The May 17, 1930 issue of The Billboard said that the Metairie Theater at Metairie Road and Frisco Avenue had opened under the management of C. E. Strauss and H. A. Johnson.
The July 13, 1937 Film Daily noted the change of ownership and name: “United Theaters Add One
“New Orleans— United Theaters will open the newest addition to its
subsequent run neighborhood circuit here tomorrow when it starts the Metairie, rechristened the Metry. Theater, which has been a hard operating proposition, was taken over from a corporation headed by Alex Dumeste, Jefferson Parish (county) lawyer, who has been retained as manager.”
I came across the following item from the May 17, 1961 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor:
“Mike Ripps, head man in the ownership association of Do Drive-In Theatres in Metairie, La., and Mobile, Ala., and individual owner, under skyer in Biloxi, Miss., who is also an independent film producer, was on an extended journey up north to visit Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago and other points in the interest of his newest film, ‘White Trash,’ which was partially lensed in the deep south, with finishing touches in Hollywood. Ed Fessler, his partner in the Mobile drive-ins, is associated with him in the making of the film.”
This item caught my eye, as I saw that movie. It was released as “Poor White Trash” sometime in the summer of 1962. The production was four-walled (theaters were rented and guaranteed a certain amount, plus what they could earn from concessions, while the distributor of the film collected the entire box office take.) It was clearly presented as an exploitation flick, with full-page ads in the papers touting a lurid tale of lust among the swamp-dwelling Cajuns of Louisiana. I was sure the movie would be crap, but thought perhaps it would at least have some decent Cajun music for a sound track, and in any case the venue in downtown Los Angeles was the Los Angeles Theatre itself, my favorite downtown palace.
So on opening day I went downtown and bought my ticket for the early show, which was at first busier than the house usually was. The movie was not a disappointment in that it was utterly disappointing, as I’d expected, and worse, didn’t even have the Cajun music I’d hoped for. The cinematography was execrable, the lighting horrible, the sound hopelessly muddy, the acting amateurish, the characters as unpleasant as they were unbelievable, and the script… well, I had a hard time believing there even was one. As for the touted luridness, all I can say is the movie could easily have been marketed as a sure-fire cure for priapism.
But I was happy to forgive all that (sadly not even comical) failure, as the movie gave me an experience I would surly never have had otherwise. I saw my favorite downtown movie palace packed. The audience kept growing as I watched to movie, and soon came to provide an alternate viewing experience much superior to the one I had bought a ticket for. By the time the movie mercifully ended, I looked around the huge space and saw virtually every seat in view taken, almost all of them by men, and every one of them (I am sure) was a true devotee of the cinematic arts.
I could see people in the second balcony, a part of the theater that had never before been open when I was there. Before leaving the theater (it was a single feature, unusual for those days, and there was no way I was staying for a second showing of that poor piece of black and white trash) I made my way up one of the narrow staircases leading to that mystery area, and for the only time got to see that vast, ornate auditorium from the very top. That alone would have been worth the price of admission.
So now I know a bit more about the men responsible for that wretched moving picture. I forgive them. It was going on two thirds of a century ago, and most likely they are dead now, as are most of the audience I shared the experience with, and it won’t be long before I join them (or nobody) in that (probably imaginary) balcony in the sky. Whether the memory will survive or not I can’t say and really don’t care. It’s here now and I got to enjoy it again. And now I think I’ll make some popcorn.
This item from the May 17, 1930 issue of The Billboard notes the opening of the Venice Theatre: “An invitation audience of 500 recently attended the formal opening of Philadelphia’s newest neighborhood picture theater, the Venice, Snyder avenue and 18th street. Jacob Blumberg and Charles Steiffel are the owners, and Jack Blumberg Jr., is house manager.”
This Facebook post from the Frisco Parks and Recreation Department indicates that the second Frisco Theatre was a reopening of the 1922 Queen Theatre. The house later changed names again, first to the Gem and finally to the Rio. This page and the page for the Rio (aka Gem) can be consolidated on the Queen’s page, which was the earliest posted for Frisco. The first Frisco was on the same lot as its successors, but was housed in a different building that was lost to a 1922 fire.
The end of one brief episode in the Star’s history was noted in the May 7, 1952 issue of The Exhibitor: “Newmarket: The Star invited the Newmarket Boys’ Club to be guests at the last performance before the theatre shut down. The Star, owned by Arthur J. Turcotte, has been operating since August, 1951.”
This item from the November 6, 1926 issue of Motion Picture News might have been about the project that eventually operated as the first Cameo Theatre in Deering: “Lee Gorman will shortly open a
theatre in Deering, Me. He operates a circuit in Maine and plans to present films exclusively.”
This house was still listed as Hoegg’s Opera House in the 1909-1910 Cahn guide.
The October 16, 1948 issue of Boxoffice said that when M. A. Moriabto took over the Deering Theatre he changed policy to art house fare and renamed the theater the Doll House. (The surname Moriabto does not appear to exist. Google’s AI suggests that this was most likely a typo for the Italian surname Morabito.)
The final chapter in the theater’s history is covered at the web site of Portland’s Lyric Music Theatre company. It says in part: “The group moved to a vacant movie theater on Stevens Avenue in Portland. The theater, known as the Doll House, and formerly Hoegg Hall, became the first permanent home for the Lyric Theater troupe and many successful shows were produced. At the close of the 1971 season, disaster struck when an explosion and fire destroyed the Doll House and its contents. Costumes, lights, flats, drapes, and the entire music and script library were lost.” The first photo on the linked page shows the Doll House during the period when it housed the Lyric Music Theatre.
An item datelined Augusta, Kansas in the May 24, 1952 issue of Boxoffice said that “Mrs. D. A. Bisagno opened her 250-car drive-in theatre here May 15 with Columbia’s ‘The First Time.’”
Boller Brothers lost the contract to design the Augusta Theatre to architect Larry Larsen in 1935, but an article in Boxoffice of October 29, 1949 about the reopening of the house after the rebuilding necessitated by a major fire that July says that the plans for the restoration had been prepared by Robert Boller and Dietz Lusk. The reopening took place on October 21.
Numerous items from Boxoffice in the 1940s and ‘50s confirm that the Isis was still operated by the Bisagno family during that period. It was probably operated as their “B” house when it was open, except during the period following the 1949 fire that gutted the Augusta Theater, when it would have served as the town’s only theater.
An October 29, 1949 Boxoffice item about the reopening of the Augusta said that the Isis would be closed for structural changes and redecoration. I’m not sure how much longer the Isis operated, but it was mentioned in passing in a January 26, 1957 Boxoffice article about Bob Bisagno’s hobby of restoring player pianos. It is mentioned in passing again in an item about Mrs. D. A. Bisagno in Boxoffice of February 24, 1958, so it might have been open that late.
Here’s the earliest mention of Augusta’s Idle Hour I’ve found in the trade journals. It’s from the February 17, 1917 issue of Motion Picture News: “KANSAS.— Augusta: Mrs. Jack Reinbold accompanied her husband to Kansas City last week, as usual, to select pictures for the Idle Hour at Augusta, Kan. Mrs. Reinbold does most of the selecting; in fact, frequently making trips by herself for the purpose. She has been markedly successful. Augusta is a raining town, and she seems to hit off its tastes well. Billie Burke has made a hit there, and has been one of the most successful bookings made by the Idle Hour.”
An October 16, 1920 Moving Picture World item mentions a C. H. Barron who owned “…the only two theaters in Augusta, Kan….” By that date, one of those theaters would have been the Isis and the other would have been the Idle Hour. Then the December 10, 1921 issue of Moving Picture World mentioned “Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Barron, who formerly operated the Isis and Mecca theatres in Augusta, Kas….” I’d say that’s a pretty strong indication that the Idle Hour became the Mecca, probably sometime during Mr. Barron’s ownership.
Further evidence that the Isis dated from 1916 is this item from the February 12 issue of Moving Picture World that year: “AUGUSTA, KANS.-G. M. Smith has the contract to erect a moving picture theater for F. G. Yates. The structure will cost about $10,000.”
The Augusta Theatre was built in 1935 by Dave Bisagno, who had operated the Isis for some time. The Isis was listed as closed in FDYs for 1938 and 1939 (I don’t have access to 1936 or 1937,) but was opened again in the 1940s and was still listed in 1951. It was probably still operated by the Bisagno family during those years, as they operated the Augusta until selling it to the Augusta Arts Commission in 1985.
Thanks for the additional information and the images, toasterking. Here is a hyperlink to your video at YouTube. From the description in Boxoffice I thought this might have been a system like the ones used in old atmospheric theaters in the 1920s, but fiber optics makes much more sense for the beginning of the 21st century.
This must have been the house that opened in 1907 as the Nickelodeon, noted in Douglas Gomery’s 1992 book Shared Pleasures: A History of Movie Presentation in the United States. It later moved and was renamed the Idle Hour, and was still in operation under that name in 1916 when the larger Isis Theatre opened. Gomery doesn’t give addresses, or say if the Nickelodeon was renamed before or after it moved to its new location, but the new location appears to have been 511 State Street.
If the building was built between 1915 and 1917 it’s the history that is wrong, not the address. Douglas Gomery’s 1992 book Shared Pleasures: A History of Movie Presentation in the United States Actually devotes three short paragraphs to the early theaters in Augusta, and says that the Isis opened in 1916, supplementing an earlier movie house four doors down the block called the Idle Hour. That had to have been the theater at 511.
Gomery further notes that the Idle Hour began at a different location in 1907 under the name The Nickelodeon. I’m thinking that was most likely the storefront theater at 518 State Street. Gomery doesn’t say when the Nickelodeon changed its name (before or after the move) or when it moved, but I’m wondering if that very specific date Bryan gave for the opening of the Isis might actually have been the date for the opening of the new Idle Hour?
If anyone wants to see the three paragraphs about Augusta in Gomery’s book, it’s at Google Books. Here is a link (I hope.)
The January, 2001 issue of Boxoffice said that Eastern Federal had installed a device called a Tivoli Starlight Panel in their Starlight Cinema at Anderson. It projected star patterns on the ceiling of the lobby, including signs of the zodiac. The theater held a weekly contest in which the first patron to identify which constellation was being displayed received a free movie pass.
News that ABC-Southeastern Theatres had leased space in the new Anderson Mall for an 800-seat theater appeared in the March 20, 1972 issue of Boxoffice. The house most likely didn’t open until the second half of the year, but I’ve been unable to find any announcement of that event.
An announcement by Frederick Mercy Jr. of a 1,000-seat twin theater to be built near the Yakima Theatre Company’s Tower Drive-In at Union Gap appeared in the January 3, 1972 issue of Boxoffice. This was the first phase of a project that would later include the demolition of the drive-in and its replacement by retail space. The entire project was being designed by Yakima-based firm Doudna-Williams Architects (Richard Miles Doudna and Arthur Robert “Bob” Williams.)
An item in the March 15, 1976 issue of Boxoffice told of three projects then underway for the Fairlane-Litchfield circuit (mistakenly called Fairlane-Ritchfield in the article) including this house in Anderson. The three auditoriums on the Anderson location were to seat 400, 300, and 200.
The timing and description of this project noted in the August 7, 1918 issue of Building and Engineering News makes it a very good candidate to have been the Strand: “Contract Awarded. THEATRE Cost, 25,000 PHOENIX, Arizona. Washington St. Two-story Class ‘B’ moving picture theatre. Owner — A. C. Hubbard, Redlands. Cal. Architects— Alfred W. Rea and C. E. Garstang, 720 Black Bldg., Los Angeles. Contractor— A. E. Taylor, Redlands, Cal. and Y. M. C. A. Bldg., Phoenix.”
Architects Alfred W. Rea and Charles E. Garstang began their practice in Joplin, Missouri, in 1901, but were working in Los Angeles by 1914, when they designed a building for the Standard Oil company in Whittier.
Movies in Victoria predate this building. The April 1, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World mentioned “R. A. Caldwell, of South Hills, Va., who is operating a string of small houses at South Hill, Blackstone, Lawrenceville, Clarksville, Burkesville, and Victoria, Va.”
This item from the June 3, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World might be about the Cameo Theatre’s origin: “Will Build in Lawrenceville, Va.
“Lawrenceville, Va.—This place is soon to have a new and modern motion picture theater as a result of a fire in the operating room of the Opera House during which the five reel subject ‘The Sins of the Mothers,’ V-L-S-E., and a single reel Universal was destroyed. The owners of the building, which also houses a bank, refuse to allow the exhibition of motion pictures there in the future. E. K. Fox, who has been operating in the Opera House and who also has the Opera House at Snow Hill, Va., is fixing up a tent to use during the summer. He expects to have his new house ready early in the fall.”
The May 17, 1930 issue of The Billboard said that the Metairie Theater at Metairie Road and Frisco Avenue had opened under the management of C. E. Strauss and H. A. Johnson.
The July 13, 1937 Film Daily noted the change of ownership and name: “United Theaters Add One
“New Orleans— United Theaters will open the newest addition to its subsequent run neighborhood circuit here tomorrow when it starts the Metairie, rechristened the Metry. Theater, which has been a hard operating proposition, was taken over from a corporation headed by Alex Dumeste, Jefferson Parish (county) lawyer, who has been retained as manager.”
I came across the following item from the May 17, 1961 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor:
This item caught my eye, as I saw that movie. It was released as “Poor White Trash” sometime in the summer of 1962. The production was four-walled (theaters were rented and guaranteed a certain amount, plus what they could earn from concessions, while the distributor of the film collected the entire box office take.) It was clearly presented as an exploitation flick, with full-page ads in the papers touting a lurid tale of lust among the swamp-dwelling Cajuns of Louisiana. I was sure the movie would be crap, but thought perhaps it would at least have some decent Cajun music for a sound track, and in any case the venue in downtown Los Angeles was the Los Angeles Theatre itself, my favorite downtown palace.So on opening day I went downtown and bought my ticket for the early show, which was at first busier than the house usually was. The movie was not a disappointment in that it was utterly disappointing, as I’d expected, and worse, didn’t even have the Cajun music I’d hoped for. The cinematography was execrable, the lighting horrible, the sound hopelessly muddy, the acting amateurish, the characters as unpleasant as they were unbelievable, and the script… well, I had a hard time believing there even was one. As for the touted luridness, all I can say is the movie could easily have been marketed as a sure-fire cure for priapism.
But I was happy to forgive all that (sadly not even comical) failure, as the movie gave me an experience I would surly never have had otherwise. I saw my favorite downtown movie palace packed. The audience kept growing as I watched to movie, and soon came to provide an alternate viewing experience much superior to the one I had bought a ticket for. By the time the movie mercifully ended, I looked around the huge space and saw virtually every seat in view taken, almost all of them by men, and every one of them (I am sure) was a true devotee of the cinematic arts.
I could see people in the second balcony, a part of the theater that had never before been open when I was there. Before leaving the theater (it was a single feature, unusual for those days, and there was no way I was staying for a second showing of that poor piece of black and white trash) I made my way up one of the narrow staircases leading to that mystery area, and for the only time got to see that vast, ornate auditorium from the very top. That alone would have been worth the price of admission.
So now I know a bit more about the men responsible for that wretched moving picture. I forgive them. It was going on two thirds of a century ago, and most likely they are dead now, as are most of the audience I shared the experience with, and it won’t be long before I join them (or nobody) in that (probably imaginary) balcony in the sky. Whether the memory will survive or not I can’t say and really don’t care. It’s here now and I got to enjoy it again. And now I think I’ll make some popcorn.
The November 14, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor said that “United Theatres completed renovation and refurbishing of the Grand, Metairie, La..”
This item from the May 17, 1930 issue of The Billboard notes the opening of the Venice Theatre: “An invitation audience of 500 recently attended the formal opening of Philadelphia’s newest neighborhood picture theater, the Venice, Snyder avenue and 18th street. Jacob Blumberg and Charles Steiffel are the owners, and Jack Blumberg Jr., is house manager.”
This Facebook post from the Frisco Parks and Recreation Department indicates that the second Frisco Theatre was a reopening of the 1922 Queen Theatre. The house later changed names again, first to the Gem and finally to the Rio. This page and the page for the Rio (aka Gem) can be consolidated on the Queen’s page, which was the earliest posted for Frisco. The first Frisco was on the same lot as its successors, but was housed in a different building that was lost to a 1922 fire.
The July 7, 1935 Film Daily ran this notice: “Frisco, Tex.—T. J. Farrington has opened the Frisco theater, a new house seating 200.”
The end of one brief episode in the Star’s history was noted in the May 7, 1952 issue of The Exhibitor: “Newmarket: The Star invited the Newmarket Boys’ Club to be guests at the last performance before the theatre shut down. The Star, owned by Arthur J. Turcotte, has been operating since August, 1951.”
This item from the November 6, 1926 issue of Motion Picture News might have been about the project that eventually operated as the first Cameo Theatre in Deering: “Lee Gorman will shortly open a theatre in Deering, Me. He operates a circuit in Maine and plans to present films exclusively.”
This house was still listed as Hoegg’s Opera House in the 1909-1910 Cahn guide.
The October 16, 1948 issue of Boxoffice said that when M. A. Moriabto took over the Deering Theatre he changed policy to art house fare and renamed the theater the Doll House. (The surname Moriabto does not appear to exist. Google’s AI suggests that this was most likely a typo for the Italian surname Morabito.)
The final chapter in the theater’s history is covered at the web site of Portland’s Lyric Music Theatre company. It says in part: “The group moved to a vacant movie theater on Stevens Avenue in Portland. The theater, known as the Doll House, and formerly Hoegg Hall, became the first permanent home for the Lyric Theater troupe and many successful shows were produced. At the close of the 1971 season, disaster struck when an explosion and fire destroyed the Doll House and its contents. Costumes, lights, flats, drapes, and the entire music and script library were lost.” The first photo on the linked page shows the Doll House during the period when it housed the Lyric Music Theatre.
An item datelined Augusta, Kansas in the May 24, 1952 issue of Boxoffice said that “Mrs. D. A. Bisagno opened her 250-car drive-in theatre here May 15 with Columbia’s ‘The First Time.’”
Boller Brothers lost the contract to design the Augusta Theatre to architect Larry Larsen in 1935, but an article in Boxoffice of October 29, 1949 about the reopening of the house after the rebuilding necessitated by a major fire that July says that the plans for the restoration had been prepared by Robert Boller and Dietz Lusk. The reopening took place on October 21.
Numerous items from Boxoffice in the 1940s and ‘50s confirm that the Isis was still operated by the Bisagno family during that period. It was probably operated as their “B” house when it was open, except during the period following the 1949 fire that gutted the Augusta Theater, when it would have served as the town’s only theater.
An October 29, 1949 Boxoffice item about the reopening of the Augusta said that the Isis would be closed for structural changes and redecoration. I’m not sure how much longer the Isis operated, but it was mentioned in passing in a January 26, 1957 Boxoffice article about Bob Bisagno’s hobby of restoring player pianos. It is mentioned in passing again in an item about Mrs. D. A. Bisagno in Boxoffice of February 24, 1958, so it might have been open that late.
Here’s the earliest mention of Augusta’s Idle Hour I’ve found in the trade journals. It’s from the February 17, 1917 issue of Motion Picture News: “KANSAS.— Augusta: Mrs. Jack Reinbold accompanied her husband to Kansas City last week, as usual, to select pictures for the Idle Hour at Augusta, Kan. Mrs. Reinbold does most of the selecting; in fact, frequently making trips by herself for the purpose. She has been markedly successful. Augusta is a raining town, and she seems to hit off its tastes well. Billie Burke has made a hit there, and has been one of the most successful bookings made by the Idle Hour.”
An October 16, 1920 Moving Picture World item mentions a C. H. Barron who owned “…the only two theaters in Augusta, Kan….” By that date, one of those theaters would have been the Isis and the other would have been the Idle Hour. Then the December 10, 1921 issue of Moving Picture World mentioned “Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Barron, who formerly operated the Isis and Mecca theatres in Augusta, Kas….” I’d say that’s a pretty strong indication that the Idle Hour became the Mecca, probably sometime during Mr. Barron’s ownership.
Further evidence that the Isis dated from 1916 is this item from the February 12 issue of Moving Picture World that year: “AUGUSTA, KANS.-G. M. Smith has the contract to erect a moving picture theater for F. G. Yates. The structure will cost about $10,000.”
The Augusta Theatre was built in 1935 by Dave Bisagno, who had operated the Isis for some time. The Isis was listed as closed in FDYs for 1938 and 1939 (I don’t have access to 1936 or 1937,) but was opened again in the 1940s and was still listed in 1951. It was probably still operated by the Bisagno family during those years, as they operated the Augusta until selling it to the Augusta Arts Commission in 1985.
Thanks for the additional information and the images, toasterking. Here is a hyperlink to your video at YouTube. From the description in Boxoffice I thought this might have been a system like the ones used in old atmospheric theaters in the 1920s, but fiber optics makes much more sense for the beginning of the 21st century.
This must have been the house that opened in 1907 as the Nickelodeon, noted in Douglas Gomery’s 1992 book Shared Pleasures: A History of Movie Presentation in the United States. It later moved and was renamed the Idle Hour, and was still in operation under that name in 1916 when the larger Isis Theatre opened. Gomery doesn’t give addresses, or say if the Nickelodeon was renamed before or after it moved to its new location, but the new location appears to have been 511 State Street.
Okay, the link only goes to the front cover. The three paragraphs start on page 28.
If the building was built between 1915 and 1917 it’s the history that is wrong, not the address. Douglas Gomery’s 1992 book Shared Pleasures: A History of Movie Presentation in the United States Actually devotes three short paragraphs to the early theaters in Augusta, and says that the Isis opened in 1916, supplementing an earlier movie house four doors down the block called the Idle Hour. That had to have been the theater at 511.
Gomery further notes that the Idle Hour began at a different location in 1907 under the name The Nickelodeon. I’m thinking that was most likely the storefront theater at 518 State Street. Gomery doesn’t say when the Nickelodeon changed its name (before or after the move) or when it moved, but I’m wondering if that very specific date Bryan gave for the opening of the Isis might actually have been the date for the opening of the new Idle Hour?
If anyone wants to see the three paragraphs about Augusta in Gomery’s book, it’s at Google Books. Here is a link (I hope.)
The January, 2001 issue of Boxoffice said that Eastern Federal had installed a device called a Tivoli Starlight Panel in their Starlight Cinema at Anderson. It projected star patterns on the ceiling of the lobby, including signs of the zodiac. The theater held a weekly contest in which the first patron to identify which constellation was being displayed received a free movie pass.
News that ABC-Southeastern Theatres had leased space in the new Anderson Mall for an 800-seat theater appeared in the March 20, 1972 issue of Boxoffice. The house most likely didn’t open until the second half of the year, but I’ve been unable to find any announcement of that event.
An announcement by Frederick Mercy Jr. of a 1,000-seat twin theater to be built near the Yakima Theatre Company’s Tower Drive-In at Union Gap appeared in the January 3, 1972 issue of Boxoffice. This was the first phase of a project that would later include the demolition of the drive-in and its replacement by retail space. The entire project was being designed by Yakima-based firm Doudna-Williams Architects (Richard Miles Doudna and Arthur Robert “Bob” Williams.)
An item in the March 15, 1976 issue of Boxoffice told of three projects then underway for the Fairlane-Litchfield circuit (mistakenly called Fairlane-Ritchfield in the article) including this house in Anderson. The three auditoriums on the Anderson location were to seat 400, 300, and 200.
The timing and description of this project noted in the August 7, 1918 issue of Building and Engineering News makes it a very good candidate to have been the Strand: “Contract Awarded. THEATRE Cost, 25,000 PHOENIX, Arizona. Washington St. Two-story Class ‘B’ moving picture theatre. Owner — A. C. Hubbard, Redlands. Cal. Architects— Alfred W. Rea and C. E. Garstang, 720 Black Bldg., Los Angeles. Contractor— A. E. Taylor, Redlands, Cal. and Y. M. C. A. Bldg., Phoenix.”
Architects Alfred W. Rea and Charles E. Garstang began their practice in Joplin, Missouri, in 1901, but were working in Los Angeles by 1914, when they designed a building for the Standard Oil company in Whittier.
Movies in Victoria predate this building. The April 1, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World mentioned “R. A. Caldwell, of South Hills, Va., who is operating a string of small houses at South Hill, Blackstone, Lawrenceville, Clarksville, Burkesville, and Victoria, Va.”
This item from the June 3, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World might be about the Cameo Theatre’s origin: “Will Build in Lawrenceville, Va.
“Lawrenceville, Va.—This place is soon to have a new and modern motion picture theater as a result of a fire in the operating room of the Opera House during which the five reel subject ‘The Sins of the Mothers,’ V-L-S-E., and a single reel Universal was destroyed. The owners of the building, which also houses a bank, refuse to allow the exhibition of motion pictures there in the future. E. K. Fox, who has been operating in the Opera House and who also has the Opera House at Snow Hill, Va., is fixing up a tent to use during the summer. He expects to have his new house ready early in the fall.”