Lincoln $ Saver
1615 Central Avenue,
Cheyenne,
WY
82001
1615 Central Avenue,
Cheyenne,
WY
82001
6 people
favorited this theater
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Boxoffice, December 1982: “The Lincoln Theatre located in downtown Cheyenne, Wyoming, recently ceased operations. The theatre had been operated by Mann Theatres and the building will now be demolished.”
It is no longer a movie theater it is being turned in to a music venue witch I fear is going to destroy the art deco style of the building.
New pics of the Lincoln posted in the Photo section.
Now called the Lincoln $ Saver.
According to “The Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ” by Mr. David Junchen, pg. 631, the “Lincoln Th.” in Cheyenne, Wyoming, originally had a 2 manual, 6 rank Smith theatre pipe organ installed at some point.
No further information about this organ, such as install date, blower information (horsepower and wind pressure), or nameplate (Seeburg-Smith, Smith, Smith-Geneva, or Leathurby-Smith) is given in this book’s listing (not available at the time of publication).
Given what Mr. Vogel has written about the Lincoln Theatre opening in 1927, it seems this house must have had a Leathurby-Smith organ (or at least, the latest type of Smith organ built in Alameda, California from circa 1925 to 1928, and frequently sold along the West Coast by Leathurby who was a San Francisco-based dealer).
IF this is true and there was no earlier “Lincoln Theatre” in Cheyenne with a Smith organ, then this would be the first (and so far, only) Leathurby-Smith (or “California-built Smith”) organ I’ve seen sold East of the Western states (all of the others of which I’m aware were originally sold to California, Oregon, or Washington state).
Does anybody know more about this organ, and where it, or its parts, is/are today? Thanks!
As per http://movie-theatre.org/usa/wy/wyoming.htm this theater was operated at some point by Mann Theatres.
The Lincoln Theater is a well-known landmark for motorists traveling America’s first coast-to-coast road, the old Lincoln Highway. The 1950′s Art Deco style cinema still charges only a small admission.
The April 1, 1927, issue of Motion Picture News said that the new Lincoln Theatre in Cheyenne had opened the previous week. The house was owned by the Plains Theatre Corporation.
The Lincoln closed for several years during the 1980s. I enjoyed seeing a handful of movies here after it reopened, before it was twinned. It is a real treasure!
Another great looking theatre.
Interesting name.
Photo in Boxoffice magazine showing the front of the theatre for presentation of Annie Get Your Gun, issue of September 30, 1950:
View link
This is actually owned by Movie Palaces Inc. or at least that is name listed at the bottom of their website.
Fox Intermountain Theatres spent $125,000 to renovate the Lincoln Theatre in 1955. The reopening was mentioned in Boxoffice of August 20. The modern front dates from that time. The renovation, under the supervision of Fox Intermountain’s in-house architect Mel C. Glatz, included upgrading the screen and projection equipment to allow the Lincoln to present movies in the latest wide screen processes including Todd-AO.
The earliest mention of the Lincoln Theatre I’ve found in Boxoffice dates from October 1, 1938. It was listed as one of a number of theaters presenting both movies and live stage acts, though usually only on a single-day basis. As it had a stage, it was most likely opened in the 1920s or earlier.
It is a 2nd run discount house. admission (presently) is $2.00 or free when you purchase a bag of popcorn. I visited in March of ‘09 and saw “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” In the original downstairs auditorium. My memory isn’t serving me well but for some reason, I think that it’s a triplex. I seem to remember the upstairs having 2 theaters with the large, original auditorium down. At any rate, it is very tastefully divided, as someone else stated above. The color scheme in the main auditorium is blue and it features a curved screen. It is a very large and impressive building, both inside and out. The lobby is very nice and well decorated with a large concession stand. Took a peek in the balcony theater (or one of them, if I’m right about it being a triplex) and it was very nice as well, although very small. It did retain much of the original balcony look and feel.
A wonderful theater to visit. I’d kill to have been able to experience it back in its single screen days!
This theater was very tastfully twinned and the balcony and main floor now serve as the two theaters. This is a great place to see a movie if you’re in Cheyenne. Its very well kept up and well operated.
Another photo:
http://flickr.com/photos/spoinknet/53915373/
Homepage:
http://www.wyomovies.com/theatreinfo.php?id=15
The Lincoln Theatre is located at 1615 Central Ave. and it seated 1221 people.