Smoot Theatre
213 5th Street,
Parkersburg,
WV
26102
213 5th Street,
Parkersburg,
WV
26102
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Pic of the marquee of the Smoot in early 1930: View link
The January 7, 1926, issue of The Film Daily said that architect Fred Elliott was drawing plans for a new theater at Parkersburg, West Virginia, for the Smoot Amusement Company. The house would be built on the site of the Hippodrome Theatre.
The 1950’s renovation of the Smoot employed a vitrolite exterior with six display cases. The two end display cases were for 40X60 posters (very expensive for the time), beside each of these display cases were identical ones, each with a 22X28 half sheet on top with four 8X10 photos underneath. On each side of the ticket booth there wer two long display cases used to display a set of 11X14 lobby cards.
The lobby of the Smoot was not impressive.
Nice photo and sign ken mc.
Here is another photo. I like the Vitaphone sign.
http://tinyurl.com/ye6asks
This 1914 photo from Google books shows the predecessor to the Smoot. The Hippodrome showed films and also vaudeville, according to the caption.
http://tinyurl.com/6nxa8u
The projection room at the Smoot remains intact—although the staff don’t routinely allow visitors up there. The balcony also retains original wooden seating. Perhaps the Smoot will one day screen films again. The side of the Smoot also features restored advertising for Vitagraph and Movietone.
The Smoot was part of the JUR Theater Circuit in the early sixties. Joseph Raad was president, while Joseph S. Joseph was general manager. Besides the Smoot, JUR operated the Burwell, Parker, Mur Drive-In and Stanley Drive-In in Parkersburg, the Jur Theater in Ravenswood, the Ripley in Alpine and the Dixie Drive-In in Sandyville. Ohio theaters in the chain were the Belpre Open Air in Belpre, the Riverside Drive-In in Constitution and the Starlite Drive-In in Marietta.
Here is a photo from the 1940s:
http://tinyurl.com/fxkza
Old photos:
View link
The Smoot Theatre seated 913 people.