Thank you for mentioning. I have a few observations that might improve the site because after all, it is a very good site. The log in page is not secure and states your password and name can be “compromised” when you type it. That should be an easy fix. Per “The Roxy” of this entry; it does not appear under “Majestic” even on the main search page i.e. “Movie Theaters matching ‘Majestic’” when one searches all demolished Majestic theaters in the U.S. Yet The Roxy in Logansport, Indiana does appear when searching for the “Majestic” so, you’d think the same would be with this Illinois entry. It would be nice to have the “Previous Names” be a hyper-link to a sub page where a visitor could see even more images, another write up, etc. like a for more information section on each entry. I mention this because there is a real case here whereby the old Majestic was a more important venue than the Roxy but a historian or visitor would never see that information because of the way it is presented on this entry. Again, thanks for the assistance and for such a neat site!
Dear David, my hesitance uploading it to the comments is that it’s quite verbose. It is a new entry– the Majestic Theater and not the Roxy. The Majestic pre-dated the Roxy but was in the same building. How does one post a new theater for a given city? For example, there are a couple entries that could be added for Chicago that are missing and I’d like to add them. Thank you!
The Amuse-U did run talking pictures and this I found by looking at an old Springfield paper online. Apparently what might have caused its demise is that a fire broke out there in June 1930 and the theater suffered smoke damage. The damage cost an estimated $250 so about $14,000 in modern value. Perhaps the owner had no insurance and just closed the doors?
Hello, I created a write-up on the Majestic Theater, the house that pre-dates the Roxy. I sent the piece over to this site to be uploaded and no reply as of one month on. Is anyone monitoring the forum? Thank you.
The Town of Acme was formed around 1910. In 1920, the Sheridan-Wyoming Coal Company was incorporated and this company acquired various mines such as the Sheridan Coal Co., Carney Coal and the Acme Coal Co. Miners at the Acme mine were under the jurisdiction of District 22, United Mine Workers of America.
Acme closed its mine in 1940. At the time it employed 150 workers. The town consisted of a general store, post office and a school, as well as some miner cottages rented out to residents. In 1968, the town was sold (for a second time) in the hope for a revitalization. In the mid-1960s, a new coal silo had been constructed but production was not very successful. In 1977, the town was sold to the Kiewit Sons Mining Co. It was at that stage when the site was cleared of housing for a trailer park. However, the park plan never materialized. The little company town of Acme continued to dissipate into the late 1970s. By 1975 (per state census) Acme had “about” 100 inhabitants.
This photo must be around November or December of that year (1938) owing to the fact the marquee and the additional signage above it is for “Angels with Dirty Faces”, a Warner Bros. picture. It had its national release in November.
NOTE to webmaster: This entry causes confusion to some readers as there was a prior “66 Drive In” in this city. Adding to this confusion is that this entry has an incorrect photo showing the grounds of the “66 Drive In”, not this Route 66 Drive In. I suggest the webmaster please re-name this entry “Route 66 Drive-In (Green Meadows Drive-In)” as this would help clear the confusion between the two 66 theaters.
Marina City Cinemas opened September 25, 1970. “Hello, Dolly!” was in cinema 1; “The Hawaiians” in cinema 2 and, “MASH“ was screened in cinema 3. The saddle-shaped theater (exterior) was constructed between 1963 and 1968.
According to a 1970 newspaper ad (per current Marina City website) the cinemas were Chicago’s first “mini-cinemas”. A Tribune article described them as “Chicago’s first fully automated movie theaters..”. Seating held 296, 198 and 168 people, per same website. The three cinemas closed in 1977 with “Rocky” and “Young Frankenstein” being the last pictures shown there.
After closure of the theaters, the cinema spaces languished for decades. In November 1996, the House of Blues opened at Marina City and (as stated on the entry of this page) the performance space at House of Blues incorporated the former cinemas, in addition to taking-in the building’s upper lobby for the parking garage.
According to news articles, the State Theater was re-modeled 1970-71 by American Amusement Co. of Michigan. It re-opened as “Cinema Art” in May 1971 with the Italian-produced picture, “La cintura di castità” (A.K.A. “On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who…”). The theater was supposed to show films with “appeal to college students”, as quoted by an American Amusement executive at the time. This came to fruition owing to the fact that local rock bands used the “600 seat theater” for showcase purposes, per reports of the era.
By June 1971, “Cinema Art” was showing X-rated content and that led to a ruling (in December) that their manager was guilty of obscenity. In 1972, another suit was filed for obscenity and again in 1974, the cinema’s manager was involved in another accusation they “knowingly showed an obscene film”.
Local news also shows the movie theater had a softball league. Sports pages (from May 1975) show a game that pitted Cinema’s team against the First Assembly of God Church. By the spring of 1986, “Cinema Art” closed as video sales of its regularly-screened content put an irreversible dent into their business.
The block was re-developed in 2004-2005 for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
I want ask a question about this Orpheum. I was reading a 1928 “NY Supreme Court Papers on Appeal” on Google Books that mentioned the following: “…said premises Nos. 152-164 East 87th Street Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, on the EAST IS LOEW’S ORPHEUM THEATRE, which has a frontage of about 155 feet on the southerly side of EAST 87th.” Was there another Loew’s Orpheum on 87th as well as on 86th?
The public’s ‘appeal’ was due to the fact that a fireproof garage was built (or was to be built) on the south side of E. 87th at 152-166 East. Directly across from the address was a fire house and that building at 159 E 87th stands today, as of 2016.
Thank you for mentioning. I have a few observations that might improve the site because after all, it is a very good site. The log in page is not secure and states your password and name can be “compromised” when you type it. That should be an easy fix. Per “The Roxy” of this entry; it does not appear under “Majestic” even on the main search page i.e. “Movie Theaters matching ‘Majestic’” when one searches all demolished Majestic theaters in the U.S. Yet The Roxy in Logansport, Indiana does appear when searching for the “Majestic” so, you’d think the same would be with this Illinois entry. It would be nice to have the “Previous Names” be a hyper-link to a sub page where a visitor could see even more images, another write up, etc. like a for more information section on each entry. I mention this because there is a real case here whereby the old Majestic was a more important venue than the Roxy but a historian or visitor would never see that information because of the way it is presented on this entry. Again, thanks for the assistance and for such a neat site!
Dear David, my hesitance uploading it to the comments is that it’s quite verbose. It is a new entry– the Majestic Theater and not the Roxy. The Majestic pre-dated the Roxy but was in the same building. How does one post a new theater for a given city? For example, there are a couple entries that could be added for Chicago that are missing and I’d like to add them. Thank you!
The Amuse-U did run talking pictures and this I found by looking at an old Springfield paper online. Apparently what might have caused its demise is that a fire broke out there in June 1930 and the theater suffered smoke damage. The damage cost an estimated $250 so about $14,000 in modern value. Perhaps the owner had no insurance and just closed the doors?
Hello, I created a write-up on the Majestic Theater, the house that pre-dates the Roxy. I sent the piece over to this site to be uploaded and no reply as of one month on. Is anyone monitoring the forum? Thank you.
The Town of Acme was formed around 1910. In 1920, the Sheridan-Wyoming Coal Company was incorporated and this company acquired various mines such as the Sheridan Coal Co., Carney Coal and the Acme Coal Co. Miners at the Acme mine were under the jurisdiction of District 22, United Mine Workers of America.
Acme closed its mine in 1940. At the time it employed 150 workers. The town consisted of a general store, post office and a school, as well as some miner cottages rented out to residents. In 1968, the town was sold (for a second time) in the hope for a revitalization. In the mid-1960s, a new coal silo had been constructed but production was not very successful. In 1977, the town was sold to the Kiewit Sons Mining Co. It was at that stage when the site was cleared of housing for a trailer park. However, the park plan never materialized. The little company town of Acme continued to dissipate into the late 1970s. By 1975 (per state census) Acme had “about” 100 inhabitants.
This photo must be around November or December of that year (1938) owing to the fact the marquee and the additional signage above it is for “Angels with Dirty Faces”, a Warner Bros. picture. It had its national release in November.
NOTE to webmaster: This entry causes confusion to some readers as there was a prior “66 Drive In” in this city. Adding to this confusion is that this entry has an incorrect photo showing the grounds of the “66 Drive In”, not this Route 66 Drive In. I suggest the webmaster please re-name this entry “Route 66 Drive-In (Green Meadows Drive-In)” as this would help clear the confusion between the two 66 theaters.
Marina City Cinemas opened September 25, 1970. “Hello, Dolly!” was in cinema 1; “The Hawaiians” in cinema 2 and, “MASH“ was screened in cinema 3. The saddle-shaped theater (exterior) was constructed between 1963 and 1968.
According to a 1970 newspaper ad (per current Marina City website) the cinemas were Chicago’s first “mini-cinemas”. A Tribune article described them as “Chicago’s first fully automated movie theaters..”. Seating held 296, 198 and 168 people, per same website. The three cinemas closed in 1977 with “Rocky” and “Young Frankenstein” being the last pictures shown there.
After closure of the theaters, the cinema spaces languished for decades. In November 1996, the House of Blues opened at Marina City and (as stated on the entry of this page) the performance space at House of Blues incorporated the former cinemas, in addition to taking-in the building’s upper lobby for the parking garage.
According to news articles, the State Theater was re-modeled 1970-71 by American Amusement Co. of Michigan. It re-opened as “Cinema Art” in May 1971 with the Italian-produced picture, “La cintura di castità” (A.K.A. “On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who…”). The theater was supposed to show films with “appeal to college students”, as quoted by an American Amusement executive at the time. This came to fruition owing to the fact that local rock bands used the “600 seat theater” for showcase purposes, per reports of the era.
By June 1971, “Cinema Art” was showing X-rated content and that led to a ruling (in December) that their manager was guilty of obscenity. In 1972, another suit was filed for obscenity and again in 1974, the cinema’s manager was involved in another accusation they “knowingly showed an obscene film”.
Local news also shows the movie theater had a softball league. Sports pages (from May 1975) show a game that pitted Cinema’s team against the First Assembly of God Church. By the spring of 1986, “Cinema Art” closed as video sales of its regularly-screened content put an irreversible dent into their business.
The block was re-developed in 2004-2005 for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
The Esquire was demolished in July 2015. See this historical perspective on the former movie house.
http://sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/?p=7461
I want ask a question about this Orpheum. I was reading a 1928 “NY Supreme Court Papers on Appeal” on Google Books that mentioned the following: “…said premises Nos. 152-164 East 87th Street Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, on the EAST IS LOEW’S ORPHEUM THEATRE, which has a frontage of about 155 feet on the southerly side of EAST 87th.” Was there another Loew’s Orpheum on 87th as well as on 86th?
The public’s ‘appeal’ was due to the fact that a fireproof garage was built (or was to be built) on the south side of E. 87th at 152-166 East. Directly across from the address was a fire house and that building at 159 E 87th stands today, as of 2016.