This article from the Elmira Star Gazette says that the Mozart originally had 1,398 seats, “…eventually became the Strand….” and also says that “[t]he last big night was May 16, 1959, when every seat was filled for an Elmira Civic Chorus spring concert. The building was razed in 1967.” There was nothing about when the Strand had closed as a movie theater.
The article also says that the Mozart was on Market Street east of Baldwin, so it must have been between Baldwin and Lake. That means it was probably at the 313 E. Market address we have listed on the Strand page. It does seem likely that the Mozart became the Strand in 1923, with a remodeling by Leon Lempert Jr., at that time.
Actually the theater that opened in 1906 as the Mozart was renamed the Strand at some point, which we know as we have photos of the building displaying each name at different times, but there was also a Strand Theatre opened in 1915, when the Mozart was still in operation, and another Strand opened in 1923.
What we don’t know yet is when the Mozart was renamed the Strand, or whether the 1923 Strand was a remodel of the Mozart or of the 1915 Strand, or was another theater altogether. So far we have only one of the Strands listed at Cinema Treasures. The Mozart page obviously needs the aka Strand added, but somebody will have to research the history to determine when the name changed, how long it operated under that name, and what became of the 1915 Strand.
19 E. Carey Street is one of two buildings occupied by a shop called Plains Antiques and Home Furnishings. It has a nice streamline modern facade, though the current paint job, which is peeling badly, doesn’t do much to bring out the details (Google street view.)
The Hippodrome was mentioned in The New York Dramatic Mirror at least as early as the issue of August 14, 1909, which reported that the theater was “…doing well with moving pictures, playing to capacity houses daily.” An ebay seller had a postal cover of an advertisement mailed by the Hippodrome, postmarked February 28, 1910. The manager at that time was named W. E. Deacon, who was also mentioned in the May 21, 1910 issue of Dramatic Mirror as the manager of Zanesville’s Schultz Opera House. The July 15, 1910 issue ofThe Nickelodeon had this item:
“W. E. Deacon, of the Hippodrome, of Zanesville, has greatly added to the attractiveness of his already popular house by the installation of a mirror screen on which the pictures are thrown with a marvelous distinctness so that every movement and expression is clearly visible to the audience, and without any flickering so tiresome to the eyes.”
The December 13, 1913 issue of The Moving Picture World published a letter from the Hippodrome’s then-manager, Helen Morrison-Lewis, who said she had been running the house for a little less than two years. The Hippodrome was still advertising in Zanesville’s daily paper, The Times Recorder, in August, 1916, but I’ve found no later ads. By late 1917, the paper was running ads for Geist’s Shoe Store at 320 Main Street.
The hardtop that replaced the drive-in was also called the Hastings. The four buildings along Halstead Street adjacent to the drive-in were for light industrial use.
Judging from the vintage photos (the one on our photo page which shows the theater next to an alley and the one at the bottom of page 58 of this book,) the Saenger Theatre was on the south side of West Second Street, just past the middle of the second block west of Main Street. Google’s street view displays the address 237 W. 2nd St. at this location, though that probably wasn’t the theater’s actual address.
Page 94 of the book has photos of the Saenger both before and after the 194 fire and 1947 rebuild. The caption suggests that part of the Alice Theatre’s facade might have survived in the Saengers. The Alice was opened in early October, 1921, and was destroyed by a fire in April, 1922.
The April 1, 1921 issue of Building and Engineering Digest said that J. Barnett would remodel the Crystal Theatre at Albuquerque with a larger stage and more dressing rooms, to accommodate road shows. The plans were by E,Paso architects Trost & Trost.
It turns out that A. B. Scarborough was one of the promoters of the American Theatre, not the architect. The local architectural firm of Sparger & Peters (John C. Sparger and W. A. Peters) designed the building. This web page from the Fannin County Museum of History has an article about the theater from the Bonham Daily Favorite of April 2, 1995.
The May 15, 1921 issue of the Dallas-based trade journal Building and Engineering Digest said that Saenger Amusement Company’s new theater on DeSiard Street in Monroe had opened to the public on May 5.
The Dreamland Theatre was listed in the 1926 FDY. Files of the Leesville Daily Leader from November, 1929, include this item: “Southern Amusement Co. of Lake Charles has bought the Dreamland Theatre and will soon install a Vitaphone sound system, meaning talking movies will soon be coming to our town.”
The Howell Theatre was remodeled in 1934, as noted in this item from The Film Daily of August 13 that year:
“Palatka, Fla.— The Howell, an E. J. Sparks house, is being closed for six weeks to permit remodeling which includes the erection of a balcony.”
Palatka had a house called the New Howell Theatre listed in the 1909-1910 Cahn guide, but a 1909 city directory lists a Howell Theatre on First Street near Lemon. The same directory lists a movie house called the Wonderland Theatre at 109 Lemon Street. The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory doesn’t list either of them, having only an Orpheum Theatre at 110-112 Lemon Street, and Kalbfield’s Grand Theatre, no address given.
A Howell Theatre is listed in FDYs with 500 seats through 1930, and from 1931 on with 631 seats. Perhaps the 500-seat Howell was the old house on First Street (though the Cahn Guide gave it a capacity of 800) and the 631-seat Howell was the one on Lemon Street? But then I wonder what became of the balcony added in 1934, which ought to have increased the capacity at least a bit. Odd.
The recent reopening of an earlier Lincoln Theatre, dating from the silent era, was mentioned in the July 17, 1934 issue of The Film Daily:
“Palatka, Fla. — The old Lincoln, colored house, has reopened after an expenditure of $3,500 for repairs and sound equipment.”
This first Lincoln Theatre, since demolished, must have been the house at 311 N. 11th Street that was later replaced by the 1950 quonset hut at 1302 Madison Street.
dallasmovietheaters: The FDY can be very confusing. I’m glad you’ve got access to the local newspaper to clear up the confusion. The Frog Capital of the World deserves an accurate history of its theaters.
This item about the Majestic is from the March 4, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World:
“Louis Pizitz, a merchant of Birmingham, Ala., has purchased the Majestic in that city from General Louis V. Clark, the consideration being $160,000. The Majestic was built ten years ago, is four stories in height, with an office building front and a seating capacity of 1,000. General Clark acquired this theater on April 4, 1914, paying for it $125,000. The Interstate Amusement Co., of which Carl Hoblitzell is the head, is the present lessee of the Majestic. Mr. Pizitz has not fully decided as to what use he will put the theater, but it is rumored that in all probability it will be converted into a motion picture house, in line with similar changes being made all over the country.”
The Majestic was back in the journal’s July 15 issue:
“H. F. Niel, manager of the Majestic theater, Birmingham, Ala., one of the largest photoplay houses in the South, was in New York City recently on business. Mr. Neil will be in charge of the Southeastern Film Exchange, which has headquarters in Birmingham.”
.A 1971 Birmingham News article (cited on this web page) said:
“"In 1917, the Maddocks-Park Stock Company took over the Majestic. Originally one of the old traveling shows under canvas, it presented melodramas. The Maddocks-Park Stock was discontinued in 1921.”
Bhamwiki says the building was built in 1902 as the Jesse French Piano & Organ Company showroom, and was converted into a theater around 1905. John Eberson’s remodeling of the theater took place in 1908-1909, as noted in the December 25, 1908 issue of The Billboard. The project was budgeted at $15,000.
The FDY listings for Rayne are not very enlightening. I’m listing theater names and (seating capacities, or lack thereof) for each year:
1926: Craig (500); Lemoulin Rouge (370)
1927: Evangeline (….); Craig (500)
1928: Frank’s (….); Craig (500)
1929: Frank’s (….)
1930: Frank’s (….); Craig (500)
1931: Franks (500)
(Note: for some reason the FDY started spelling the town’s name as Rane in 1931.)
1932: Franks (500)
1933: Franks (500)
1934: Opera (500)
1935: Opera (500); Roosevelt (….)
1936: Opera (500); Joy’s (350)
1937: New (….); Opera House (400); Joy (300)
1938: Opera House (400); Joy (300)
1939: Joy (400)
1940: Joy (400)
1941: Joy (400)
(Note: in 1942 FDY goes back to the town’s correct spelling, Rayne.)
1942: Gem (350); Joy (400)
1943: Gem (350 Cl); Joy (400)
1944: Gem (350 Cl); Joy (400)
1945: Gem (350 Cl); Joy (400)
1946: Gem (350 Cl); Joy (400)
1947: Arcadia [sic] (1,000): Gem (350 Cl); Joy (400)
In 1948 theaters are listed only under chains, and the Arcadia [sic] is listed under L. C. Montgomery’s Film Service Corp., New Orleans. In 1949 city listings are back, and the Arcadia [sic] is the only house listed at Rayne, but is listed under Joy’s Theatres in the circuits section, along with a house called the Bruce. The Acadia (always misspelled as Arcadia) and the Bruce are then both listed at Rayne in the by-cities section of FDY from 1950 through 1955, when the Bruce had 350 seats, and in 1956 and 1957 the name Bruce vanishes and a 356-seat Joy Theatre appears. After 1957 FDY lists only by circuits, and I don’t see the Bruce or Joy at Rayne, but the Acadia (misspelled, of course) is still listed under Joy’s Theatres.
Frankly (or Frank'sly) this has left me more confused than ever. FDY’s penchant for double-listing theaters after a name change doesn’t help, nor does its penchant for sometimes continuing to list theaters that had been dismantled or demolished.
Given the consistency in seating capacity it seems likely the Craig, Frank’s/Franks and Opera were all the same house, possibly the one at West Texas Avenue (American Legion Road) and Second Street. The shift in seating capacity of the Joy from 1938 to 1939 suggests that it might have moved into the former Opera House at that time, most likely from the Moulin Rouge-Evangeline’s building, which was probably the house that had briefly been the Roosevelt and would later reopen as the Gem.
But if the Craig/Franks/Opera/second Joy burned down in 1946, and if, as the 2016 article I cited in my previous comment said, the Gem was replaced by the Acadia, where the hell did the Bruce, which was probably also the third (or fourth?) Joy Theatre, come from? And what became of the New Theatre that appeared in the FDY only in 1937? It’s quite puzzling.
An article on page 12 of the July 28, 2016 issue of The Rayne Arcadian-Tribune (PDF here) citing events in April, 1946, had this to say about the plans then in the works for the new Acadia Theatre:
“And renewal news also came from Rayne’s main entertainment center, the Joy Theater (at the West Texas and Second Street corner), owned by L.C. Montgomery of New Orleans and managed locally by C.B. ‘Buck’ Hardy. Word spread that Mr. Montgomery was planning to erect a new theater at the corner of South Polk and Texas Street, the site of of the original Jaques [sic] Weil Moulin Rouge. In fact, a name had already been chosen — ‘The Acadia’ — touted to seat 1,000 patrons in ‘wide, comfortable upholstered seats, all to be enjoyed with 75 tons of the most modern air-conditioning equipment available.’”
If the article is correct then the Gem must have been demolished to make way for the Acadia Theatre. Or, since the building might have been only about thirty years old, perhaps it was at least partly incorporated into the new structure. The July 22, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World mentions E. Weil of the Moulin Rouge Theatre in Rayne as a recent visitor to film row in New Orleans. Edmund Weil was the brother of Jacques Weil, head of the J & E Weil Operating Company, owners of a number of businesses in Rayne including this theater.
The house at West Texas and Second, operating as the Joy Theatre in 1946, was probably the theater listed in the 1926 FDY as the Craig Theatre. That house was being built for James L. Craig in 1915, as noted in Motography of March 27 that year in an item calling it “…the new opera house….” An earlier Opera House had been listed in the Cahn guide as early as 1907, and was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory as the “Opera House M. P. Show, Adams Ave and 2nd St.”
Loew’s State is at 7th and Broadway. David and Moses Hamburger’s Department Store building, designed by Alfred Rosenheim, is still standing. A brief history of the theater, by Mary Mallory, is at Larry Harnisch’s web site, The Daily Mirror.
The store opened on August 9, 1908, and the 500-seat theater was probably opened the same day. It was used for various live events as well as movies, and was probably used primarily for lectures and meetings after 1915. It had been closed by 1919. A. Hamburger & Sons was sold to May Department Stores of St. Louis in 1923, and the building operated as the west coast flagship of The May Company until the mid-1980s.
I was on the fifth floor of The May Company a few times, but had no idea there had ever been a movie theater there. The space was undoubtedly configured for other uses after the theater was dismantled. Currently the building is being renovated as a mixed use project called the Broadway Trade Center, with completion scheduled for 2019.
The amphitheater inside the walls of the Martin Theatre held its first event on June 7, 2014, according this article from The Randolph Leader of June 11 that year. The article has a bit about the project and about the theater’s history, and one small photo of the opening event.
In 1941 the Martin Theatre had a soft opening on August 22, with a formal grand opening on September 2, to coincide with the dedication of Roanoke’s new City Hall.
The Alhambra and the Stratton were two different theaters. CinemaTour lists the Alhambra theater, with the aka Show Shop, at 94 North Street, and lists the Stratton Theatre, with the aka Casino Theatre, at James and Henry Streets. I think they must be right, as I find the Stratton listed in the 1909 Cahn Guide.
CinemaTour says the Stratton Theatre opened on February 22, 1892, closed in 1949, and was demolished in 1953. It was designed by architect James E. Mapes. Casino must have been its opening name, as I’ve found mentions of that name from 1893 and 1897. Most likely the Stratton is not listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory because it was still a legitimate house at that time.
CinemaTour says the Alhambra opened on September 17, 1913, and was designed by architect Edwin P Valkenburgh. The closing date is unknown, but the building is still standing, occupied by a Pentacostal church.
The Alhambra had 800 seats in 1916, according to an item in the April 8 issue of Motography that year. This web page has a small photo of the Alhambra dated October, 1913. The name change from Alhambra to Show Shop was mentioned in the September 26, 1916 issue of the Middletown Times-Press, which said the house would reopen under its new name the next week.
FDY’s listings for New York State are a pig’s breakfast all through the 1920s, and I can’t even find Middletown listed until 1930, when the only theaters listed are the State and the Stratton. Although the Show Shop is never listed in the FDY, the building was still usable as a theater at least as late as 1936, when the Times-Press noted it as the venue of a minstrel show put on by the local fire department. I don’t find any evidence that it was operating regularly as a movie house by that time, though.
Ken: The Joy Theatre’s aka should be Acadia rather than Arcadia. Acadia Parish, Louisiana, was named for the French territory of Acadia (Acadie) situated mostly in what are now the Maritime Provinces of Canada, from which the French settlers were expelled by the British during the French and Indian War. Many of the settlers moved to Louisiana, then a Spanish possession. The modern word Cajun is an Anglo-American corruption of the word Acadian.
This article from the Elmira Star Gazette says that the Mozart originally had 1,398 seats, “…eventually became the Strand….” and also says that “[t]he last big night was May 16, 1959, when every seat was filled for an Elmira Civic Chorus spring concert. The building was razed in 1967.” There was nothing about when the Strand had closed as a movie theater.
The article also says that the Mozart was on Market Street east of Baldwin, so it must have been between Baldwin and Lake. That means it was probably at the 313 E. Market address we have listed on the Strand page. It does seem likely that the Mozart became the Strand in 1923, with a remodeling by Leon Lempert Jr., at that time.
Actually the theater that opened in 1906 as the Mozart was renamed the Strand at some point, which we know as we have photos of the building displaying each name at different times, but there was also a Strand Theatre opened in 1915, when the Mozart was still in operation, and another Strand opened in 1923.
What we don’t know yet is when the Mozart was renamed the Strand, or whether the 1923 Strand was a remodel of the Mozart or of the 1915 Strand, or was another theater altogether. So far we have only one of the Strands listed at Cinema Treasures. The Mozart page obviously needs the aka Strand added, but somebody will have to research the history to determine when the name changed, how long it operated under that name, and what became of the 1915 Strand.
That’s Hedley.
An advertisement for the Colonial Theatre in the 1903-1904 Cahn guide says that the house opened on October 1, 1901.
19 E. Carey Street is one of two buildings occupied by a shop called Plains Antiques and Home Furnishings. It has a nice streamline modern facade, though the current paint job, which is peeling badly, doesn’t do much to bring out the details (Google street view.)
The Hippodrome was mentioned in The New York Dramatic Mirror at least as early as the issue of August 14, 1909, which reported that the theater was “…doing well with moving pictures, playing to capacity houses daily.” An ebay seller had a postal cover of an advertisement mailed by the Hippodrome, postmarked February 28, 1910. The manager at that time was named W. E. Deacon, who was also mentioned in the May 21, 1910 issue of Dramatic Mirror as the manager of Zanesville’s Schultz Opera House. The July 15, 1910 issue ofThe Nickelodeon had this item:
The December 13, 1913 issue of The Moving Picture World published a letter from the Hippodrome’s then-manager, Helen Morrison-Lewis, who said she had been running the house for a little less than two years. The Hippodrome was still advertising in Zanesville’s daily paper, The Times Recorder, in August, 1916, but I’ve found no later ads. By late 1917, the paper was running ads for Geist’s Shoe Store at 320 Main Street.The hardtop that replaced the drive-in was also called the Hastings. The four buildings along Halstead Street adjacent to the drive-in were for light industrial use.
Judging from the vintage photos (the one on our photo page which shows the theater next to an alley and the one at the bottom of page 58 of this book,) the Saenger Theatre was on the south side of West Second Street, just past the middle of the second block west of Main Street. Google’s street view displays the address 237 W. 2nd St. at this location, though that probably wasn’t the theater’s actual address.
Page 94 of the book has photos of the Saenger both before and after the 194 fire and 1947 rebuild. The caption suggests that part of the Alice Theatre’s facade might have survived in the Saengers. The Alice was opened in early October, 1921, and was destroyed by a fire in April, 1922.
The April 1, 1921 issue of Building and Engineering Digest said that J. Barnett would remodel the Crystal Theatre at Albuquerque with a larger stage and more dressing rooms, to accommodate road shows. The plans were by E,Paso architects Trost & Trost.
It turns out that A. B. Scarborough was one of the promoters of the American Theatre, not the architect. The local architectural firm of Sparger & Peters (John C. Sparger and W. A. Peters) designed the building. This web page from the Fannin County Museum of History has an article about the theater from the Bonham Daily Favorite of April 2, 1995.
The May 15, 1921 issue of the Dallas-based trade journal Building and Engineering Digest said that Saenger Amusement Company’s new theater on DeSiard Street in Monroe had opened to the public on May 5.
The Dreamland Theatre was listed in the 1926 FDY. Files of the Leesville Daily Leader from November, 1929, include this item: “Southern Amusement Co. of Lake Charles has bought the Dreamland Theatre and will soon install a Vitaphone sound system, meaning talking movies will soon be coming to our town.”
The Howell Theatre was remodeled in 1934, as noted in this item from The Film Daily of August 13 that year:
Palatka had a house called the New Howell Theatre listed in the 1909-1910 Cahn guide, but a 1909 city directory lists a Howell Theatre on First Street near Lemon. The same directory lists a movie house called the Wonderland Theatre at 109 Lemon Street. The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory doesn’t list either of them, having only an Orpheum Theatre at 110-112 Lemon Street, and Kalbfield’s Grand Theatre, no address given.A Howell Theatre is listed in FDYs with 500 seats through 1930, and from 1931 on with 631 seats. Perhaps the 500-seat Howell was the old house on First Street (though the Cahn Guide gave it a capacity of 800) and the 631-seat Howell was the one on Lemon Street? But then I wonder what became of the balcony added in 1934, which ought to have increased the capacity at least a bit. Odd.
The recent reopening of an earlier Lincoln Theatre, dating from the silent era, was mentioned in the July 17, 1934 issue of The Film Daily:
This first Lincoln Theatre, since demolished, must have been the house at 311 N. 11th Street that was later replaced by the 1950 quonset hut at 1302 Madison Street.dallasmovietheaters: The FDY can be very confusing. I’m glad you’ve got access to the local newspaper to clear up the confusion. The Frog Capital of the World deserves an accurate history of its theaters.
This item about the Majestic is from the March 4, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World:
The Majestic was back in the journal’s July 15 issue:.A 1971 Birmingham News article (cited on this web page) said:Bhamwiki says the building was built in 1902 as the Jesse French Piano & Organ Company showroom, and was converted into a theater around 1905. John Eberson’s remodeling of the theater took place in 1908-1909, as noted in the December 25, 1908 issue of The Billboard. The project was budgeted at $15,000.CT failed to format my list as a list, but I suppose it’s still readable. Just not as easily.
The FDY listings for Rayne are not very enlightening. I’m listing theater names and (seating capacities, or lack thereof) for each year:
1926: Craig (500); Lemoulin Rouge (370) 1927: Evangeline (….); Craig (500) 1928: Frank’s (….); Craig (500) 1929: Frank’s (….) 1930: Frank’s (….); Craig (500) 1931: Franks (500) (Note: for some reason the FDY started spelling the town’s name as Rane in 1931.) 1932: Franks (500) 1933: Franks (500) 1934: Opera (500) 1935: Opera (500); Roosevelt (….) 1936: Opera (500); Joy’s (350) 1937: New (….); Opera House (400); Joy (300) 1938: Opera House (400); Joy (300) 1939: Joy (400) 1940: Joy (400) 1941: Joy (400) (Note: in 1942 FDY goes back to the town’s correct spelling, Rayne.) 1942: Gem (350); Joy (400) 1943: Gem (350 Cl); Joy (400) 1944: Gem (350 Cl); Joy (400) 1945: Gem (350 Cl); Joy (400) 1946: Gem (350 Cl); Joy (400) 1947: Arcadia [sic] (1,000): Gem (350 Cl); Joy (400)
In 1948 theaters are listed only under chains, and the Arcadia [sic] is listed under L. C. Montgomery’s Film Service Corp., New Orleans. In 1949 city listings are back, and the Arcadia [sic] is the only house listed at Rayne, but is listed under Joy’s Theatres in the circuits section, along with a house called the Bruce. The Acadia (always misspelled as Arcadia) and the Bruce are then both listed at Rayne in the by-cities section of FDY from 1950 through 1955, when the Bruce had 350 seats, and in 1956 and 1957 the name Bruce vanishes and a 356-seat Joy Theatre appears. After 1957 FDY lists only by circuits, and I don’t see the Bruce or Joy at Rayne, but the Acadia (misspelled, of course) is still listed under Joy’s Theatres.
Frankly (or Frank'sly) this has left me more confused than ever. FDY’s penchant for double-listing theaters after a name change doesn’t help, nor does its penchant for sometimes continuing to list theaters that had been dismantled or demolished.
Given the consistency in seating capacity it seems likely the Craig, Frank’s/Franks and Opera were all the same house, possibly the one at West Texas Avenue (American Legion Road) and Second Street. The shift in seating capacity of the Joy from 1938 to 1939 suggests that it might have moved into the former Opera House at that time, most likely from the Moulin Rouge-Evangeline’s building, which was probably the house that had briefly been the Roosevelt and would later reopen as the Gem.
But if the Craig/Franks/Opera/second Joy burned down in 1946, and if, as the 2016 article I cited in my previous comment said, the Gem was replaced by the Acadia, where the hell did the Bruce, which was probably also the third (or fourth?) Joy Theatre, come from? And what became of the New Theatre that appeared in the FDY only in 1937? It’s quite puzzling.
An article on page 12 of the July 28, 2016 issue of The Rayne Arcadian-Tribune (PDF here) citing events in April, 1946, had this to say about the plans then in the works for the new Acadia Theatre:
If the article is correct then the Gem must have been demolished to make way for the Acadia Theatre. Or, since the building might have been only about thirty years old, perhaps it was at least partly incorporated into the new structure. The July 22, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World mentions E. Weil of the Moulin Rouge Theatre in Rayne as a recent visitor to film row in New Orleans. Edmund Weil was the brother of Jacques Weil, head of the J & E Weil Operating Company, owners of a number of businesses in Rayne including this theater.The house at West Texas and Second, operating as the Joy Theatre in 1946, was probably the theater listed in the 1926 FDY as the Craig Theatre. That house was being built for James L. Craig in 1915, as noted in Motography of March 27 that year in an item calling it “…the new opera house….” An earlier Opera House had been listed in the Cahn guide as early as 1907, and was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory as the “Opera House M. P. Show, Adams Ave and 2nd St.”
Loew’s State is at 7th and Broadway. David and Moses Hamburger’s Department Store building, designed by Alfred Rosenheim, is still standing. A brief history of the theater, by Mary Mallory, is at Larry Harnisch’s web site, The Daily Mirror.
The store opened on August 9, 1908, and the 500-seat theater was probably opened the same day. It was used for various live events as well as movies, and was probably used primarily for lectures and meetings after 1915. It had been closed by 1919. A. Hamburger & Sons was sold to May Department Stores of St. Louis in 1923, and the building operated as the west coast flagship of The May Company until the mid-1980s.
I was on the fifth floor of The May Company a few times, but had no idea there had ever been a movie theater there. The space was undoubtedly configured for other uses after the theater was dismantled. Currently the building is being renovated as a mixed use project called the Broadway Trade Center, with completion scheduled for 2019.
The amphitheater inside the walls of the Martin Theatre held its first event on June 7, 2014, according this article from The Randolph Leader of June 11 that year. The article has a bit about the project and about the theater’s history, and one small photo of the opening event.
In 1941 the Martin Theatre had a soft opening on August 22, with a formal grand opening on September 2, to coincide with the dedication of Roanoke’s new City Hall.
That would be Collins C. Diboll, Jr. and Jack J.H. Kessels.
The Alhambra and the Stratton were two different theaters. CinemaTour lists the Alhambra theater, with the aka Show Shop, at 94 North Street, and lists the Stratton Theatre, with the aka Casino Theatre, at James and Henry Streets. I think they must be right, as I find the Stratton listed in the 1909 Cahn Guide.
CinemaTour says the Stratton Theatre opened on February 22, 1892, closed in 1949, and was demolished in 1953. It was designed by architect James E. Mapes. Casino must have been its opening name, as I’ve found mentions of that name from 1893 and 1897. Most likely the Stratton is not listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory because it was still a legitimate house at that time.
CinemaTour says the Alhambra opened on September 17, 1913, and was designed by architect Edwin P Valkenburgh. The closing date is unknown, but the building is still standing, occupied by a Pentacostal church.
The Alhambra had 800 seats in 1916, according to an item in the April 8 issue of Motography that year. This web page has a small photo of the Alhambra dated October, 1913. The name change from Alhambra to Show Shop was mentioned in the September 26, 1916 issue of the Middletown Times-Press, which said the house would reopen under its new name the next week.
FDY’s listings for New York State are a pig’s breakfast all through the 1920s, and I can’t even find Middletown listed until 1930, when the only theaters listed are the State and the Stratton. Although the Show Shop is never listed in the FDY, the building was still usable as a theater at least as late as 1936, when the Times-Press noted it as the venue of a minstrel show put on by the local fire department. I don’t find any evidence that it was operating regularly as a movie house by that time, though.
The Grand’s official website has gone blank, but the house is still showing movies on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays according to thier Facebook page.
Ken: The Joy Theatre’s aka should be Acadia rather than Arcadia. Acadia Parish, Louisiana, was named for the French territory of Acadia (Acadie) situated mostly in what are now the Maritime Provinces of Canada, from which the French settlers were expelled by the British during the French and Indian War. Many of the settlers moved to Louisiana, then a Spanish possession. The modern word Cajun is an Anglo-American corruption of the word Acadian.