A 1928 publication called The Film Daily is online at http://www.archive.org/stream/filmdaily4344newy/filmdaily4344newy_djvu.txt. In that document it lists changes of theater ownership and closings. At April 6, 1928 it writes under closings “East Orange —Brighton; Lyceum and Oxford.” So it looks like a theater named the “Brighton” closed and it also looks like the “Oxford” (which may have been in the Lyceum of the Masonic Temple) also closed.
The following are abstracts compiled by Edith Greiser from 1931 issues of the Newberry Observer: RITZ THEATER – A NEW THEATER – Imperial Theater remodeled; stage eliminated; Observer 2/6/1931, p1; work is progressing rapidly; will be under management of C. H. Albrecht of Whitmire, Observer 2/10/1931, p6 The Ritz Theater opened to the public on 2/14/1931 featuring the picture “REDUCING”; a new air cooling system was installed, Observer 5/22/1931, p1; on the night of June 16 there was a fire in the projection room of the Ritz Theater; two reels of film were slightly damaged. The manager reported that all damages were repaired and the movie will be shown the following week, Observer 6/16/1931, p1.
According to an article in the Fall, 2012 issue of the journal of the Newberry Historical Society, there is more to the history of the Ritz Theater: the article says there had been a theater called the Imperial Theater at 1215 Main Street (2 blocks west of the current Ritz); in 1931 the Albrecht family took over the Imperial and renamed it the Ritz; about 1935 they planned to completely renovate that Ritz, but then decided instead to build a new Ritz Theater at the current location (1513 Main St).
Here is my blog post about the early days of The Ormont building: http://stocktonschool.blogspot.com/2012/12/east-orange-buildings-early-20th-century.html
Ads for the Opera House Theater (sometimes referred to as the Opera House Wells Theater) last appear in the Newberry Observer newspaper during September, 1941. On October 13, 1941 Fulmer Wells opened The Wells Theater.
From The Newberry Observer, July 2, 1957: the last show at The Wells Theater was Saturday, June 29, 1957 and it had opened in 1941; before the theater had been in the building it had been referred to as the Mimnaugh Building, a dry goods store; Theo “Dutch” Albrecht, who also operated The Ritz Theater in Newberry, had been leasing The Wells Theater from Fulmer Wells, but decided that one indoor was enough. An early 20th century postcard view of the Mimnaugh Building can be see at http://newberrysouthcarolina.blogspot.com/2012/10/main-street-in-early-20th-century.html
I talked to a Newberry resident whose family owned property next to where the Newberry Drive-In Theater was and she verified the Theater was at what is currently 882 Wilson Road, where the Newberry Electric Cooperative is.
A May 2, 1952 Newberry Observer article has a front page headline reporting that Mrs. Brown was found “not guilty” in magistrate’s court for the 5th time on the charge of showing movies on Sunday at the Newberry Drive-In Theater. In March the owners of The Ritz Theater (Theo “Dutch” Albrecht) and the Wells Theater (Fulmer Wells) had gone before city council asking if they could open on Sunday to better compete with the Drive-In. After hearing from many preachers, the city said no.
Newberry Observer, April 8, 1952, reports that the Cloverleaf Drive-In would have its grand opening April 10,1952 showing the movie “The Gal Who Took The West.” Mr S.L. Stallings is listed as the owner/operator and article says capacity is 270 cars.
This item appeared in The Music Trade Review, 1915:
“The M & S Amusement Co. plans to build two moving picture theaters soon. They will open The Regent Theater on Main Street, East Orange, first. The second theater will be opened on Seventh Street, Newark.”
There was also a movie theater called The Regent at 88 Main St, East Orange from 1915 to 1925 (The Strand, later called The Beacon, opened in 1925). Here is a photo and info about The Regent:
http://stocktonschool.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-regent-movie-theater.html
1964 photo of The Beacon from the Berg Collection courtesy of the Newark Public Library: http://stocktonschool.blogspot.com/2012/07/south-side-of-main-st-between-steuben.html
There is a 1934 city directory on ancestry.com listed as Newark but covers The Oranges also. P 284 covers Main St in East Orange starting from the Newark Line and 129 Main St near Grove St is listed as “The Strand” Theater. So that would mean the theater wasn’t always The Beacon. I lived a few blocks from there in the 1950’s and am hoping to get more info and hopefully photos from a Kridel descendant we’ve located.
Assuming this is from the Berg collection, it’s probably from roll 48 shot in July, 1961. http://www.jerseyhistory.org/findingaid.php?aid=1362-Berg_Collection
I worked at the Cloverleaf Drive-In Theater in 1965 and 1968. It was at the intersection of SC Hwy 121 and US 76 next to Haile’s restaurant. It was on land leased from the West family and was operated by Fulmer Wells and “Dutch” Albrecht, two men who each had his own “inside” movie theater in downtown Newberry. Dutch had the Ritz theater and Fulmer had the Wells theater (but the Wells theater had burned around the late 50’s).
I looked at some Newberry city directories today at the Newberry library: 1952 directory lists Newberry Drive-in as operated by “C. Kenner and Rook P Brown” (P would be for Purcell) and address is only listed as “cut-off” near Adelaide St extension.“ "Cut-off” is 1950’s speak for “Highway 76 Bypass, ” now Wilson Road. That would put it near the old National Guard Armory as has been mentioned previously. Only other directories for that time period are 1948 and 1957 and the drive-in is not listed in either one so it may have been open only a short time or it may have just been left out of those directories.
I talked to an 83 year old Newberry resident the other day and he said the Newberry Drive-in Theater was owned by a woman named Rook Purcell (a member of a prominent Newberry family), was near the old REA building (as has been mentioned previously), and closed before 1960.
1960’s Palace photo:https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3878164826727&set=gm.535701173110437&type=1&theater
The manager (and owner, I think) from 1975 through 1993 was Vincent Danna, Jr according to the Newberry City directories.
A 1928 publication called The Film Daily is online at http://www.archive.org/stream/filmdaily4344newy/filmdaily4344newy_djvu.txt. In that document it lists changes of theater ownership and closings. At April 6, 1928 it writes under closings “East Orange —Brighton; Lyceum and Oxford.” So it looks like a theater named the “Brighton” closed and it also looks like the “Oxford” (which may have been in the Lyceum of the Masonic Temple) also closed.
The following are abstracts compiled by Edith Greiser from 1931 issues of the Newberry Observer: RITZ THEATER – A NEW THEATER – Imperial Theater remodeled; stage eliminated; Observer 2/6/1931, p1; work is progressing rapidly; will be under management of C. H. Albrecht of Whitmire, Observer 2/10/1931, p6 The Ritz Theater opened to the public on 2/14/1931 featuring the picture “REDUCING”; a new air cooling system was installed, Observer 5/22/1931, p1; on the night of June 16 there was a fire in the projection room of the Ritz Theater; two reels of film were slightly damaged. The manager reported that all damages were repaired and the movie will be shown the following week, Observer 6/16/1931, p1.
According to an article in the Fall, 2012 issue of the journal of the Newberry Historical Society, there is more to the history of the Ritz Theater: the article says there had been a theater called the Imperial Theater at 1215 Main Street (2 blocks west of the current Ritz); in 1931 the Albrecht family took over the Imperial and renamed it the Ritz; about 1935 they planned to completely renovate that Ritz, but then decided instead to build a new Ritz Theater at the current location (1513 Main St).
Here is my blog post about the early days of The Ormont building: http://stocktonschool.blogspot.com/2012/12/east-orange-buildings-early-20th-century.html
Grand opening: Saturday, August 21, 1948 showing the movie “It’s a Pleasure.” (from Newberry Observer, Friday, August 20, 1948)
Ads for the Opera House Theater (sometimes referred to as the Opera House Wells Theater) last appear in the Newberry Observer newspaper during September, 1941. On October 13, 1941 Fulmer Wells opened The Wells Theater.
Newberry Observer, Oct 10, 1941: an article and congratulatory ads announcing the grand opening of the Wells Theater as October 13, 1941.
The last Newberry Observer ad for the Newberry Drive-In Theater appears to have been on Friday, May 8, 1953; no other ads found after that date.
From The Newberry Observer, July 2, 1957: the last show at The Wells Theater was Saturday, June 29, 1957 and it had opened in 1941; before the theater had been in the building it had been referred to as the Mimnaugh Building, a dry goods store; Theo “Dutch” Albrecht, who also operated The Ritz Theater in Newberry, had been leasing The Wells Theater from Fulmer Wells, but decided that one indoor was enough. An early 20th century postcard view of the Mimnaugh Building can be see at http://newberrysouthcarolina.blogspot.com/2012/10/main-street-in-early-20th-century.html
I talked to a Newberry resident whose family owned property next to where the Newberry Drive-In Theater was and she verified the Theater was at what is currently 882 Wilson Road, where the Newberry Electric Cooperative is.
A May 2, 1952 Newberry Observer article has a front page headline reporting that Mrs. Brown was found “not guilty” in magistrate’s court for the 5th time on the charge of showing movies on Sunday at the Newberry Drive-In Theater. In March the owners of The Ritz Theater (Theo “Dutch” Albrecht) and the Wells Theater (Fulmer Wells) had gone before city council asking if they could open on Sunday to better compete with the Drive-In. After hearing from many preachers, the city said no.
Newberry Observer, April 8, 1952, reports that the Cloverleaf Drive-In would have its grand opening April 10,1952 showing the movie “The Gal Who Took The West.” Mr S.L. Stallings is listed as the owner/operator and article says capacity is 270 cars.
Blog post about The Beacon along with October,1964 photos:
http://stocktonschool.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-beacon-movie-theater.html
This item appeared in The Music Trade Review, 1915:
“The M & S Amusement Co. plans to build two moving picture theaters soon. They will open The Regent Theater on Main Street, East Orange, first. The second theater will be opened on Seventh Street, Newark.”
There was also a movie theater called The Regent at 88 Main St, East Orange from 1915 to 1925 (The Strand, later called The Beacon, opened in 1925). Here is a photo and info about The Regent: http://stocktonschool.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-regent-movie-theater.html
1964 photo of The Beacon from the Berg Collection courtesy of the Newark Public Library: http://stocktonschool.blogspot.com/2012/07/south-side-of-main-st-between-steuben.html
There is a 1934 city directory on ancestry.com listed as Newark but covers The Oranges also. P 284 covers Main St in East Orange starting from the Newark Line and 129 Main St near Grove St is listed as “The Strand” Theater. So that would mean the theater wasn’t always The Beacon. I lived a few blocks from there in the 1950’s and am hoping to get more info and hopefully photos from a Kridel descendant we’ve located.
Assuming this is from the Berg collection, it’s probably from roll 48 shot in July, 1961. http://www.jerseyhistory.org/findingaid.php?aid=1362-Berg_Collection
Sorry. Don’t have any photos. But next time I see a member of the West Family (who still own the property) I’ll see if they have any.
I worked at the Cloverleaf Drive-In Theater in 1965 and 1968. It was at the intersection of SC Hwy 121 and US 76 next to Haile’s restaurant. It was on land leased from the West family and was operated by Fulmer Wells and “Dutch” Albrecht, two men who each had his own “inside” movie theater in downtown Newberry. Dutch had the Ritz theater and Fulmer had the Wells theater (but the Wells theater had burned around the late 50’s).
I looked at some Newberry city directories today at the Newberry library: 1952 directory lists Newberry Drive-in as operated by “C. Kenner and Rook P Brown” (P would be for Purcell) and address is only listed as “cut-off” near Adelaide St extension.“ "Cut-off” is 1950’s speak for “Highway 76 Bypass, ” now Wilson Road. That would put it near the old National Guard Armory as has been mentioned previously. Only other directories for that time period are 1948 and 1957 and the drive-in is not listed in either one so it may have been open only a short time or it may have just been left out of those directories.
I talked to an 83 year old Newberry resident the other day and he said the Newberry Drive-in Theater was owned by a woman named Rook Purcell (a member of a prominent Newberry family), was near the old REA building (as has been mentioned previously), and closed before 1960.