Ideal Theatre
152 W. Pine Street,
Ponchatoula,
LA
70454
152 W. Pine Street,
Ponchatoula,
LA
70454
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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.
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.