The restaurant occupies only the ground floor of the former theater building, and perhaps not all of that. According to a listing at Trulia, the remainder of the building has been converted into 8 residential apartments. The Summit Theatre was built in 1913, and was listed in the 1914-1915 edition of The American Moving Picture Directory.
If the Spillane Theatre was indeed newly built around 1918, then it had a predecessor that was called the Roanoke Theatre earlier. The Roanoke Theatre was listed at 39th and Summit streets inthe 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory.
The Palace Theatre was listed at 932 Main Street in the 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory, but the house opened no later than 1909, as it was listed in that year’s city directory. The Palace was on the ground floor of the St. George Hotel, built in 1895.
A Murray Theatre was operating in this neighborhood at least as early as 1915, when it was listed in The American Motion Picture Direcotry, though at 3202 E. 27th. Newspaper ads from 1915 give the location as 27th and Walrond Avenue. The Murray was at 3206 27th by the time the 1919 city directory was printed.
2317 Independence Avenue is on the south side of Independence opposite the end of Olive Street. There is a modern building there now which uses that number for a nondescript storefront in between the LB7 Insurance Agency and the Holy Land Halal Market.
In 1886 a hostelry called the Bonaventure Hotel was built at 2307 Independence Avenue, and I suspect that the theater was either part of the hotel project or a later addition to it. It might be that the theater’s building can be partly seen at far left in this undated photo of the hotel.
The photo looks to have been taken in the 1930s, judging from the streamlined style of one of the cars parked along the street. The theater might have been closed by the time this photo was made, but the building looks like it has an open lobby-style entrance flanked by a storefront that could have a matching storefront on the unseen far side. I can’t make out any sort of marquee, though.
The Bonaventure Theatre was listed in the 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory, and in the 1912 Kansas City city directory.
The Ashland Theatre is listed at 24th and Elmwood in the 1914-1915 American Moving Picture Directory. David & Noelle’s list of known Boller theaters has it listed as a 1946 remodeling project.
The October 27, 1915, issue of Western Contractor had a notice about a planned remodeling of a theater at 2400 Elmwood, but didn’t name the architect or give the name of the theater itself.
This article from 2015 says that the Lyric Theatre was upstairs, above what is now the Palace Restaurant and Bar. The Internest gives the address of the Palace as 735 S. Main Street. The building, at the northeast corner of Main and 8th Streets, is still standing. The Lyric’s last movie was shown in 1959. An upstairs theater stil operating in 1959 was quite a rarity.
davidcoppock: It looks like the trolley car was running on Line 28, the Stony Island route. From October 15, 1916, through June 29, 1951, it operated along 47th Street between Lake Park Avenue and Cottage Grove Avenue. The route ran from downtown to Stony Island Avenue and 94th Street.
Line 47 also ran on 47th Street. It provided local electric streetcar service along 47th between Lake Park Avenue and State Street from 1895, and was extended west to Kedzie Avenue in 1896. The route was converted to buses in 1951.
The State Theatre opened in a new building at the corner of Jefferson and Illinois Streets in 1912 as the Princess Theatre. The 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory lists it as the Palace Theatre. The builder and original operator, E. J. Degenhardt, had been one of the town’s barbers. He sold the business in 1924, but retained ownership of the building.
In 1926 the house was still listed in the FDY as the Palace Theatre, but by 1927 it had become the Strand Theatre. It was taken over and renamed the State by Alger Theatres by 1932, although last listed in the laggard FDY as the Strand in 1933. The July 2, 1932, issue of Motion Picture Herald said:
“ E. E. Alger of the State at Mendota, Ill., dug deep into his pockets to put that house in tip-top order with everything from projectors to ventilating equipment and seats.”
From 1926 through 1941 the house was listed with 450 seats. In the 1942 Yearbook it is listed with 700 seats, indicating that an expansion that had probably been completed before the end of 1941.
Konrad Schiecke’s book Historic Movie Theatres in Illinois says that the State Theatre closed in the 1980s.
It was actually 1942 when the Kee was lost to a fire that destroyed a big chunk of Kewanee’s business district. This is the item that was published in the April 15 issue of Motion Picture Daily:
“Two Houses Burned
“Kewanee, Ill., April 14. — The Rialto and Kee theatres were among the 70 buildings which were razed or damaged when fire swept through the heart of this city’s business district yesterday.”
The March 9, 1921, issue of The American Contractor said that the general contract had been let for the Peerless Theatre in Kewanee. The 68x150 foot building was to cost $150,000, and had been designed by Chicago architect Ralph C. Harris.
Plans for this theater were announced in the January 25, 1913, issue of Construction News. The theater was to be 30x125 feet and would cost $8,000. The project was designed by local architect R. C. Fletcher.
The January 11, 1913, issue of Construction News said that bids were being taken for the 800-seat Coronado Theatre to be built on Vincennes Avenue near 39th Street. D. S. Pentacost was the architect for the $25,000 project.
The Strand’s footprint is now part of the site of the Alameda Fire Department headquarters building. In the current Google Street view you can see a fire engine parked just about where the Strand’s 7-piece orchestra and the console of its Wurlitzer organ would probably have been.
Improvements to the Liberty Theatre were planned in 1918, according to this item from the May 18 issue of The Moving Picture World: “MURPHYSBORO, ILL. — Extensive improvements will be made to Liberty theater, costing about $15,000.”
The original Lyric was replaced by a new building in 1918, if this item from the May 18 issue of The Moving Picture World was correct:
“DOUGLAS, ARIZ. — James M. Nulla, manager Lyric theater, plans to erect new building on site of present structure. Also to build an airdome at Favenvo and 8th streets.”
Marcus Loew was oerating the Grand as early as 1918, as reported in the May 18 issue of The Moving Picture World:
“ATLANTA, GA. — Marcus Loew, of New
York, will expend $40,000 for improvements to Grand theater instead of erecting new structure as previously reported. Plans include remodeling gallery, erecting mezzanine floor, stage and marquee; installing $15,000 pipe organ, typhoon fan system, electric equipment, scenery, and hangings. E. A. Schiller is local manager.”
This article about the Hamblen Theatre appeared in The Moving Picture World of May 11, 1918:
“SAN FRANCISCO. — The new Hamblen theater, Park street and Encinal avenue, Alameda, was opened on the evening of April 15. This theater was constructed and will be operated by James Hamblen, formerly of Kansas City, Mo. As this is the first venture in the amusement field he has secured the services as manager of E. V. Clover, for several years connected with the Turner & Dahnken Circuit, and the opening of the house was conducted under the management of the latter.
“This new theater is of substantial brick construction, with a facade of plaster, relieved by a trimming of light-colored brick. It has a seating capacity of 1,500, this being divided about equally between the lower floor and the balcony. The office is on the lower floor, directly off the main entrance, and near the broad stairway leading to the balcony. At the other side of the theater is another stairway, but this leads directly to the street and is designed to be used as an exit. Off the foyer is a small rest room for women, a telephone booth and drinking fountains. The foyer, aisles and stairs are carpeted throughout.
“The entire mezzanine floor is given over to a ladies' rest room and a nursery where there is a maid in attendance. These rooms are very attractively furnished and show much thought on the part of the designer. Here are drinking fountains and free local telephones. The decorations here and throughout the house are of a quiet, but very effective order.
“The theater is equipped with a full stage and it is the plan to present vaudeville attractions each Sunday. The ventilating system is a feature of the house, the air being changed throughout once every twelve minutes. Music is rendered by a seven-piece orchestra, under the direction of Max Amsterdam, of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and a large Wurlitzer Hope-Jones Unit Orchestra presided over by Miss Irma Falvey. The projection equipment includes two late model Simplex machines installed by the Breck Photo Play Supply Company.
“The opening program included an address by Green Majors, mayor of Alameda, musical numbers by a soldier, a Fairbanks feature "Headin' South.” a Sunshine comedy, a Burton Holmes Travelogue and a Pathe News. The prices of admission are 15 cents for the lower floor and 10 cents for the balcony, with reserved loge seats at 25 cents. At matinees all seats are 10 cents. These prices include the war tax.“
The May 11, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World had this item about the Princess:
“Princess Theater Will Open in June.
“The interior stucco work for the new Princess theater, Cheyenne, arrived this past week and is being put in place. Manager Todd has issued a statement that the new theater will be ready by the first of June and sooner if possible.”
If, as the newspaper item dontaylor50 cited above said, the Princess was “prosperous” in March of 1918, perhaps the theater opened later in 1918 was the second of that name in Cheyenne.
The restaurant occupies only the ground floor of the former theater building, and perhaps not all of that. According to a listing at Trulia, the remainder of the building has been converted into 8 residential apartments. The Summit Theatre was built in 1913, and was listed in the 1914-1915 edition of The American Moving Picture Directory.
This house was still listed as the Star Theatre in the 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory.
If the Spillane Theatre was indeed newly built around 1918, then it had a predecessor that was called the Roanoke Theatre earlier. The Roanoke Theatre was listed at 39th and Summit streets inthe 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory.
The Palace Theatre was listed at 932 Main Street in the 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory, but the house opened no later than 1909, as it was listed in that year’s city directory. The Palace was on the ground floor of the St. George Hotel, built in 1895.
A Murray Theatre was operating in this neighborhood at least as early as 1915, when it was listed in The American Motion Picture Direcotry, though at 3202 E. 27th. Newspaper ads from 1915 give the location as 27th and Walrond Avenue. The Murray was at 3206 27th by the time the 1919 city directory was printed.
The Lyric Theatre is listed at 622 Main Street in the 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory.
2317 Independence Avenue is on the south side of Independence opposite the end of Olive Street. There is a modern building there now which uses that number for a nondescript storefront in between the LB7 Insurance Agency and the Holy Land Halal Market.
In 1886 a hostelry called the Bonaventure Hotel was built at 2307 Independence Avenue, and I suspect that the theater was either part of the hotel project or a later addition to it. It might be that the theater’s building can be partly seen at far left in this undated photo of the hotel.
The photo looks to have been taken in the 1930s, judging from the streamlined style of one of the cars parked along the street. The theater might have been closed by the time this photo was made, but the building looks like it has an open lobby-style entrance flanked by a storefront that could have a matching storefront on the unseen far side. I can’t make out any sort of marquee, though.
The Bonaventure Theatre was listed in the 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory, and in the 1912 Kansas City city directory.
The Ashland Theatre is listed at 24th and Elmwood in the 1914-1915 American Moving Picture Directory. David & Noelle’s list of known Boller theaters has it listed as a 1946 remodeling project.
The October 27, 1915, issue of Western Contractor had a notice about a planned remodeling of a theater at 2400 Elmwood, but didn’t name the architect or give the name of the theater itself.
The New Centre Theatre is on David and Noelle’s list of known Boller theaters as a 1916 project.
This article from 2015 says that the Lyric Theatre was upstairs, above what is now the Palace Restaurant and Bar. The Internest gives the address of the Palace as 735 S. Main Street. The building, at the northeast corner of Main and 8th Streets, is still standing. The Lyric’s last movie was shown in 1959. An upstairs theater stil operating in 1959 was quite a rarity.
davidcoppock: It looks like the trolley car was running on Line 28, the Stony Island route. From October 15, 1916, through June 29, 1951, it operated along 47th Street between Lake Park Avenue and Cottage Grove Avenue. The route ran from downtown to Stony Island Avenue and 94th Street.
Line 47 also ran on 47th Street. It provided local electric streetcar service along 47th between Lake Park Avenue and State Street from 1895, and was extended west to Kedzie Avenue in 1896. The route was converted to buses in 1951.
The State Theatre opened in a new building at the corner of Jefferson and Illinois Streets in 1912 as the Princess Theatre. The 1914-1915 edition of The American Motion Picture Directory lists it as the Palace Theatre. The builder and original operator, E. J. Degenhardt, had been one of the town’s barbers. He sold the business in 1924, but retained ownership of the building.
In 1926 the house was still listed in the FDY as the Palace Theatre, but by 1927 it had become the Strand Theatre. It was taken over and renamed the State by Alger Theatres by 1932, although last listed in the laggard FDY as the Strand in 1933. The July 2, 1932, issue of Motion Picture Herald said:
From 1926 through 1941 the house was listed with 450 seats. In the 1942 Yearbook it is listed with 700 seats, indicating that an expansion that had probably been completed before the end of 1941.Konrad Schiecke’s book Historic Movie Theatres in Illinois says that the State Theatre closed in the 1980s.
It was actually 1942 when the Kee was lost to a fire that destroyed a big chunk of Kewanee’s business district. This is the item that was published in the April 15 issue of Motion Picture Daily:
In 1933 the Rialto was a Balaban & Katz house, noted in the October 6 issue of The Film Daily.
The March 9, 1921, issue of The American Contractor said that the general contract had been let for the Peerless Theatre in Kewanee. The 68x150 foot building was to cost $150,000, and had been designed by Chicago architect Ralph C. Harris.
Plans for this theater were announced in the January 25, 1913, issue of Construction News. The theater was to be 30x125 feet and would cost $8,000. The project was designed by local architect R. C. Fletcher.
The January 11, 1913, issue of Construction News said that bids were being taken for the 800-seat Coronado Theatre to be built on Vincennes Avenue near 39th Street. D. S. Pentacost was the architect for the $25,000 project.
The Strand’s footprint is now part of the site of the Alameda Fire Department headquarters building. In the current Google Street view you can see a fire engine parked just about where the Strand’s 7-piece orchestra and the console of its Wurlitzer organ would probably have been.
I just realized that the house opening on April 15, 1918, means that tomorrow would have been the Hamblen Theatre’s 100th anniversary.
This web page about the Neptune Theatre also has information about its architect, Henderson Ryan, and photos of some of his other works.
Improvements to the Liberty Theatre were planned in 1918, according to this item from the May 18 issue of The Moving Picture World: “MURPHYSBORO, ILL. — Extensive improvements will be made to Liberty theater, costing about $15,000.”
The original Lyric was replaced by a new building in 1918, if this item from the May 18 issue of The Moving Picture World was correct:
Marcus Loew was oerating the Grand as early as 1918, as reported in the May 18 issue of The Moving Picture World:
This article about the Hamblen Theatre appeared in The Moving Picture World of May 11, 1918:
The May 11, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World had this item about the Princess:
If, as the newspaper item dontaylor50 cited above said, the Princess was “prosperous” in March of 1918, perhaps the theater opened later in 1918 was the second of that name in Cheyenne.