Wielding axes, pinch bars, and possibly sledges, vandals caused an estimated damage of $10,500 to the Juneau theatre at Milwaukee.
There has been no labor trouble at either the Sheboygan or the Juneau theatre, and neither had there been any picketing, nor were any employes discharged.
About ten days ago In Milwaukee, ground glass was thrown into two projectors of the independent Atlas theatre, 2342 N. Third street causing about $1500 damage.
(December 5, 1935)
About ten days ago In Milwaukee, ground glass was thrown into two projectors of the independent Atlas theatre, 2342 N. Third street causing about $1500 damage.
I believe the HOLLY lasted a bit longer than 1959, as I recall being in a car passing the HOLLY one Saturday night in the mid-‘60s and seeing that demolition had begun; the HOLLY’s marquee was on the sidewalk.
New Carroll, ‘Theatre Of Tomorrow’, Opens Here Tuesday, May 7, 1946
First Post-War Showhouse Has Latest Improvements
Modern Design, Safety Features Combine With Beauty in New Theatre
Plans for the grand opening of the new Carroll theatre tomorrow
night were complete today, Bill Arts, manager, announced.
Painters, carpenters and decorators were busy this afternoon putting on the finishing touches that will make the new amusement palace the “theatre of tomorrow”.
The new showhouse, replacing the Earle theatre which was destroyed by fire last October, is the first post-war theatre to be built in Iowa and has all the latest improvements, Manager Arts declared.
Described by its owners, Harold Field and the Pioneer Theatre corporation as “the theatre of tomorrow”, the motion picture house will provide every convenience for the comfort and entertainment of patrons.
The floor of the lobby and lounge are of soft-colored terrazo. Satin-finished chrome display frames grace the lobby. The ticket office is of bent glass. Entrance doors shine with full-view glass and stainless steel.
Tile-trimmed rest rooms have been installed. The ladies' room features a pink finish and the men’s, beige.
One of the outstanding safety features of this new theatre is a floor of solid, reinforced concrete.
The front construction is of brick and St. Cloud granite. Lobby and foyer walls are of tile and the stairs to the lounge and rest rooms are of concrete covered with carpet. As an added safety feature, the carpeting is recessed into the concrete floor to eliminate danger of stumbling.
The Carroll brings to this city the first theatre in this area featuring the new style bowl-shaped concrete floor. Beginning at the stage, it rises in pitch to the sldewalls and rear of the auditorium affording better vision for patrons.
Another of the many new features will be a new USAirCo mechanical refrigeration system unit which purifies the air and eliminates all
drafts. Separate units are used for the lobby, foyer, lounge and rest
rooms and air the auditorium.
* • *
Installed behind the screen is the new “Voice of the Theatre” sound speakers, said to be 200 per cent better than the old system. The stage is enhanced by full length gray satin drapes.
The Heart of the handsome new amusement place is the modern projection booth which houses two big Motiograph projectors and Strong projection arc lamps. Other new post-war features are the two Super-Lite lenses which give a third-dimensional effect on the screen. They have the effect of bringing the performers and backgrounds “almost to your fingertips”.
VETS STAFF THEATRE … Four veterans of World War II will form the staff of the new Carroll theatre when it opens here tomorrow. Pictured above are Manager Bill Arts, Assistant Manager Delbert Farrell, Projectionist Melvin Kinkaid, and Doorman Milo Baak. All of these men were associated with Pioneer theatres before they went into the services.
State Theatre Goes Back to Old Policy
With the opening of the new Carroll theatre, the State theatre will go back to its previous policy on theatre bookings, Manager Bill Arts announced today. Pictures will show Sundays through Wednesdays, and Wednesdays through Saturdays. Double features will be shown at the State with a Western picture on the week-end bookings. Admission prices at the State will be returned to 10 cents and 25 cents, as before.
Movie Folk Hail Carroll’s New Theatre
“From one Iowan to another, here’s luck to the new Carroll theatre”,
said a telegram from Donna Reed, popular film beauty and former native of Crawford county, to Bill Arts, manager of the new Carroll theatre.
Arts received the telegram this week along with wires of congratulations on the new theatre from such famous film favorites as Clark Gable, Wallace Beery, Margaret O'Brien, Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney and Greer Garson.
In addition to those film stars who took note of the event by wiring
Manager Arts, several movie notables sent congratulatory telegrams
to Harold Field, president. Film stars who wired Mr. Field are Veronica Lake, Dorothy Lamour, Ray Milland, Paulette Goddard, Alan Ladd, Betty Hutton, Bing Crosby, and “Bob (Regards) Hope.”
A Statement From The Theatre Management
The building of the New Carroll theatre, with many deluxe features, was a new departure from the usual, pre-war theatre. The past years have shown the management that the public wanted this type of theatre, and plans were made for an ultra-modern theatre. Months
of careful study of all the newest type theatres, together with the experience gained in operating theatres, furnished a wealth of knowledge of what to include and how to design the New Carroll.
Harold D. Field, Pioneer showman, said, “It is with a sense of sincerity and genuine appreciation that our organization presents to Carroll the new Carroll theatre — the Theatre of Tomorrow".
“We dedicate it to you and with the sincere wish that you and your loved ones shall come to know it as your haven of entertainment, recreation and education.
"With all our abilities we have endeavored to make this a safe, comfortable and pleasing edifice. We shall be most happy if this offering meets with your full approval."
W. C. ARTS, Mgr.
To Reveal Winners Of Essay Contest
Winners of the essay contest – “What A Theatre Means to A Community” â€" will be announced on the stage of the new Carroll theatre tomorrow night during opening ceremonies.
The contest was open to all students in the county and many took part, Manager Arts said. Prizes will be a $100 war bond, six months
pass to both the Carroll and State theatres, and $10.
The winners will be presented on the stage when they are announced and prizes distributed.
(August 14, 1931)
BUILDING ONE OF Artistry of Past Combined with Modern Science To Produce the Ultimate in Moving Picture Theatres; Cool, Safe; Show House Rich With Color and Design
The building ot the new Iola Theatre, which opens with its first
show, “Sporting Blood,” next Monday evening, is one in which the
moviegoer may find the glories of artists of the past harmonized with
the practical and comfort-giving marvels of present day scientists.
Ancient Greece and Renaissance Florence have contributed their
share to what could have reached its culmimation only in Twentieth
Century America â€" a temple of beauty and comfort.
The front of the building has been composed from architectural designs of all periods, the result being unification of styles that time and the critical opinion of artists through many ages have stamped as being the best that human genius can produce.
It should be remembered that the building was raised to house a movie theater, and that every detail and all the thought wrought into it was designed to achieve appropriately the end in view.
A theater is a place where the emotions are stimulated, and the setting should be in keeping with that purpose.
Stop inside the foyer. You find yourself upon sound absorbing plush carpets, with doorways screened with heavy, dark-colored drapes. You walk a short dlstance and find yourself in the brilliantly lighted theatre proper, with marvelously fabricated crystal chandeliers bringing to life a riot of colors upon the walls and proscenium calclated to quicken the most jaded senses and rouse to life the most phlegmatic nature.
A Brilliant Interior.
Wall panels upon which gigantic palm trees soar to emerald green.
crests on brilliantly colored pilasters with their intricate and beautiful lamps. Shadow boxes above the stage entrances above which soft but rich and stirring pigments fuse rhythmically, a proscenium staggered blocks, each with its special striking design of geometric figures – all these details and many more stand out after a moment’s contemplation.
Before the great curtain rises, step up to the smoking lounge under the balcony and recline upon the luxurious chairs and divans which await you. Listen to yourself think as the rich and deep carpets make all noise and impact upon them imperceptible. You can wish for no comfort that is not at hand.
A Mechanical Marvel.
If you are something of a mechanical genius stroll up to the projection room and see to what great lengths the builders have gone to pack every scientific aid to picture exhibition in the relatively small but more than adequately large room. Here is the balcony, with its comfortable, “air-cushioned” seats, practically as pleasant a place to sit as downstairs. Take your seat either upstairs or down, but before the show; begin a glance at the ceiling, with its ornamental beams and striking colors.
THEATRE SOUND EQUIPMENT BEST
New Show House Provided With Latest Work by Western Electric
Nine-Hundred-Seat Structure is Complete Except for the “Finishing” Touches â€" Equipment Finest That Money and Brains Can Provide; Marvels of Modern Science.
The new lola Theatre, one of the finest show houses in the entire state of Kansas, will open its doors to the public Monday night of next week, showing as its first attraction the brand new Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature, “Sporting Blood."
The theatre building is complete with the exception of a few finishing touches which will be taken care of before the opening Monday. The more than 900 seats are installed, all leather upholstered and "aircushloned,” the most comfortable and modern seats that are available in the present market.
The seats in the last row in the balcony are just the same as those on the front row downstairs. The lighting fixtures are in place, the colored light variations having been tested and found to produce the most beautiful effects.
Thousands of dollars worth of rich, heavy drapes have been hung to provide that atmosphere of luxury and beauty which is so essential in the modern theatre. Heavy, thick carpets and rugs are being laid in all the aisles and on the mezzanine lounge â€" everywhere that feet will touch the floor.
The sound equipment and projection machines have already been tested and found to be in perfect synchronization. In fact, everything in what you have observed so far has been largely the external, obvious features. Consider now that the building is one of the most sturdily constructed in Kansas, that it is absolutely fireproof, that its walls and panels conceal thousands of feet of wiring and pipes through which flow the forces of nature for your convenience and comfort, that safety has been assured by thorough tests of materials and completed structure details, that everything possible has been done to assure pleasant entertainment under pleasant conditions for you and the other 949 persons for whom the theater has seating space.
Your mind at ease and receptive to subtler details, consider the temperature. Next winter, the ventilation system will produce exactly the opposite result; stepping up the temperatures of winter to just the right degree, for comfort.
Entertainment The Aim.
The settihg, you will have to agree, is perfect â€" what about the entertainment? Entertainment is, after all, the chief function of the new theater, and the projection and sound reproducing equipment is the best and most advanced available.
But that’s something you will want to find out for yourself. Monday night, then, “Sporting Blood,” a brand new release declared by many critics to be the best story of the year. Constitute yourself the judge and be on hand for the opening, Monday night.
(September 6, 1938)
LAKE GENEVA THEATER HELD UP FOR $1,400
Lake Geneva, Wis. â€" Four gunmen held up the Lake Geneva theater late last night and escaped with $1,400, representing receipts of thc holiday weekend.
Louis Nye, the owner, told police two of tho bandits stayed on the main floor while thc others went up to the balcony. After they had seen the picture, the two bandits on the main floor forced Nye to go to the second floor office where the other gunmen joined them. Then they forced Nye to open the safe. Mary Sullivan, the cashier, said the bandits had worked so smoothly she did not get a good description of them.
Third Trial of Case on Spitball Injury in Geneva Theater
Personal injury damages of $20,000 were awarded Robert Pfeiffer, Lake Geneva, late Friday afternoon by a circuit court jury here. The court also assessed the defendant in the case $1,500.92 in damages for Pfeiffer’s father, George, for medical and travel expenses.
The Pfeiffers had claimed that Robert’s sight was impaired when he was hit in the eye with a spitball while attending the Geneva Theater, Lake Geneva. Defendant in the case was the Standard Theater, Inc., owner of the Lake Geneva establishment.
The jury verdict found the theater management negligent on the following counts: (1) in not patroling the theater, and (2) in not maintaining reasonable control of the conduct of its patrons. Such negligence was held the cause of the injury to Pfeiffer’s sight, the jury said.
The case was heard before Judge Francis X. Swietlik, Milwaukee, since an affidavit of prejudice had been filed against Circuit Judge Alfred Drury, who heard two preceding trials of the same suit.
Daily Herald, 11/15/2009)
Geneva marquee serves as community bulletin board
It’s not exactiy “getting your name up in lights,” but it sure is a good way to get the word out about a community event and remind people about what is happening in Geneva.
The marquee of the old Geneva Theater displays messages about school, park district, chamber of commerce, cultural arts or charitable organization events and fundraisers.
And it all happens through Pagans, a company owned by downtown developer Joe Stanton.
“It used to be that the chamber of commerce took care of the marquee, but Joe noticed that the women who work for the chamber were always the ones having to get up on the ladder to change the message and he just didn’t think that was right,” said Debbie Draus, office manager at Pagans.
“We have a maintenance person who works on that theater building anyway, so it was easier forus and we volunteered to take it over and do something for events that bring the community together,” Draus added.
The chamber, library, schools and parks get first dibs on the marquee when they have events taking place, Draus said of the free billing on the marquee.
“It’s not for stores to promote a sale or anything like that, but it is for events that would bring people into town, and the stores benefit from that,” Draus added. “We have a lot of requests for use of the marquee, and organizations are finding that it’s booked well in advance."
Any planners who feel their event might qualify for marquee placement can check in with Pagans at (630) 208-0319.
June 29, 1954: New Management at Geneva Theater
LAKE GENEVA – New lobby, new box office, new management â€" all are ready to greet patrons of the Geneva Theater tonight.
Leo Kulik, who replaced Marvin Coon as manager last week, said work will be completed by the time the theater opens tonight. In celebration of the new theater’s “face”, Kulik said three CinemaScope pictures will be shown in succession this week. Beginning tomorrow night, the feature attraction will be “Three Coins in the Fountain.” This will be followed by “The Student Prince” and “Demetrius and the Gladiators."
Before coming to Lake Geneva, Kulik was manager of a Madison theater. Coon is now manager there. Both men are employees of the Standard Theater chain, Kulik since 1934. During Coon’s stay here, many improvements, including the work now being completed, were undertaken. Among the more outstanding was the installation of the CinemaScope screen. Long-range remodeling plans include complete new seating facilities.
Kulik and Coon have gone a step further than the exchange of jobs and theaters. Coon’s family, now living on Geneva Street, will join him in Madison Thursday. After their departure, Kulik’s family, still in Madison, will move into the Coon apartment here.
January 8, 1949: Russell Mortenson, manager of the Geneva theatre, announces that the Standard Theatre chain, which owns approximately 30 theatres, has been sold to Ted Gamble who owns other movie
places in the midwest. Change of ownership will in no way alter
the personnel or policy of the Geneva theatre.
The Friends of Geneva Theater are campaigning to have the GENEVA Theatre bought and restored for use as a community, cultural and arts center, along with some retail.
The theater has been for sale for some time, and is in need of much repair. The structure has not seen basic maintenance for quite some time.
A planning meeting will be held tomorrow by The Friends of Geneva Theater to consider how the building can be renovated and reused. Among those in attendance will be Ken Etten of the Lake Geneva Historic Preservation Committee, and Elizabeth Chappell of the Lake Geneva Art Museum. Etten is also a principal with McCormack + Etten Architects of Lake Geneva.
The building is a local historic landmark that had replaced the old Ford Opera House. The June 6, 1928, grand opening of the Geneva Theater attracted the state’s 25th governor, Gov. Fred Zimmerman. Past performances at the theater include sets by the Marx Brothers, Will Rogers and Bela Lugosi.
The planning group hopes to work with potential developers or buyers to create the community center. Money may be provided from the private sector and through a variety of grants.
The Lake Geneva Economic Development Corp. supports the plan, although there presently is no money available for the project.
KENOSHA (UP) â€" Kenosha firemen battled a blaze Thursday which destroyed three store buildings and six apartments and which caused damage estimated in excess of $100,000. No one was injured.
Destroyed were the Roosevelt Drug Store, the Kroger Food Store, the Melli Candy Shop and six apartments located on the second floor.
The buildings all were located in the Roosevelt theatre block. The first alarm was sent in when smoke began seeping through registers from a hot air furnace in the theater. The theater crowd was dismissed and apartment dwellers had time to pack a few personal belongings before escaping.
All available fire equipment and firemen were called out to fight
the fire, the exact cause of which was undetermined.
The LYRIC Theatre facade is featured toward the beginning of the 2011 picture “The Rite”, though it doesn’t figure into the plot. The letterboard in the storyline and in real life reads “Redemption Theater”.
Tuesday night the Chief Theater will close its curtain for the last time marking the finale of a colorful 65-year history.
When the theater closes, it may also Close the curtains on a budding legend which has been building for decades in Greeley.
The story involves a young woman who has been discussed frequently, but seen rarely. She is not human, according to some sources, and she resides in the balcony and attic of the old theater.
It was the summer of 1970 when Debbie Smith (a pseudonym) saw her.
Debbie was watching a movie in the Chief Theater in the coolness of the air conditioned atmosphere. She was a friend of the manager of the theater, and he gave her permission to sit in the balcony to watch the film without being bothered by distractions from other customers. The balcony had been closed for several months because there were inadequate fire exits.
It wasn’t the customers who would distract Debbie that night; the thing that did proved in the long run to be more distracting than anything human.
The ghost, or apparition, or spirit, or poltergiest that visited Debbie Smith in the balcony that night probably was not human.
Debbie said later that as she was watching the movie, something caught the corner of her eye. She looked to her right and saw a woman standing in the balcony watching her.
She described the woman as attractive (although she could not see her facial features) with blond hair done up in a bun, a long sleeved white blouse, and a floor length skirt. Debbie said the woman
gave the appearance of the “turn of the century."
Debbie sat and watched the woman for several seconds until the woman "just disappeared."
One of the oddest things about Debbie’s meeting with the woman was that Debbie was not frightened by the sudden appearance and just as sudden disappearance of the woman in white.
It was later, as she described the incident to her friends that she began to realize how frightening the experience could be.
It was different when David Johnson (a pseudonym) met the woman. He was frightened.
It was another summer, two years after Debbie’s incident. David had just begun work for the management of the Chief Theater, and it was early in the evening, before the theater opened for customers. The balcony had been closed for years and the candy for the theater snackbar was kept in a storeroom adjoining the balcony.
David was sent upstairs to get popcorn boxes in preparation for the evening’s hungry customers. He walked the stairs to the balcony, turned to his left, and entered the tiny room where the boxes were kept.
"Just then I got this funny feeling,” David said later. He turned around and saw a woman walking across the lower part of the balcony.
“I thought I was seeing things, so I turned around and got back to work,” David said.
He picked up the stack of popcorn boxes, and began carrying them down
the balcony ramp to the stairs. As he walked down the ramp, he glanced up to a trap door in the ceiling of the balcony. He saw the woman crouching at the edge of the trap door, holding the door up and
looking straight down at him. He ran down the two flights of stairs to the floor of the lobby, and frenetically voiced his story to the theater manager.
David described the woman as “about 30 years old, with blond hair hanging down to her shoulders, a white blouse, and wearing a skirt that hemmed just below the knees."
He said she was wearing clothes from the 1940s.
When the manager heard David’s description of "The Ghost in the Balcony” as they now label her, he immediately remembered Debbie’s description of the woman two years prior. The stories closely resembled each other. Both described a blond woman in her 30s, blond hair, and wearing a white blouse.
Both eyewitnesses said they never talked to the other prior to the sightings of the woman. Both Debbie and David had not heard of the ghost from anyone else before they met her in the balcony. Debbie saw the woman about one week before she began working in the theater,
and David had only worked at the historical theater for two weeks, before his sighting in the summer of 1972. In both cases, the witnesses said they “weren’t sure there was such a thing as supernatural entities,” but now they’re convinced.
The theater was buiIt in the early 1900s, and first sported the modern-sounding name “The Electric Theater.” One year later the name was changed to the “Orpheum."
The theater reached its glory years under the name "Rex Theater” when it was considered the hotspot of Greeley. Later the name was changed to the Chief.
The Chief is a natural place for the “Ghost in the Balcony” to reside. History reveals its reputation for showing some of Greeley’s most fright-producing entertainment.
In 1920, the famed actor John Barrymore played Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on the stage of the theater, and later, the first Greeley showing of the original “Frankenstein” movie flickered on its screen.
The movie bill has not fared so well in more recent productions, but has included “Night of the Living Dead,” “Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things,” and “Mark of the Devil” to name a few.
No one knows how long the story of the balcony ghost has been told by employes and customers of the theater. A long-time Greeley resident who worked in the theater in 1915 said he “never heard of any ghost.” But another citizen who was an usher and doorman in the late 1930s told the Tribune that stories of the ghost were circulating then.
According to Louise Russell, teacher at Heath Junior High and a local authority in folklore, the “Ghost in the Balcony” could be on its way to becoming a legend. A legend is fragmentary, according to Miss Russell, and has a definite attachment to belief. A legend can be a supernatural story which is believable to some people.
Some of the citizens of Greeley already believe in the woman in the balcony, and may hold a seance in the theater to see if they can “conjure up a being."
No one seems to know where the ghost may have come from. Research shows there were two fires in the theater, in 1910 and around 1930. Reports have also been received that the balcony collapsed in the mid 1940s. In none of these instances has there been a report of anyone being killed in the theater.
In its heyday, many top vaudeville acts and traveling plays were shown on the theater’s stage, and one former employe said he can remember when the theater was so crowded customers were seated in the aisles, and more people were turned away at the door.
The future of the theater is uncertain at this time, and it will probably be torn down. The "Ghost in the Balcony” will either fade away with man’s memories, or perhaps she can fimd another historic building in which to reside.
(March 25, 1977)
Old Rivoli Theater to be Remodeled Into Unique Shopping Mall Downtown
By WILLIAM MATTHEWS
Tribune Staff Writer
The old Rivoli Theater, which disappeared from view behind a cocoon of plywood and plastic in the beginning of February, reemerged this week, transformed into a new, nearly completed mini-mall.
The brick and white stucco arched front of the mall reflects the architecture that will be used throughout the mall when the construction is finished.
Inside where will be space for seven shops, said Ken Keesling, manager of the mall. So far there has been one definite commitment for a rental and five which appear likely.
Among the five are a boutique and a record and stereo store, Keesling said. He declined to say what the other stores will be until the decision that they will move in is more definite. “I’ll just say that there will be seven very unique retail outlet stores there.” he added.
When the mall is completed all the shops and the main hallway of the mall will be carpeted in brown to complement the stucco and brick work. The interior is laid out along a central corridor with shops off to either side. Along the corridor will be arched doors to each
store and arched display windows. Above each window, white stucco fills the curved top portion of the windows and doors.
Turning the old theater, with its slanted floor and giant stage into a mall was not an easy construction job, according to Eugene Langlie, foreman of the Sahr Construction team building the mall.
“There was a lot of work demolishing the old stage.” he said. “Underneath it was about 14 feet of space filled with a boiler and heating blowers, and all that had to come out."
When the stage was dismantled and the heating machinery removed "there were still two giant beams that had been part of the top of the stage that were left up there about 20 feet off the
ground. We had to get those out too.” Then “we had to open the back
up and bring a Cat in here to level the floor.” he said. A hole was cut in the back wall of the theater and a bulldozer driven into the building to move the tons of sand that now fill the back of the theater so that the floor is level with the front.
After the ground was leveled, a cement floor was poured, and when it dried, scaffolds were erected and wires that will support a hanging ceiling were installed in the ceiling two stories above the new floor.
“The wires for the drop ceiling hang down over 20 feet,” he said. The ceiling itself, however, has not yet been installed and the old theater ceiling can still be seen high above the workers.
Although there is still space to install a second floor above the mall, Langlie said that no plans for construction of that nature have been made.
The balcony of the old theater, however, might be used for another shop if the mall owners get a solid commitment from a store keeper to move in there. So far they have none, and so renovation of the balcony will have to wait, he said.
All of construction, electrical and plumbing work will be finished by mid-April, Langlie said.
In addition to the shops, public lavatories will be built in the front of the mall.
The total cost of construction for the mini-mall will come to about $100,000, he said. Considerably cheaper than building even a mini-mall from scratch, he said.
Langlie, who has worked as a construction chief on a number of full-sized malls, said the minimall will be a “very attractive shopping area” when it is completed.
The front of Braaten Jewelers, which is adjacent to the mall, will also receive a brick and stucco arch facade, and a wall between the mall and the jewelry store will be removed and part of the store expanded into the mall.
This article in The Garfieldian shows that in mid-1947 the theatre bore the name “K & C”:
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.
(December 5, 1935)
Branded “Outside Job” Today
Wielding axes, pinch bars, and possibly sledges, vandals caused an estimated damage of $10,500 to the Juneau theatre at Milwaukee.
There has been no labor trouble at either the Sheboygan or the Juneau theatre, and neither had there been any picketing, nor were any employes discharged.
About ten days ago In Milwaukee, ground glass was thrown into two projectors of the independent Atlas theatre, 2342 N. Third street causing about $1500 damage.
(December 5, 1935)
About ten days ago In Milwaukee, ground glass was thrown into two projectors of the independent Atlas theatre, 2342 N. Third street causing about $1500 damage.
I believe the HOLLY lasted a bit longer than 1959, as I recall being in a car passing the HOLLY one Saturday night in the mid-‘60s and seeing that demolition had begun; the HOLLY’s marquee was on the sidewalk.
New Carroll, ‘Theatre Of Tomorrow’, Opens Here Tuesday, May 7, 1946
First Post-War Showhouse Has Latest Improvements
Modern Design, Safety Features Combine With Beauty in New Theatre
Plans for the grand opening of the new Carroll theatre tomorrow
night were complete today, Bill Arts, manager, announced.
Painters, carpenters and decorators were busy this afternoon putting on the finishing touches that will make the new amusement palace the “theatre of tomorrow”.
The new showhouse, replacing the Earle theatre which was destroyed by fire last October, is the first post-war theatre to be built in Iowa and has all the latest improvements, Manager Arts declared.
Described by its owners, Harold Field and the Pioneer Theatre corporation as “the theatre of tomorrow”, the motion picture house will provide every convenience for the comfort and entertainment of patrons.
The floor of the lobby and lounge are of soft-colored terrazo. Satin-finished chrome display frames grace the lobby. The ticket office is of bent glass. Entrance doors shine with full-view glass and stainless steel.
Tile-trimmed rest rooms have been installed. The ladies' room features a pink finish and the men’s, beige.
One of the outstanding safety features of this new theatre is a floor of solid, reinforced concrete.
The front construction is of brick and St. Cloud granite. Lobby and foyer walls are of tile and the stairs to the lounge and rest rooms are of concrete covered with carpet. As an added safety feature, the carpeting is recessed into the concrete floor to eliminate danger of stumbling.
The Carroll brings to this city the first theatre in this area featuring the new style bowl-shaped concrete floor. Beginning at the stage, it rises in pitch to the sldewalls and rear of the auditorium affording better vision for patrons.
Another of the many new features will be a new USAirCo mechanical refrigeration system unit which purifies the air and eliminates all
drafts. Separate units are used for the lobby, foyer, lounge and rest
rooms and air the auditorium.
* • *
Installed behind the screen is the new “Voice of the Theatre” sound speakers, said to be 200 per cent better than the old system. The stage is enhanced by full length gray satin drapes.
The Heart of the handsome new amusement place is the modern projection booth which houses two big Motiograph projectors and Strong projection arc lamps. Other new post-war features are the two Super-Lite lenses which give a third-dimensional effect on the screen. They have the effect of bringing the performers and backgrounds “almost to your fingertips”.
VETS STAFF THEATRE … Four veterans of World War II will form the staff of the new Carroll theatre when it opens here tomorrow. Pictured above are Manager Bill Arts, Assistant Manager Delbert Farrell, Projectionist Melvin Kinkaid, and Doorman Milo Baak. All of these men were associated with Pioneer theatres before they went into the services.
State Theatre Goes Back to Old Policy
With the opening of the new Carroll theatre, the State theatre will go back to its previous policy on theatre bookings, Manager Bill Arts announced today. Pictures will show Sundays through Wednesdays, and Wednesdays through Saturdays. Double features will be shown at the State with a Western picture on the week-end bookings. Admission prices at the State will be returned to 10 cents and 25 cents, as before.
Movie Folk Hail Carroll’s New Theatre
“From one Iowan to another, here’s luck to the new Carroll theatre”,
said a telegram from Donna Reed, popular film beauty and former native of Crawford county, to Bill Arts, manager of the new Carroll theatre.
Arts received the telegram this week along with wires of congratulations on the new theatre from such famous film favorites as Clark Gable, Wallace Beery, Margaret O'Brien, Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney and Greer Garson.
In addition to those film stars who took note of the event by wiring
Manager Arts, several movie notables sent congratulatory telegrams
to Harold Field, president. Film stars who wired Mr. Field are Veronica Lake, Dorothy Lamour, Ray Milland, Paulette Goddard, Alan Ladd, Betty Hutton, Bing Crosby, and “Bob (Regards) Hope.”
A Statement From The Theatre Management
The building of the New Carroll theatre, with many deluxe features, was a new departure from the usual, pre-war theatre. The past years have shown the management that the public wanted this type of theatre, and plans were made for an ultra-modern theatre. Months
of careful study of all the newest type theatres, together with the experience gained in operating theatres, furnished a wealth of knowledge of what to include and how to design the New Carroll.
Harold D. Field, Pioneer showman, said, “It is with a sense of sincerity and genuine appreciation that our organization presents to Carroll the new Carroll theatre — the Theatre of Tomorrow".
“We dedicate it to you and with the sincere wish that you and your loved ones shall come to know it as your haven of entertainment, recreation and education.
"With all our abilities we have endeavored to make this a safe, comfortable and pleasing edifice. We shall be most happy if this offering meets with your full approval."
W. C. ARTS, Mgr.
To Reveal Winners Of Essay Contest
Winners of the essay contest – “What A Theatre Means to A Community” â€" will be announced on the stage of the new Carroll theatre tomorrow night during opening ceremonies.
The contest was open to all students in the county and many took part, Manager Arts said. Prizes will be a $100 war bond, six months
pass to both the Carroll and State theatres, and $10.
The winners will be presented on the stage when they are announced and prizes distributed.
(August 14, 1931)
BUILDING ONE OF Artistry of Past Combined with Modern Science To Produce the Ultimate in Moving Picture Theatres; Cool, Safe; Show House Rich With Color and Design
The building ot the new Iola Theatre, which opens with its first
show, “Sporting Blood,” next Monday evening, is one in which the
moviegoer may find the glories of artists of the past harmonized with
the practical and comfort-giving marvels of present day scientists.
Ancient Greece and Renaissance Florence have contributed their
share to what could have reached its culmimation only in Twentieth
Century America â€" a temple of beauty and comfort.
The front of the building has been composed from architectural designs of all periods, the result being unification of styles that time and the critical opinion of artists through many ages have stamped as being the best that human genius can produce.
It should be remembered that the building was raised to house a movie theater, and that every detail and all the thought wrought into it was designed to achieve appropriately the end in view.
A theater is a place where the emotions are stimulated, and the setting should be in keeping with that purpose.
Stop inside the foyer. You find yourself upon sound absorbing plush carpets, with doorways screened with heavy, dark-colored drapes. You walk a short dlstance and find yourself in the brilliantly lighted theatre proper, with marvelously fabricated crystal chandeliers bringing to life a riot of colors upon the walls and proscenium calclated to quicken the most jaded senses and rouse to life the most phlegmatic nature.
A Brilliant Interior.
Wall panels upon which gigantic palm trees soar to emerald green.
crests on brilliantly colored pilasters with their intricate and beautiful lamps. Shadow boxes above the stage entrances above which soft but rich and stirring pigments fuse rhythmically, a proscenium staggered blocks, each with its special striking design of geometric figures – all these details and many more stand out after a moment’s contemplation.
Before the great curtain rises, step up to the smoking lounge under the balcony and recline upon the luxurious chairs and divans which await you. Listen to yourself think as the rich and deep carpets make all noise and impact upon them imperceptible. You can wish for no comfort that is not at hand.
A Mechanical Marvel.
If you are something of a mechanical genius stroll up to the projection room and see to what great lengths the builders have gone to pack every scientific aid to picture exhibition in the relatively small but more than adequately large room. Here is the balcony, with its comfortable, “air-cushioned” seats, practically as pleasant a place to sit as downstairs. Take your seat either upstairs or down, but before the show; begin a glance at the ceiling, with its ornamental beams and striking colors.
THEATRE SOUND EQUIPMENT BEST
New Show House Provided With Latest Work by Western Electric
Nine-Hundred-Seat Structure is Complete Except for the “Finishing” Touches â€" Equipment Finest That Money and Brains Can Provide; Marvels of Modern Science.
The new lola Theatre, one of the finest show houses in the entire state of Kansas, will open its doors to the public Monday night of next week, showing as its first attraction the brand new Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature, “Sporting Blood."
The theatre building is complete with the exception of a few finishing touches which will be taken care of before the opening Monday. The more than 900 seats are installed, all leather upholstered and "aircushloned,” the most comfortable and modern seats that are available in the present market.
The seats in the last row in the balcony are just the same as those on the front row downstairs. The lighting fixtures are in place, the colored light variations having been tested and found to produce the most beautiful effects.
Thousands of dollars worth of rich, heavy drapes have been hung to provide that atmosphere of luxury and beauty which is so essential in the modern theatre. Heavy, thick carpets and rugs are being laid in all the aisles and on the mezzanine lounge â€" everywhere that feet will touch the floor.
The sound equipment and projection machines have already been tested and found to be in perfect synchronization. In fact, everything in what you have observed so far has been largely the external, obvious features. Consider now that the building is one of the most sturdily constructed in Kansas, that it is absolutely fireproof, that its walls and panels conceal thousands of feet of wiring and pipes through which flow the forces of nature for your convenience and comfort, that safety has been assured by thorough tests of materials and completed structure details, that everything possible has been done to assure pleasant entertainment under pleasant conditions for you and the other 949 persons for whom the theater has seating space.
Your mind at ease and receptive to subtler details, consider the temperature. Next winter, the ventilation system will produce exactly the opposite result; stepping up the temperatures of winter to just the right degree, for comfort.
Entertainment The Aim.
The settihg, you will have to agree, is perfect â€" what about the entertainment? Entertainment is, after all, the chief function of the new theater, and the projection and sound reproducing equipment is the best and most advanced available.
But that’s something you will want to find out for yourself. Monday night, then, “Sporting Blood,” a brand new release declared by many critics to be the best story of the year. Constitute yourself the judge and be on hand for the opening, Monday night.
On this day in 1939, the theatre was listed as the MIDWAY in the Hammond Times (playing “Prison Break” and “Carnival Queen”.)
(September 6, 1938)
LAKE GENEVA THEATER HELD UP FOR $1,400
Lake Geneva, Wis. â€" Four gunmen held up the Lake Geneva theater late last night and escaped with $1,400, representing receipts of thc holiday weekend.
Louis Nye, the owner, told police two of tho bandits stayed on the main floor while thc others went up to the balcony. After they had seen the picture, the two bandits on the main floor forced Nye to go to the second floor office where the other gunmen joined them. Then they forced Nye to open the safe. Mary Sullivan, the cashier, said the bandits had worked so smoothly she did not get a good description of them.
(June 6, 1953) $20,000 Damages Awarded by Jury
Third Trial of Case on Spitball Injury in Geneva Theater
Personal injury damages of $20,000 were awarded Robert Pfeiffer, Lake Geneva, late Friday afternoon by a circuit court jury here. The court also assessed the defendant in the case $1,500.92 in damages for Pfeiffer’s father, George, for medical and travel expenses.
The Pfeiffers had claimed that Robert’s sight was impaired when he was hit in the eye with a spitball while attending the Geneva Theater, Lake Geneva. Defendant in the case was the Standard Theater, Inc., owner of the Lake Geneva establishment.
The jury verdict found the theater management negligent on the following counts: (1) in not patroling the theater, and (2) in not maintaining reasonable control of the conduct of its patrons. Such negligence was held the cause of the injury to Pfeiffer’s sight, the jury said.
The case was heard before Judge Francis X. Swietlik, Milwaukee, since an affidavit of prejudice had been filed against Circuit Judge Alfred Drury, who heard two preceding trials of the same suit.
Daily Herald, 11/15/2009)
Geneva marquee serves as community bulletin board
It’s not exactiy “getting your name up in lights,” but it sure is a good way to get the word out about a community event and remind people about what is happening in Geneva.
The marquee of the old Geneva Theater displays messages about school, park district, chamber of commerce, cultural arts or charitable organization events and fundraisers.
And it all happens through Pagans, a company owned by downtown developer Joe Stanton.
“It used to be that the chamber of commerce took care of the marquee, but Joe noticed that the women who work for the chamber were always the ones having to get up on the ladder to change the message and he just didn’t think that was right,” said Debbie Draus, office manager at Pagans.
“We have a maintenance person who works on that theater building anyway, so it was easier forus and we volunteered to take it over and do something for events that bring the community together,” Draus added.
The chamber, library, schools and parks get first dibs on the marquee when they have events taking place, Draus said of the free billing on the marquee.
“It’s not for stores to promote a sale or anything like that, but it is for events that would bring people into town, and the stores benefit from that,” Draus added. “We have a lot of requests for use of the marquee, and organizations are finding that it’s booked well in advance."
Any planners who feel their event might qualify for marquee placement can check in with Pagans at (630) 208-0319.
June 29, 1954: New Management at Geneva Theater
LAKE GENEVA – New lobby, new box office, new management â€" all are ready to greet patrons of the Geneva Theater tonight.
Leo Kulik, who replaced Marvin Coon as manager last week, said work will be completed by the time the theater opens tonight. In celebration of the new theater’s “face”, Kulik said three CinemaScope pictures will be shown in succession this week. Beginning tomorrow night, the feature attraction will be “Three Coins in the Fountain.” This will be followed by “The Student Prince” and “Demetrius and the Gladiators."
Before coming to Lake Geneva, Kulik was manager of a Madison theater. Coon is now manager there. Both men are employees of the Standard Theater chain, Kulik since 1934. During Coon’s stay here, many improvements, including the work now being completed, were undertaken. Among the more outstanding was the installation of the CinemaScope screen. Long-range remodeling plans include complete new seating facilities.
Kulik and Coon have gone a step further than the exchange of jobs and theaters. Coon’s family, now living on Geneva Street, will join him in Madison Thursday. After their departure, Kulik’s family, still in Madison, will move into the Coon apartment here.
January 8, 1949: Russell Mortenson, manager of the Geneva theatre, announces that the Standard Theatre chain, which owns approximately 30 theatres, has been sold to Ted Gamble who owns other movie
places in the midwest. Change of ownership will in no way alter
the personnel or policy of the Geneva theatre.
The Friends of Geneva Theater are campaigning to have the GENEVA Theatre bought and restored for use as a community, cultural and arts center, along with some retail.
The theater has been for sale for some time, and is in need of much repair. The structure has not seen basic maintenance for quite some time.
A planning meeting will be held tomorrow by The Friends of Geneva Theater to consider how the building can be renovated and reused. Among those in attendance will be Ken Etten of the Lake Geneva Historic Preservation Committee, and Elizabeth Chappell of the Lake Geneva Art Museum. Etten is also a principal with McCormack + Etten Architects of Lake Geneva.
The building is a local historic landmark that had replaced the old Ford Opera House. The June 6, 1928, grand opening of the Geneva Theater attracted the state’s 25th governor, Gov. Fred Zimmerman. Past performances at the theater include sets by the Marx Brothers, Will Rogers and Bela Lugosi.
The planning group hopes to work with potential developers or buyers to create the community center. Money may be provided from the private sector and through a variety of grants.
The Lake Geneva Economic Development Corp. supports the plan, although there presently is no money available for the project.
(February 22, 1946)
Kenosha Has $100,000 Blaze
KENOSHA (UP) â€" Kenosha firemen battled a blaze Thursday which destroyed three store buildings and six apartments and which caused damage estimated in excess of $100,000. No one was injured.
Destroyed were the Roosevelt Drug Store, the Kroger Food Store, the Melli Candy Shop and six apartments located on the second floor.
The buildings all were located in the Roosevelt theatre block. The first alarm was sent in when smoke began seeping through registers from a hot air furnace in the theater. The theater crowd was dismissed and apartment dwellers had time to pack a few personal belongings before escaping.
All available fire equipment and firemen were called out to fight
the fire, the exact cause of which was undetermined.
The LYRIC Theatre facade is featured toward the beginning of the 2011 picture “The Rite”, though it doesn’t figure into the plot. The letterboard in the storyline and in real life reads “Redemption Theater”.
Lots of recent activity in the local newspaper:
View link Comments are welcome.
www.onelist.com/group/WisconsinTheatres
The story above is from the Greeley Tribune of February 12, 1973.
By MIKE PETERS
Greeley Tribune Staff Writer
Tuesday night the Chief Theater will close its curtain for the last time marking the finale of a colorful 65-year history.
When the theater closes, it may also Close the curtains on a budding legend which has been building for decades in Greeley.
The story involves a young woman who has been discussed frequently, but seen rarely. She is not human, according to some sources, and she resides in the balcony and attic of the old theater.
It was the summer of 1970 when Debbie Smith (a pseudonym) saw her.
Debbie was watching a movie in the Chief Theater in the coolness of the air conditioned atmosphere. She was a friend of the manager of the theater, and he gave her permission to sit in the balcony to watch the film without being bothered by distractions from other customers. The balcony had been closed for several months because there were inadequate fire exits.
It wasn’t the customers who would distract Debbie that night; the thing that did proved in the long run to be more distracting than anything human.
The ghost, or apparition, or spirit, or poltergiest that visited Debbie Smith in the balcony that night probably was not human.
Debbie said later that as she was watching the movie, something caught the corner of her eye. She looked to her right and saw a woman standing in the balcony watching her.
She described the woman as attractive (although she could not see her facial features) with blond hair done up in a bun, a long sleeved white blouse, and a floor length skirt. Debbie said the woman
gave the appearance of the “turn of the century."
Debbie sat and watched the woman for several seconds until the woman "just disappeared."
One of the oddest things about Debbie’s meeting with the woman was that Debbie was not frightened by the sudden appearance and just as sudden disappearance of the woman in white.
It was later, as she described the incident to her friends that she began to realize how frightening the experience could be.
It was different when David Johnson (a pseudonym) met the woman. He was frightened.
It was another summer, two years after Debbie’s incident. David had just begun work for the management of the Chief Theater, and it was early in the evening, before the theater opened for customers. The balcony had been closed for years and the candy for the theater snackbar was kept in a storeroom adjoining the balcony.
David was sent upstairs to get popcorn boxes in preparation for the evening’s hungry customers. He walked the stairs to the balcony, turned to his left, and entered the tiny room where the boxes were kept.
"Just then I got this funny feeling,” David said later. He turned around and saw a woman walking across the lower part of the balcony.
“I thought I was seeing things, so I turned around and got back to work,” David said.
He picked up the stack of popcorn boxes, and began carrying them down
the balcony ramp to the stairs. As he walked down the ramp, he glanced up to a trap door in the ceiling of the balcony. He saw the woman crouching at the edge of the trap door, holding the door up and
looking straight down at him. He ran down the two flights of stairs to the floor of the lobby, and frenetically voiced his story to the theater manager.
David described the woman as “about 30 years old, with blond hair hanging down to her shoulders, a white blouse, and wearing a skirt that hemmed just below the knees."
He said she was wearing clothes from the 1940s.
When the manager heard David’s description of "The Ghost in the Balcony” as they now label her, he immediately remembered Debbie’s description of the woman two years prior. The stories closely resembled each other. Both described a blond woman in her 30s, blond hair, and wearing a white blouse.
Both eyewitnesses said they never talked to the other prior to the sightings of the woman. Both Debbie and David had not heard of the ghost from anyone else before they met her in the balcony. Debbie saw the woman about one week before she began working in the theater,
and David had only worked at the historical theater for two weeks, before his sighting in the summer of 1972. In both cases, the witnesses said they “weren’t sure there was such a thing as supernatural entities,” but now they’re convinced.
The theater was buiIt in the early 1900s, and first sported the modern-sounding name “The Electric Theater.” One year later the name was changed to the “Orpheum."
The theater reached its glory years under the name "Rex Theater” when it was considered the hotspot of Greeley. Later the name was changed to the Chief.
The Chief is a natural place for the “Ghost in the Balcony” to reside. History reveals its reputation for showing some of Greeley’s most fright-producing entertainment.
In 1920, the famed actor John Barrymore played Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on the stage of the theater, and later, the first Greeley showing of the original “Frankenstein” movie flickered on its screen.
The movie bill has not fared so well in more recent productions, but has included “Night of the Living Dead,” “Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things,” and “Mark of the Devil” to name a few.
No one knows how long the story of the balcony ghost has been told by employes and customers of the theater. A long-time Greeley resident who worked in the theater in 1915 said he “never heard of any ghost.” But another citizen who was an usher and doorman in the late 1930s told the Tribune that stories of the ghost were circulating then.
According to Louise Russell, teacher at Heath Junior High and a local authority in folklore, the “Ghost in the Balcony” could be on its way to becoming a legend. A legend is fragmentary, according to Miss Russell, and has a definite attachment to belief. A legend can be a supernatural story which is believable to some people.
Some of the citizens of Greeley already believe in the woman in the balcony, and may hold a seance in the theater to see if they can “conjure up a being."
No one seems to know where the ghost may have come from. Research shows there were two fires in the theater, in 1910 and around 1930. Reports have also been received that the balcony collapsed in the mid 1940s. In none of these instances has there been a report of anyone being killed in the theater.
In its heyday, many top vaudeville acts and traveling plays were shown on the theater’s stage, and one former employe said he can remember when the theater was so crowded customers were seated in the aisles, and more people were turned away at the door.
The future of the theater is uncertain at this time, and it will probably be torn down. The "Ghost in the Balcony” will either fade away with man’s memories, or perhaps she can fimd another historic building in which to reside.
(March 25, 1977)
Old Rivoli Theater to be Remodeled Into Unique Shopping Mall Downtown
By WILLIAM MATTHEWS
Tribune Staff Writer
The old Rivoli Theater, which disappeared from view behind a cocoon of plywood and plastic in the beginning of February, reemerged this week, transformed into a new, nearly completed mini-mall.
The brick and white stucco arched front of the mall reflects the architecture that will be used throughout the mall when the construction is finished.
Inside where will be space for seven shops, said Ken Keesling, manager of the mall. So far there has been one definite commitment for a rental and five which appear likely.
Among the five are a boutique and a record and stereo store, Keesling said. He declined to say what the other stores will be until the decision that they will move in is more definite. “I’ll just say that there will be seven very unique retail outlet stores there.” he added.
When the mall is completed all the shops and the main hallway of the mall will be carpeted in brown to complement the stucco and brick work. The interior is laid out along a central corridor with shops off to either side. Along the corridor will be arched doors to each
store and arched display windows. Above each window, white stucco fills the curved top portion of the windows and doors.
Turning the old theater, with its slanted floor and giant stage into a mall was not an easy construction job, according to Eugene Langlie, foreman of the Sahr Construction team building the mall.
“There was a lot of work demolishing the old stage.” he said. “Underneath it was about 14 feet of space filled with a boiler and heating blowers, and all that had to come out."
When the stage was dismantled and the heating machinery removed "there were still two giant beams that had been part of the top of the stage that were left up there about 20 feet off the
ground. We had to get those out too.” Then “we had to open the back
up and bring a Cat in here to level the floor.” he said. A hole was cut in the back wall of the theater and a bulldozer driven into the building to move the tons of sand that now fill the back of the theater so that the floor is level with the front.
After the ground was leveled, a cement floor was poured, and when it dried, scaffolds were erected and wires that will support a hanging ceiling were installed in the ceiling two stories above the new floor.
“The wires for the drop ceiling hang down over 20 feet,” he said. The ceiling itself, however, has not yet been installed and the old theater ceiling can still be seen high above the workers.
Although there is still space to install a second floor above the mall, Langlie said that no plans for construction of that nature have been made.
The balcony of the old theater, however, might be used for another shop if the mall owners get a solid commitment from a store keeper to move in there. So far they have none, and so renovation of the balcony will have to wait, he said.
All of construction, electrical and plumbing work will be finished by mid-April, Langlie said.
In addition to the shops, public lavatories will be built in the front of the mall.
The total cost of construction for the mini-mall will come to about $100,000, he said. Considerably cheaper than building even a mini-mall from scratch, he said.
Langlie, who has worked as a construction chief on a number of full-sized malls, said the minimall will be a “very attractive shopping area” when it is completed.
The front of Braaten Jewelers, which is adjacent to the mall, will also receive a brick and stucco arch facade, and a wall between the mall and the jewelry store will be removed and part of the store expanded into the mall.
This article in The Garfieldian shows that in mid-1947 the theatre bore the name “K & C”:
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.