Comments from Joe Vogel

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Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Cozy Theatre on Aug 11, 2023 at 9:42 pm

In what was likely a double listing caused by the name change, both the Cozy and the Unique are listed, on Main Street, in the 1914-1915 American Motion Puicture Directory.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Eagle Theatre on Aug 11, 2023 at 9:29 pm

I’m now doubting the accuracy of the 1966 Daily Herald article that said the Lyric Theatre had become the State Theatre. Both the Lyric and the State are listed in FDYs in 1926 and 1927, and I’ve found the State mentioned in Universal Weekly as far back as April 5, 1924. The Lyric goes back to at least as early as 1914, having been listed in the AMPD that year. In the FDYs, the Lyric and State have wildly different seating capacities (600 and 1,500 respectively, though I suspect the latter is a wild exaggeration.) The 600-seat Lyric is last listed in 1927, and in 1928 a 600-seat Eagle Theatre makes its first appearance. Eagle is thus a likely new name for the Lyric, but State is not.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about State Theatre on Aug 11, 2023 at 9:15 pm

An Eagle Theatre with 600 seats is listed in the 1928 FDY. This was its first appearance. A 600-seat Lyric Theatre listed in the 1927 FDY is no longer listed in 1928. According to a 1966 article in the Austin Daily Herald the Lyric became the State, but checking the FDYs from the period, I find both the Lyric and the State listed in both the 1926 and the 1927 editions. I’ve found the State mentioned in Universal Weekly as early as April 5, 1924, so the Lyric probably didn’t become the State. More likely it became the Eagle in 1927 or very early 1928. The Lyric was one of at least six movie houses operating in Austin in 1914.

The much lower seating capacity listed in FDY in 1940 (and 1938) could have been the result of the house closing a balcony, but given that the manager was claiming 500 seats in 1940, I’m inclined to attribute the lower number to FDY’s notorious inaccuracy when it comes to seating capacities.

The Eagle is last listed in the 1942 FDY, with 250 seats. A 250-seat house called the Rex first appears in the 1943 edition, and I suspect a name change. But then the 233-seat Eagle reappears in the 1949 FDY and there is no Rex listed, so it looks like the name might have been changed back.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Opera House on Aug 11, 2023 at 6:45 pm

This house might have been called the Idle Hour Theatre. An interesting item appeared in the August 9, 1913 issue of Motography, which said that W. A. Matlack, operator of the Idle Hour Theatre at New Hampton, had leased the Opera House and would present a season of plays, while continuing to show movies at the Idle Hour.

The only theater listed at New Hampton in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory was the Idle Hour, and it was listed as being on Main Street. The December 2, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World said that “[t]he Idle Hour theater has been remodeled and the interior redecorated.” The house was still in operation in 1918, when the May 4 MPW said it had been taken over by a new owner. That’s the latest mention of the Idle Hour I’ve been able to find. In 1917 the new Fireman’s Theatre opened and began showing movies in November, and it seems unlikely that any competitors would have lasted long.

As for the Opera House, it had 400 seats according to a 1908 Iowa business directory, which listed it as one of two theaters in New Hampton, the other being the 3,000-seat Fireman’s Auditorium. The Fireman’s Theatre opened in 1917 was the second big theater built by the New Hampton Fire Department. The first opened in 1898, as part of the department’s new headquarters. It doesn’t seem to have harmed business at the Opera House, though, as that venue continued to be mentioned in The Billboard and The New York Clipper into the 1910s. The Opera House must have had a flat floor , though, as the local high school’s basketball games were held there for many years.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Firemen's Theatre on Aug 11, 2023 at 6:36 pm

This was the second large theater built by the New Hampton Fire Department. The first was a 3,000-seat auditorium on the upper floors of the department’s new headquarters, a huge, Romanesque Revival pile built in 1898. It was apparently never used as a movie theater, but this second hall, opened in 1917, was equipped as a movie theater from very early in its history.

A notice that the Fireman’s Hall had begun operating as a full time movie theater appeared in the November 3, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World. The hall had opened earlier that year with live performances.

The Firemen’s Theatre closed as a movie house in 1984, but reopened in 1987 as a live venue. It was destroyed by an arson fire not too long after.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Barthell Opera House on Aug 11, 2023 at 4:14 pm

The Barthel Opera House building was destroyed by a fire that started in the early morning hours of October 22, 2007. At the time of its destruction it was occupied by a restaurant called Wild Willy’s Pizza Saloon. It’s likely that the Barthell was equipped to show movies from the time of its construction, as a notice that the house was nearing completion appeared in the July 24, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World. Still, trade journal mentions of Waukon after that are invariably about the Cota (or Cote) Theatre, so the Barthell was probably never the town’s most important movie venue.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Columbia Theatre on Aug 10, 2023 at 5:07 am

I don’t think we can trust the NRHP’s date of c 1900 for this building. The historic district’s nomination form has a number of questionable claims.

More significantly, several trade journals from 1921 note the construction of a new theater on Bridge Street in Shinnston for a Miss Lynne Monroe. The November 4th issue of Variety even gives the name Columbia Theatre, and says that ground had been broken for the 300-seat house, which was expected to be completed before the end of December. Several journals note that the 30x80 foot brick and tile building had been designed by Clarksburg architect J. E. (John Edward) Wood.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Colonial Theatre on Aug 10, 2023 at 4:16 am

Nessa is correct that the photos here depict the Rice Theatre, which operated from 1948 to 1957. It was described in various trade journals as an upstairs theater with a large store on the ground floor.

So far I’ve been unable to find any historic references to a house called the Colonial Theatre at Shinnston. While searching I’ve found a couple of stray listings: A Lyric Theatre is listed in FDYs from 1927, ‘28 and '29, no seating capacity listed, and a 400-seat Paramount Theatre is listed in 1931 only. Neither of these names appear to be aka’s for other known houses, as the Columbia, Princess and Rex continue to be listed as well.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Princess Theatre on Aug 9, 2023 at 3:16 am

Multiple sources indicate that this house at 314 Pike Street was the second of its name in Shinnston. The earlier Princess, in operation by 1921, was across the street at 323 Pike. The new theater opened in 1940, the same year the town’s first Rex Theatre was burned out of the former Opera House on Walnut Street. The Princess and Rex had been under the same ownership, and for a while the old Princess went by the name Princess-Rex, though it later returned to being simply the Rex. CinemaTour says that the Princess operated at its new location from 1940 until 1961. A book called Around Shinnston says that a furniture store had moved into the Princess building by 1964, so 1961 is likely right as the closing date.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Rex Theatre on Aug 9, 2023 at 2:58 am

I came across this old Facebook post (with photo) that says the Rex was in the town’s old Shinnston (or Moore) Opera House on Walnut Street. Comments on the post say that the building was gutted by a fire in the 1940s and then rebuilt as a skating rink.

Other sources indicate that the Opera House was built in 1889, but CinemaTour lists the Rex Theatre aka Opera House as having been in operation from 1910 to 1940. It’s possible that it began showing movies in 1910, though it wasn’t listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory (the book gives Shinnston a miss altogether.) The fire probably gutted the building in 1940. The rehabbed Rex building later served as a skating rink, then an exhibition hall, and was apparently last used as a garage for a Chevrolet dealer. It has since been demolished.

A comment on the Facebook post says that the owners of the Rex also had a house called the Princess-Rex, across Pike Street from the (second) Princess (which opened in 1940.) The Princess-Rex is one of the theaters listed at CinemaTour, with an address of 323 Pike. I have an idea about it that I’ll (eventually) also post on the Princess page. I suspect that the Rex, still listed in the FDY in 1947 even though burned out of the old Opera House in 1940, ended up in the former Princess building at 323 Pike when the Princess moved into its new location at 314 Pike. The original Princess dated back to at least as early as 1921. Princess-Rex probably served simply as a transitional name.

Judging from the old photo and the configuration of Shinnston’s streets, I’d say that the Opera House/first Rex Theatre was almost certainly at 72 or 74 Walnut Street. The 470 seat capacity we have listed is that of the second Rex/first Princess/Princess-Rex at 323 Pike Street. The first Rex might have been a bit bigger, but I haven’t been able to track down a capacity for it.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Rice Theater on Aug 8, 2023 at 3:17 pm

I believe the photos currently displayed on the Colonial Theatre’s photo page actually depict the Rice Theatre. An item in Boxoffice of September 4, 1948 is captioned “Shinnston, W. Va., Theatre Built by George Rice” describes a building that doesn’t match any other house in Shinnston. The auditorium was on the upper floor, and the ground floor, completed a year earlier, was occupied by a grocery store. The theater, delayed by shortages of manpower and materials, was to be completed soon.

Comments on a photo of the Rice on this Flickr page say that in the 1980s the lower floor was occupied by a Dollar General store, but nobody seemed to remember the theater. CinemaTour lists the years of operation as 1948-1957, which is probably right.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Cote Theatre on Aug 8, 2023 at 2:18 pm

I’ve found the theater name styled as Coté in a modern source, but early trade journals, the AMPD and the FDY all give the name as Cota, with an “a”. The earliest instance of Cote (with an “e” and unaccented) I’ve seen is in the item from Boxoffice of September 4, 1948, cited earlier. It is always Cote in every Boxoffice mention I’ve seen. The first (and only) instance of Coté I’ve seen is in the article cited in my first comment on this house (click on Bruce Calvert’s name to see his copypasta. The Zwire page he got it from is gone.)

Coté (or perhaps Côte or Côté) is probably correct, but what we use should be based on how the theater’s advertisements styled it, if we can find an ad, or what the signage on the building said, if we can find a photo of it. And given that it was listed as Cota in so many early sources, that spelling should probably at least be listed as an aka.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Princess Theatre on Aug 6, 2023 at 10:37 pm

The Opera House is now a Knights of Columbus lodge hall, and is listed on the NRHP. The nomination form has a brief history of the theater and doesn’t mention it ever having operated as a movie house.

Ossian isn’t listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, and doesn’t appear in the FDY until 1928, when a 190-seat house called the Picture Show appears. That’s quite a bit smaller than the Opera House. The Picture Show listing repeats in 1929, and then vanishes. I suspect that the first instance of the Majestic simply didn’t last long enough to be listed on the 1914 map. It might have operated in more than one storefront over the years, as many early theaters did.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Majestic Theatre on Aug 5, 2023 at 9:14 pm

The Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada says that the Odeon Hastings Theatre underwent modernization with major alterations in 1946. The plans for the project were by Vancouver architect H. H. Simmonds.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Fraser Theatre on Aug 5, 2023 at 9:09 pm

The July 23, 1949 issue of Boxoffice has two items about the Odeon Fraser Theatre, one of which describes it as a new house and the other of which refers to it as “…the renovated Odeon Fraser….” which was scheduled to open in August. As can be seen from photos of the house, it was drastically different after the 1949 project from what it had been earlier, so it might well have been a demolition and rebuilding. Either way, the design for the project was by Vancouver architect H. H. Simmonds.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Cambie Art Theatre on Aug 5, 2023 at 8:49 pm

The Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada attributes the design of the Cambie Theatre to Vancouver architect H. H. Simmonds.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Metro Theatre on Aug 5, 2023 at 8:40 pm

An inventory of potentially significant historic buildings along 12th Street prepared for the City of New Westminster says that the Metro Theatre opened on March 23, 1938, and was designed by Vancouver architect H. H. Simmonds.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Clova Cinema on Aug 5, 2023 at 8:30 pm

The Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada attributes the design of the Clova Theatre to Vancouver architect H. H. Simmonds. The Clova opened on May 26, 1947 with Humphry Bogart in “Dead Reckoning.”

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Sapperton Theatre on Aug 5, 2023 at 6:37 pm

The January 13, 1958 issue of Boxoffice says “[t]he Sapperton Theatre in the New Westminster area, a former Odeon operation dark for the past six months, is being demolished.” The mid-1957 closing had not been the first for the Sapperton. Boxoffice of August 11, 1956, had reported the reopening of the house, which had been closed for about a year. Odeon cited competition from television as the reason for that hiatus.

A July 20, 2012 post at the New Westminster Record web site says that the Sapperton opened on April 22, 1938.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Rose Theater on Aug 5, 2023 at 3:46 am

The July 24, 1957 issue of The Levelland Daily Sun News featured a multi-page section about the Wallace Theatres, in observance of their 34th anniversary. On one page was a copy of the above photo, but the caption says it depicts the Wallace Theatre that the Blankenships had opened on July 30, 1923 at Ropesville (Portal to Texas History.)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Rose Theater on Aug 5, 2023 at 2:02 am

The original Levelland Wallace Theatre opened in 1925, and was renamed the Rose Theatre in 1928 when the new Wallace was opened across Avenue H, but with its entrance on Houston Street. When the new Rose was built, the old Rose became, rather unimaginatively, the Old Rose Theatre, which was still standing in 1948, according to an article in the August 28 issue of Boxoffice that year, commemorating Wallace Blankenship’s 25th anniversary as an exhibitor. His career had begun with the first Wallace Theatre in Ropesville, in July, 1923. (The Old Rose was still listed in the FDY at least as late as 1950. It should probably have its own page.)

The new Rose can be seen in the left background of at least one of the photos of the new Wallace Theatre which can be found on that house’s Cinema Treasures photo page. It’s address was most likely 512 or 514 Avenue H, as 516 is the address of the building just south of the parking lot where the Rose stood. The original Rose was next door. I’m not sure which direction, but most likely it was north, at 510 Avenue H. If so then it, too, is under the footprint of the parking lot that replaced the new Rose.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Wallace Theater on Aug 4, 2023 at 11:32 pm

The original Wallace Theatre in Levelland opened across Avenue H from the current site, and the Wallace on Houston Street opened in 1928, at which time the former theater was renamed the Rose, which it remained until a new Rose Theatre was built next door to it, at which time it became the Old Rose Theatre. Meanwhile, the new Wallace Theatre thrived, undergoing a major remodeling in 1949 during which the entrance was moved from the center of the building to the corner, a corner vertical sigh was added, and late Art Deco detailing appeared in the house’s interior.

In the 1970s the Wallace was twinned, but business continued to decline and the last movie, “ET” was screened in 1982. The building languished until 2002 when it was bought by a local couple with the intent of restoring it. In 2015 a non=profit organization was formed to take over the project, which has proceeded. A false ceiling installed in the auditorium when it was twinned was removed, revealing the earlier decorations. Live events and movies have been presented intermittently as renovations and restoration have continued, and the organization sponsors many off-site events of the sort that will be presented at the theater itself once renovation is complete.

The official web site has more information, and a number of historic and recent photos on various pages. The theater’s Facebook page provides more frequent progress reports and event news.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Lariat Theatre on Aug 4, 2023 at 9:46 pm

Earl Moseley’s column about Central and West Texas theater doings in Boxoffice for December 15, 1956 devoted a few paragraphs to Ulys G. Gregg, who had been a projectionist in Ropesville theaters starting in 1937. He worked for the Wallace Blankenship Theatres there for five years, and when Estes Burgamy rebuilt the storm-damaged theater in 1950 Gregg was the projectionist there from opening night, November 17, 1950, when the feature film was the Technicolor western “Saddle Tramp” with Joel McCrae.

CinemaScope was installed in the Ropes in 1955. At the time the article was written, Ulys Gregg had been at the Ropes for six years, and said that the house had been closed only twice during that period, once when there was a power outage and once when there was a heavy snowfall. The Ropes Theatre is mentioned in the May 1, 1958 issue of The Ropes Plainsman, so was still in operation at that time.

The name Lariat is problematic. It is used in the FDY only in 1938, 1940 and 1941, and is misspelled as Lariot each time. No seating capacity is ever given, and the remainder of the years from 1926 through 1951 in which Ropesville appears (it isn’t listed at all in several editions), the only theater listed is the 150-seat Wallace, except in 1941 when both the Lariot and Wallace are listed, but the Lariot is closed and no seating capacity is given for either house, and in 1945 and 1946, when only the Wallace is listed but with a seating capacity of 275.

Mentions of Ropesville’s theater in trade journals when it was being rebuilt after storm damage in 1950 call it only the Ropes. The construction of the theater, which is still standing, is clearly modern concrete block, and it is large enough to accommodate far more than 150 seats– probably at least twice that number.

Were it not for the fact that I no longer trust the Ropesville-datelined 1936 Film Daily item about the Palace and Princess being transferred to Griffith theaters, I’d think there had actually been two theaters in Ropesville, and the Wallace operated in the larger of the two for a couple of years and the smaller one for the rest of its history. But the fact that the FDY never lists a Palace or Princess at Ropesville, but only the Wallace and the misspelled Lariot, is pretty strong evidence that the 1936 item was mistaken, and so were the 1941, 1944 and 1945 listings in the FDY. Most likely Ropesville only ever had the 150-seat Wallace from 1923, briefly renamed the Lariat in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and that house was so badly damaged by a storm in 1950 that it was replaced by the new Ropes Theatre that year.

One more thing to mention: The theater description says the building is boarded up, which it clearly was in a 2004 photo by Scott Neff at CinemaTour, but this is no longer the case. The theater and two neighboring buildings appear in pretty good repair, all painted the same shade of gray with darker gray trim. An overhead door has been installed in part of the theater’s former entrance, not big enough for a truck to get through, and pretty tight even for a car, but about the right size for a forklift carrying a pallet. There is no signage on any of the three buildings, but they appear to be in use for something, probably related to agriculture or animal husbandry. The Ropes Theatre building is now most likely some sort of storage facility, but the Internet isn’t telling.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Palace Theatre on Aug 4, 2023 at 2:37 am

Google’s squib for a PDF dated 1972 (I’ve been unable to download it) says that the Palace is the only movie theater in Frobisher Bay (the former name of Iqaluit.) A PDF dated 1973 says that the Palace had recently been converted into a pool hall. It also notes that the town’s older theater, which it doesn’t name but which has to have been the Fox, had also been closed. So the Palace must have closed in either 1972 or 1973, and the Fox before 1972.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Astro Theatre & Conference Centre on Aug 4, 2023 at 2:21 am

The theater’s web site mentions two theaters with 36 and 105 seats respectively, so total seating is down to 141. The house is currently showing first run movies.