This comment on our Irving Theatre page says that the Buena Vista Theatre was converted into a live theater venue and rental auditorium after closing as a movie house, but was abandoned when the Irving Arts Center was built (this would have been 1990.)
The comment says Buena Vista was across the street from the high school, and as of 2012 was slated to be demolished for a senior citizens condominium project. This project must have been The Villages on MacArthur, now open at 3443 N MacArthur Blvd, Irving, TX 75062.
Without further information, that’s probably as close as we’ll get to the Buena Vista Theatre’s actual address. The 10-acre Arts Center is located immediately south of the condominium.
The Moving Picture World of May 11, 1918, had this item about the California Theatre, though the project missed the theater’s projected opening date by about over months:
“Miller’s Theater to Open September 15.
“The new Miller theater, now being erected at Eighth and Main streets for Fred Miller and associates, is being rushed to completion in record time. Work was started on the theater on February 11. All the walls are in up to the mezzanine floor and the great concrete slab covering the entire mezzanine floor has been poured; also the two grand stairways on either side of the main entrance, which lead up a gentle incline known as a ‘ramp’ and the main ramp leading to the balcony are a mass of solid concrete reinforced by steel bars.
“To get ready for this operation and to bring the work up to its present condition, it has taken over 250,000 feet of lumber, 70 tons of steel bars, 800 tons of rock, 450 yards of
sand, 4,000 sacks of cement, 100 kegs of nails, three and a
half tons of wire and about fifty tons of miscellaneous materials. The new theater will be ready September 15.”
Having never been inside the California I was unaware that it had ramps. Architect A. B. Rosenthal must have been aware of the theaters designed by architect Henderson Ryan, who first used ramps for balcony access in Seattle’s Liberty Theatre in 1912, and patented a ramp system for theaters in 1916.
I’ve managed to dig up bit (a very little bit) more about Rosenthal. The 1926 Los Angeles city directory lists him as Rosenthal, Alex B., archt. 815 S. Hill rm 709, with his residence at 2401 6th. 815 S. Hill was the Hillstreet Building, the office block which was also occupied by the Junior Orpheum Circuit’s Hillstreet Theatre. Rosenthal’s office had been moved into the building in 1922, the year it was completed.
Alex B. Rosenthal was practicing architecture in Chicago at least as early as 1896 and at least as late as 1904. He opened an office in the Lankershim Building in Los Angeles in 1915.
I’ve seen sources saying that the Liberty opened in 1915, and others saying it was 1916. The book Screening Room: Family Pictures, by M. A. Lightman’s grandson Alan Lightman says 1916, which is more likely correct. However, it appears that Lightman did not control the Liberty continuously, as the April 6, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World carried this brief notice: “SHEFFIELD, ALA. — M. A. Lightman has taken over Liberty theater.”
Lightman had more than one iron in the fire around this time. In November 1918, Motion Picture News noted that he was President of the Criterion Film Service, a film exchange (distribution company) that had been opened in Atlanta in September.
This article from 2017 says that the Runyon Theatre went dark in December, 2016. It has since reopened as a bar and night club called the Spirit House Cabaret.
The recent opening of the Rialto Theatre at Pueblo was announced in the May 4, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World. In 2017, Spirit House Cabaret was planning an event to commemorate the theater’s 100th anniversary in March, 2018, so that might be the month in which the theater originally opened.
The Beacon Theatre was designed by architectural engineer Ira Jack Castles, according to the article on display. His Houston-based firm, Castles Design Group, founded in 1952, is still active.
The correct name of the architect of the Palace Theatre is Alfred M. Lublin. A Jewish architect who fled Germany when Hitler came to power, he arrived in the United States in 1936 after practicing in Paris for a couple of years.
After the war his Norfolk-based firm, Lublin, McGaughy & Associates, founded in 1943, established branch offices in Paris and Milan, which Lublin headed. He died at the age of 53 in an airliner crash in 1960, cutting short a very successful career.
Prior to being remodeled in 1940, this house was called the Star Theatre. Plans for the remodeling were by architect Alfred M. Lublin. Eric Ledell Smith’s book African American Theater Buildings says that the Star was an African American house at least as early as 1930.
The Lyric reopened under different ownership later. The June 3, 1916, issue of Motography said that “[t]he Lyric theater, North Fifth street, Beatrice, has been taken over by H. W. Crosson of Hastings.”
Later that year, yet another operator, Hal Kelly, who also operated the Gilbert Theatre, succeeded in getting the City Council to respond positively to a petition he submitted requesting that theaters be allowed to run movies on Sundays. This rare quick success in the industry’s fight against Sunday blue laws was reported in the September 2, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World.
The “History” page of the Sun Theatre’s official web site says the theater was built as an opera house in 1909 and became a movie house in 1926. However, there is this item from the December 27, 1917, issue of Exhibitors Herald:
“Gothenburg, Neb. — Gothenburg’s new Sun Theatre, a motion picture house, was opened to the public recently. Between 1,500 and 2,000 people witnessed the two performances on opening day. Nate Desky of Brush, Colo., is owner.”
That 1917 is when the Opera House was converted into a movie theater called the Sun is confirmed by this notice from the July 21, 1917, issue of The American Contractor:
“Gothenburg, Nebr. — Opera House (rem.): $2,500. 2 sty. 50x92. Archt. Victor F. Beck, North Platte, Nebr. Owner Nat. Desky, Brush, Colo. Taking bids.”
This item about the Roxy Theatre is from the Sunday, May 1, 1932, issue of the Miami Daily News-Record:
“The Roxy theater was opened in Picher Saturday night by Carl Gordon, well known former theater man of the district, in the building formerly occupied by the Gayety theater at 211 South Main street. The new theater quarters have been enlarged and extensively improved. Equipment includes talking picture facilities of the Western Electric company. The theater has a seating capacity of approximately 500. Mr. Gordon has announced that it will be his policy to give the theatergoing public of Picher and vicinity a thoroughly modern playhouse with strictly modern prices.”
Picher had a movie house called the Gayety Theatre at least as early as 1921.
The Globe Theatre was situated on Douglas Avenue, Beaver’s main business street. The March 22, 1917, issue of The Beaver Herald said that the Globe’s operators, Spangler Brothers, who had taken over the house in 1916, had started excavating for a new theater on the lot south of the Herald building.
The July 5 issue of the Herald said that the theater would open in its new location the following night. The new Globe building was 25x120 feet.
Boxoffice of June 11, 1962, reported the recent death of Mrs. A. L. McArthur who had, with her late husband, operated the Beaver Theatre for many years. The McArthurs' granddaughter, Betty Parker, was operating the house.
Adams & Angleton, operators of the Novelty theatre at Forgan, Oklahoma, provided capsule movie reviews to various issues of Exhibitors Herald in 1921.
Forgan’s population never got much above 600, so it’s possible that all three of the movie theaters listed for the town at CinemaTour (Novelty, Alta, and Forgan) were the same house under different names.
Here is a page about the renovationof the Saenger Theatre, on the web site of Martinez & Johnson Architecture. The firm has handled or collaborated on the renovations of several historic theaters.
Another house called the National Theatre was in operation in Breckenridge before this house opened. It was advertised in the October 16, 1920, issue of the Breckenridge American, as were the new Alhambra Theater, set to open on the 18th, a House called the Broadway Theatre and another called the American Theatre, plus the Ruby Theatre. The ad for the National boasted of its “Photoplayer Supreme.”
The 360-seat Palace Theatre is last listed in the FDY in 1929, as is the 500-seat Alhambra. In 1930 the Palace is listed with 546 seats, indicating that it had moved to the old Alhambra Theatre building by the time that edition of the FDY was compiled. The name Buckaroo Theatre does not appear in the FDY until 1945, but I don’t think the old Palace was vacant all that time.
In 1932, a 375-seat Plaza Theatre appears in the FDY. The Plaza remains in the listings through 1938, though it is listed as closed in 1936 and 1938. It vanishes from the listing in 1939, but reappears in 1942, though with no seating capacity listed. It remains listed through 1944, but vanishes when the 350-seat Buckaroo Theatre appears in 1945.
The Alhambra Theatre is last listed in the FDY in 1929, with 500 seats. In 1930, the Palace is the only theater listed in Breckenridge, but it has gone from the 350 seats it had in the 1920s to 546 seats. Depending on when the 1930 FDY was compiled, the Palace must have moved to the Alhambra’s building in late 1929 or very early 1930. By 1931 the seating capacity of the Palace has gone to 536, where it remains thereafter.
The Valley is probably the theater that first shows up in the FDY in 1938 as the Avenue Theatre, with 450 seats. Probably opened in 1937, or very late 1936. The Avenue is last listed in the FDY in 1940, and the 470-seat Valley first appears the following year.
The Valley Theatre has not been demolished. The building seen in this 1995 photo by John Lewis at CinemaTour is still standing at 1088 Brackenridge Avenue.
“Near Tragedy Gas Overcomes 40 Children in Brackenridge” read a headline in The Pittsburgh Post of December 6, 1946. Due to a coal strike the Valley Theatre had converted to gas heating, and a defective flue filled the auditorium with carbon monoxide. Some forty children and a few adults in the audience of more than 100 were overcome by the fumes and collapsed, many of them after exiting the theater. No deaths were reported.
I have been unable to determine if the Valley Theatre was the same house that was in operation at Brackenridge by 1920 as the Luna Theatre, and which was renamed the Dreamland Theatre around January, 1923. The building does look old enough to have been there in 1920, and the rear portion looks as though it could have been built specifically to house an auditorium.
This comment on our Irving Theatre page says that the Buena Vista Theatre was converted into a live theater venue and rental auditorium after closing as a movie house, but was abandoned when the Irving Arts Center was built (this would have been 1990.)
The comment says Buena Vista was across the street from the high school, and as of 2012 was slated to be demolished for a senior citizens condominium project. This project must have been The Villages on MacArthur, now open at 3443 N MacArthur Blvd, Irving, TX 75062.
Without further information, that’s probably as close as we’ll get to the Buena Vista Theatre’s actual address. The 10-acre Arts Center is located immediately south of the condominium.
The Moving Picture World of May 11, 1918, had this item about the California Theatre, though the project missed the theater’s projected opening date by about over months:
Having never been inside the California I was unaware that it had ramps. Architect A. B. Rosenthal must have been aware of the theaters designed by architect Henderson Ryan, who first used ramps for balcony access in Seattle’s Liberty Theatre in 1912, and patented a ramp system for theaters in 1916.I’ve managed to dig up bit (a very little bit) more about Rosenthal. The 1926 Los Angeles city directory lists him as Rosenthal, Alex B., archt. 815 S. Hill rm 709, with his residence at 2401 6th. 815 S. Hill was the Hillstreet Building, the office block which was also occupied by the Junior Orpheum Circuit’s Hillstreet Theatre. Rosenthal’s office had been moved into the building in 1922, the year it was completed.
Alex B. Rosenthal was practicing architecture in Chicago at least as early as 1896 and at least as late as 1904. He opened an office in the Lankershim Building in Los Angeles in 1915.
I’ve seen sources saying that the Liberty opened in 1915, and others saying it was 1916. The book Screening Room: Family Pictures, by M. A. Lightman’s grandson Alan Lightman says 1916, which is more likely correct. However, it appears that Lightman did not control the Liberty continuously, as the April 6, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World carried this brief notice: “SHEFFIELD, ALA. — M. A. Lightman has taken over Liberty theater.”
Lightman had more than one iron in the fire around this time. In November 1918, Motion Picture News noted that he was President of the Criterion Film Service, a film exchange (distribution company) that had been opened in Atlanta in September.
This article from 2017 says that the Runyon Theatre went dark in December, 2016. It has since reopened as a bar and night club called the Spirit House Cabaret.
The recent opening of the Rialto Theatre at Pueblo was announced in the May 4, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World. In 2017, Spirit House Cabaret was planning an event to commemorate the theater’s 100th anniversary in March, 2018, so that might be the month in which the theater originally opened.
The Beacon Theatre was designed by architectural engineer Ira Jack Castles, according to the article on display. His Houston-based firm, Castles Design Group, founded in 1952, is still active.
The former Thorncliffe Market Place Mall is now called East York Town Centre, and is at 45 Overlea Boulevard.
The Bayne Theatre was demolished in November, 2015. Here is video posted at YouTube by the demolition company.
This article from The Virginian Pilot of December 18, 2015, has an early aerial photo of the Bayne.
The correct name of the architect of the Palace Theatre is Alfred M. Lublin. A Jewish architect who fled Germany when Hitler came to power, he arrived in the United States in 1936 after practicing in Paris for a couple of years.
After the war his Norfolk-based firm, Lublin, McGaughy & Associates, founded in 1943, established branch offices in Paris and Milan, which Lublin headed. He died at the age of 53 in an airliner crash in 1960, cutting short a very successful career.
The Norfolk Building Inspection Department has a set of plans for the Hampton Theatre dated 7/18/1940 and drawn by architect Alfred M. Lublin.
Judging from Google’s street view, Old Dominion University has expanded onto this block and demolished all the old buildings, including the theater.
Prior to being remodeled in 1940, this house was called the Star Theatre. Plans for the remodeling were by architect Alfred M. Lublin. Eric Ledell Smith’s book African American Theater Buildings says that the Star was an African American house at least as early as 1930.
Plans for the Park Moving Picture Theatre were drawn in 1920 by architect A. O. Ferebee. The project was commissioned by E. J. Reass.
The Lyric reopened under different ownership later. The June 3, 1916, issue of Motography said that “[t]he Lyric theater, North Fifth street, Beatrice, has been taken over by H. W. Crosson of Hastings.”
Later that year, yet another operator, Hal Kelly, who also operated the Gilbert Theatre, succeeded in getting the City Council to respond positively to a petition he submitted requesting that theaters be allowed to run movies on Sundays. This rare quick success in the industry’s fight against Sunday blue laws was reported in the September 2, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World.
The “History” page of the Sun Theatre’s official web site says the theater was built as an opera house in 1909 and became a movie house in 1926. However, there is this item from the December 27, 1917, issue of Exhibitors Herald:
That 1917 is when the Opera House was converted into a movie theater called the Sun is confirmed by this notice from the July 21, 1917, issue of The American Contractor:This item about the Roxy Theatre is from the Sunday, May 1, 1932, issue of the Miami Daily News-Record:
Picher had a movie house called the Gayety Theatre at least as early as 1921.The Globe Theatre was situated on Douglas Avenue, Beaver’s main business street. The March 22, 1917, issue of The Beaver Herald said that the Globe’s operators, Spangler Brothers, who had taken over the house in 1916, had started excavating for a new theater on the lot south of the Herald building.
The July 5 issue of the Herald said that the theater would open in its new location the following night. The new Globe building was 25x120 feet.
Boxoffice of June 11, 1962, reported the recent death of Mrs. A. L. McArthur who had, with her late husband, operated the Beaver Theatre for many years. The McArthurs' granddaughter, Betty Parker, was operating the house.
Adams & Angleton, operators of the Novelty theatre at Forgan, Oklahoma, provided capsule movie reviews to various issues of Exhibitors Herald in 1921.
Forgan’s population never got much above 600, so it’s possible that all three of the movie theaters listed for the town at CinemaTour (Novelty, Alta, and Forgan) were the same house under different names.
The first appearance of the Nusho Theatre in the FDY was in 1936, making a 1935 opening very likely.
Here is a page about the renovationof the Saenger Theatre, on the web site of Martinez & Johnson Architecture. The firm has handled or collaborated on the renovations of several historic theaters.
The opening of the Alhambra Theatre on October 18, 1920, was advertised in the October 16 issue of the Breckenridge American.
Another house called the National Theatre was in operation in Breckenridge before this house opened. It was advertised in the October 16, 1920, issue of the Breckenridge American, as were the new Alhambra Theater, set to open on the 18th, a House called the Broadway Theatre and another called the American Theatre, plus the Ruby Theatre. The ad for the National boasted of its “Photoplayer Supreme.”
The 360-seat Palace Theatre is last listed in the FDY in 1929, as is the 500-seat Alhambra. In 1930 the Palace is listed with 546 seats, indicating that it had moved to the old Alhambra Theatre building by the time that edition of the FDY was compiled. The name Buckaroo Theatre does not appear in the FDY until 1945, but I don’t think the old Palace was vacant all that time.
In 1932, a 375-seat Plaza Theatre appears in the FDY. The Plaza remains in the listings through 1938, though it is listed as closed in 1936 and 1938. It vanishes from the listing in 1939, but reappears in 1942, though with no seating capacity listed. It remains listed through 1944, but vanishes when the 350-seat Buckaroo Theatre appears in 1945.
The Alhambra Theatre is last listed in the FDY in 1929, with 500 seats. In 1930, the Palace is the only theater listed in Breckenridge, but it has gone from the 350 seats it had in the 1920s to 546 seats. Depending on when the 1930 FDY was compiled, the Palace must have moved to the Alhambra’s building in late 1929 or very early 1930. By 1931 the seating capacity of the Palace has gone to 536, where it remains thereafter.
The Valley is probably the theater that first shows up in the FDY in 1938 as the Avenue Theatre, with 450 seats. Probably opened in 1937, or very late 1936. The Avenue is last listed in the FDY in 1940, and the 470-seat Valley first appears the following year.
The Valley Theatre has not been demolished. The building seen in this 1995 photo by John Lewis at CinemaTour is still standing at 1088 Brackenridge Avenue.
“Near Tragedy Gas Overcomes 40 Children in Brackenridge” read a headline in The Pittsburgh Post of December 6, 1946. Due to a coal strike the Valley Theatre had converted to gas heating, and a defective flue filled the auditorium with carbon monoxide. Some forty children and a few adults in the audience of more than 100 were overcome by the fumes and collapsed, many of them after exiting the theater. No deaths were reported.
I have been unable to determine if the Valley Theatre was the same house that was in operation at Brackenridge by 1920 as the Luna Theatre, and which was renamed the Dreamland Theatre around January, 1923. The building does look old enough to have been there in 1920, and the rear portion looks as though it could have been built specifically to house an auditorium.