This item from the February 12, 1910 issue of The Economist was about this theater:
“William J. Van Keuren has finished plans for remodeling an addition to a two story hall, 48x122 feet, at 1611 to 1615 North Robey street [now Damen Avenue], to be converted into a theater for F.C. Smalley. The improvements will cost $10,000.”
The Edna Theatre could be this project noted in the May 21, 1910 issue of The Economist:
William F. Pagels has completed plans for a two story theater, with store, 35x125 feet, to be erected on North avenue, near Forty-first avenue. It will cost $20,000.“
Chicago’s numbered avenues were given names around 1913. The 4100 block has since begun at Karlov Avenue.
This item appeared in the “Building Permits” column of the June 25, 1910 issue of The Economist, and doesn’t match up with the information above:
“Chas Klappame, 1 story brick theater, 25x124, 5518 South Ashland av; architect, A. G. Ferree; builder, owner. 7000.”
The Boulevard Theatre is listed at 5522 S. Ashland in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, but I don’t see the Schell Theatre listed, nor any theater at 5518 Ashland.
The brick-fronted building occupied by the First St. Peter M.B. Church of Chicago looks like it could have begun life as a theater, though it uses the address 5524 Ashland. Still, I suspect that it is in the old Boulevard Theatre building.
The April 2, 1910 issue of the Chicago business journal The Economist had an item about a theater project in Waukegan which was most likely this house:
“William R. Gibb has completed plans for a one story theater, 47.6x126.6 feet, to be erected for Samuel Fleckles, manager of the Laemmle Film Service of Chicago, at Waukegan. It will cost $20,000.”
Architect William R. Gibb is most remembered today as the designer of a large number of Chicago’s early elevated railroad stations.
The Lexington Theatre at 40th Avenue (now Pulaski Road) and Lexington Street in Chicago was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory twice, once with that address and once with the address 715 S. Crawford Avenue, which was another aka for Pulaski Road. Another Lexington Theatre was listed at 1168 E. 63rd Street.
It seems quite likely that the Lexington Theatre on Pulaski Road was the project noted in the June 25, 1910 issue of The Economist, which gave the address of the site as 3952-4-6-8 Lexington Street. The two-story brick theater and store building, 121x84 feet, was designed for P. Schiavire & Son by architect Alexander L. Levy.
The December 18, 1909 issue of The Economist said that architect A. E. Robinson had prepared plans for a two-story brick theater, 46x110, at 3916-3918 Lincoln Avenue for the Republic Theater Company.
I’m pretty sure this theater has been demolished. The building at this address is not deep enough to have held a theater, and looks quite modern in any case.
The Glee Theatre might have been the project noted in the November 13, 1909 issue of The Economist as a two-story theater for a Mr. Jacobs, 50x120, on Lincoln Avenue near Irving Park Boulevard. The architect was David Robertson.
The single-story brick theater, 36x150, to be built for J.C. Birk at 1316 E. 55th Street, had been designed by H. L. Newhouse, according to an item in the September 11, 1909 issue of The Economist.
The July 17, 1909 issue of The Economist said that a brick theater, 52x140, being built for Thomas Chamales at 6248-6252 Cottage Grove Avenue had been designed by Sidney Lovell.
This multiplex wasn’t built yet when Google’s camera car last went by. This page has a photo of the theater building, looking west from the 10th Street bridge just north/east of Main Street. Satellite View shows that the entire block of buildings on the north/east side of Arthur Street was demolished to make way for this project.
The Clayton Theatre, still in operation, was offered for sale in this ad in Boxoffice April 10, 1961:
“Clayton Theatre, priced for quick sale. 400 seats, first class Simplex equipment, almost new. Now in operation. In heart of oil field. Owner has other business. James M. Levitt. Clay City, Illinois.”
Clay City had a theater at least as early as 1914, when a house called the Palace was listed in The American Motion Picture Directory.
The March 18, 1921 issue of Pacific Builder and Engineer said that Walla Walla architect Charles B. Lambert had prepared plans for Brining’s theater at Dayton. The theater project was most likely promoted by John Brining, one of Dayton’s leading citizens of the period.
The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists the Okay Theatre at 201 Davis Avenue, so there was once a theater at that address. It just wan’t the Hippodrome.
This item, datelined West Virginia, was in the January 15, 1916, issue of The Music Trade Review: “The Hippodrome, which will cost $20,000, will soon open at Elkins.”
It remains impossible to reconcile the vintage photo, depicting the Hippodrome, with the address 201 Davis Avenue. That address has a very old brick store building bearing no resemblance to the theater building in the photo. Even combined with the building next door, adjacent to the Manos Theatre, I don’t see how the structures at 201-203 could possibly have held a 648-seat theater, even if they shared a common wall all the way back (which, per the satellite view, they don’t.)
But this photo, though small and a bit blurry, reveals the location of the Hippodrome to have been up the block from the Manos, not down the block, with the address probably being no lower than 211 Davis. The horizontal sign with the theater’s name can be made out, just barely, and the balcony seen above the sign in our vintage photo is revealed to be the lower of two such balconies on what was the tallest building on the block.
The Hippodrome last appeared in the FDY in 1957, and in 1958 the Elkins Theatre appeared. The name most likely changed in 1957, though it’s always possible the FDY was late updating the information and it happened earlier (at least they did update it, unlike the address, which they got wrong year after year after year.) As I noted earlier the Monessen Entertainment Company had both the Manos Theatre and the Elkins Theatre in operation at least as late as 1967. An earlier Elkins Theatre was listed in FDY’s in the late 1920s, but that smaller house was located in the Moose Lodge’s building at 112 Davis Avenue.
Street view needs to be reset. The second Jennings Block, northeast corner of Broad and 15th, has a modernized facade and the name “Metropolitan” on its front. The Theatorium, located at the west end of the building at the corner of 15th Street, was one of two movie houses located in the second Jennings Block at various times, the other being the Ideal Theatre, which occupied the east end of the building in the 1930s. A third theater, the Star/Starette, operated in an annex to the first Jennings Building at 1329 Broad Street.
The Princess was listed at 222 S. Main Street in the 1922 city directory, which would place it directly across the street from the site of the Castle Theatre.
This item from The American Contractor of March 18, 1916, might be about the Grand Theatre on Main Street, but there was another Grand Theatre in New Castle, and the Grand Theater Company might also have operated other houses:
“Movinq Picture Theater (rebuild): 1 sty. Newcastle, Ind. Archt. Charles E. Bacon, 1603 Merchants Bank bldg., Indianapolis. Owner Grand Theater Co., Paul Jamison, Newcastle. Prelim, plans in progress. Brk. Details later.”
Here is a history of the first Grand Theatre building from the NRHP registration form for the New Castle Commercial Historic District:
“The former Coca-Cola Bottling plant at 123 N. Main was originally constructed between 1901 and 1908 as the "Coliseum Skating Rink” (photograph 19). The rink was home to the New Castle Roller Polo team from 1908 to 1909, which was disbanded after the building was converted to the Grand Theatre in 1909 and the semi-professional team had nowhere to skate.By 1924, the building had been adapted for the sale and repairing of automobiles, and in 1940 the Taylor Motor Co. was selling Studebaker’s [sic] at this address. In 1941 the building was remodeled, with its present Art Moderne look, for use as the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New Castle.“
The Grand Theatre was listed in the 1922 city directory with the address 1207 Race Street, so the location at 123 N. Main had closed by then. The second Grand Theatre was in the Masonic Temple, which had an 850-seat theater upstairs originally called the Alcazar. It was renamed the Grand when converted to a movie house, and operated until 1926 when it was gutted by a fire. Rebuilding in 1927 the Masons converted the former theater space for their own use.
A theater operated at 1331 Broad Street from 1914 to 1949, according to the NRHP registration form for the Newcastle Commercial Historic District (1329 is now the address for the entrance to the building’s upstairs. The building was erected as an annex to the larger Jennings Building to the east, and the upstairs space was originally probably accessed through that building.)
The November 3, 1917 issue of The Moving Picture World said: “OSSIAN, IA. — Majestic theater is being remodeled and will be reopened under the name of Princess.”
Ossian had an 350-seat Opera House, built in 1893 and still in use after having been renovated and converted into a Knights of Columbus facility in 1956. I don’t know if it ever served as a movie theater.
Ossian did get a new movie house called the Ossian Theatre in 1939 or 1940, noted in the January 6, 1940 issue of Boxoffice as “…the first new house in this town in 10 years.”
This item from the February 12, 1910 issue of The Economist was about this theater:
The Edna Theatre could be this project noted in the May 21, 1910 issue of The Economist:
Chicago’s numbered avenues were given names around 1913. The 4100 block has since begun at Karlov Avenue.This item appeared in the “Building Permits” column of the June 25, 1910 issue of The Economist, and doesn’t match up with the information above:
The Boulevard Theatre is listed at 5522 S. Ashland in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, but I don’t see the Schell Theatre listed, nor any theater at 5518 Ashland.The brick-fronted building occupied by the First St. Peter M.B. Church of Chicago looks like it could have begun life as a theater, though it uses the address 5524 Ashland. Still, I suspect that it is in the old Boulevard Theatre building.
The April 2, 1910 issue of the Chicago business journal The Economist had an item about a theater project in Waukegan which was most likely this house:
Architect William R. Gibb is most remembered today as the designer of a large number of Chicago’s early elevated railroad stations.The Lexington Theatre at 40th Avenue (now Pulaski Road) and Lexington Street in Chicago was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory twice, once with that address and once with the address 715 S. Crawford Avenue, which was another aka for Pulaski Road. Another Lexington Theatre was listed at 1168 E. 63rd Street.
It seems quite likely that the Lexington Theatre on Pulaski Road was the project noted in the June 25, 1910 issue of The Economist, which gave the address of the site as 3952-4-6-8 Lexington Street. The two-story brick theater and store building, 121x84 feet, was designed for P. Schiavire & Son by architect Alexander L. Levy.
The December 18, 1909 issue of The Economist said that architect A. E. Robinson had prepared plans for a two-story brick theater, 46x110, at 3916-3918 Lincoln Avenue for the Republic Theater Company.
I’m pretty sure this theater has been demolished. The building at this address is not deep enough to have held a theater, and looks quite modern in any case.
The Glee Theatre might have been the project noted in the November 13, 1909 issue of The Economist as a two-story theater for a Mr. Jacobs, 50x120, on Lincoln Avenue near Irving Park Boulevard. The architect was David Robertson.
Though the building ended up only two stories high, this item from The Economist of September 25, 1909, is probably about the Imperial Theatre:
Architect George H. Grussing was quite active during this period, but doesn’t appear to be remembered now.The building in this photo is at 3910 W. 26th Street. The Paris Theatre was across the street at 3905.
The single-story brick theater, 36x150, to be built for J.C. Birk at 1316 E. 55th Street, had been designed by H. L. Newhouse, according to an item in the September 11, 1909 issue of The Economist.
The July 17, 1909 issue of The Economist said that a brick theater, 52x140, being built for Thomas Chamales at 6248-6252 Cottage Grove Avenue had been designed by Sidney Lovell.
This multiplex wasn’t built yet when Google’s camera car last went by. This page has a photo of the theater building, looking west from the 10th Street bridge just north/east of Main Street. Satellite View shows that the entire block of buildings on the north/east side of Arthur Street was demolished to make way for this project.
The Clayton Theatre, still in operation, was offered for sale in this ad in Boxoffice April 10, 1961:
Clay City had a theater at least as early as 1914, when a house called the Palace was listed in The American Motion Picture Directory.The March 18, 1921 issue of Pacific Builder and Engineer said that Walla Walla architect Charles B. Lambert had prepared plans for Brining’s theater at Dayton. The theater project was most likely promoted by John Brining, one of Dayton’s leading citizens of the period.
Porn is gone from the Paris Theatre. It is back to hosting live music. Here is the web site.
The March 16, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World had this brief but mis-located notice:
Here is an early interior photo of the Eagles Theatre.
The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists the Okay Theatre at 201 Davis Avenue, so there was once a theater at that address. It just wan’t the Hippodrome.
This item, datelined West Virginia, was in the January 15, 1916, issue of The Music Trade Review: “The Hippodrome, which will cost $20,000, will soon open at Elkins.”
It remains impossible to reconcile the vintage photo, depicting the Hippodrome, with the address 201 Davis Avenue. That address has a very old brick store building bearing no resemblance to the theater building in the photo. Even combined with the building next door, adjacent to the Manos Theatre, I don’t see how the structures at 201-203 could possibly have held a 648-seat theater, even if they shared a common wall all the way back (which, per the satellite view, they don’t.)
But this photo, though small and a bit blurry, reveals the location of the Hippodrome to have been up the block from the Manos, not down the block, with the address probably being no lower than 211 Davis. The horizontal sign with the theater’s name can be made out, just barely, and the balcony seen above the sign in our vintage photo is revealed to be the lower of two such balconies on what was the tallest building on the block.
The Hippodrome last appeared in the FDY in 1957, and in 1958 the Elkins Theatre appeared. The name most likely changed in 1957, though it’s always possible the FDY was late updating the information and it happened earlier (at least they did update it, unlike the address, which they got wrong year after year after year.) As I noted earlier the Monessen Entertainment Company had both the Manos Theatre and the Elkins Theatre in operation at least as late as 1967. An earlier Elkins Theatre was listed in FDY’s in the late 1920s, but that smaller house was located in the Moose Lodge’s building at 112 Davis Avenue.
This house was listed as the Star Theater, 1329 Broad Street, in the 1909 city directory.
Street view needs to be reset. The second Jennings Block, northeast corner of Broad and 15th, has a modernized facade and the name “Metropolitan” on its front. The Theatorium, located at the west end of the building at the corner of 15th Street, was one of two movie houses located in the second Jennings Block at various times, the other being the Ideal Theatre, which occupied the east end of the building in the 1930s. A third theater, the Star/Starette, operated in an annex to the first Jennings Building at 1329 Broad Street.
The Princess was listed at 222 S. Main Street in the 1922 city directory, which would place it directly across the street from the site of the Castle Theatre.
This item from The American Contractor of March 18, 1916, might be about the Grand Theatre on Main Street, but there was another Grand Theatre in New Castle, and the Grand Theater Company might also have operated other houses:
Here is a history of the first Grand Theatre building from the NRHP registration form for the New Castle Commercial Historic District:The Grand Theatre was listed in the 1922 city directory with the address 1207 Race Street, so the location at 123 N. Main had closed by then. The second Grand Theatre was in the Masonic Temple, which had an 850-seat theater upstairs originally called the Alcazar. It was renamed the Grand when converted to a movie house, and operated until 1926 when it was gutted by a fire. Rebuilding in 1927 the Masons converted the former theater space for their own use.A theater operated at 1331 Broad Street from 1914 to 1949, according to the NRHP registration form for the Newcastle Commercial Historic District (1329 is now the address for the entrance to the building’s upstairs. The building was erected as an annex to the larger Jennings Building to the east, and the upstairs space was originally probably accessed through that building.)
The November 3, 1917 issue of The Moving Picture World said: “OSSIAN, IA. — Majestic theater is being remodeled and will be reopened under the name of Princess.”
Ossian had an 350-seat Opera House, built in 1893 and still in use after having been renovated and converted into a Knights of Columbus facility in 1956. I don’t know if it ever served as a movie theater.
Ossian did get a new movie house called the Ossian Theatre in 1939 or 1940, noted in the January 6, 1940 issue of Boxoffice as “…the first new house in this town in 10 years.”