A letter published in the “Projection Department” column of Moving Picture World for October 25, 1913 says in part “Mr. Leslie K. Moore, Paulding, Ohio… says: I recently opened a new theater, ‘The Amusu,’ in a fireproof building, erected in accordance with the Ohio State Building Laws.”
The Amusu was the only theater listed at Paulding in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, but a book called A Paulding Journal: 1870-1950 by Jeanne Bennett Calvert, which consists mostly of snippets from the local newspaper, mentions a couple of other theater names. An August, 1914 item mentions a Family Motion Picture Theatre, and a June, 1915 item mentions both the Amusu and a house called the Palace, which had just been taken over by the owner of the Amusu.
There was also a mention of the Amusu after 1916, but I cant find the exact year (Google Books has no full view of this book.) The only house other than the Grand listed in the 1926 FDY is called the Lincoln, and it was no longer listed by 1929. A March 17, 1917 Moving Picture World item notes a Paulding Theatre Company had plans and capital to build a new movie house there immediately, but I’ve found no later items about it. If it was built it could have ben the Lincoln, and if not then the Lincoln might have been the Amusu under a new name.
A post about the recent demolition of the Paulding Theatre on the Facebook page of the John Paulding Historical Society says that the building was built in 1893. A period source says that it was slated to open on February 19, 1894. Another new theatre, called the Model Opera House, had opened in January.
The side walls of the Grand survived the 1946 fire, and the 1949 Paulding Theatre was essentially a steel framed structure built inside the brick shell of the old Grand. Part of the Grand’s front wall also survived the fire and was revealed under the newer building as it was demolished, seen for the first time in 75 years.
The Historical Society seems to think that the building was extended back to the alley for the first time after the fire, as that part of the building had cinder block walls, but I think the cinder block portion of the building must have occupied the location of the old stage house, which either didn’t survive the fire, or was simply too tall for the new, stage-less movie theater and thus was demolished.
The Paulding Theatre was originally built for Jack O'Connell’s Community Theatres circuit of Toledo, Ohio, according to the February 26, 1949 issue of Boxoffice.
The side walls of the Grand Theatre, which the Paulding replaced, survived the 1946 fire and were incorporated into the 1949 structure, which was essentially a steel framed building built inside the old walls dating to 1893. Part of the front wall also survived, but the back wall was removed so the building could be extended with a new concrete block addition, providing increased seating capacity.
Sadly, demolition of the Paulding Theatre building began less than one month short of the 75th anniversary of its opening, on February 21, 2024. The John Paulding Historical Society provided a last look at what was left of the theater interior in a video posted to their Facebook page on February 20. Watch it here.
A 1962 city directory for Hammond, including Ponchatoula, lists the Pic Theatre at 162 N. 6th street, but this address no longer appears to exist. The numbering system is a bit of a pig’s breakfast, with a bar called Stray Cats at 132 N. 6th, something called Landstar in a small building next door numbered 165, and next to that, at the end of the block, an old brick house occupied by an accountant’s office with the address 180. Across 6th Street is a very modern building housing the town’s police station, and it uses the number 195.
The only surviving building among those on the east side of the street that is big enough to have held a 400-seat theater is the bar at 132, and it looks as though its ceiling would be too low. Unless a photo or someone who actually saw the theater turns up I fear the closest we can get to knowing the Pic’s location is the block of 6th Street north of Pine Street, and we can’t even be sure it hasn’t been demolished. But at least the directory reveals that the Pic was still in operation in 1962.
Here is an item about the Strand from Moving Picture World of November 20, 1915:
“The Strand, Chattanooga’s new 5-cent motion picture theater, was thrown open to the public on Friday, Nov. 5, with the William Fox production, ‘A Celebrated Scandal,’ for the opening exhibit. Arrangements have been made to show Fox, Kleine, Edison and Pathe Gold Rooster films at the new theater.
“A. J. Alper and A. Solomon, two well known young South Side business men, have charge of the theater, which they built under a partnership agreement. Two Powers 6A machines have been installed in a fireproof operators' room, and a $3,500 photo-play orchestra has been installed. The concern gave considerable attention to building a perfect ventilating system, and the house is heated by means of a gas furnace.
“The bills will be changed daily. The South Side of Chattanooga has been in need of just such a theater for some time, and the new house should prove a successful venture. On the opening day at the theater free toy balloons were given to every woman and child who attended, J. P. Wilhoite, a local contractor, built the theater. The building is handsomely decorated inside and out and has a large seating capacity.”
The last year in which the Strand was listed in the FDY was 1926.
Here is an item from Moving Picture World of November 20, 1915:
“Fine New House in Elkins, W. Va. R. H. Talbott, Elkins, West Va.. is building a new theater, to play highclass photoplays exclusively. The building completed will cost $30,000. It is of white sandstone, handsomely finished both inside and out. A big attractive lobby is one of its features, and a balcony seating 300, the seating capacity for the house will be 1,120. The interior decoration is now nearing completion, and is very handsome. G. B. Harvey is the contractor, and the house is to be opened Nov. 10 next. The house is named the Hippodrome.”
The claim (on November 20) that the house was to open on November 15 might well have been accurate. Publication was often delayed in trade journals of the time, and this wouldn’t be the first time an “upcoming” event had been announced after it had already happened. The same goes for the January 15, 1916 announcement in Music Trade Review of the Hippodrome’s impending opening.
Here is an item from the November 20, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World:
“New House At Marion Virginia
“A new theater is now under construction at Marion, Va., which, when completed, will be leased and operated by J. B. Eccles. The city of Marion can boast of but slightly more than two thousand inhabitants, but it will have a theater as modern, well-equipped and up-to-date as any of those of the larger cities in this section.
“‘The Marion,’ as it is to be known, will have a seating capacity of about 350. Of this number fifty seats will be contained in the balcony, arranged to accommodate the colored inhabitants. To this there is to be a separate entrance from the main lobby.
“Arrangements have been made for the installation of a Mirror screen, Power’s 6B projecting machines and a compensarc. The present plans are for the opening of the Marion on Thanksgiving Day. A four-reel daily program is contemplated. The Marion is the second place of amusement for the city, for D. Hutton has operated the Pastime here for many years. Both he and Mr. Eccles are well known in this section, both having been in the field for a considerable period of time.”
An October 16 item in the same journal had noted that a new theater was being built at Marion by J. J. Coyner, owner of the Marion Hotel.
The Theatorium was one of two houses listed at Pocahontas in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, the other being the Opera House. The Opera House was above the City Hall, which was also on St. Clair Street.
The last appearance of the American Theatre in the FDY is in the 1929 edition. Pocahontas itself does not appear in the 1930 edition, but in 1931 a 400-seat house called the Palace is listed as the only theater in town. It is possible that the American closed in late 1929 and reopened sometime in 1930 as the Palace. Pocahontas still had its Palace Theatre in 1950, when it was one of the houses mentioned in the February 4 issue of Boxoffice as part of the Newbold-Keesling chain.
This house might have been called either the Grand, the Lyric, or the Palace. In June, 1922, several issues of Moving Picture World ran capsule movie reviews submitted by R. Mason Hall of the Grand Theatre, Northfork, West Virginia. Another such review, from the issue of May 12, 1923, gives the seating capacity of the Grand as 300. The Grand is listed in the 1926 FDY, along with houses called the Lyric and the Palace. It was the last listing for the Grand. The Palace was last listed in 1928, and the Lyric in 1929, when the new Freeman Theatre first appeared.
The 1922 references to the Grand are the only mentions of any early Northfork houses I’ve found in the trade journals, and the only mention of the Star I’ve found is in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, in which it is the only house listed at Northfork.
This web page has a story about a group called Friends of the Rook, who are raising funds to restore the Rook Theatre and operate it as a performance space and community event center. It says that the house was built in 1939 by Bert and Elmer Rook to replace their Lyric Theatre at another location in Cheyenne. The official opening of the Rook was April 3, 1940.
The Rook was one of the earliest theaters designed by architect Jack Corgan, of Corgan & Moore. Unfortunately a 1972 fire destroyed the original interior, and even the interior from a remodeling that year is now gone, the auditorium having been stripped to the bare walls.
A history of the Rook Theater says that Bert an Elmer Rook built that house in 1939 to replace their Lyric Theatre. The 250-seat Lyric made its first appearance in the 1931 FDY. In 1929, Cheyenne had been home to the 175-seat Princess Theatre, and the town was not listed in the 1930 edition. I’ve been unable to discover if the Princess was enlarged, renamed and reopened or if the Lyric was a new house opened sometime in 1930.
An advertisement in Pulaski newspaper The Southwest Times of July 29, 1921 said that the new Dalton Theatre would open the following evening, Saturday, July 30, at 700 P. M.. The Dalton Theatre was leased to the American Theater Company, of Welch, West Virginia.
A list of buildings designed by architect Albert F. Janowitz includes the Heights Theatre, a 1919 project. The list also includes the 1924 West Park Theatre, and two 1917 projects listed only under the generic term “Movie Theatre.” These two are both listed in Cleveland and both listed as demolished.
One web page says that the Heights didn’t begin operation until 1922, but I’ve found no corroboration for the claim elsewhere.
The pastor of the church which occupies the theater, Joel Negus, has converted part of the auditorium into a recording studio/performance space, a project begun in 2019. There is a photo of the space on his Facebook page here.
A list of buildings designed by architect Albert F. Janowitz includes the West Park Theatre, listed as a 1924 project, though it apparently opened in 1925. The list also includes the 1919 Heights Theatre, and two 1917 projects listed only under the generic term “Movie Theatre.” These two are both listed in Cleveland and both listed as demolished.
Typos and errors in the Hill and Cahn guides muddled the owners of the first Welch Theatre. They were Benjamin Hurvitz and partners J. M. (Joseph) Lopinsky and his brother E. H. (Eugene) Lopinsky.
I’ve found a Louis Shore connected with the Cinderella Theatre by trade publications a early as 1923 (Moving Picture World, May 12) and as late as 1956 (Boxffice, April 21.) Shore also operated theaters in Keystone and War at various times, and his brother Mannie Shore was the long-time operator of the War Theatre at War.
This house and its predecessor were called the Welch Theatre, owned and originally operated by brothers Huritz and Joe Lopinsky. It was closed when later operators opened the new Pocahontas Theater in 1928. The pending conversion of the Welch Theatre building into a store for the G. C. Murphy Co. was noted in the August 12, 1928 issue of the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. At that time it was expected that the new theater would be completed in January of 1929, but the job was done ahead of schedule and it opened on December 25. The last show at the Welch was therefore probably on December 24, 1928.
Gus Hill’s 1914 directory lists a theater at Welch called the Welch, playing “R V P” (Road shows, Vaudeville, and Pictures.) The stage was 20 feet deep and 28 feet wide, which sounds like a good fit for this building. It was managed by “Huritz Lopinsky & Bro.” The 1912-1913 Cahn guide also lists the house, giving a seating capacity of 217 on the lower floor and 200 in the balcony. In 1917, a Joe Lopinsky (apparently the Bro.) was noted as owner of an unnamed movie theater at Welch. The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory missed Welch altogether, but the Welch Theatre was listed in the FDY through the late 1920s.
Mister R. W. Thayer of the Ross Theatre contributed three capsule movie reviews to the September 8, 1945 issue of Motion Picture Herald. In 1946, the July 19 issue of Film Daily reported that Gus Eisner and J. M. McKernan had purchased the house.
Boxoffice of January 12, 1950, reported that another new owner of the Ross, DeVerne Darnell, had changed the name of the house to Marcellus Theatre.
The October 19, 1957 issue of Boxoffice said that the Marcellus Theatre, recently closed by DeVerne Darnell, had been reopened by Richard E. Relsch and renamed the Dix. Dix Theatre is how the house is styled at Water Winter Wonderland, which says the theater was closed by 1959.
This theater was not on Monroe Street, but Main Street. The address might be 126 E. Main. Neither Google nor Bing Maps have either satellite or street views of Marcellus, but Water Winter Wonderland has a photo of the building the theater was in, and a real estate web site has a photo of the same row of buildings, one of which, at 128 E. Main, it says was recently sold. I’m pretty sure (though not absolutely certain) that the theater was in the building next door west of the one recently sold, and it is probably numbered 126 or some other number not too much smaller than 128.
This item datelined Saginaw appeared in the September 11, 1915 issue of Michigan Contractor and Builder:
“After September 11 the remodeling of the Jeffers theater building into a moving picture theater will be started. The lobby, ticket office will be remodeled, the interior newly decorated and new equipment, a new pipe organ and new stage settings will be installed. E. A. Eberson of Chicago, has the contract for the work. The theater when completed will be known as the Strand.”
A careless copy editor or typesetter must have garbled John Adolph Emil Eberson’s name, because that’s who the Eberson who had the contract for the project must have been.
The Jeffers was one of two Saginaw theaters listed in the 1908-1909 Cahn guide, the other being the Academy. Both were then owned and operated by the National Amusement Company, and both were about the same size, but the Academy had a stage a bit larger and charged higher prices, with a top of S1.25 to the Jeffers' .75 cents. That indicates that the Jeffers was probably the vaudeville house and the Academy hosted the big road shows, though I did find indications that the Jeffers also hosted stock companies part of the time.
The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists a house at Saginaw called the Jeffries Theatre, which I thought might have been a misspelling of Jeffers, but there are also references to it from 1920, after the Jeffers had been renamed Strand, so I now suspect it was a different house.
The Lyric was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, along with theaters called the Dreamland and the Opera House. In the 1926 FDY, the only theater listed at Bonne Terre was the Odeon. There was a house in Bonne Terre called the Odeon by 1923, and it appears to have been relocated to a new building in late 1924.
The 1926 FDY lists the Odeon with only 275 seats. The first time it is listed with 500 seats is 1931. No capacity was given in the 1930 edition, so the expansion was probably done either in 1929 or 1930.
The October 4, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World ran this announcement: “Bonne Terre, Mo., is to have a new picture house, plans for a building to seat 600 having been prepared by Harry Clayman, owner of the Lead Belt News, who owns the present Odeon Theatre in Bonne Terre. Harry Rousse is managing the house for the editor. He formerly conducted theatres in St. Louis and DeSoto, Mo.”
Th earlier Odeon Theater was mentioned in the March 31, 1923 issue of Exhibitors Herald.
The first appearance of the Sophia Theatre (and the town of Sophia) in the FDY is in the 1927 edition. The most likely opening year for the house is thus 1926.
I forgot to mention in my comment what brought me here to begin with. It was this item from Manufacturers Record of April 14, 1919, about a theater to be built in Seneca: “S. C., Seneca.-W. T. Edwards and Dr. W. F. Austin; $40,000 moving-picture theater; 3 stores offices on 2d floor; day labor; Casey & Fant, Archts., Anderson, S. C.”
The dance studio at 117 E. North 1st street is adjacent to a building with three matching storefronts, though they have no second floors with offices in them. The second floors might have been removed, of course, but more likely the developers decided that economic conditions at the time they were built didn’t justify the expense of building them. The buildings have a high degree of design integrity, and are characteristic of the period around 1919. I think this building probably is the project noted in the magazine, minus the second floors.
Architects Casey & Fant (Joseph Huntley Casey and Charles William Fant Sr.) have one other theater already attributed to them at Cinema Treasures, the Imperial, in their home town of Anderson.
A letter published in the “Projection Department” column of Moving Picture World for October 25, 1913 says in part “Mr. Leslie K. Moore, Paulding, Ohio… says: I recently opened a new theater, ‘The Amusu,’ in a fireproof building, erected in accordance with the Ohio State Building Laws.”
The Amusu was the only theater listed at Paulding in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, but a book called A Paulding Journal: 1870-1950 by Jeanne Bennett Calvert, which consists mostly of snippets from the local newspaper, mentions a couple of other theater names. An August, 1914 item mentions a Family Motion Picture Theatre, and a June, 1915 item mentions both the Amusu and a house called the Palace, which had just been taken over by the owner of the Amusu.
There was also a mention of the Amusu after 1916, but I cant find the exact year (Google Books has no full view of this book.) The only house other than the Grand listed in the 1926 FDY is called the Lincoln, and it was no longer listed by 1929. A March 17, 1917 Moving Picture World item notes a Paulding Theatre Company had plans and capital to build a new movie house there immediately, but I’ve found no later items about it. If it was built it could have ben the Lincoln, and if not then the Lincoln might have been the Amusu under a new name.
A post about the recent demolition of the Paulding Theatre on the Facebook page of the John Paulding Historical Society says that the building was built in 1893. A period source says that it was slated to open on February 19, 1894. Another new theatre, called the Model Opera House, had opened in January.
The side walls of the Grand survived the 1946 fire, and the 1949 Paulding Theatre was essentially a steel framed structure built inside the brick shell of the old Grand. Part of the Grand’s front wall also survived the fire and was revealed under the newer building as it was demolished, seen for the first time in 75 years.
The Historical Society seems to think that the building was extended back to the alley for the first time after the fire, as that part of the building had cinder block walls, but I think the cinder block portion of the building must have occupied the location of the old stage house, which either didn’t survive the fire, or was simply too tall for the new, stage-less movie theater and thus was demolished.
The Paulding Theatre was originally built for Jack O'Connell’s Community Theatres circuit of Toledo, Ohio, according to the February 26, 1949 issue of Boxoffice.
The side walls of the Grand Theatre, which the Paulding replaced, survived the 1946 fire and were incorporated into the 1949 structure, which was essentially a steel framed building built inside the old walls dating to 1893. Part of the front wall also survived, but the back wall was removed so the building could be extended with a new concrete block addition, providing increased seating capacity.
Sadly, demolition of the Paulding Theatre building began less than one month short of the 75th anniversary of its opening, on February 21, 2024. The John Paulding Historical Society provided a last look at what was left of the theater interior in a video posted to their Facebook page on February 20. Watch it here.
A 1962 city directory for Hammond, including Ponchatoula, lists the Pic Theatre at 162 N. 6th street, but this address no longer appears to exist. The numbering system is a bit of a pig’s breakfast, with a bar called Stray Cats at 132 N. 6th, something called Landstar in a small building next door numbered 165, and next to that, at the end of the block, an old brick house occupied by an accountant’s office with the address 180. Across 6th Street is a very modern building housing the town’s police station, and it uses the number 195.
The only surviving building among those on the east side of the street that is big enough to have held a 400-seat theater is the bar at 132, and it looks as though its ceiling would be too low. Unless a photo or someone who actually saw the theater turns up I fear the closest we can get to knowing the Pic’s location is the block of 6th Street north of Pine Street, and we can’t even be sure it hasn’t been demolished. But at least the directory reveals that the Pic was still in operation in 1962.
Here is an item about the Strand from Moving Picture World of November 20, 1915:
The last year in which the Strand was listed in the FDY was 1926.Here is an item from Moving Picture World of November 20, 1915:
The claim (on November 20) that the house was to open on November 15 might well have been accurate. Publication was often delayed in trade journals of the time, and this wouldn’t be the first time an “upcoming” event had been announced after it had already happened. The same goes for the January 15, 1916 announcement in Music Trade Review of the Hippodrome’s impending opening.Here is an item from the November 20, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World:
An October 16 item in the same journal had noted that a new theater was being built at Marion by J. J. Coyner, owner of the Marion Hotel.The Theatorium was one of two houses listed at Pocahontas in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, the other being the Opera House. The Opera House was above the City Hall, which was also on St. Clair Street.
The last appearance of the American Theatre in the FDY is in the 1929 edition. Pocahontas itself does not appear in the 1930 edition, but in 1931 a 400-seat house called the Palace is listed as the only theater in town. It is possible that the American closed in late 1929 and reopened sometime in 1930 as the Palace. Pocahontas still had its Palace Theatre in 1950, when it was one of the houses mentioned in the February 4 issue of Boxoffice as part of the Newbold-Keesling chain.
This house might have been called either the Grand, the Lyric, or the Palace. In June, 1922, several issues of Moving Picture World ran capsule movie reviews submitted by R. Mason Hall of the Grand Theatre, Northfork, West Virginia. Another such review, from the issue of May 12, 1923, gives the seating capacity of the Grand as 300. The Grand is listed in the 1926 FDY, along with houses called the Lyric and the Palace. It was the last listing for the Grand. The Palace was last listed in 1928, and the Lyric in 1929, when the new Freeman Theatre first appeared.
The 1922 references to the Grand are the only mentions of any early Northfork houses I’ve found in the trade journals, and the only mention of the Star I’ve found is in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, in which it is the only house listed at Northfork.
This web page has a story about a group called Friends of the Rook, who are raising funds to restore the Rook Theatre and operate it as a performance space and community event center. It says that the house was built in 1939 by Bert and Elmer Rook to replace their Lyric Theatre at another location in Cheyenne. The official opening of the Rook was April 3, 1940.
The Rook was one of the earliest theaters designed by architect Jack Corgan, of Corgan & Moore. Unfortunately a 1972 fire destroyed the original interior, and even the interior from a remodeling that year is now gone, the auditorium having been stripped to the bare walls.
A history of the Rook Theater says that Bert an Elmer Rook built that house in 1939 to replace their Lyric Theatre. The 250-seat Lyric made its first appearance in the 1931 FDY. In 1929, Cheyenne had been home to the 175-seat Princess Theatre, and the town was not listed in the 1930 edition. I’ve been unable to discover if the Princess was enlarged, renamed and reopened or if the Lyric was a new house opened sometime in 1930.
An advertisement in Pulaski newspaper The Southwest Times of July 29, 1921 said that the new Dalton Theatre would open the following evening, Saturday, July 30, at 700 P. M.. The Dalton Theatre was leased to the American Theater Company, of Welch, West Virginia.
A list of buildings designed by architect Albert F. Janowitz includes the Heights Theatre, a 1919 project. The list also includes the 1924 West Park Theatre, and two 1917 projects listed only under the generic term “Movie Theatre.” These two are both listed in Cleveland and both listed as demolished.
One web page says that the Heights didn’t begin operation until 1922, but I’ve found no corroboration for the claim elsewhere.
The pastor of the church which occupies the theater, Joel Negus, has converted part of the auditorium into a recording studio/performance space, a project begun in 2019. There is a photo of the space on his Facebook page here.
A list of buildings designed by architect Albert F. Janowitz includes the West Park Theatre, listed as a 1924 project, though it apparently opened in 1925. The list also includes the 1919 Heights Theatre, and two 1917 projects listed only under the generic term “Movie Theatre.” These two are both listed in Cleveland and both listed as demolished.
Typos and errors in the Hill and Cahn guides muddled the owners of the first Welch Theatre. They were Benjamin Hurvitz and partners J. M. (Joseph) Lopinsky and his brother E. H. (Eugene) Lopinsky.
I’ve found a Louis Shore connected with the Cinderella Theatre by trade publications a early as 1923 (Moving Picture World, May 12) and as late as 1956 (Boxffice, April 21.) Shore also operated theaters in Keystone and War at various times, and his brother Mannie Shore was the long-time operator of the War Theatre at War.
This house and its predecessor were called the Welch Theatre, owned and originally operated by brothers Huritz and Joe Lopinsky. It was closed when later operators opened the new Pocahontas Theater in 1928. The pending conversion of the Welch Theatre building into a store for the G. C. Murphy Co. was noted in the August 12, 1928 issue of the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. At that time it was expected that the new theater would be completed in January of 1929, but the job was done ahead of schedule and it opened on December 25. The last show at the Welch was therefore probably on December 24, 1928.
Gus Hill’s 1914 directory lists a theater at Welch called the Welch, playing “R V P” (Road shows, Vaudeville, and Pictures.) The stage was 20 feet deep and 28 feet wide, which sounds like a good fit for this building. It was managed by “Huritz Lopinsky & Bro.” The 1912-1913 Cahn guide also lists the house, giving a seating capacity of 217 on the lower floor and 200 in the balcony. In 1917, a Joe Lopinsky (apparently the Bro.) was noted as owner of an unnamed movie theater at Welch. The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory missed Welch altogether, but the Welch Theatre was listed in the FDY through the late 1920s.
Mister R. W. Thayer of the Ross Theatre contributed three capsule movie reviews to the September 8, 1945 issue of Motion Picture Herald. In 1946, the July 19 issue of Film Daily reported that Gus Eisner and J. M. McKernan had purchased the house. Boxoffice of January 12, 1950, reported that another new owner of the Ross, DeVerne Darnell, had changed the name of the house to Marcellus Theatre.
The October 19, 1957 issue of Boxoffice said that the Marcellus Theatre, recently closed by DeVerne Darnell, had been reopened by Richard E. Relsch and renamed the Dix. Dix Theatre is how the house is styled at Water Winter Wonderland, which says the theater was closed by 1959.
This theater was not on Monroe Street, but Main Street. The address might be 126 E. Main. Neither Google nor Bing Maps have either satellite or street views of Marcellus, but Water Winter Wonderland has a photo of the building the theater was in, and a real estate web site has a photo of the same row of buildings, one of which, at 128 E. Main, it says was recently sold. I’m pretty sure (though not absolutely certain) that the theater was in the building next door west of the one recently sold, and it is probably numbered 126 or some other number not too much smaller than 128.
This item datelined Saginaw appeared in the September 11, 1915 issue of Michigan Contractor and Builder:
A careless copy editor or typesetter must have garbled John Adolph Emil Eberson’s name, because that’s who the Eberson who had the contract for the project must have been.The Jeffers was one of two Saginaw theaters listed in the 1908-1909 Cahn guide, the other being the Academy. Both were then owned and operated by the National Amusement Company, and both were about the same size, but the Academy had a stage a bit larger and charged higher prices, with a top of S1.25 to the Jeffers' .75 cents. That indicates that the Jeffers was probably the vaudeville house and the Academy hosted the big road shows, though I did find indications that the Jeffers also hosted stock companies part of the time.
The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists a house at Saginaw called the Jeffries Theatre, which I thought might have been a misspelling of Jeffers, but there are also references to it from 1920, after the Jeffers had been renamed Strand, so I now suspect it was a different house.
The Lyric was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, along with theaters called the Dreamland and the Opera House. In the 1926 FDY, the only theater listed at Bonne Terre was the Odeon. There was a house in Bonne Terre called the Odeon by 1923, and it appears to have been relocated to a new building in late 1924.
The 1926 FDY lists the Odeon with only 275 seats. The first time it is listed with 500 seats is 1931. No capacity was given in the 1930 edition, so the expansion was probably done either in 1929 or 1930.
The October 4, 1924 issue of Moving Picture World ran this announcement: “Bonne Terre, Mo., is to have a new picture house, plans for a building to seat 600 having been prepared by Harry Clayman, owner of the Lead Belt News, who owns the present Odeon Theatre in Bonne Terre. Harry Rousse is managing the house for the editor. He formerly conducted theatres in St. Louis and DeSoto, Mo.”
Th earlier Odeon Theater was mentioned in the March 31, 1923 issue of Exhibitors Herald.
The first appearance of the Sophia Theatre (and the town of Sophia) in the FDY is in the 1927 edition. The most likely opening year for the house is thus 1926.
I forgot to mention in my comment what brought me here to begin with. It was this item from Manufacturers Record of April 14, 1919, about a theater to be built in Seneca: “S. C., Seneca.-W. T. Edwards and Dr. W. F. Austin; $40,000 moving-picture theater; 3 stores offices on 2d floor; day labor; Casey & Fant, Archts., Anderson, S. C.”
The dance studio at 117 E. North 1st street is adjacent to a building with three matching storefronts, though they have no second floors with offices in them. The second floors might have been removed, of course, but more likely the developers decided that economic conditions at the time they were built didn’t justify the expense of building them. The buildings have a high degree of design integrity, and are characteristic of the period around 1919. I think this building probably is the project noted in the magazine, minus the second floors.
Architects Casey & Fant (Joseph Huntley Casey and Charles William Fant Sr.) have one other theater already attributed to them at Cinema Treasures, the Imperial, in their home town of Anderson.