The Family Theatre was also mentioned in MPW in 1914, when the September 26 issue said that “[t]he Family theater of Nevada opened its doors for the fall and winter season August 29, with service from the General Film Company.”
In 1914, Nevada also had a house called the Photoplay, which the July 4 issue of Moving Picture World said had just been sold by L. H. Haggard to B. L. Murrell, owner of the Willis Theatre. Murrell planned too keep both houses in operation.
Eleven years after the previous citation, the January 7, 1939 Motion Picture Herald said that “Ray Walsh, operator of the Mainstreet at Chanute, Kan., is reseating and redecorating his house.”
The January 7, 1928 issue of Motion Picture News had this item: “A NEW deal in Kansas City, effective immediately, is one between
Universal Theatres and Midland Theatre and Realty Company, through which the latter acquires a 50 per cent interest in 24 Missouri and Kansas theaters.” The Peoples Theatre and Main Street Theatre in Chanute were noted as being among the Universal houses in which Midland had acquired an interest.
A Grand may have opened in 1925, but Chanute had a Grand Theatre at least as early as 1918. I’ve though it might be that Grand was the opening name of the house that later operated as the Main Street, though both names were in use simultaneously by 1926. I haven’t found the Main Street mentioned before the mid-1920s.
I haven’t found the Williams Opera House mentioned in movie theater trade journals, but the March 10, 1906 issue of The Billboard has an item about the closing of the Williams. It was apparently unable to compete against the newer Hetrick. It might be that the closed Williams was taken over as a movie venue for a while, and being the only theater in town for many years (it was built in 1880) it almost certainly hosted early exhibitions of moving pictures either as stand-alone entertainments or as adjuncts of travelling vaudeville shows. But so far I’ve found no evidence it ever operated as a regular movie house.
This item is from the June 9, 1923 issue of Exhibitors Trade Review: “Hedrick Opera House, Chanute, Kas., remodeled by Mark Wilson, will be re-opened soon.” The Hetrick had been operating as a movie house earlier though, as the following item from the August 2, 1919 issue of Moving Picture World indicates: “Chanute Theatres Under One Control.
“M. C. Wilson, of Chanute, Kansas, has bought out the Barker interests in the People’s Theatre. This purchase gives Mr. Wilson, who is already owner of the Hetrick and Grand, control of all the moving picture houses in Chanute.”
Chanute still had three movie houses in 1926, though the Hetrick had burned down. The FDY lists the Peoples, the Grand and the Main Street that year. Facebook posts indicate that the Main Street was at 122-124 W. Main, a location that housed a movie theater on the 1924 Sanborn, and that it lasted at least into the 1950s. The remains of the box office, just a protrusion on the façade, can still be seen on Google street view. I’ve been unable to track down the location of the Grand. Sanborn fell down on the job with the 1924 map, which has many buildings that lack any information about what they housed. One of those might have been the Grand.
The February 28, 1948 issue of Boxoffice reported that business men in blue Mound, Kansas had met to discuss the possibility of having a movie theater built in the town. They apparently met with rapid success, as the July 17 issue of the same journal reported the recent opening of the Blue Mound Theatre. The item said that the new house was owned by Ray Miner, owner and operator of the Miner Theatre at Moran, Kansas.
Blue Mound had been the home of a movie house called the Peoples Theatre in the mid-1920s, but I haven’t discovered what became of it.
Garnett seems to make few appearances in the theater industry trade journals. This one from the December 10, 1921 Moving Picture World mentions the Peoples Theater: “W. H. Carson has sold the Peoples Theatre at Garnett, Kas., to the Central States Theatres Company.” I’ve been unable to discover how long Central States operated the house, but by 1938 it was operated by H. B. Doering, whose name was still mentioned in connection with Garnett in issues of Boxoffice at least as late as 1971.
This house might have opened in 1916 rather than 1915. The February 19, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World noted the opening: “Paola. Kan.—The New Empress is the name of a moving picture theater opened here by F. C. Smith.” The New Empress still might have opened in late 1915, though, as trade journals were sometimes slow in getting such information published.
This item from the August 14, 1915 Moving Picture World doesn’t quite match the description above:
“F. C. Smith, formerly of Tulsa, Okla., is now manager of the former Mallory Opera house, and changed its name to the Empress theater. Mr. Smith thoroughly renovated and refurnished the house, installed fans and other improvements and conveniences, and intends to give Paola the best there is. Mrs. Smith sings at each program. Mr. Smith is well known at Springfield, Mo., Columbus, Mo., Dallas, Tex., and Hot Springs, Ark., where he managed moving picture playhouses in the past ten years. He has also previously managed in Topeka.”
So Mr. Smith was a new arrival in Paola in 1915, and the Opera House was renamed Empress Theatre when he took over. The opening of the later Empress likely took place in early 1916, as suggested by this item in the February 19 issue of MPW that year: “Paola. Kan.—The New Empress is the name of a moving picture theater opened here by F. C. Smith.”
There was trouble in Pittsburg in 1916, as noted in the July 1 issue of Motography: “Manager O. A. Bandy, of the Mystic Theater at Pittsburg, Kansas, has been charged by the Kansas censors with exhibiting immoral shows. A test case has been set down for trial.”
We have no way of knowing if this house was the nameless nickel theater referred to in this item from the March, 1912 issue of Motography, but it provides an interesting glimpse into the early days of movie exhibition:
“Kansas Schools and Theaters Co-operate
“The moving picture show, frequently charged with teaching the young idea to shoot in the wrong direction, is to be made an ally of the school room in instructing the pupils of Columbus, Kansas, schools in geography. The board of education has contracted with a nickel theater to present one afternoon each week moving picture films selected by Superintendent Shenk, which will depict life among the people of whom the children are studying in geography. Superintendent Shenk thinks this will add interest the geography work and also have a tendency to improve the general tone of the picture shows.”
The Ritz probably opened in 1928. It was mentioned in the January 8, 1929 Film Daily as one of the houses in the region that had been closed due to a flu epidemic. It was listed in the 1929 FDY but not in the 1928 or earlier editions. Previously, New Albany had been served by a house called the Dreamland Theatre which, the caption of a photo from circa 1920 says was a “tent show” near the west end of what is now Bankhead Street.
1928 was the Dreamland’s last FDY listing, so the Ritz most likely replaced it, possibly at the same location. The Dreamland was listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD, and a earth-floored structure labeled “Moving Pictures” appears at 43 Mills Street (now in the 100W block of Bankhead Street) on the 1913 Sanborn map, the newest available for New Albany.
The February, 1912 Sanborn map of Coshocton, the most recent available, shows “Moving Pictures” at the old Pastime Theatre, 538 Main Street, and also shows “Moving Pictures” next door at 536 A Main Street. I think that must have been the Luna. In between is a shallow storefront labeled “Conf'y” (confectionery) at 536 B Main. The only other theater on the map is the Sixth Street. The Luna is not listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD, but there is a new house called the Electric Theatre just down the block at 526.
The Sixth Street Theatre must have been rebuilt or extensively remodeled in 1924, judging from this item that appeared in the July 5 issue of Moving Picture World: “Work on the new Sixth Street Theatre, Coshocton, Ohio, which was begun several weeks ago, now is at a complete standstill on account of the local trades union resenting contracts let to a Columbus, Ohio, company, who, the unions contend, conduct an ‘open shop.’ All building trades have been called off the building.”
The Sixth Street was one of four theaters listed at Coshocton in the 1914-1915 AMPD. The Pastime and Utahna were also listed, but the fourth was a house called the Electric Theatre, at 526 Main Street. I’ve been unable to discover anything else about the Electric.
Here is an item from the July, 1911 issue of the trade journal Motography: “The Utahna is the name of a new moving picture theater recently opened at Coshocton, said to be the handsomest of its kind in the state. The interior is decorated by hand oil paintings. The front is particularly handsome, being a glare of electric lights and a huge electric sign extends out over the pavement. The house is under the same management as the Luna Theater of that city and it is the purpose to maintain even a better standard of entertainment than has been established at the older house.”
The Elm Theater was in operation by 1922, being mentioned in both the April 3 and April 20 issues of The Kentucky Post. An article about the construction of the new Ludlow Theatre appeared in Showmen’s Trade Review of October 13, 1945, saying that the new house “…will be built for Louis Wiethe and Harry Hilling. Hilling is the operator of the existing Ludlow Theatre which will be replaced by the new structure.” The 1945 FDY lists only the the Elm Theatre at Ludlow, so it must have been the one being replaced by the new house, which opened January 4, 1947. The 1914-1915 AMPD lists only the Wilma Theatre, 2 Elm Street, at Ludlow, so the Elm must have opened later.
The October 13, 1945 issue of Showmen’s Trade Review said that a remodeling of the Broadway Theatre in Covington had recently been completed by the F& Y Building Service.
Another item about the 1923 mystery theater planned for Fifth Avenue is this one from the August 11, 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review: “PITTSBURGH, PA. - Rubin & VeShancey, Union Arcade have completed plans for the $75.000 to $100,000 soon to be erected Fifth Avenue, near Mages St., by Owner, The Majestic Theatre Corporation, Jos. C. Marcus, 2014 Fifth Ave.”
This is probably the house that was the subject of this item in the August 11, 1923 issue of Exhibitors Trade Review: “TRENTON, N. J.- Walter Hankin, 39 State Street, Trenton, has completed plans for the theatre to be placed on Olden & Walnut Aves., by Owner, George E. Ten Eyck, care architect.”
A 1941 photo on this web page shows the spelling Gaiety on the theater’s small sign. I’ve also come across a blog post mentioning in passing “Ten Eyck’s Gaiety Theatre.”
This item from Exhibitors Trade Review of August 11, 1923 might be about this house: “L. F. W. Stuebe, 415 Adams Bldg., Danville, Ill., has completed plans for the theatre soon to be erected by C. P. McDonogh, Milford.” The architect’s full name was Leonard Frederick William Stuebe.
The August 11, 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review said that James Cardina had bought a Marr & Colton Concert organ for this new theater under construction on Bailey Avenue.
Exhibitors Trade Review of August 11, 1923 said that W. W. Berinstein’s Hudson Theatre at Albany had been almost totally destroyed by a recent fire. Berinstein also operated the Colonial Theatre in Albany, as well as houses in Troy, Elmira, and Schenectady.
The 350-seat Regent Theatre is the only house listed at Eureka, Kansas in the 1926 FDY. The absence of the Princess was probably an oversight, as there was a movie theater on that theater’s site as early as 1917, while the name Princess appears in trade journals as early as January, 1925, and the Princess is listed in later editions of the FDY. In 1923 a new theater was proposed on the northwest corner of 4th and Main, though I’ve been unable to confirm that the project was carried out. If it was, then it might have been the Regent.
The Family Theatre was also mentioned in MPW in 1914, when the September 26 issue said that “[t]he Family theater of Nevada opened its doors for the fall and winter season August 29, with service from the General Film Company.”
In 1914, Nevada also had a house called the Photoplay, which the July 4 issue of Moving Picture World said had just been sold by L. H. Haggard to B. L. Murrell, owner of the Willis Theatre. Murrell planned too keep both houses in operation.
Eleven years after the previous citation, the January 7, 1939 Motion Picture Herald said that “Ray Walsh, operator of the Mainstreet at Chanute, Kan., is reseating and redecorating his house.”
The January 7, 1928 issue of Motion Picture News had this item: “A NEW deal in Kansas City, effective immediately, is one between Universal Theatres and Midland Theatre and Realty Company, through which the latter acquires a 50 per cent interest in 24 Missouri and Kansas theaters.” The Peoples Theatre and Main Street Theatre in Chanute were noted as being among the Universal houses in which Midland had acquired an interest.
A Grand may have opened in 1925, but Chanute had a Grand Theatre at least as early as 1918. I’ve though it might be that Grand was the opening name of the house that later operated as the Main Street, though both names were in use simultaneously by 1926. I haven’t found the Main Street mentioned before the mid-1920s.
I haven’t found the Williams Opera House mentioned in movie theater trade journals, but the March 10, 1906 issue of The Billboard has an item about the closing of the Williams. It was apparently unable to compete against the newer Hetrick. It might be that the closed Williams was taken over as a movie venue for a while, and being the only theater in town for many years (it was built in 1880) it almost certainly hosted early exhibitions of moving pictures either as stand-alone entertainments or as adjuncts of travelling vaudeville shows. But so far I’ve found no evidence it ever operated as a regular movie house.
This item is from the June 9, 1923 issue of Exhibitors Trade Review: “Hedrick Opera House, Chanute, Kas., remodeled by Mark Wilson, will be re-opened soon.” The Hetrick had been operating as a movie house earlier though, as the following item from the August 2, 1919 issue of Moving Picture World indicates: “Chanute Theatres Under One Control.
“M. C. Wilson, of Chanute, Kansas, has bought out the Barker interests in the People’s Theatre. This purchase gives Mr. Wilson, who is already owner of the Hetrick and Grand, control of all the moving picture houses in Chanute.”
Chanute still had three movie houses in 1926, though the Hetrick had burned down. The FDY lists the Peoples, the Grand and the Main Street that year. Facebook posts indicate that the Main Street was at 122-124 W. Main, a location that housed a movie theater on the 1924 Sanborn, and that it lasted at least into the 1950s. The remains of the box office, just a protrusion on the façade, can still be seen on Google street view. I’ve been unable to track down the location of the Grand. Sanborn fell down on the job with the 1924 map, which has many buildings that lack any information about what they housed. One of those might have been the Grand.
The February 28, 1948 issue of Boxoffice reported that business men in blue Mound, Kansas had met to discuss the possibility of having a movie theater built in the town. They apparently met with rapid success, as the July 17 issue of the same journal reported the recent opening of the Blue Mound Theatre. The item said that the new house was owned by Ray Miner, owner and operator of the Miner Theatre at Moran, Kansas.
Blue Mound had been the home of a movie house called the Peoples Theatre in the mid-1920s, but I haven’t discovered what became of it.
Garnett seems to make few appearances in the theater industry trade journals. This one from the December 10, 1921 Moving Picture World mentions the Peoples Theater: “W. H. Carson has sold the Peoples Theatre at Garnett, Kas., to the Central States Theatres Company.” I’ve been unable to discover how long Central States operated the house, but by 1938 it was operated by H. B. Doering, whose name was still mentioned in connection with Garnett in issues of Boxoffice at least as late as 1971.
This house might have opened in 1916 rather than 1915. The February 19, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World noted the opening: “Paola. Kan.—The New Empress is the name of a moving picture theater opened here by F. C. Smith.” The New Empress still might have opened in late 1915, though, as trade journals were sometimes slow in getting such information published.
This item from the August 14, 1915 Moving Picture World doesn’t quite match the description above:
So Mr. Smith was a new arrival in Paola in 1915, and the Opera House was renamed Empress Theatre when he took over. The opening of the later Empress likely took place in early 1916, as suggested by this item in the February 19 issue of MPW that year: “Paola. Kan.—The New Empress is the name of a moving picture theater opened here by F. C. Smith.”The March, 1912 issue of Motography said that “[t]he Grand, an up-to-date motion picture theater, has been opened at Bessemer.”
There was trouble in Pittsburg in 1916, as noted in the July 1 issue of Motography: “Manager O. A. Bandy, of the Mystic Theater at Pittsburg, Kansas, has been charged by the Kansas censors with exhibiting immoral shows. A test case has been set down for trial.”
We have no way of knowing if this house was the nameless nickel theater referred to in this item from the March, 1912 issue of Motography, but it provides an interesting glimpse into the early days of movie exhibition:
The Ritz probably opened in 1928. It was mentioned in the January 8, 1929 Film Daily as one of the houses in the region that had been closed due to a flu epidemic. It was listed in the 1929 FDY but not in the 1928 or earlier editions. Previously, New Albany had been served by a house called the Dreamland Theatre which, the caption of a photo from circa 1920 says was a “tent show” near the west end of what is now Bankhead Street.
1928 was the Dreamland’s last FDY listing, so the Ritz most likely replaced it, possibly at the same location. The Dreamland was listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD, and a earth-floored structure labeled “Moving Pictures” appears at 43 Mills Street (now in the 100W block of Bankhead Street) on the 1913 Sanborn map, the newest available for New Albany.
The February, 1912 Sanborn map of Coshocton, the most recent available, shows “Moving Pictures” at the old Pastime Theatre, 538 Main Street, and also shows “Moving Pictures” next door at 536 A Main Street. I think that must have been the Luna. In between is a shallow storefront labeled “Conf'y” (confectionery) at 536 B Main. The only other theater on the map is the Sixth Street. The Luna is not listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD, but there is a new house called the Electric Theatre just down the block at 526.
The Sixth Street Theatre must have been rebuilt or extensively remodeled in 1924, judging from this item that appeared in the July 5 issue of Moving Picture World: “Work on the new Sixth Street Theatre, Coshocton, Ohio, which was begun several weeks ago, now is at a complete standstill on account of the local trades union resenting contracts let to a Columbus, Ohio, company, who, the unions contend, conduct an ‘open shop.’ All building trades have been called off the building.”
The Sixth Street was one of four theaters listed at Coshocton in the 1914-1915 AMPD. The Pastime and Utahna were also listed, but the fourth was a house called the Electric Theatre, at 526 Main Street. I’ve been unable to discover anything else about the Electric.
Here is an item from the July, 1911 issue of the trade journal Motography: “The Utahna is the name of a new moving picture theater recently opened at Coshocton, said to be the handsomest of its kind in the state. The interior is decorated by hand oil paintings. The front is particularly handsome, being a glare of electric lights and a huge electric sign extends out over the pavement. The house is under the same management as the Luna Theater of that city and it is the purpose to maintain even a better standard of entertainment than has been established at the older house.”
The Elm Theater was in operation by 1922, being mentioned in both the April 3 and April 20 issues of The Kentucky Post. An article about the construction of the new Ludlow Theatre appeared in Showmen’s Trade Review of October 13, 1945, saying that the new house “…will be built for Louis Wiethe and Harry Hilling. Hilling is the operator of the existing Ludlow Theatre which will be replaced by the new structure.” The 1945 FDY lists only the the Elm Theatre at Ludlow, so it must have been the one being replaced by the new house, which opened January 4, 1947. The 1914-1915 AMPD lists only the Wilma Theatre, 2 Elm Street, at Ludlow, so the Elm must have opened later.
The October 13, 1945 issue of Showmen’s Trade Review said that a remodeling of the Broadway Theatre in Covington had recently been completed by the F& Y Building Service.
Another item about the 1923 mystery theater planned for Fifth Avenue is this one from the August 11, 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review: “PITTSBURGH, PA. - Rubin & VeShancey, Union Arcade have completed plans for the $75.000 to $100,000 soon to be erected Fifth Avenue, near Mages St., by Owner, The Majestic Theatre Corporation, Jos. C. Marcus, 2014 Fifth Ave.”
This is probably the house that was the subject of this item in the August 11, 1923 issue of Exhibitors Trade Review: “TRENTON, N. J.- Walter Hankin, 39 State Street, Trenton, has completed plans for the theatre to be placed on Olden & Walnut Aves., by Owner, George E. Ten Eyck, care architect.”
A 1941 photo on this web page shows the spelling Gaiety on the theater’s small sign. I’ve also come across a blog post mentioning in passing “Ten Eyck’s Gaiety Theatre.”
This item from Exhibitors Trade Review of August 11, 1923 might be about this house: “L. F. W. Stuebe, 415 Adams Bldg., Danville, Ill., has completed plans for the theatre soon to be erected by C. P. McDonogh, Milford.” The architect’s full name was Leonard Frederick William Stuebe.
The August 11, 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review said that James Cardina had bought a Marr & Colton Concert organ for this new theater under construction on Bailey Avenue.
Exhibitors Trade Review of August 11, 1923 said that W. W. Berinstein’s Hudson Theatre at Albany had been almost totally destroyed by a recent fire. Berinstein also operated the Colonial Theatre in Albany, as well as houses in Troy, Elmira, and Schenectady.
The 350-seat Regent Theatre is the only house listed at Eureka, Kansas in the 1926 FDY. The absence of the Princess was probably an oversight, as there was a movie theater on that theater’s site as early as 1917, while the name Princess appears in trade journals as early as January, 1925, and the Princess is listed in later editions of the FDY. In 1923 a new theater was proposed on the northwest corner of 4th and Main, though I’ve been unable to confirm that the project was carried out. If it was, then it might have been the Regent.