Gem Theatre
519 E. Main Street,
Little Falls,
NY
13365
519 E. Main Street,
Little Falls,
NY
13365
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Vintage photo found of a group of children in front of this theatre. The Gem Theatre was opened in May 1908, replacing an earlier 1905 Gem Theatre at 44. W. Main Street. It was still open in 1925, but had closed by 1926.
Contributed by
Gerald A. DeLuca
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
The Gem was still in operation as late as 1925, when it was mentioned in the April 11 issue of Moving Picture World. The original Gem opened some years prior to March 7, 1908, the date on which the MPW reported that its owners were planning to move their theater to a new and larger location:
According to this web page from the Little Falls Historical Society, which has an extensive history of the town’s theaters, the Gem Theatre of 1908 was located at 519 E. Main Street, and occupied a building that was half new construction and half a renovated older building. Reardon and Shults eventually took control of other Little Falls movie houses, and in 1920 they sold the Gem to a Mr. and Mrs. McGraw. Following Mr. McGraw’s death in 1925, Mrs. McGraw sold the house to the Schine brothers, who also acquired three other theaters in Little Falls. It does not appear that the Schines ever actually operated the Gem, though, concentrating their efforts primarily on the newer and larger Gateway Theatre, which they renamed the Rialto.The Historical Society page also notes that Reardon and Shults opened the original Gem at 44 W. Main Street in 1905.
The 1908 Gem’s architect, Carl Haug, was noted in the region, and a few years after the Gem was built founded a firm with two of his sons, one of whom predeceased him.
All the historic buildings on the odd-numbered side of this block of Main Street have been demolished. A very bland, modern bank building occupies the site of the Gem.