Ideal Theatre
152 W. Pine Street,
Ponchatoula,
LA
70454
152 W. Pine Street,
Ponchatoula,
LA
70454
No one has favorited this theater yet
Additional Info
Previous Names: New Ideal Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The New Ideal Theatre opened on April 24, 1923 with “The Town that Forgot God”. It was located on West Pine Street, replacing an earlier and smaller Ideal Theatre on the same site (which was in a frame building that was moved to another location and reused for other purposes). The Ideal Theatre was destroyed in a fire on May 8, 1960, the film playing on that date was Rita Hayworth in “The Story on Page One”. The remains were demolished and replaced by a new retail structure, which is today home to an antique store.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
The original Ideal Theatre was pictured in The Moving Picture World, December 6, 1913. The brief text said that the theater had opened three years earlier and seated 250.
The New Ideal Theatre opened on April 24, 1923 with “The Town That Forgot God.” The theatre converted to sound in 1929 to remain viable. The theater’s marketing including the line, “Our screen speaks for itself” to emphasize talking pictures.
On May 6, 1960, the theatre was refreshed. On May 8, 1960, the theatre showed Rita Hayworth’s “The Story on Page One.” Unfortunately, it was the theatre, itself, that made page one as a fire destroyed the theatre. Its final ad continued to carry the 30+ year old tagline, “Our screen speaks for itself.” The remnants of the building were demolished thereafter. Ernest Drake decided to reopen the dormant Pic Theatre to play out his contracted films.