This house replaced an earlier Lyric Theatre that had been destroyed by a fire. A notice that work had commenced on the new theater and IOOF lodge hall appeared in the June 23, 1915, issue of Western Contractor. Oscar R. Kirschke of Grand Island was the architect.
I’ve been unable to discover if Pacific Theatres brought in another architectural firm to design the theater interiors, but the non-residential portion of the Paseo Colorado project was designed in the Los Angeles office of the New York architectural firm Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects. The residential buildings were by RTKL Associates, Inc. Interestingly, RTKL has considerable experience designing theaters, but I don’t know if they had a hand in this multiplex.
Although it gives the location of the proposed theater as Washington Street, the mention of Charles J. Gorman as the owner, and the approximate size of the building being correct, suggests that this item from The American Contractor of November 13, 1915, could be about the Roslindale/Rialto Theatre:
“Moving Picture Theater: $30,000. 1 sty. & bas. 50x110. Washington st., Roslindale dist., Boston. Archt. Jos. D. McGinniss, 16 Arlington st. Owner Chas. J. Gorman, 17 Ardale st., Roslindale dist., will build by day labor. Work abt. to start. Face brk., artificial stone, struct. & orn. iron, gravel rfg., marble, mosaic.”
Issues of Christian Science Sentinel published in 1919 make reference to a November 16 lecture being held at “Gorman’s Theatre, South and Washington Streets, Roslindale.” Boston police records from January, 1919, include this item:
“On the application of Charles J. Gorman, President, Leslie A. Woollard was appointed a Special Police Officer for duty in and about the premises of Gorman’s Theatre located at 4199 Washington street for the year ending March 31. 1919.”
A police report from July, 1919, noting applications for permits to be in effect until August 1, 1920, included this item:
“C. J. Gorman’s Amusement Enterprises, Incorporated, by Charles J. Gorman, President, – to have exhibitions of moving pictures and vaudeville entertainments in Gorman’s Theatre located at 709 South street.”
From this, it looks as though the address 4199 Washington Street was changed to 709 South Street sometime between January and July, 1919. It is also clear that this house was in operation as either the Roslindale Theatre or Gorman’s Theatre as early as 1919, and probably 1918, which makes it much more likely that it was the project that The American Contractor said was about to get underway in November, 1915.
From the photo of the Rialto, it looks as though an adjacent, triangular lot on South Street was added at some point to create a new entrance building for the theater. That building does not appear to be part of the theater as it was shown in the 1924 map that was linked in an earlier comment.
dkarslake: The Grand Theatre on this page was built in 1941 and was very modern in style and, like Patsy, I’m doubtful that your lighting fixture would have belonged to it. However, there was an earlier Grand Theatre at Westfield, mentioned in this comment, and it’s quite possible that your fixture came from that house.
The earlier Grand doesn’t have a page at Cinema Treasures, and I’ve been unable to find out anything about it, having seen it mentioned only once in the trade publications, that being in the March 7, 1925, issue of The Moving Picture World. Your light does look like it would date from the 1920s or earlier, though, so it could have come from the old Grand.
The Sabine Theatre is most likely the 1947 project at Many for the Southern Amusement Company that is found in this list of drawings by Lake Charles, Louisiana, architect John M. Gabriel.
Earlier that year Gabriel had designed a theater in the town of Welsh, Louisiana, for a Mr. J.V. O'Quinn, but I haven’t been able to discover its name. The theater at Welsh is not yet listed at Cinema Treasures.
The Polk Theatre was one of a number of movie houses in the region that were altered in 1954 with plans by Lake Charles architect John M. Gabriel. These projects were most likely related to the installation of CinemaScope in these houses.
Alterations to the Rice Theatre in 1954, most likely related to the installation of CinemaScope, were designed by Lake Charles architect John M. Gabriel.
Alterations were made to the Cane Theatre in 1954, with plans by Lake Charles architect John M. Gabriel. Given the timing, it’s likely the alterations were related to the installation of CinmaScope in the house.
Lake Charles architect John M. Gabriel drew the plans for alterations to the Rex Theatre in Opelousas in 1951. The house was then being operated by the Southern Amusement Company.
The Archives and Special Collections Department of Frazar Memorial Library at McNeese State University contains a collection of drawings by architect John Milton Gabriel. Among them are drawings relating to alterations made to the Bailey Theatre in Ville Platte in 1953. The house was at that time being operated by the Southern Amusement Company. It had earlier been operated by regional exhibitor Robert Lee Bailey, who also had theaters at Bunkie and Tallulah.
According to this list, architect John M. Gabriel designed alterations of the Paramount Theatre at Lake Charles for the Southern Amusement Company in 1950 and 1951.
Forgot the link to Historic Aerials. And now that I think of it, the brick wall over which the piece of equipment can be seen probably is what’s left of the old auditorium wall. The auditorium was wider than the entrance building. The wall was apparently cut down and capped.
The theater’s entrance building remains, but as can be seen in Google’s satellite view the original auditorium has been demolished. Its footprint was quite large, extending most of the way to Dodge Street, and can be seen in historic aerial photos. In one of Allan’s 2015 photos the top of a piece of heavy equipment can be seen beyond a wall. That piece of equipment was sitting where part of the auditorium had been.
I only ever attended the Pantages after this remodeling took place, and have not been back since the restoration done some years ago by Nederlander, so I remember the house looking pretty much like it does in the photos with this article. Even with the proscenium hidden behind the gold curtains and the 55x27 foot screen the auditorium was very impressive.
Very belated linkrot repair: The August 6, 1955, Boxoffice article about the Golden Mile Theatre can now be seen at this link.
I’ve been unable to find the 1978 article about the conversion to a twin, as Boxoffice has moved its archive to a user-hostile web site that is nearly impossible to search from either inside or outside.
A brief article with two photos depicting the recently-opened family dining room and television lounge at the Chief Drive-In appeared in the May 9, 1960, issue of Boxoffice.
Given the number of streamlined cars in this photo it is more likely to have been taken around 1939 than 1929. If somebody has larger version in which the names of the movies on the marquee could be made out, we could date it from those.
The October 23, 1915, issue of The American Contractor announced that the Star Theatre in Ogdensburg would undergo a $5,000 remodeling job. Plans for the project had been prepared by local architect George Edward Wilson. Mr. F. W. Gilroy was the owner of the theater.
Wilson, who lived in Ottawa, Canada, from 1901 to 1908, did sufficient work in Canada to rate a brief entry in the Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800 – 1950.
AlanCo4 is correct. The Village Theatre building is still standing, and is now occupied by an event center called The Venue Creekside. It’s a nice little Midcentury Modern building of red brick, set back from the street quite a bit and facing its parking lot. The Village was of modest size- I’d guess no more than about 500 seats as a single-screener.
Although the three arched windows above the entrance and the massy base bear some resemblance to the Romanesque Revival style, I’d say this somewhat eclectic building is predominantly Colonial Revival in style.
In 1923, architect Frank W. Frewen was a partner in the firm of Mountjoy & Frewen with Frederick E. Mountjoy. The firm was best known for the numerous school buildings it designed.
In its biography of architect Rudolph Tietig, the Biographical Dictionary of Cincinnati Architects, 1788-1940 attributes the design of the Strand Theatre to him and his firm of Tietig & Lee, with Walter H. Lee. (Lee’s own rather brief entry in the dictionary lists him as William H. Lee, and a 1909 city directory lists him as Walter L. Lee, but I’m inclined to go with Walter H. Lee, which appears in several reliable sources.)
This house replaced an earlier Lyric Theatre that had been destroyed by a fire. A notice that work had commenced on the new theater and IOOF lodge hall appeared in the June 23, 1915, issue of Western Contractor. Oscar R. Kirschke of Grand Island was the architect.
I’ve been unable to discover if Pacific Theatres brought in another architectural firm to design the theater interiors, but the non-residential portion of the Paseo Colorado project was designed in the Los Angeles office of the New York architectural firm Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects. The residential buildings were by RTKL Associates, Inc. Interestingly, RTKL has considerable experience designing theaters, but I don’t know if they had a hand in this multiplex.
Although it gives the location of the proposed theater as Washington Street, the mention of Charles J. Gorman as the owner, and the approximate size of the building being correct, suggests that this item from The American Contractor of November 13, 1915, could be about the Roslindale/Rialto Theatre:
Issues of Christian Science Sentinel published in 1919 make reference to a November 16 lecture being held at “Gorman’s Theatre, South and Washington Streets, Roslindale.” Boston police records from January, 1919, include this item:A police report from July, 1919, noting applications for permits to be in effect until August 1, 1920, included this item:From this, it looks as though the address 4199 Washington Street was changed to 709 South Street sometime between January and July, 1919. It is also clear that this house was in operation as either the Roslindale Theatre or Gorman’s Theatre as early as 1919, and probably 1918, which makes it much more likely that it was the project that The American Contractor said was about to get underway in November, 1915.From the photo of the Rialto, it looks as though an adjacent, triangular lot on South Street was added at some point to create a new entrance building for the theater. That building does not appear to be part of the theater as it was shown in the 1924 map that was linked in an earlier comment.
dkarslake: The Grand Theatre on this page was built in 1941 and was very modern in style and, like Patsy, I’m doubtful that your lighting fixture would have belonged to it. However, there was an earlier Grand Theatre at Westfield, mentioned in this comment, and it’s quite possible that your fixture came from that house.
The earlier Grand doesn’t have a page at Cinema Treasures, and I’ve been unable to find out anything about it, having seen it mentioned only once in the trade publications, that being in the March 7, 1925, issue of The Moving Picture World. Your light does look like it would date from the 1920s or earlier, though, so it could have come from the old Grand.
The Sabine Theatre is most likely the 1947 project at Many for the Southern Amusement Company that is found in this list of drawings by Lake Charles, Louisiana, architect John M. Gabriel.
Earlier that year Gabriel had designed a theater in the town of Welsh, Louisiana, for a Mr. J.V. O'Quinn, but I haven’t been able to discover its name. The theater at Welsh is not yet listed at Cinema Treasures.
The Polk Theatre was one of a number of movie houses in the region that were altered in 1954 with plans by Lake Charles architect John M. Gabriel. These projects were most likely related to the installation of CinemaScope in these houses.
Lake Charles architect John M. Gabriel drew the plans for the alteration of the Strand Theatre in 1954.
Alterations to the Rice Theatre in 1954, most likely related to the installation of CinemaScope, were designed by Lake Charles architect John M. Gabriel.
Alterations were made to the Cane Theatre in 1954, with plans by Lake Charles architect John M. Gabriel. Given the timing, it’s likely the alterations were related to the installation of CinmaScope in the house.
Lake Charles architect John M. Gabriel drew the plans for alterations to the Rex Theatre in Opelousas in 1951. The house was then being operated by the Southern Amusement Company.
The Archives and Special Collections Department of Frazar Memorial Library at McNeese State University contains a collection of drawings by architect John Milton Gabriel. Among them are drawings relating to alterations made to the Bailey Theatre in Ville Platte in 1953. The house was at that time being operated by the Southern Amusement Company. It had earlier been operated by regional exhibitor Robert Lee Bailey, who also had theaters at Bunkie and Tallulah.
According to this list, architect John M. Gabriel designed alterations of the Paramount Theatre at Lake Charles for the Southern Amusement Company in 1950 and 1951.
The October 26, 1916, issue of The Wapanucka Press carried the good news that “…the Magnet Theatre is disinfected daily….”
Forgot the link to Historic Aerials. And now that I think of it, the brick wall over which the piece of equipment can be seen probably is what’s left of the old auditorium wall. The auditorium was wider than the entrance building. The wall was apparently cut down and capped.
The theater’s entrance building remains, but as can be seen in Google’s satellite view the original auditorium has been demolished. Its footprint was quite large, extending most of the way to Dodge Street, and can be seen in historic aerial photos. In one of Allan’s 2015 photos the top of a piece of heavy equipment can be seen beyond a wall. That piece of equipment was sitting where part of the auditorium had been.
The May 9, 1960, issue of Boxoffice featured an article about the remodeling of the Pantages which had been completed the previous year.
I only ever attended the Pantages after this remodeling took place, and have not been back since the restoration done some years ago by Nederlander, so I remember the house looking pretty much like it does in the photos with this article. Even with the proscenium hidden behind the gold curtains and the 55x27 foot screen the auditorium was very impressive.
Very belated linkrot repair: The August 6, 1955, Boxoffice article about the Golden Mile Theatre can now be seen at this link.
I’ve been unable to find the 1978 article about the conversion to a twin, as Boxoffice has moved its archive to a user-hostile web site that is nearly impossible to search from either inside or outside.
An illustrated article about the Absecon Drive-In appeared in the “Modern Theatre” section of Boxoffice, August 6, 1955.
A brief article with two photos depicting the recently-opened family dining room and television lounge at the Chief Drive-In appeared in the May 9, 1960, issue of Boxoffice.
Linkrot re-repair: The May 9, 1960, Boxoffice article about the reopening of the former Melba Theatre as the Capri is now at this link.
Given the number of streamlined cars in this photo it is more likely to have been taken around 1939 than 1929. If somebody has larger version in which the names of the movies on the marquee could be made out, we could date it from those.
The October 23, 1915, issue of The American Contractor announced that the Star Theatre in Ogdensburg would undergo a $5,000 remodeling job. Plans for the project had been prepared by local architect George Edward Wilson. Mr. F. W. Gilroy was the owner of the theater.
Wilson, who lived in Ottawa, Canada, from 1901 to 1908, did sufficient work in Canada to rate a brief entry in the Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800 – 1950.
AlanCo4 is correct. The Village Theatre building is still standing, and is now occupied by an event center called The Venue Creekside. It’s a nice little Midcentury Modern building of red brick, set back from the street quite a bit and facing its parking lot. The Village was of modest size- I’d guess no more than about 500 seats as a single-screener.
Although the three arched windows above the entrance and the massy base bear some resemblance to the Romanesque Revival style, I’d say this somewhat eclectic building is predominantly Colonial Revival in style.
In 1923, architect Frank W. Frewen was a partner in the firm of Mountjoy & Frewen with Frederick E. Mountjoy. The firm was best known for the numerous school buildings it designed.
In its biography of architect Rudolph Tietig, the Biographical Dictionary of Cincinnati Architects, 1788-1940 attributes the design of the Strand Theatre to him and his firm of Tietig & Lee, with Walter H. Lee. (Lee’s own rather brief entry in the dictionary lists him as William H. Lee, and a 1909 city directory lists him as Walter L. Lee, but I’m inclined to go with Walter H. Lee, which appears in several reliable sources.)