Coliseum Theatre

Joe Vogel on September 20, 2024 at 12:31 pm

The Coliseum was the only house listed at Stoneboro in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. The September 26, 1914 issue of The New York Clipper had two ads from Stoneboro in sequence:

“STONEBORO, PA. Book now for coming Season. Everything working full time. Write for dates. Hines opera house, box 14.”

and

“THE COLISEUM THEATRE, Stoneboro, Pa. New house. Ground floor. Large stage. Modern equipment. Electric lighted. Open time for good attractions. E. AL. RAYMOND, Manager.”

So the Coliseum was new in 1914, and originally featured live performances, but had to have been equipped for movies as well, or it wouldn’t have been listed in the AMPD.

The only mention of the house I’ve found in the movie theater industry trade journals is this item from the October 21, 1922 issue of Moving Picture World: “Tom Greer, of the Coliseum Theatre, Stoneboro, Pa., recently motored to Pittsburgh in his flivver, and was arrested here for speeding. But Tom got out of his trouble. He told the cop he had just assembled the car and forgot to put the slow parts back into it.”