Esquire Theatre

The Esquire, as well as the Drexel, were my “neighborhood theatres” when I was growing up. Although the first movie I recall being taken to was, in fact, SLEEPING BEAUTY downtown (I always thought it was at the Loew’s Ohio, but I was five; it well could have been Hunt’s Cinestage, especially since, with the exception of the road-shown SLEEPING BEAUTY, Disney films tended to play at the RKO Palace, an arrangement no doubt stemming from RKO’s longtime releasing of Disney films before Disney founded its own distributor, BuenaVista, in 1954).

The first movie I remember seeing at the Esquire was CINDERFELLA, with Jerry Lewis, in early 1961. Throughout the 1960s, the Esquire played second-run movies mostly. I had my first viewings of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, BEN-HUR, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (the 1971 reissue), and PATTON. After the theatre was remodeled, with a name change to Carousel East, the first film I saw there was CABARET in the Summer of 1972.

Unlike the Drexel, which enjoyed a distinguished turn as a first-run house from 1967 to the end of the 1970s, the Esquire, built for the old system of downtown palaces and what VARIETY termed “sub-run” “nabes,” never found its niche in the age of suburban first-run multi-plexes.

I taught at Whitehall in 1960!!!!

In Columbus, SLEEPING BEAUTY opened exclusively at the downtown Hunt’s Cinestage on March 19, 1959, playing with the short subject, GRAND CANYON, and replacing SOUTH PACIFIC. Final date was May 20, 1959, replaced by 80 Days “at popular prices”.

kenreiff6, would you remember if the Esquire played Disney’s Sleeping Beauty in its first run — 1958?

All I know is that when my wife and I went back to Columbus in 1988 the Esquire was torn down. Her family lived on Broadmoor so we were in the area quite a bit.

Do you happen to know when it closed?

I grew up three blocks from the Esquire and from about the age of 6 through to 9 I spent almost every Saturday afternoon there. The admission price was 50 cents ( The Drexel was 35 cents) . I can remember seeing all sorts of horror movies there as well as a double feature of Gigi and Lili. And for some reason or another Rory Calhoun in The Colosses of Rhodes was a major event ( for me) at the Esquire. Whenever they didn’t have a one sheet for the theatre’s next attraction they put in a poster for “Night Train to Munich” after a few months of seeing the poster on and off I remember I begged the woman in the Box office to tell me if they were ever going to show it. I don’t remember her response.

Jeff Frank acquired the Drexel from Jerry Knight. A very interesting interview about Mr. Knight:
View link

Jeff Frank owner of the Drexel has some memories to share in this weeks e-mail newsletter.
The Sci-Fi Marathon, now in its 27th year, is the closest thing to my memories of Saturday matinee’s at the Esquire Theatre on East Broad St. in the late 50’s. We lived minutes away and collect pop bottles on the way to the cinema, cashing them in for 2 cents each to pay for admission and snacks. I remember getting a choice of cubes or crushed ice in your drink (the Esquire had a pop machine in the lobby). . On Saturday matinees you’d come early and stay all day to view at least three feature films, (sometimes five!), cartoons and combinations of such film serial favorites as Superman, the Blackhawks, Flash Gordon and many many more â€" all for 50 cents. You’d see three Japanese monster films (Gozilla was always the headliner) or a horror triple-bill of The Mummy, Frankenstein and The Wolfman, and the theatre was always filled with young thrill-seekers ready to have their hair stand on end.

Sure. The term came from New York City where there were numerous theaters in row. As you probably know, the film came in cans-4 reels to a can if I remember correctly. On long and expensive films
(Ben Hur/South Pacific, etc) there were usually 3 cans. The first theater would start the film and run 2 reels (40 minutes) The person responsible to get those to the next theater would put the can in his bicyle basket and pedal to the next theater and so on. The reels were cyled through up to as many as 4 theaters. You could actually see the bikes with the cans. That way the owners would only have to pay for 1 film instead of 3 or 4. In the case of the Esquire I used my car not bike and took the film back and forth. Sometimes, in the winter it became a challange and on a couple of occasions the theater went blank until I got there. Noted above from Mark L. I delivered to either the Drexel/Livingston theaters and occasionally to the theater across from Ohio State U. Can’t remember the name.
occasionally to the theater across

from Ohio State (cant remember the name).

I worked at the Esquire from 1956 to 1960 then moved to manage the Drexel on Main across from Capital U in 1960-61. At the Esquire I did all the jobs except projectionist (union). Bicyled films for Ben Hur, South Pacific, Sleeping Beauty, Oklahoma, etc. Worked as janitor, concession, ticket sales, usher, ticket taker, and managed the theater for late shows. The manager at the time was Professor Arthur Grossman from Capital University. I met my wife at the Esquire in 1959. We are celebrating our 50th this year. Any photos of the theater would be appreciated.
If you want more info about the theater contact me. Gulf Station next door. A lot of kids from Eastmoor High School.

ChasSmith, I think there is a possibility that the SLEEPING BEAUTY screening was at the Drexel on Main Street. I went to at least one special Disney screenings there for a Disney movie about Antarctica and the short PAUL BUNYON. I also remember they gave everyone a free Mars bar!