Lake Theatre
117 E. Dwight Street,
Oscoda,
MI
48750
117 E. Dwight Street,
Oscoda,
MI
48750
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And the neon sign has been destroyed:
www.flickr.com/photos/mfobrien/721341313/
Also, it’s been repainted a mint green color since that 2008 picture.
Hey, if it was a policy at GCC,ABC and Plitt I wish some District Manager would have told me,I just thought that was what we were in Business for to entertain a sometimes distressed Public.Even at 9:15 pm.
I’m guessing it’s an expense thing in a smaller town. Plus, I don’t know if the rule is still in effect.
Where was I at when I was in the Business with ABC,PLITT and GCC,We showed movies even if one person came,Wasn’t that what the Theatre was for,“escape”?Get out of Business if you have to send people home.Sorry,Small town or not no excuse.
Last I knew, this theater has a policy that they don’t show the movie unless more than 10 people show up. More than once, I’ve had to leave because not enough people showed up for them to show the movie!
Believe it or not, nobody AT ALL went here for Polar Express until they did a weekend matinee for school kids. That’s small town USA for you.
What a nice looking little theatre.
The count of 361 comes from a movie theater worker who counted each seat because she was bored. It probably had slightly more seats at one point, but a few seats were removed to make handicap-accessible seating.
Also, the “Mini-Art” is listed in a 1971 phone book. A “Showcase Theater” is listed at the same address in 1976.
The “Iasca” is also a misspelling. It was called the Iosco, as that’s the county that Oscoda is in.
Unless I’m conflating it with another theater, the Iosco was at 216 S. State St. The site is now a vacant lot, but it was a bookstore until the early 2000s.
Here’s something from a later issue of Boxoffice, April 1, 1950: “The Iosco, 200-seater at Oscoda, Michigan, has not been closed, says owner Mrs. A.A. Affelt, wife of the late owner of the house.” They got the second initial wrong, though. Back in 1932, Mr. A.F. Affelt of Oscoda was shopping for rectifiers through the want-ad section of the New England Film Journal. I can’t find any post-1950 references to the Iosco, though.
Here’s another interesting tidbit about Oscoda, from the August 6, 1973, issue of Boxoffice: “The Mini Art Theatre, Oscoda, has been renamed the Variety.” I wonder if maybe somebody reopened the Iosco as an art house? Wherever it was, the Mini-Art might have been opened in late 1972 or early 1973, as they were seeking 16mm projectors in a want ad published in the November 27, 1972, issue of Boxoffice.
The May 21, 1973, issue of Boxoffice said that Mr. and Mrs. Jack Brown of Oscoda had bought the Family Theatre in East Tawas, Michigan, and added that the Browns also owned the Lake and Mini-Art Theatres in Oscoda and the Gem Theatre in Hale. I’ve found no references to the Mini-Art/Variety after 1973.
The Alco in Harrisville isn’t listed at Cinema Treasures yet, either, but the Michigan theaters web site has it. They don’t have the Iosco, though.
From Boxoffice, March 11, 1950: “William Frank scheduled March 13 for the opening of his new 423-seat Lake Theatre here. Frank, who is a partner with R.V. Rule in the Alco at Harrisville, will operate the new house on his own. The Old Iosco, a 200-seater operated by the late A.F. Affelt, has been closed.”