According to a very brief item on p. 126 of this local history of Amherst, the first motion picture venue in Amherst was at 134 Park Avenue, but does not indicate the name or provide any dates. It might have been this theater since street re-numbering did occur in Amherst over the years, but the item also indicates that it was later a restaurant which does not fit the history of the building in the article posted by Joe above.
This Amherst local history page also shows an ad marked “June 6, 1909” for an Amuse-U Theatre in Amherst, which might also be this theater. There are at least three other theaters that were named Amuse U or a variation here on CT, all dating to around 1910 or thereabouts so all of them were probably nickleodeons or silent movie theaters that did not make it into the sound era.
According this local history of Amherst, pp. 125-129, this theater was the Empire from 1908-1930, and the Mary Jane from 1935-1944, so it would appear that it was the Colonial from 1930-1935 (there is an ad for the Colonial included, although this name is not mentioned in the text). It was then the Amherst from 1944 to 1959, when that name went on the new Amherst across the street. The building that was the Empire/Colonial/Mary Jane/Amherst was demolished in 1972. There are pictures and ads within these pages. The text does confirm that there was street re-numbering in Amherst over the years.
I don’t know if the lease arrangement Crown had at Block E was really typical of their business strategy (though I rather doubt it), but the link to the article I posted on March 18, 2011 describes that particular deal; basically the rent was based on a sliding scale that varied depending on gross receipts. When AMC took over, they wanted a lease extension under the same terms, but the landlord refused. AMC went to court, but lost.
The theater might have well have closed anyway, as the the whole Block E venture as originally conceived has not been successful as a shopping/dining/entertainment destination, and I have heard that a conversion proposal to a casino (we sure don’t have enough of those now, do we?) has been floated.
In that case, I am a bit surprised that the ad (I presume it was it was this one or one like it) did not include with in the copy a note such as “Opens [date] at the Ziegfeld”.
The Clearview website shows that it is currently playing at the Ziegfeld; perhaps with so many theater chains dropping print advertising these days, perhaps Clearview does not think it worth the expense. Also, given the somewhat mixed nature of the reviews nationwide, I wonder how long a theatrical run the film will now have.
I am not sure that the Empire and the Mary Jane were the same theater. Here is a picture of the Empire Theater from the Amherst Public Library’s Digital Collection; the note on the bottom says that the Empire was located at 257 Church St.
It does not seem to be; Imagine Cinemas picked up their former Cinema 6 location in Timmins, the former Stinson location in Chatham is closed and for sale, and the Owen Sound Drive-in now appears to be an independent. The official website is: http://owensounddrivein.ca/site/
According to a very brief item on p. 126 of this local history of Amherst, the first motion picture venue in Amherst was at 134 Park Avenue, but does not indicate the name or provide any dates. It might have been this theater since street re-numbering did occur in Amherst over the years, but the item also indicates that it was later a restaurant which does not fit the history of the building in the article posted by Joe above.
This Amherst local history page also shows an ad marked “June 6, 1909” for an Amuse-U Theatre in Amherst, which might also be this theater. There are at least three other theaters that were named Amuse U or a variation here on CT, all dating to around 1910 or thereabouts so all of them were probably nickleodeons or silent movie theaters that did not make it into the sound era.
According this local history of Amherst, pp. 125-129, this theater was the Empire from 1908-1930, and the Mary Jane from 1935-1944, so it would appear that it was the Colonial from 1930-1935 (there is an ad for the Colonial included, although this name is not mentioned in the text). It was then the Amherst from 1944 to 1959, when that name went on the new Amherst across the street. The building that was the Empire/Colonial/Mary Jane/Amherst was demolished in 1972. There are pictures and ads within these pages. The text does confirm that there was street re-numbering in Amherst over the years.
I don’t know if the lease arrangement Crown had at Block E was really typical of their business strategy (though I rather doubt it), but the link to the article I posted on March 18, 2011 describes that particular deal; basically the rent was based on a sliding scale that varied depending on gross receipts. When AMC took over, they wanted a lease extension under the same terms, but the landlord refused. AMC went to court, but lost.
The theater might have well have closed anyway, as the the whole Block E venture as originally conceived has not been successful as a shopping/dining/entertainment destination, and I have heard that a conversion proposal to a casino (we sure don’t have enough of those now, do we?) has been floated.
In that case, I am a bit surprised that the ad (I presume it was it was this one or one like it) did not include with in the copy a note such as “Opens [date] at the Ziegfeld”.
The Clearview website shows that it is currently playing at the Ziegfeld; perhaps with so many theater chains dropping print advertising these days, perhaps Clearview does not think it worth the expense. Also, given the somewhat mixed nature of the reviews nationwide, I wonder how long a theatrical run the film will now have.
There are some pictures of the theater on its page at CinemaTour.
There are four pictures of the theatre’s interior here; click on each to enlarge.
A portion of he theater’s interior can be seen in this photo.
I am not sure that the Empire and the Mary Jane were the same theater. Here is a picture of the Empire Theater from the Amherst Public Library’s Digital Collection; the note on the bottom says that the Empire was located at 257 Church St.
It was the Mary Jane as early as 1938 as there is an ad for the theater on p. 6 of this copy of the Amherst News-Times.
Some pictures of the the theater in its current role as a pub can be seen here, here, and here.
Apparently, though he is no fan of the current management as he is moving to have them evicted; View article
It does not seem to be; Imagine Cinemas picked up their former Cinema 6 location in Timmins, the former Stinson location in Chatham is closed and for sale, and the Owen Sound Drive-in now appears to be an independent. The official website is: http://owensounddrivein.ca/site/
There is a picture of exterior pf the theater on this webpage, and a portion of the interior can be seen in this picture.
Official website: http://www.startheaterportland.com.php53-3.dfw1-1.websitetestlink.com/
A picture of the Star can be seen here. The sign under the marquee is of historical interest.
There are also some pictures accompanying this article from 2009 when the theater was raided for selling liquor without a license.
According to this article, Cinemark has confirmed that the theater will reopen in 2013 after changes in the theater’s layout and appearance.
A picture of the theater’s entrance can be seen here.
A slideshow of pictures related to the Palace Theatre can be seen here.
A picture of the Giles Theater c. 1940 can be seen here.
A picture of the Royal Theater c. 1948 can be seen here.
Two exterior pictures of the Sheldon Cinema can be seen here and here
There is additional historical detail and pictures of the Gaumont over the years here.
Here can be seen a photo of the Park Theater.
Another old postcard view followed by a photo what the site looks like now (the Lake Theater is also gone).