The original Simplex projector that was used since its 1942 opening only operated for 3 years due to a fire incident inside the projection booth. On April 7, 1945, the Belle Theatre was gutted by a fire caused by a broken belt inside the projector causing a fire inside the projection booth. The fire occurred during a showing of a double feature: Bob Crosby in “The Singing Sheriff” and Joe E. Brown in “Casanova In Burlesque” along with an unnamed serial and an unnamed comedy, which was only shown for one day. Luckily enough, the audience, mostly children, had all escaped safely. The theater reopened the following day in the afternoon with Gerr Garson and Walter Pidgeon in “Mrs. Parkington” (along with a few unnamed short subjects) after a new projector was installed. The estimated loss is between $300 and $400.
The Capri also installed Cinerama later that year in 1961, reopening on November 8 of that year with their test film “This Is Cinerama” as the “Capri Cinerama”.
The actual opening date is November 5, 1938 with a double feature: Deanna Durbin in “That Certain Age” and Joe Penner in “Mr. Doodle Kicks Off”, along with the latest reel of March Of Time.
Closed On August 24, 1984 With “The Last Starfighter” And “Hard To Hold” As Its Last Films, Since Both Films Played As A Double Feature Before Its Closure. I Can’t Find Anything Else After Those Showings. It Is Now A Marathon (Former BP) Gas Station.
The Wood River Theatre Opened Its Doors On September 29, 1927 With Richard Dix In “Shanghai Bound”, Along With 5 Acts Of Vaudeville And A Performance By Professor Herzuwarm With His Gratian Organ.
The Butte Theatre Opened Its Doors On June 18, 1938 With Deanna Durbin In “Mad About Music” Along With An Unknown Amount Of Short Subjects, With The Building Being An Estimated Cost Of $75,000.
The Riverside Theatre opened its doors on July 27, 1967 with John Wayne in “El Dorado”.
This theater is a rocking chair theater with ultra-vision and 6-channel surround stereophonic sound system, including free parking at front door parking. The Riverside Theatre’s screen is 50x20ft, with a 12ft mammoth curvature which is designed to eliminate distortion and present a perfect picture. It also includes an electronic air conditioner system that can provide 25% more output. This system works with all 4 seasons as the temperature is automatically regulated with a direct relationship to the outdoor temperature. The projection is on a direct line to the screen providing a sharpness in distortion-free viewing. The wall-to-wall screen represents a combination of correlated elements, scientifically designed for the particular auditorium-taking into consideration on both sizes and curvature, property related to the height and width of the auditorium and to the width and length of the screen. The screen also reflects light evenly and efficiently over the entire area, providing a concept in depth of large-screen presentations. A full-range stereophonic sound system was installed as well. The theater contains the auditorium draped in material of rich blues, greens, and golds to completely harmonize with a huge amount of deep-piled green, from the carpet to the upholstered rocking chair seats to the large lobby and covered canopy entrance.
Paul Jones was the original manager, who has been apart of the business since being an usher in Greensboro, North Carolina at the National Theatre since 1925 while he was in high school. He explains on how his theater business was, but it was a very long story. He faced on with many popular silent films such as “Big Parade”, the original 1925 version of “Ben Hur”, and “Hell’s Angels”, including the first sound film for the National Theatre, “The Lights Of New York” as an usher. A short time after graduating high school in 1928, he left for High Point to work as a doorman. He thought that running both of those was tough and was not enough to support his family including his new wife Stella in 1930. Despite at that time being the highest paid job for $55 per week for being either a doorman or an usher was too much, but however, they used to refer themselves as the “privileged few”. Flash-forward more than a decade ago and right when World War II started to faded away in 1945, theatre managers became fallen for short supply. He was called to return to the office in a managerial capacity, but only until war concluded its stunt. By the time the war completely died, he found himself in the peculiar position of being more variable to his company in the front office than a projectionist. There were many men who took up a trade of projectionist while being apart of the military service. So he continued to stay year after year wanting to get back into technical field. He finally returned back to the theatre business in 1950. He operated a few theaters and drive-ins until 1957 when he worked as a sales representative for sometime between a year. For 6 months beginning in October or November 1957, his former home bases such as the Center Theatre in High Point, North Carolina, but he moved to Virginia in Danville later on and worked at Danville’s Rialto Theatre after the original manager, Al Barber, became ill, and started to fill his appointment on April 9, 1958. He was transferred to Charlottesville, Virginia in 1959 to be apart of Danville Enterprises. He thought that it was a big job but the position he told had been previously pleasant by such men as Charlie Abererombie, Charlie Lewis, and John Knight. He felt very happy to become the manager of the Riverside Theatre to fit his journey again. He would also later become the president and manager of the Riverside Merchant Association. Danvillians were starting to die down by 1977 possibly due to most Danvillians taken a huge vacation population. Paul noticed that helping throughout the years and into the nearby future “definitely really helps a whole lot, because there’s a whole lot of money put into their hands, so they come out here and spend their perfect time and money, and they enjoyed it”.
The Dale Theatre is part of the People Theatres of Alabama chain which operated by the one and only Fred T. McLendon (who would later be the president of the popular McLendon Theatres chain a couple of years later). With the theater being opened on October 19, 1937 with Spencer Tracy in “Big City”, the Dale Theatre was built on an old Dowerly property which became secured and was planned by the foremost architect of the territory named Mr. H. L. Holman. Jr. The Dale Theatre was converted from a building originally being built in 1892. The Dale Theatre would later become part of the Brackin Theatres chain right after the Brackin Theatre nearby opened its doors on October 26, 1945.
And yes, Walter T. Brackin is the one who owned the theater. He has been associated with Fred T. McLendon (of the popular McLendon Theatres chain) in Union Springs back in 1934, who had a partnership of an experience many years of a variety operations of theaters.
According To Sapulpa’s Daily Herald, The Criterion Is Remodeled Once Again In March 1955, Possibly Due To CinemaScope Installation, Later Reopening It On The 27th.
It Became The Indiana Theatre On August 18, 1935 With Pat O'Brien’s “In Caliente”, Along With A Disney Cartoon: Mickey Mouse In “The Band Concert”, And A Performance By The De-Marcos.
The theater opened with Randolph Scott in “When The Daltons Rode” along with a Fox Movietone Newsreel, a Disney Cartoon: Mickey Mouse in “Pluto’s Dream House” (despite Pluto making a cameo appearance, the mouse himself was the star-billing in the short), a performance by Kate Smith doing “God Bless America”, and a live performance by Artie Shaw and his band.
Information about the theater goes as follows: Owned by Fox Ozark Theatre Corporation, the structure has a first floor seating plan which is an innovation in a midwest theatre planning in that in the rear of the theatre containing deeply cushioned loge seats with wider spacing. They constituted with a virtually reversed section. Steel superstructures form the basis of fireproof construction, and the projection and sound systems were recent designation and scientific development to insure a perfect screen development as of 1940. The original front of the theatre is a scene of 2 stories in height, of stucco finish with an opaline glass center, paneling with colorful flooded lights. The marquee is decorated with neon, with the lower part of the front being faced with decorative tile, with leatherette walls above the tiling in the lobby. The interior is richly appointed with the walls having in a colored plaster with fluorescent paint designs. The ceiling is made with a tile board in decorative designs and light fixtures to harmonize. The absence of both of the traditional proscenium arch and the customary footlights are also in the fully equipped stage. The foyers were in ornamental plaster with wide stairways, richly carpeted leading to the mezzanine and balcony. Lounge rooms for both genders are on the east side of the Fox. The lower floor seatings were divided into 3 sections with 2 center aisles. Correct posture chairs of the then-modern design have been installed with ample spacing and loge seats. The building is mechanically air-conditioned with a flow of pure fresh air being automatically adjusted to the outside temperature and capacity demands. J. E. Mater, a popular Sedalia manager who managed both the Liberty and the Sedalia Theatres later became Fox Midwest operators right after the Fox opened its doors, who became the manager of the Fox Theatre. Born in Kansas City (Missouri) in 1908 and was married to Ms. Jennie Ward of Abilene, Kansas at age 20 in 1928, who later had a child 2 years later in 1930. His office is on the mezzanine floor, with mechanical equipment and projectors all in the basement along with storage rooms, a room where a break deserves, and a few dressing rooms.
On July 26, 2021, 2 people (all between the ages of 18 and 19) were shot in the head at one of the 18 auditoriums. The youngest is confirmed dead, with the other being hospitalized. The suspect is a 20-year-old who has been charged 5 days later by the Riverside County Superior Court.
Bill Ramaland, a former theatre operator of a Corpus Christi area town of Alice (who formerly operated one out of 5 theaters (2 theaters and 3 drive-ins)) was the operator of the theater by manager Jack Humphries, manger of the Mission Chamber of Commerce who broke the ground on April 17, 1949.
The theater made its formal opening on June 7, 1949 with a barbecue cookout announced by R. J. Ramsland and H. C. Gunder. It would later open its gates to the public the next day on June 8, 1949 with Errol Flynn in “Adventures Of Don Juan”.
The Greenwood Drive-In originally set to open on April 22, 1948 but was cancelled due to rain so they have to reschedule to May 2, 1948 with a double feature: “Apache Rose” and “Adventure Island”, along with an unnamed cartoon and a newsreel.
During its early days of operation, there are so many incidents such as a two-car collision at the Greenwood Drive-In causing 2 injuries. One of the autos is a 1940 Chevrolet coach owned by an Indianapolis citizen, with the other car being a 1947 Hudson Hornet on June 3, 1949. A 22-year-old who is riding in the Chevrolet suffered a wrenched and possibly fractured right shoulder. 2 16-year-olds were on route to Greencastle for a weekend visit with relatives, but one suffered a cut in the center of the forehead.
It’s not just that, but there’s once a robbery caused by 3 boys, they were kids with the ages of 13, 15, and 16, stealing 80 packages of cigarettes, and an equally large quantity of chewing gum during the morning hours of August 9, 1950. They were caught later in a cornfield south of Whiteland near the Pennsylvania Railroad line where a railroad crossing sits in, and was held at Marion County courthouse and jail.
Opened With Doris Day and Gordon MacRae in “On Moonlight Bay”, along with a Tom and Jerry cartoon, a Pete Smith speciality, and a newsreel.
The original Simplex projector that was used since its 1942 opening only operated for 3 years due to a fire incident inside the projection booth. On April 7, 1945, the Belle Theatre was gutted by a fire caused by a broken belt inside the projector causing a fire inside the projection booth. The fire occurred during a showing of a double feature: Bob Crosby in “The Singing Sheriff” and Joe E. Brown in “Casanova In Burlesque” along with an unnamed serial and an unnamed comedy, which was only shown for one day. Luckily enough, the audience, mostly children, had all escaped safely. The theater reopened the following day in the afternoon with Gerr Garson and Walter Pidgeon in “Mrs. Parkington” (along with a few unnamed short subjects) after a new projector was installed. The estimated loss is between $300 and $400.
The Capri also installed Cinerama later that year in 1961, reopening on November 8 of that year with their test film “This Is Cinerama” as the “Capri Cinerama”.
The theater opened with a double feature: Don Ameche in “You Can’t Have Everything”, and Russell Gleason in “The Higgins Family”.
CinemaScope was later installed. Still in operation since 1960.
The actual opening date is November 5, 1938 with a double feature: Deanna Durbin in “That Certain Age” and Joe Penner in “Mr. Doodle Kicks Off”, along with the latest reel of March Of Time.
It became the Cinema III on August 1, 1973, not around 1959. The Palace Theater name continued to last throughout the 1960’s and early 1970’s.
The Palace Theater was built and opened in 1918 by a husband-and-wife team of Lou and Elizabeth Galster of Petoskey.
On March 5, 1945, the Palace Theater was completely destroyed by a fire. It was later rebuilt and reopened later that year.
The Palace Theater name continued to last until August 1, 1973 when it reopened as the Cinema III with “Hell Upside Down” as its first film.
Closed On August 24, 1984 With “The Last Starfighter” And “Hard To Hold” As Its Last Films, Since Both Films Played As A Double Feature Before Its Closure. I Can’t Find Anything Else After Those Showings. It Is Now A Marathon (Former BP) Gas Station.
Found It, Opened On August 8, 1927 With Karl Dane In “Rockies”, Along With A Newsreel And An Unknown Comedy.
Opened in 1928, Closed on May 25, 1955 due to an expiration of lease, demolished in 1960.
The Wood River Theatre Opened Its Doors On September 29, 1927 With Richard Dix In “Shanghai Bound”, Along With 5 Acts Of Vaudeville And A Performance By Professor Herzuwarm With His Gratian Organ.
The Butte Theatre Opened Its Doors On June 18, 1938 With Deanna Durbin In “Mad About Music” Along With An Unknown Amount Of Short Subjects, With The Building Being An Estimated Cost Of $75,000.
The Riverside Theatre opened its doors on July 27, 1967 with John Wayne in “El Dorado”.
This theater is a rocking chair theater with ultra-vision and 6-channel surround stereophonic sound system, including free parking at front door parking. The Riverside Theatre’s screen is 50x20ft, with a 12ft mammoth curvature which is designed to eliminate distortion and present a perfect picture. It also includes an electronic air conditioner system that can provide 25% more output. This system works with all 4 seasons as the temperature is automatically regulated with a direct relationship to the outdoor temperature. The projection is on a direct line to the screen providing a sharpness in distortion-free viewing. The wall-to-wall screen represents a combination of correlated elements, scientifically designed for the particular auditorium-taking into consideration on both sizes and curvature, property related to the height and width of the auditorium and to the width and length of the screen. The screen also reflects light evenly and efficiently over the entire area, providing a concept in depth of large-screen presentations. A full-range stereophonic sound system was installed as well. The theater contains the auditorium draped in material of rich blues, greens, and golds to completely harmonize with a huge amount of deep-piled green, from the carpet to the upholstered rocking chair seats to the large lobby and covered canopy entrance.
Paul Jones was the original manager, who has been apart of the business since being an usher in Greensboro, North Carolina at the National Theatre since 1925 while he was in high school. He explains on how his theater business was, but it was a very long story. He faced on with many popular silent films such as “Big Parade”, the original 1925 version of “Ben Hur”, and “Hell’s Angels”, including the first sound film for the National Theatre, “The Lights Of New York” as an usher. A short time after graduating high school in 1928, he left for High Point to work as a doorman. He thought that running both of those was tough and was not enough to support his family including his new wife Stella in 1930. Despite at that time being the highest paid job for $55 per week for being either a doorman or an usher was too much, but however, they used to refer themselves as the “privileged few”. Flash-forward more than a decade ago and right when World War II started to faded away in 1945, theatre managers became fallen for short supply. He was called to return to the office in a managerial capacity, but only until war concluded its stunt. By the time the war completely died, he found himself in the peculiar position of being more variable to his company in the front office than a projectionist. There were many men who took up a trade of projectionist while being apart of the military service. So he continued to stay year after year wanting to get back into technical field. He finally returned back to the theatre business in 1950. He operated a few theaters and drive-ins until 1957 when he worked as a sales representative for sometime between a year. For 6 months beginning in October or November 1957, his former home bases such as the Center Theatre in High Point, North Carolina, but he moved to Virginia in Danville later on and worked at Danville’s Rialto Theatre after the original manager, Al Barber, became ill, and started to fill his appointment on April 9, 1958. He was transferred to Charlottesville, Virginia in 1959 to be apart of Danville Enterprises. He thought that it was a big job but the position he told had been previously pleasant by such men as Charlie Abererombie, Charlie Lewis, and John Knight. He felt very happy to become the manager of the Riverside Theatre to fit his journey again. He would also later become the president and manager of the Riverside Merchant Association. Danvillians were starting to die down by 1977 possibly due to most Danvillians taken a huge vacation population. Paul noticed that helping throughout the years and into the nearby future “definitely really helps a whole lot, because there’s a whole lot of money put into their hands, so they come out here and spend their perfect time and money, and they enjoyed it”.
The Dale Theatre is part of the People Theatres of Alabama chain which operated by the one and only Fred T. McLendon (who would later be the president of the popular McLendon Theatres chain a couple of years later). With the theater being opened on October 19, 1937 with Spencer Tracy in “Big City”, the Dale Theatre was built on an old Dowerly property which became secured and was planned by the foremost architect of the territory named Mr. H. L. Holman. Jr. The Dale Theatre was converted from a building originally being built in 1892. The Dale Theatre would later become part of the Brackin Theatres chain right after the Brackin Theatre nearby opened its doors on October 26, 1945.
And yes, Walter T. Brackin is the one who owned the theater. He has been associated with Fred T. McLendon (of the popular McLendon Theatres chain) in Union Springs back in 1934, who had a partnership of an experience many years of a variety operations of theaters.
According To Sapulpa’s Daily Herald, The Criterion Is Remodeled Once Again In March 1955, Possibly Due To CinemaScope Installation, Later Reopening It On The 27th.
It Became The Indiana Theatre On August 18, 1935 With Pat O'Brien’s “In Caliente”, Along With A Disney Cartoon: Mickey Mouse In “The Band Concert”, And A Performance By The De-Marcos.
The theater opened with Randolph Scott in “When The Daltons Rode” along with a Fox Movietone Newsreel, a Disney Cartoon: Mickey Mouse in “Pluto’s Dream House” (despite Pluto making a cameo appearance, the mouse himself was the star-billing in the short), a performance by Kate Smith doing “God Bless America”, and a live performance by Artie Shaw and his band.
Information about the theater goes as follows: Owned by Fox Ozark Theatre Corporation, the structure has a first floor seating plan which is an innovation in a midwest theatre planning in that in the rear of the theatre containing deeply cushioned loge seats with wider spacing. They constituted with a virtually reversed section. Steel superstructures form the basis of fireproof construction, and the projection and sound systems were recent designation and scientific development to insure a perfect screen development as of 1940. The original front of the theatre is a scene of 2 stories in height, of stucco finish with an opaline glass center, paneling with colorful flooded lights. The marquee is decorated with neon, with the lower part of the front being faced with decorative tile, with leatherette walls above the tiling in the lobby. The interior is richly appointed with the walls having in a colored plaster with fluorescent paint designs. The ceiling is made with a tile board in decorative designs and light fixtures to harmonize. The absence of both of the traditional proscenium arch and the customary footlights are also in the fully equipped stage. The foyers were in ornamental plaster with wide stairways, richly carpeted leading to the mezzanine and balcony. Lounge rooms for both genders are on the east side of the Fox. The lower floor seatings were divided into 3 sections with 2 center aisles. Correct posture chairs of the then-modern design have been installed with ample spacing and loge seats. The building is mechanically air-conditioned with a flow of pure fresh air being automatically adjusted to the outside temperature and capacity demands. J. E. Mater, a popular Sedalia manager who managed both the Liberty and the Sedalia Theatres later became Fox Midwest operators right after the Fox opened its doors, who became the manager of the Fox Theatre. Born in Kansas City (Missouri) in 1908 and was married to Ms. Jennie Ward of Abilene, Kansas at age 20 in 1928, who later had a child 2 years later in 1930. His office is on the mezzanine floor, with mechanical equipment and projectors all in the basement along with storage rooms, a room where a break deserves, and a few dressing rooms.
Opened On January 12, 1982.
On July 26, 2021, 2 people (all between the ages of 18 and 19) were shot in the head at one of the 18 auditoriums. The youngest is confirmed dead, with the other being hospitalized. The suspect is a 20-year-old who has been charged 5 days later by the Riverside County Superior Court.
Closed In 1974 Or 1975.
Bill Ramaland, a former theatre operator of a Corpus Christi area town of Alice (who formerly operated one out of 5 theaters (2 theaters and 3 drive-ins)) was the operator of the theater by manager Jack Humphries, manger of the Mission Chamber of Commerce who broke the ground on April 17, 1949.
The theater made its formal opening on June 7, 1949 with a barbecue cookout announced by R. J. Ramsland and H. C. Gunder. It would later open its gates to the public the next day on June 8, 1949 with Errol Flynn in “Adventures Of Don Juan”.
Opened In 1995.
The Greenwood Drive-In originally set to open on April 22, 1948 but was cancelled due to rain so they have to reschedule to May 2, 1948 with a double feature: “Apache Rose” and “Adventure Island”, along with an unnamed cartoon and a newsreel.
During its early days of operation, there are so many incidents such as a two-car collision at the Greenwood Drive-In causing 2 injuries. One of the autos is a 1940 Chevrolet coach owned by an Indianapolis citizen, with the other car being a 1947 Hudson Hornet on June 3, 1949. A 22-year-old who is riding in the Chevrolet suffered a wrenched and possibly fractured right shoulder. 2 16-year-olds were on route to Greencastle for a weekend visit with relatives, but one suffered a cut in the center of the forehead.
It’s not just that, but there’s once a robbery caused by 3 boys, they were kids with the ages of 13, 15, and 16, stealing 80 packages of cigarettes, and an equally large quantity of chewing gum during the morning hours of August 9, 1950. They were caught later in a cornfield south of Whiteland near the Pennsylvania Railroad line where a railroad crossing sits in, and was held at Marion County courthouse and jail.
Opened On Christmas Day 1948 With Walt Disney’s Melody Time.