At least in its early years the Gem appears to have operated seasonally. This is from the September 26, 1912 issue of The Holton Recorder: “The Gem picture house has been opened for the winter season. The house has been cleaned and renovated and will show fine [unreadable] of pictures this fall.”
Here is a 1921 item about the renaming of the Majestic, but it gives no reason why the particular name was requested: “At the request of the Erie Chamber of Commerce, James B. Clark, of the Rowland & Clark theatres will change the name of the Majestic Theatre, Erie, a house recently taken over by the Rowland & Clark interests, to the Perry Theatre.
“It is hoped to have the opening about October 1.”
Here is the brief item about the opening of Wheeling’s new Plaza Theatre that appeared in the September 3, 1921 issue of Moving Picture World: “The beautiful new Plaza Theatre, Wheeling, W. Va., which has been under construction for the past year, was opened Monday, August 1, with ‘Black Beauty’ as the attraction. The entire proceeds of the first day were divided equally between the Ohio Valley General and the North Wheeling Hospitals.
“The theatre is under the management of George Zeppos, general manager of the Rex Theatre Co., operating the Rex Theatre here, with Paul Leach, recently manager of the Elks Club, as house manager. Fred Campwell is director of the orchestra.”
The Plaza was designed by noted local architect Frederick Fisher Faris (advertising as F. F. Faris and usually called Fred Faris in published items.)
A July 10, 1926 Moving Picture World item about the project that would open as the Capitol Theatre in 1928 said that plans for the new house had already been prepared by Fred Faris. I’m not sure why the commission ended up being given to Faris’s principal local rival, Charles W. Bates. The Plaza was certainly a handsome building, as were Faris’s numerous other works.
It should be noted that the map we display does not show the actual location of the Empire Theatre. A redevelopment project in the 1970s led to the realignment and partial obliteration of several streets. The site of the Empire was between Beacon and Palos Verdes streets, a bit west of where the Portside Inn and Suites is now located. Two other theaters operated in the near vicinity; the Star at 5th and Beacon and the New Theatre at 5th and Palos Verdes.
The Music Trade Review of April 14, 1917 said that “[t]he Wm. L. Glockner Music Co. reports the sale of a Wurlitzer orchestra, Style Y-O, to the Empire Motion Picture Theatre, San Pedro, Cal.”
The only theaters listed at Burley in Polk’s 1914 Idaho gazetteer are a 400-seat house called the Diamond Theatre and a 200-seat house called the Good Luck Theatre. To provide a bit more confusion, the only theaters listed in Burley in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory are called the Elysium Theatre and the Modern Theatre, which was at Main and Oak streets.
Here is an article about the Star Theatre from the October 6, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World:
“Weiser, Idaho.—Considered by traveling film men one of the prettiest little moving picture theaters in the West, the Star at Weiser, Idaho, owned and operated by A. C. Gordon, has established a policy of showing only the best in photoplays that is in keeping with the high class character of the theater.
“The Weiser Star, was completed July 28 and opened with Baby Marie Osborne in ‘Told At Twilight.’ The general opening was had on July 30 when ‘Sleeping Fires,’ with Pauline Frederick, was the feature. The house was crowded on both days.
“The plans for the Star were drawn by a Salt Lake architect and special attention was directed toward real metropolitan features in the theater. The lighting, which is semi-indirect, is controlled by dimmers. There are no open side lights. The stage is of good size and equipped electrically and otherwise to handle vaudeville acts.”
“There are no steps in the theater and all inclines and aisles are fitted with cork carpets. The ceiling is decorated in plain cream color, the side walls being old rose with panel work. the auditorium seats 450.
“The projection is taken care of from a modern lamp room 10 by 14 in size, equipped with two Simplex machines and one Motiograph. The throw is 90 feet to a 10 by 16 screen.
“Manager-owner A. C. Gordon entered the picture field January 1, 1917, when he bought out the old Star theater, since closed, from Sullivan and Meek. He had in mind the building of his new house when he made the purchase and broke ground for it May 1.
“Mr. Gordon’s success is undoubtedly due to his study of the photoplay industry long before he became engaged in it. ‘I have been a subscriber for the "World’” for three years,‘ says Mr. Gordon, 'and you know that helps a fellow some.’“
The Columbia Theatre was demolished in 1908 to make way for the Pinney Theatre. I’m not sure it ever ran movies, though from 1896 many stage theaters did run programs of movies as special events, and touring vaudeville shows often had a reel of movies as part of their programs for many years. The only dedicated movie houses I’ve found reference to in Boise in 1908 were called the Crystal and the Dreamland.
Here is an item from the May 6, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World: “New Court Theater Company.
“Auburn, Ind.—The Court Theater Company has filed articles of incorporation and will operate, after remodeling, the Auburn opera house of this city. The summer months will see the installation of a new motion picture house in the theater.”
The 1907 Cahn guide lists the theater as Henry’s Opera House, which was also the name of its replacement, which opened nearby in 1917. The 1907 guide gives no seating capacity, but Gus Hill’s 1914 directory gives it as 800. This first iteration of Henry’s Opera House was probably built after 1892, the year when a previous opera house in Auburn was reported destroyed by fire.
Even after the new Henry Opera House opened, the Court Theatre continued to make use of its large stage. In 1957, the house even hosted a weekly radio show, as noted in this item from the October 19 issue of Cash Box: “AUBURN, IND.—Hoosier Hayride Enterprises of Auburn, Indiana, announced last week that a new series of country music stage shows to be known as the ‘Hoosier Hayride’ will be seen in the Tri-State area of Northern Indiana, Southern Michigan and Western Ohio beginning Oct. 26th and continuing each Saturday night thereafter.
“The shows will be staged directly from the Court Theater in Auburn, located just north of Fort Wayne.”
The show moved to the Wayne Theatre in Fort Wayne the following year.
The Electrodome (or whatever this house was first called) might have opened in 1916. The June 24 issue of Moving Picture World that year said that “July 1 is the date set for the opening of a new theater here. There is at present but one house in the city.”
But one house was listed at Belleville in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, and it was called the Rex.
In 1921, Belleville had a house called the Electric Theatre. The August 6 issue of MPW said that it had been destroyed by fire, but would probably be rebuilt.
One more theater name shows up in Belleville, noted in this item from the February 23, 1918 issue of MPW: “Belleville, Kan.—The White Way theater, of which Barton Davis has been manager for the past two years, has changed hands, and C. A. Chapin is now manager and proprietor.”
Our early history of this theater is a bit off. The obituary of John J. Kirk, published in the Cumberland Evening Times of May 2, 1913 said that he had “…for a time managed the Welland Theatre, a moving picture show in the building that formerly stood on the site of the Wertheimer Building in which the Victoria Theatre is now located.”
First, I’m pretty sure Welland is a typo for Weiland, which is a Cumberland theater name that comes up several times in publications from the period. The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists the Wieland Theatre, another misspelling, at 113 Baltimore St.. It also lists a Victoria Theatre, on Batto St. I believe Batto to be another typo, for Balto., a common abbreviation for Baltimore during that period. So the Wieland/Victoria is most likely a double listing of the same house under both names. There is no Empire Theatre listed in the directory. The photo showing the Empire vertical on the building probably dates from the later 1910s.
Newspaper items indicate that Mr. Kirk bought the Weiland in late 1907. The house was listed as the New Weiland Theatre in the August 3, 1907 issue of The Billboard, when it boasted of “[f]our good acts and motion pictures,” so it had vaudeville of some sort. I’m not sure that the 1913 obituary’s implication that the Victoria was a new theater on the site of the Weiland is accurate. Mr. Kirk might merely have had the place extensively remodeled.
The Liberty was bought by the operators of the Fort Cumberland Hotel in 1959 and demolished to provide parking for the hotel’s guests. An article in the October 29, 1959 issue of the Cumberland Evening Times said that the Liberty had been operated for a number of years by the Schine chain, but they had been required by the courts to divest themselves of it. It was last owned by the Wicomico Theater Corporation. In the 1920s the house had been the site of live events, including boxing matches, as well as silent movies. It ran its first sound movie in 1929.
The September 13, 1913 edition of The Lake County Times had a brief notice about the proposed Aubry theatre: “START WORK ON AUBRY THEATER
“Edward A. Aubrey, the city comptroller, is about to become an ‘angel’ of the drama. That the north side may have a Little Rialto of its own he has made arrangements to finance the construction of a pretensious playhouse on property he owns near the South Shore depot. Thereabout the bright lights have already gleamed but something has always been lacking. Aubry thinks that something is a vaudeville house. The foundation will be begun the first of next week and as soon as possible the suprestructure is to go up. The house is to seat 300. It will most likely be named ‘The Aubrey.’”
The Aubry Theatre was mentioned in the October 19, 1917 issue of the Lake County Times, but the item was about a political meeting held there, so I don’t know if it was still regularly operating as a movie house by that time: “Last night Aubrey theatre was packed when Mayor John D. Smalley, Treasurer Otto Duelke, Clerk William Kolb, Councilman at Large Candidate Albert Roo and Attorney Phil Greenwald spoke.”
The October 23, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World used most of one page for an article headed “Competition Keen at Fort Bragg, Cal.” It reveals that the Union Theatre was still being operated by its original owner, Phil Brubeck.
The October 23, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World used most of one page for an article headed “Competition Keen at Fort Bragg, Cal.” which includes this information about the Sequoia: “The house has been conducted almost steadily since 1908 under different managements, and not long ago was remodeled and enlarged. It has a seating capacity of four hundred and boasts a small balcony, a ladies' rest room and a commodious office in front with a fireplace that assists in heating the house in winter. A motor-driven Simplex machine is installed in the operating room, where there is also a mercury arc rectifier.”
The December 2, 1929 issue of Waterloo daily The Courier said that the Plaza Theatre, under lease to Lew Rosenthal of Dubuque, would reopen as the Iowa Theatre around Christmas. Renovations underway included the installation of a Western Electric sound system and new furnishings.
The original architect of Wysor’s Grand Opera House was Harry W. Matson. Locally notable architect Cuno Kibele, of the firm Kibele & Garrard, drew plans for alterations to the Wysor Grand Theatre building in 1905 and 1917, but Matson’s original Romanesque Revival style structure largely retained its integrity throughout the theater’s history.
This Facebook post from Main St Torrington has the story of the State Theatre. Originally slated to open in 1926 as the Oriental Theatre, construction delays and the depression left the project in limbo for over a decade, and it finally opened as the State Theatre in 1938 (other sources say 1937.) Conflicting comments on the post say that the house closed in the late 1970s or that it was already closed in the mid-1960s. One newspaper item said that the State Theatre was damaged by a flood in 1955. One certainty is that the building was condemned in 1994 and demolished the following year.
This item from the November 6, 1937 Film Daily tells of improvements at the Orpheum Theatre in Hammond: “The Orpheum Theater, a Warner Bros. house, is being improved at a cost of $15,000. A new lobby and marquee have been added and the interior redecorated. New sound equipment has been installed.”
At least in its early years the Gem appears to have operated seasonally. This is from the September 26, 1912 issue of The Holton Recorder: “The Gem picture house has been opened for the winter season. The house has been cleaned and renovated and will show fine [unreadable] of pictures this fall.”
The new owners of the Garden Theatre responsible for the 1936 remodeling were the A. G. Constant circuit of Steubenville, Ohio.
Here is a 1921 item about the renaming of the Majestic, but it gives no reason why the particular name was requested: “At the request of the Erie Chamber of Commerce, James B. Clark, of the Rowland & Clark theatres will change the name of the Majestic Theatre, Erie, a house recently taken over by the Rowland & Clark interests, to the Perry Theatre.
“It is hoped to have the opening about October 1.”
Here is the brief item about the opening of Wheeling’s new Plaza Theatre that appeared in the September 3, 1921 issue of Moving Picture World: “The beautiful new Plaza Theatre, Wheeling, W. Va., which has been under construction for the past year, was opened Monday, August 1, with ‘Black Beauty’ as the attraction. The entire proceeds of the first day were divided equally between the Ohio Valley General and the North Wheeling Hospitals.
“The theatre is under the management of George Zeppos, general manager of the Rex Theatre Co., operating the Rex Theatre here, with Paul Leach, recently manager of the Elks Club, as house manager. Fred Campwell is director of the orchestra.”
The Plaza was designed by noted local architect Frederick Fisher Faris (advertising as F. F. Faris and usually called Fred Faris in published items.)
A July 10, 1926 Moving Picture World item about the project that would open as the Capitol Theatre in 1928 said that plans for the new house had already been prepared by Fred Faris. I’m not sure why the commission ended up being given to Faris’s principal local rival, Charles W. Bates. The Plaza was certainly a handsome building, as were Faris’s numerous other works.
It should be noted that the map we display does not show the actual location of the Empire Theatre. A redevelopment project in the 1970s led to the realignment and partial obliteration of several streets. The site of the Empire was between Beacon and Palos Verdes streets, a bit west of where the Portside Inn and Suites is now located. Two other theaters operated in the near vicinity; the Star at 5th and Beacon and the New Theatre at 5th and Palos Verdes.
The Music Trade Review of April 14, 1917 said that “[t]he Wm. L. Glockner Music Co. reports the sale of a Wurlitzer orchestra, Style Y-O, to the Empire Motion Picture Theatre, San Pedro, Cal.”
The only theaters listed at Burley in Polk’s 1914 Idaho gazetteer are a 400-seat house called the Diamond Theatre and a 200-seat house called the Good Luck Theatre. To provide a bit more confusion, the only theaters listed in Burley in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory are called the Elysium Theatre and the Modern Theatre, which was at Main and Oak streets.
Polk’s 1914 Idaho gazetteer lists a 200-seat Amazon Theatre at Bonners Ferry. Also listed was a 200 seat house called the Utopia Theatre.
Polk’s 1914 Idaho gazetteer lists the Orpheum Theatre at Blackfoot with 250 seats.
Polk’s 1914 Idaho gazetteer lists the Isis Theatre at Blackfoot with 350 seats.
Polk’s 1914 Idaho gazetteer lists a 300-seat Star Theatre at Ashton.
The Knights of Pythias castle was built in 1904.
Here is an article about the Star Theatre from the October 6, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World:
The Columbia Theatre was demolished in 1908 to make way for the Pinney Theatre. I’m not sure it ever ran movies, though from 1896 many stage theaters did run programs of movies as special events, and touring vaudeville shows often had a reel of movies as part of their programs for many years. The only dedicated movie houses I’ve found reference to in Boise in 1908 were called the Crystal and the Dreamland.
Here is an item from the May 6, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World: “New Court Theater Company.
“Auburn, Ind.—The Court Theater Company has filed articles of incorporation and will operate, after remodeling, the Auburn opera house of this city. The summer months will see the installation of a new motion picture house in the theater.”
The 1907 Cahn guide lists the theater as Henry’s Opera House, which was also the name of its replacement, which opened nearby in 1917. The 1907 guide gives no seating capacity, but Gus Hill’s 1914 directory gives it as 800. This first iteration of Henry’s Opera House was probably built after 1892, the year when a previous opera house in Auburn was reported destroyed by fire.
Even after the new Henry Opera House opened, the Court Theatre continued to make use of its large stage. In 1957, the house even hosted a weekly radio show, as noted in this item from the October 19 issue of Cash Box: “AUBURN, IND.—Hoosier Hayride Enterprises of Auburn, Indiana, announced last week that a new series of country music stage shows to be known as the ‘Hoosier Hayride’ will be seen in the Tri-State area of Northern Indiana, Southern Michigan and Western Ohio beginning Oct. 26th and continuing each Saturday night thereafter.
“The shows will be staged directly from the Court Theater in Auburn, located just north of Fort Wayne.”
The show moved to the Wayne Theatre in Fort Wayne the following year.
The Electrodome (or whatever this house was first called) might have opened in 1916. The June 24 issue of Moving Picture World that year said that “July 1 is the date set for the opening of a new theater here. There is at present but one house in the city.”
But one house was listed at Belleville in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, and it was called the Rex.
In 1921, Belleville had a house called the Electric Theatre. The August 6 issue of MPW said that it had been destroyed by fire, but would probably be rebuilt.
One more theater name shows up in Belleville, noted in this item from the February 23, 1918 issue of MPW: “Belleville, Kan.—The White Way theater, of which Barton Davis has been manager for the past two years, has changed hands, and C. A. Chapin is now manager and proprietor.”
Our early history of this theater is a bit off. The obituary of John J. Kirk, published in the Cumberland Evening Times of May 2, 1913 said that he had “…for a time managed the Welland Theatre, a moving picture show in the building that formerly stood on the site of the Wertheimer Building in which the Victoria Theatre is now located.”
First, I’m pretty sure Welland is a typo for Weiland, which is a Cumberland theater name that comes up several times in publications from the period. The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists the Wieland Theatre, another misspelling, at 113 Baltimore St.. It also lists a Victoria Theatre, on Batto St. I believe Batto to be another typo, for Balto., a common abbreviation for Baltimore during that period. So the Wieland/Victoria is most likely a double listing of the same house under both names. There is no Empire Theatre listed in the directory. The photo showing the Empire vertical on the building probably dates from the later 1910s.
Newspaper items indicate that Mr. Kirk bought the Weiland in late 1907. The house was listed as the New Weiland Theatre in the August 3, 1907 issue of The Billboard, when it boasted of “[f]our good acts and motion pictures,” so it had vaudeville of some sort. I’m not sure that the 1913 obituary’s implication that the Victoria was a new theater on the site of the Weiland is accurate. Mr. Kirk might merely have had the place extensively remodeled.
The Liberty was bought by the operators of the Fort Cumberland Hotel in 1959 and demolished to provide parking for the hotel’s guests. An article in the October 29, 1959 issue of the Cumberland Evening Times said that the Liberty had been operated for a number of years by the Schine chain, but they had been required by the courts to divest themselves of it. It was last owned by the Wicomico Theater Corporation. In the 1920s the house had been the site of live events, including boxing matches, as well as silent movies. It ran its first sound movie in 1929.
The September 13, 1913 edition of The Lake County Times had a brief notice about the proposed Aubry theatre: “START WORK ON AUBRY THEATER
“Edward A. Aubrey, the city comptroller, is about to become an ‘angel’ of the drama. That the north side may have a Little Rialto of its own he has made arrangements to finance the construction of a pretensious playhouse on property he owns near the South Shore depot. Thereabout the bright lights have already gleamed but something has always been lacking. Aubry thinks that something is a vaudeville house. The foundation will be begun the first of next week and as soon as possible the suprestructure is to go up. The house is to seat 300. It will most likely be named ‘The Aubrey.’”
The Aubry Theatre was mentioned in the October 19, 1917 issue of the Lake County Times, but the item was about a political meeting held there, so I don’t know if it was still regularly operating as a movie house by that time: “Last night Aubrey theatre was packed when Mayor John D. Smalley, Treasurer Otto Duelke, Clerk William Kolb, Councilman at Large Candidate Albert Roo and Attorney Phil Greenwald spoke.”
The October 23, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World used most of one page for an article headed “Competition Keen at Fort Bragg, Cal.” It reveals that the Union Theatre was still being operated by its original owner, Phil Brubeck.
The October 23, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World used most of one page for an article headed “Competition Keen at Fort Bragg, Cal.” which includes this information about the Sequoia: “The house has been conducted almost steadily since 1908 under different managements, and not long ago was remodeled and enlarged. It has a seating capacity of four hundred and boasts a small balcony, a ladies' rest room and a commodious office in front with a fireplace that assists in heating the house in winter. A motor-driven Simplex machine is installed in the operating room, where there is also a mercury arc rectifier.”
The December 2, 1929 issue of Waterloo daily The Courier said that the Plaza Theatre, under lease to Lew Rosenthal of Dubuque, would reopen as the Iowa Theatre around Christmas. Renovations underway included the installation of a Western Electric sound system and new furnishings.
The original architect of Wysor’s Grand Opera House was Harry W. Matson. Locally notable architect Cuno Kibele, of the firm Kibele & Garrard, drew plans for alterations to the Wysor Grand Theatre building in 1905 and 1917, but Matson’s original Romanesque Revival style structure largely retained its integrity throughout the theater’s history.
This Facebook post from Main St Torrington has the story of the State Theatre. Originally slated to open in 1926 as the Oriental Theatre, construction delays and the depression left the project in limbo for over a decade, and it finally opened as the State Theatre in 1938 (other sources say 1937.) Conflicting comments on the post say that the house closed in the late 1970s or that it was already closed in the mid-1960s. One newspaper item said that the State Theatre was damaged by a flood in 1955. One certainty is that the building was condemned in 1994 and demolished the following year.
This photo is not of the State Theatre in Torrington.
This item from the November 6, 1937 Film Daily tells of improvements at the Orpheum Theatre in Hammond: “The Orpheum Theater, a Warner Bros. house, is being improved at a cost of $15,000. A new lobby and marquee have been added and the interior redecorated. New sound equipment has been installed.”