closing on December 13, 1964 with a double-feature of “Hell is for Heroes” and “Son of Captain Blood.
Ted Gould decided to take on the theatre rebranding it as the Riviera Theatre on March 12, 1965 with “Elmer Gantry” opening the venue. That ended after less than 18 months on September 4, 1966 with Peter Noone in “Hold On” and David Niven in “Where the Spies Are.”
The theatre returned in January of 1967 under the River Oaks Theater nameplate as an adult theater. Successful protests ended that operation soon thereafter in 1967 and it never screened movies. again although it hosted live political events in 1968.
The River Oaks was razed in 1969 and replaced with a new location of White’s Auto Store and garage. That opened on April 23, 1970.
38 Jennings Avenue was the address for this theatre that closed as the Savoy Theatre on March 28, 1919 with live operatic performances. The building was converted later in the year to an auto garage.
Eugene Low, Jr. launched the Low’s Theatre on June 14, 1935 with “Folies Bergere de Paris” to complement his Low’s Rialto Theatre in downtown Refugio. On June 1, 1937, Low sold both venues to F.R. Hansen and Jack Pickens of San Antonio. The pair renamed the venues as the Rialto Theatre (immediately dropping Low’s) and, after a refresh, the Rig Theatre reopened on October 29, 1937 with June Travis in “Join the Marines.” N. Bergvall was the architect. The theatre closed in 1942 for three years though used for some live events and in support of the War efforts.
With a growing Hispanic population, the theatre changed its policy at another reopening on September 16, 1945 showing Spanish-language films. After another closure and refresh, the theatre switched to widescreen to show CinemaScope at a final relaunch on December 24, 1954. That appears to have been the last effort with the theatre closing in 1955.
The Rialto launched for Henry Hall and Hall Industries on July 19, 1931 with Richard Arlen in “The Secret Call” supported by a Paramount newsreel and the short, “Bare Knees” starring Daphne Pollard (see ad in Photos). It was said to have been the town’s first ever new-build facilities for motion pictures and replaced the Majestic Theatre.
The Richlands Mall Twin Cinema was designed by Cunningham, Weaver, Foreman and Bailey Architects of Atlanta and was at the rear of the mall. It was an original tenant of the mall and its placement allowed for quick entry after parking and operation after the mall closed. It opened with the mall as an original tenant in 1980 and closed at the expiry of lease under a non-original operator.
Guys Theatre and the new Star were run by Flanary, Sr, from 1939 until his death in 1946. Flanary Jr. designed the new-build Flanary to replace the Guys in December 1948. The Star and Flanary were then joined by the Guy’s Drive-In in 1950. The Flanary converted to widescreen and the Star would fade. The town operated wrh just two theaters - the hardtop Flanary and Guy’s Drive-in thereafter. Both closed at the end of 30-year leases.
After successfully showing Keystone Studio films at the independent Palms Theatre in 1913, Mutual Studios - the releasing company for Keystone - had the new-build Keystone Theatre designed by Fermer S. Cannon to additionally house the local branch of Mutual Studios Releasing offices. The Keystone launched on a 10-year lease on May 1, 1914. This was timed out well with the ultra popular Charlie Chaplin films that he made in his contract with Keystone in 1914.
Keystone Studios faded three years later but the venue kept its name for the run of the lease.The main advantages for moving the Keystone titles from the Palms to the Keystone was their popularity outstripped the diminutive 300-seat Palms and Mutual could get a more favorable split of the revenue by eliminating the independent Palms operator into the owned and operated 600-seat Keystone. Once Chaplin left Keystone and better movie venues were built, the Keystone just slid tier by tier under several operators to oblivion.
The Keystone had been an important part of Indy’s “Movie Lane” / “Film Row” which found so many theatres packed into a small part of town; these theaters included The Palms / Alamo, the Lyric, the Lenwood, the Alhambra, the Ambassador, the Crystal, et al. The theaters were close to the Terminal Building - a main hub of activity in downtown Indianapolis. At the end of its initial lease, the theatre was renamed as the Alamo Theatre beginning April 13, 1924 on a new 20-year lease. At the end of that lease, it had a final15-year lease renamed as the Rodeo Theatre playing westerns for the most part beginning on November 16, 1945. It was later demolished.
Since Guy Flanary, Jr. placed the family surname as “Flanary” on the Flanary Theatre which remained there for three decades, there is no question that the name is Robert Guy “R.G.” Flanary. Thanks for September 20, 1950 opening date.
The Ace was built as an open-air theatre in the 1920s. The Wometco Circuit took it on in 1935 and purchased it outright in 1938. It received its roof at that time and then was rebuilt as a more traditional, streamline modern movie house in 1945. Wometco closed it as a movie venue in 1967 and it became a house of worship from that point until being boarded up in 1977.
The Strand announced that it would close permanently at the end of December 2021 saying that COVID-19 had led to higher costs of operation without a return to pre-pandemic audience levels.
The significance of this theatre is that it was completely destroyed by a May 6th, 1930 tornado still considered one of the Top 10 most destructive twisters in the history of Texas. The Frost had just made the conversion to sound films choosing the Wright-DeCoster sound system for its playout. But within months, the entire town of Frost was basically obliterated by the aforementioned tornado. The Frost Theatre was not operating during the deadly storm that cost more than 10% of the town their lives and the entire agricultural season to be wrecked.
There are multiple shots of the entire business district and town in ruins with one appearing faintly showing the remnants of the theater building next to the neighboring bank. (It’s in the photos section.) Frost Theatre owner V.B. Young survived the storm and pledged to rebuild the theatre in roughly the same spot as the original. It is not believed that he accomplished his goal and the neighboring bank took a bit more of a footprint in its relatively quick rebuilding.
In 1935, Charles Barker rebuilt and opened the new Frost Theatre with Jim Shirley. A projection booth fire on November 11, 1944 appears to have ended operations there. Due to War material shortages, Barker appears to have converted an existing retail building to a third and final location using the Frost Theatre moniker. (And if it continued in the same spot, that can be corrected.)
The Frost changed hands with Mr. and Mrs. Ross Willoughby operating it for two years after the War. Jonas Jantz and his wife ran it into the 1950s but Mr. Jantz died November 4, 1956. The theatre appears to have closed not long after his passing. (The town’s population had dropped to under 600 making further theater operation challenging especially in the television era.) The building was converted for other purposes.
AMC Classic Dublin 8 closed January 2, 2022.
The Gem Theatre appears to have opened on May 4, 1911 with a live band event. However, it was predominately a film theatre with some live events and vaudeville in its programming mix. Business in town was boosted in 1917 when the only theatre in nearby La Belle just 6 miles away burned down. At that point, there were two movie theaters in the small town as the opera house largely converted to movies under the Princess Theatre nameplate. The Gem hosted the film, “Battle Cry for Peace,” with a live orchestra in November of 1917. That was the film to have played in La Belle at its Crystal Theatre the day it burned down. “The Covered Wagon” was one of the theater’s biggest silent era hits in the history of the Gem.
In 1930, the Gem installed Gates Motiotone sound to play talking pictures. W.E. Porter closed the venue for the summer in 1933 returing to reopen it in September of that year. The theatre closed due to business conditions later though was relaunched by Mertz Film Amusement Company in 1937 with a refresh. Once again, it closed effectively ending business as the Gem in September of 1939. It was sold at a trustee auction to a group of local merchants in October of 1939 and was used as a community center with some sporadic film screenings apparently not under the Gem nameplate.
The Rialto opened August 6, 1940 as the replacement to the burned down Rex Theatre. First film, “His Girl Friday.” The Theatre closed permanently on February 21, 1955 with Jesse James vs. the Daltons. A minor fire after that screening led to a seat sale and the building was repaired and used for other retail purposes. In 1970, the building housed the local public library.
Note: The show was rebooked at the Gem Theatre the next month less than six miles away at the Gem Theatre in Lewistown with a live orchestra.
The Hippodrome launched September 4, 1911 with two Mutual photoplays, a big feature and vaudeville acts. Cady & Hiele programmed the venue which wasn’t quite completed at the first show and could not handle the crowd which fell short of a full house. The venue had an airdome adjacent to it, as well.
Sol Burka took on the venue in 1922 and, after a refresh, he reopened as the Blue Ridge Theatre on April 17, 1922 with Paramount movies. The opening title was Gloria Swanson in “The Great Moment.” Vaudeville was from B.F. Keith when programmed. The theater closed the expiry of 15-year lease.
Reading the local paper, the Royal Theatre was completely destroyed on February 1, 1924. If you’re keeping score, the Royal fire also destroyed the neighboring Shoop Motor Garage, the White Front Garage, the North Side Cafe, and the Green City U.S. Post Office. Flames shot up as high as 150 feet as explosives were in three of the buildings - the two garages and the movie theatre.
If the trade press is correct, George Sommers moved the movie screenings to the existing opera house until a new theatre was created. The new Royal Theatre opened but transitioned names at least twice early in the sound era.
Sorry! It was the Moonlite (not Moonlight). My error.
The Lindina launched July 29, 1932 with Hoot Gibson in “Wild Horses” and Dolores del Rio in “Girl of the Rio.” In 1942, the theatre was taken on by the Pirtle Theatre Circuit. It closed on May 27, 1956 as the last theatre in operation between Kirksville, Missouri and Quincy, Illinois.
Winoko Corporation opened the Spa Motor Movie Drive-In on June 22, 1950 with “Canyon Passage.” The original name of the venue was due to Excelsior Springs' being established as a spa community in the 1880s and whose fame peaked in 1948 when Harry S. Truman stayed at the Elms Hotel and Spa in 1948 on the night he was informed of his projected loss to Thomas Dewey and then his win the next morning when the results were more fully tallied.
The Spa was sold to Commonwealth Circuit who reopened for the 1953 season on April 17, 1953 changing from the Spa Motor Movie to the Pines Drive-In with “Bonzo Goes to College.” It was never called the Spa Motor-Vu although it’s a great name.
March 17, 2020 was the final show for the North Oaks Cinema 6.
As the River Oaks Theatre adult cinema, the venue opened with Denyse Roland in “The D(irty) Girls” and Marla Ellis “Warm Nights and Hot Pleasures” (upper left) on January 4, 1967. As the ads state, the River Oaks was in River Oaks - in case there was any confusion.
It may well have ended at the River Oaks in River Oaks with Karen Drake in “The House of Cats” and Janet Damon in “The Fat Black Pussycat” (bottom right). Protests were abundant in January and February of 1967 and once the adult movies were gone, everybody knew that no other type of film would draw attention to the River Oaks which was demolished two years later.
Technically, this opened and closed as the River Oaks Theater. It launched for Interstate Theatres Circuit on April 27, 1945 with “Here Come the Waves.” The theatre was subleased in 1952 when Interstate divested of many theaters as a result of the Paramount decree.
As an independent , it switched to widescreen projection showing CinemaScope titles beginning on January 3, 1955. The operator bolted after a 20-year leasing expiry closing on December 13, 1964 with a double-feature of “Hell is for Heroes” and “Son of Captain Blood.
Ted Gould decided to take on the theatre rebranding it as the Riviera Theatre on March 12, 1965 with “Elmer Gantry” opening the venue. That ended after less than 18 months on September 4, 1966 with Peter Noone in “Hold On” and David Niven in “Where the Spies Are.”
The theatre returned in January of 1967 under the River Oaks Theater nameplate as an adult theater. Successful protests ended that operation soon thereafter in 1967 and it never screened movies. again although it hosted live political events in 1968.
The River Oaks was razed in 1969 and replaced with a new location of White’s Auto Store and garage. That opened on April 23, 1970.
Opened as the Skyway Drive-In for African American audiences on April 13, 1952 with “Johnny Allegro” and “Kill the Empire.”
38 Jennings Avenue was the address for this theatre that closed as the Savoy Theatre on March 28, 1919 with live operatic performances. The building was converted later in the year to an auto garage.
Eugene Low, Jr. launched the Low’s Theatre on June 14, 1935 with “Folies Bergere de Paris” to complement his Low’s Rialto Theatre in downtown Refugio. On June 1, 1937, Low sold both venues to F.R. Hansen and Jack Pickens of San Antonio. The pair renamed the venues as the Rialto Theatre (immediately dropping Low’s) and, after a refresh, the Rig Theatre reopened on October 29, 1937 with June Travis in “Join the Marines.” N. Bergvall was the architect. The theatre closed in 1942 for three years though used for some live events and in support of the War efforts.
With a growing Hispanic population, the theatre changed its policy at another reopening on September 16, 1945 showing Spanish-language films. After another closure and refresh, the theatre switched to widescreen to show CinemaScope at a final relaunch on December 24, 1954. That appears to have been the last effort with the theatre closing in 1955.
The Rialto launched for Henry Hall and Hall Industries on July 19, 1931 with Richard Arlen in “The Secret Call” supported by a Paramount newsreel and the short, “Bare Knees” starring Daphne Pollard (see ad in Photos). It was said to have been the town’s first ever new-build facilities for motion pictures and replaced the Majestic Theatre.
The new Rialto Theatre launched May 14, 1948 to a capacity crowd with Henry W, Hall of Hall Industry Theatres Circuit on hand.
The Richlands Mall Twin Cinema was designed by Cunningham, Weaver, Foreman and Bailey Architects of Atlanta and was at the rear of the mall. It was an original tenant of the mall and its placement allowed for quick entry after parking and operation after the mall closed. It opened with the mall as an original tenant in 1980 and closed at the expiry of lease under a non-original operator.
Guys Theatre and the new Star were run by Flanary, Sr, from 1939 until his death in 1946. Flanary Jr. designed the new-build Flanary to replace the Guys in December 1948. The Star and Flanary were then joined by the Guy’s Drive-In in 1950. The Flanary converted to widescreen and the Star would fade. The town operated wrh just two theaters - the hardtop Flanary and Guy’s Drive-in thereafter. Both closed at the end of 30-year leases.
After successfully showing Keystone Studio films at the independent Palms Theatre in 1913, Mutual Studios - the releasing company for Keystone - had the new-build Keystone Theatre designed by Fermer S. Cannon to additionally house the local branch of Mutual Studios Releasing offices. The Keystone launched on a 10-year lease on May 1, 1914. This was timed out well with the ultra popular Charlie Chaplin films that he made in his contract with Keystone in 1914.
Keystone Studios faded three years later but the venue kept its name for the run of the lease.The main advantages for moving the Keystone titles from the Palms to the Keystone was their popularity outstripped the diminutive 300-seat Palms and Mutual could get a more favorable split of the revenue by eliminating the independent Palms operator into the owned and operated 600-seat Keystone. Once Chaplin left Keystone and better movie venues were built, the Keystone just slid tier by tier under several operators to oblivion.
The Keystone had been an important part of Indy’s “Movie Lane” / “Film Row” which found so many theatres packed into a small part of town; these theaters included The Palms / Alamo, the Lyric, the Lenwood, the Alhambra, the Ambassador, the Crystal, et al. The theaters were close to the Terminal Building - a main hub of activity in downtown Indianapolis. At the end of its initial lease, the theatre was renamed as the Alamo Theatre beginning April 13, 1924 on a new 20-year lease. At the end of that lease, it had a final15-year lease renamed as the Rodeo Theatre playing westerns for the most part beginning on November 16, 1945. It was later demolished.
Since Guy Flanary, Jr. placed the family surname as “Flanary” on the Flanary Theatre which remained there for three decades, there is no question that the name is Robert Guy “R.G.” Flanary. Thanks for September 20, 1950 opening date.
The New Theatre launched July 26, 1916 with a full house with Pauline Frederick in “Eternal City.”
The Ace was built as an open-air theatre in the 1920s. The Wometco Circuit took it on in 1935 and purchased it outright in 1938. It received its roof at that time and then was rebuilt as a more traditional, streamline modern movie house in 1945. Wometco closed it as a movie venue in 1967 and it became a house of worship from that point until being boarded up in 1977.
The Strand announced that it would close permanently at the end of December 2021 saying that COVID-19 had led to higher costs of operation without a return to pre-pandemic audience levels.