The Capitol Theatre launched on October 19, 1939 with Fred MacMurray in “Honeymoon In Bali” along with an Artie Shaw musical short “Artie Shaw’s Class In Swing”, an unnamed cartoon in color, and a pictorial newsreel.
I cannot find the original amount of seats the Capitol had in its opening heyday, but it had 338 cushioned multi-colored seats on the lower floor. The original seats featured red cushions, beige easy backs, natural arm rests, and red, blue, and gold endplates, and was designed based out of the New York World’s Fair that year. The Capitol also does have an original feature of a 15x20 daylight screen.
The Penn Drive-In opened its gates on August 24, 1950 with Esther Williams in “Neptune’s Daughter” along with a fireworks show at intermission. Otherwise, no extras were added. It was closed in 1969, but briefly became a special events site in the early-1970s.
It was unknown if this was an replacement of an earlier Trion Theatre, because there was an earlier Trion Theatre that operated as early as 1917.
The Trion Community Center Theatre closed as a movie theater on May 12, 1958 with Burt Lancaster’s “Sweet Smell Of Success” but continued operating as a special events theater for another year until September 1959.
Opened on November 25, 1946 with George Raft in “Whistle Stop” along with an unnamed Disney cartoon and a newsreel. It was a short-lived house, and closed during the 1950s.
The Plaza Theatre actually closed as a first-run movie theater in either the late-1970s or early-1980s. It was already a performing arts venue during the mid-1980s.
This opened in 1933, although I cannot find its grand opening date. In 1947, it was renamed the Ace-Park Theatre. Unfortunately I cannot find its closing date, but did close during the early-1950s.
The Plaza Theatre opened as a single-screener on July 2, 1976 with Clint Eastwood in “The Outlaw Josey Wales”. Two more screens were added on October 13, 1989 as the Plaza III Theatre, followed by another three more screens in April 1998 as Plaza Theatres. It was last known as Plaza VI Theater.
On the late afternoon of July 10, 1941, a small projection booth fire destroyed the entire last reel of Robert Sterling’s “I’ll Wait For You”, which the film was part in a double feature with “Abbott and Costello In The Navy”. Then-Lyric manager Ralph Wallace replied that he narrowly escaped serious burns, saying that “If he had have been standing on the side of the booth when the 2,000ft print burst into flames, he would have been burned to death before he could take his last breath”. A newer print of the movie immediately arrived the following day.
Wallace briefly left the Lyric in 1943 to serve in the army, but a medical discharge sent him back home to Boonville, when returned as the Lyric manager in February 1944, replacing his brief replacement A.D. Gilmere. Gilmere was also notable for putting 875 free war bonds all over the then-875-seat auditorium during the same week as Wallace’s return.
The Lyric was Boonville’s CinemaScope hotspot after installations of the system on February 3, 1954, launching the format that day with “The Robe” in Stereophonic sound. Bob Rittenhouse was the manager of the Lyric at the time, who had been operating since August 1951, and before that it was Jack Golladay who operated the Lyric in the late-1940s, and would later become managers for Kirksville’s Kennedy and Princess Theatres.
Rittenhouse operated the Lyric until July 1954 when he left to become manager for the Fox Theatre in Springfield. Russell Rhyne of Brookfield immediately became the manager for the Lyric, who had been with the Fox circuit since 1941. Rhyne then left the Lyric in October 1955 to reside back in his home in Brookfield, and was replaced by Clyde Patton, an armed forces veteran and a Sedalia resident who lived in Christopher, Illinois at the time.
Also opened with two unnamed shorts and an unnamed comedy. It was first operated by the husband-and-wife team of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony L. Fenton of Columbia.
On June 14, 1942, the theater’s 2,500-pound marquee collapsed and crushed six people, killing a 65-year-old Combs woman and injured five others. According to investigators, workmen were working on the marquee when the collapse happened.
The August 28, 1978 roof collapse injured three people, and happened during the showing of Walt Disney’s “Hot Lead & Cold Feet” which also comes along with “The Madcap Adventures Of Mr. Toad” (or the retitled reissue of “The Wind In The Willows” from “The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad”) beforehand.
According to one out of an estimate 120 to 150 people that attended the showing, he said that the collapsed happened during a scene where Don Knotts shot his gun upward nearly 17 minutes prior to the ending of the movie, saying that “Knotts had just raised his gun when there was this big crash”. It was unclear if the sound system was related to the collapse.
Unlike most multi-screen drive-ins, all four screens closed on separate dates. The first screen closed on March 31, 1987, while the second screen closed on August 2, 1987. The third screen closed on September 3, 1987, and the final screen closed on September 13, 1987.
On its final day of operation, “Born In East L.A.” and “Hamburger Hill” were screened on the last remaining operating screen.
It opened on November 25, 1946, not May 25, 1946.
The Capitol Theatre launched on October 19, 1939 with Fred MacMurray in “Honeymoon In Bali” along with an Artie Shaw musical short “Artie Shaw’s Class In Swing”, an unnamed cartoon in color, and a pictorial newsreel.
I cannot find the original amount of seats the Capitol had in its opening heyday, but it had 338 cushioned multi-colored seats on the lower floor. The original seats featured red cushions, beige easy backs, natural arm rests, and red, blue, and gold endplates, and was designed based out of the New York World’s Fair that year. The Capitol also does have an original feature of a 15x20 daylight screen.
On September 18, 1978, the concession stand was gutted by a grease fire.
The Penn Drive-In opened its gates on August 24, 1950 with Esther Williams in “Neptune’s Daughter” along with a fireworks show at intermission. Otherwise, no extras were added. It was closed in 1969, but briefly became a special events site in the early-1970s.
It was unknown if this was an replacement of an earlier Trion Theatre, because there was an earlier Trion Theatre that operated as early as 1917.
The Trion Community Center Theatre closed as a movie theater on May 12, 1958 with Burt Lancaster’s “Sweet Smell Of Success” but continued operating as a special events theater for another year until September 1959.
Opened on November 25, 1946 with George Raft in “Whistle Stop” along with an unnamed Disney cartoon and a newsreel. It was a short-lived house, and closed during the 1950s.
The Plaza Theatre actually closed as a first-run movie theater in either the late-1970s or early-1980s. It was already a performing arts venue during the mid-1980s.
This opened in 1933, although I cannot find its grand opening date. In 1947, it was renamed the Ace-Park Theatre. Unfortunately I cannot find its closing date, but did close during the early-1950s.
Opened with Dick Powell in “Hollywood Hotel” (unknown if extras added). It was closed in 1957 and demolished in January 1974.
This opened as simply Drive-In Theatre on June 22, 1947. It was renamed the Bolero Drive-In on July 8, 1948.
Closed on January 14, 1988 with “Throw Mamma From The Train”.
The Plaza Theatre opened as a single-screener on July 2, 1976 with Clint Eastwood in “The Outlaw Josey Wales”. Two more screens were added on October 13, 1989 as the Plaza III Theatre, followed by another three more screens in April 1998 as Plaza Theatres. It was last known as Plaza VI Theater.
This was also known as the Gem Theatre, but only lasted for a few years during the early-1910s.
On the late afternoon of July 10, 1941, a small projection booth fire destroyed the entire last reel of Robert Sterling’s “I’ll Wait For You”, which the film was part in a double feature with “Abbott and Costello In The Navy”. Then-Lyric manager Ralph Wallace replied that he narrowly escaped serious burns, saying that “If he had have been standing on the side of the booth when the 2,000ft print burst into flames, he would have been burned to death before he could take his last breath”. A newer print of the movie immediately arrived the following day.
Wallace briefly left the Lyric in 1943 to serve in the army, but a medical discharge sent him back home to Boonville, when returned as the Lyric manager in February 1944, replacing his brief replacement A.D. Gilmere. Gilmere was also notable for putting 875 free war bonds all over the then-875-seat auditorium during the same week as Wallace’s return.
The Lyric was Boonville’s CinemaScope hotspot after installations of the system on February 3, 1954, launching the format that day with “The Robe” in Stereophonic sound. Bob Rittenhouse was the manager of the Lyric at the time, who had been operating since August 1951, and before that it was Jack Golladay who operated the Lyric in the late-1940s, and would later become managers for Kirksville’s Kennedy and Princess Theatres.
Rittenhouse operated the Lyric until July 1954 when he left to become manager for the Fox Theatre in Springfield. Russell Rhyne of Brookfield immediately became the manager for the Lyric, who had been with the Fox circuit since 1941. Rhyne then left the Lyric in October 1955 to reside back in his home in Brookfield, and was replaced by Clyde Patton, an armed forces veteran and a Sedalia resident who lived in Christopher, Illinois at the time.
Also opened with two unnamed shorts and an unnamed comedy. It was first operated by the husband-and-wife team of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony L. Fenton of Columbia.
Its most likely that it immediately became the Waltham Flick right after General Cinema left Waltham.
On June 14, 1942, the theater’s 2,500-pound marquee collapsed and crushed six people, killing a 65-year-old Combs woman and injured five others. According to investigators, workmen were working on the marquee when the collapse happened.
The August 28, 1978 roof collapse injured three people, and happened during the showing of Walt Disney’s “Hot Lead & Cold Feet” which also comes along with “The Madcap Adventures Of Mr. Toad” (or the retitled reissue of “The Wind In The Willows” from “The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad”) beforehand.
According to one out of an estimate 120 to 150 people that attended the showing, he said that the collapsed happened during a scene where Don Knotts shot his gun upward nearly 17 minutes prior to the ending of the movie, saying that “Knotts had just raised his gun when there was this big crash”. It was unclear if the sound system was related to the collapse.
Unlike most multi-screen drive-ins, all four screens closed on separate dates. The first screen closed on March 31, 1987, while the second screen closed on August 2, 1987. The third screen closed on September 3, 1987, and the final screen closed on September 13, 1987.
On its final day of operation, “Born In East L.A.” and “Hamburger Hill” were screened on the last remaining operating screen.
Closed as a movie theater on August 2, 1981 with special showings of “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid” and “The Sting”.
Closed as a movie theater on December 16, 1997.
Closed on February 23, 1991 with “Kindergarten Cop” and “Lionheart”.
Closed on December 30, 1986.
Opened by Famous Players on June 8, 1984.
Closed with “Bluebeard” and “The Grissom Gang”.