The Bloomington Drive-In opened its gates on May 28, 1948, and was renamed the Cascade Drive-In the following year. It was first operated by Roy O'Keefe of Vincennes. It was closed after the 1969 season.
The actual opening date is April 1, 1954 with David Brian in “Young Daniel Boone” and Jane Neigh in “County Fair” along with a few cartoons. It was closed in the 1980s.
Also to note is that the February 1983 fire at the Palace Theater was actually the last out of two fires the theater faced in its history.
On the early morning hours of November 11, 1932 at approximately 2:30 AM CT, a fire destroyed the entirety of the Von Ritz Theatre causing an estimate $100,000 in damage from insurance. The fire was called by a hot water radiator became disconnected and plunged downward landing on the sidewalk.
The Von Ritz Theatre was then rebuilt featuring Nu-wood treatment alongside RCA sound, and reopened on February 18, 1933 with Constance Bennett in “Rock-A-Bye” along with an unnamed Mickey Mouse cartoon and the Clark & McCullough short “Jitters The Butler”.
The Premiere Theatre 7 opened its doors on March 21, 1997, and was the first movie theater to operate since the closure of the downtown Bedford Cinemas in May 1990.
The Bedford Theatre opened its doors on December 22, 1926 with Edmund Burns in “Sunny Side-Up” along with five vaudeville acts (Edith Sherry doing “Southland” alongside his Sunny Southern Singers, The Mole Brothers in “A Loose Nut On Wheels”, a performance doing “Blue Bonnet Revue” featuring dozens of women, Gifford & Holmes doing “A Dancing Fool and an Xylophonist”, and Rich & Banta doing “Her Wedding Night”), an unnamed Our Gang comedy, an unnamed Aesop’s Fables, and Pathé News.
Unfortunately the Bedford Theatre name did not last pretty long at all.
The Bedford Theatre reopened its doors as the Von Ritz Theatre on June 8, 1927 with Marie Prevost in “Up In Mabel’s Room” and Mable Normand in “One Hour Married” along with the screen novelty “The Isle Of June”, a musical overture performing “Atilla”, the Aesop’s Fables cartoon “Anti-Fat”, and a musical performance by Eddie Dowell in the $25,000 Barton orchestral pipe organ (the same exact modeled organ that also came directly from the Indiana Theatre in Indianapolis).
After closing for a few weeks in October 1963, the Von Ritz Theatre reopened as the Indiana Theatre on November 1, 1963 with Kirk Douglas in “For Love Or Money” and Kent Taylor in “Harbor Lights”.
The Indiana Theatre was renamed the Palace Theatre on June 25, 1982 under the management of Palace Entertainment Incorporated led by manager Marsha Kirkman, and was later twinned that same year. Unfortunately, the Palace Theatre was destroyed by a fire on February 8, 1983.
NOTE: The Palace Theatre last operated as a twin, not a triplex. The triplex nearby was called the Downtown Cinema III (it will have its own CT page soon).
The Stone City Opera House opened its doors on May 16, 1901 with a live presentation of “Human Hearts”, and reopened as the Indiana Theatre on September 1, 1924 with Milton Sills in “Single Wives” along with the short “It’s A Scream”, a vaudeville skit of “Flagler and Malia”, and musical performances by two orchestras following reconstruction.
The Indiana Theatre closed for the final time on October 27, 1963 with Paul Newman in “A New Kind Of Love” when the Von Ritz Theatre nearby received major remodeling and reopened as the Indiana Theatre a few days later.
The East 50th Drive-In opened its gates on May 8, 1952 with a one-day showing of Dean Stockwell in “The Boy With The Green Hair” (unknown if extras added). Some of the original installations include RCA sound, a 60x48ft screen (largest in Southern Indiana at the time), an all-weather blacktop, and a capacity of 604 cars.
Both the Bedford Drive-In and the East 50th Drive-In began battling for competition as both theaters became family-oriented theaters right after the Bedford received that policy right at the start of the 1972 season. Before the 1974 season started, the East 50th Drive-In’s screen was knocked down by wind gusts on March 5 of that year causing considerable damage, but managed to fix the screen.
After the neighboring Bedford Drive-In closed after the 1980 season, the East 50th Drive-In became the only drive-in in Bedford but not for long. When its final season kicked in, the East 50th Drive-In dropped its family-oriented policy, and began screening more R-rated and exploitation titles before closing after the 1982 season.
UPDATE: The Bedford Drive-In didn’t close for the final time after October 1971. The Bedford Drive-In reopened for the 1972 season as a family-oriented theater, and would remain like that into as late as the early-1980s. This came months after the management’s reports of patrons throwing corn in inappropriate places.
The Bedford Drive-In closed after the 1980 season, leaving the East 50th Drive-In the only drive-in left in Bedford. It was unknown why but one of those reasons that affect the closure was 20 speakers being vandalized.
It appears that showtimes for the Lincoln Square Theatre disappeared after its July 23, 1950 showings of “No Sad Songs For Me” and “The Big Hangover”.
The Lincoln Square Theatre continued to operate as a special events theater (one of those special events gave fame when Jack Benny stopped by in February 1954 to record an episode on both radio and television).
I’m very sure that this was lastly known as the Smyrna Theatre before the newer one was built in mid-1965. The earliest info I can gather about the Smyrna Theatre’s name date back as early as 1962, but was still known as the Victoria in 1961. The Victoria opened as early as 1927.
New Smyrna Beach had another theater called the Palace Theatre but closed on September 1, 1927 due to a lease sale led by the men team of T.A. and S.L. Hayes who sold the Palace to the Florida Theatre Enterprises Incorporated who also managed the Victoria at the time. The Hayes brothers had been operating the Palace Theatre since 1924.
The older Smyrna Theatre closed on July 6, 1965 with “Beach Blanket Bingo” and “McHale’s Navy Joins The Air Force” due to the opening of the newer Smyrna Theatre the following day.
There are two theaters that are named the Smyrna Theatre. This one replaced an older one, and opened on July 7, 1965 with “The Yellow Rolls-Royce” featuring a capacity of 500 seats and was operated by Thomas E. (Ted) Bell. The older location closed the previous day.
It was lastly known as the “New Smyrna Theatre” before closing in mid-to-late January 1988.
MCM Theatres opened the Vista Theatre on January 10, 1973 with “Fiddler On The Roof”, with a capacity of 300 rocking chair seats and stereophonic sound. It was a single-screener throughout its life.
The Vista Theatre was renamed the Vista Cinema Pub on August 1, 1982 with “Victor/Victoria” after two weeks of remodeling, and was lastly known as Vista Cinema & Restaurant before closing for the final time on September 26, 1996 with “The Nutty Professor”.
The Bloomington Drive-In opened its gates on May 28, 1948, and was renamed the Cascade Drive-In the following year. It was first operated by Roy O'Keefe of Vincennes. It was closed after the 1969 season.
Opened in 1909, closed in 1924.
Opened in 1921, closed in 1932, reopened in 1937 as a special events theater, closed in 1959.
The actual opening date is April 1, 1954 with David Brian in “Young Daniel Boone” and Jane Neigh in “County Fair” along with a few cartoons. It was closed in the 1980s.
Also to note is that the February 1983 fire at the Palace Theater was actually the last out of two fires the theater faced in its history.
On the early morning hours of November 11, 1932 at approximately 2:30 AM CT, a fire destroyed the entirety of the Von Ritz Theatre causing an estimate $100,000 in damage from insurance. The fire was called by a hot water radiator became disconnected and plunged downward landing on the sidewalk.
The Von Ritz Theatre was then rebuilt featuring Nu-wood treatment alongside RCA sound, and reopened on February 18, 1933 with Constance Bennett in “Rock-A-Bye” along with an unnamed Mickey Mouse cartoon and the Clark & McCullough short “Jitters The Butler”.
Opened on May 2, 1997.
The Premiere Theatre 7 opened its doors on March 21, 1997, and was the first movie theater to operate since the closure of the downtown Bedford Cinemas in May 1990.
The Bedford Theatre opened its doors on December 22, 1926 with Edmund Burns in “Sunny Side-Up” along with five vaudeville acts (Edith Sherry doing “Southland” alongside his Sunny Southern Singers, The Mole Brothers in “A Loose Nut On Wheels”, a performance doing “Blue Bonnet Revue” featuring dozens of women, Gifford & Holmes doing “A Dancing Fool and an Xylophonist”, and Rich & Banta doing “Her Wedding Night”), an unnamed Our Gang comedy, an unnamed Aesop’s Fables, and Pathé News.
Unfortunately the Bedford Theatre name did not last pretty long at all.
The Bedford Theatre reopened its doors as the Von Ritz Theatre on June 8, 1927 with Marie Prevost in “Up In Mabel’s Room” and Mable Normand in “One Hour Married” along with the screen novelty “The Isle Of June”, a musical overture performing “Atilla”, the Aesop’s Fables cartoon “Anti-Fat”, and a musical performance by Eddie Dowell in the $25,000 Barton orchestral pipe organ (the same exact modeled organ that also came directly from the Indiana Theatre in Indianapolis).
After closing for a few weeks in October 1963, the Von Ritz Theatre reopened as the Indiana Theatre on November 1, 1963 with Kirk Douglas in “For Love Or Money” and Kent Taylor in “Harbor Lights”.
The Indiana Theatre was renamed the Palace Theatre on June 25, 1982 under the management of Palace Entertainment Incorporated led by manager Marsha Kirkman, and was later twinned that same year. Unfortunately, the Palace Theatre was destroyed by a fire on February 8, 1983.
The Stone City Opera House opened its doors on May 16, 1901 with a live presentation of “Human Hearts”, and reopened as the Indiana Theatre on September 1, 1924 with Milton Sills in “Single Wives” along with the short “It’s A Scream”, a vaudeville skit of “Flagler and Malia”, and musical performances by two orchestras following reconstruction.
The Indiana Theatre closed for the final time on October 27, 1963 with Paul Newman in “A New Kind Of Love” when the Von Ritz Theatre nearby received major remodeling and reopened as the Indiana Theatre a few days later.
The East 50th Drive-In opened its gates on May 8, 1952 with a one-day showing of Dean Stockwell in “The Boy With The Green Hair” (unknown if extras added). Some of the original installations include RCA sound, a 60x48ft screen (largest in Southern Indiana at the time), an all-weather blacktop, and a capacity of 604 cars.
Both the Bedford Drive-In and the East 50th Drive-In began battling for competition as both theaters became family-oriented theaters right after the Bedford received that policy right at the start of the 1972 season. Before the 1974 season started, the East 50th Drive-In’s screen was knocked down by wind gusts on March 5 of that year causing considerable damage, but managed to fix the screen.
After the neighboring Bedford Drive-In closed after the 1980 season, the East 50th Drive-In became the only drive-in in Bedford but not for long. When its final season kicked in, the East 50th Drive-In dropped its family-oriented policy, and began screening more R-rated and exploitation titles before closing after the 1982 season.
UPDATE: The Bedford Drive-In didn’t close for the final time after October 1971. The Bedford Drive-In reopened for the 1972 season as a family-oriented theater, and would remain like that into as late as the early-1980s. This came months after the management’s reports of patrons throwing corn in inappropriate places.
The Bedford Drive-In closed after the 1980 season, leaving the East 50th Drive-In the only drive-in left in Bedford. It was unknown why but one of those reasons that affect the closure was 20 speakers being vandalized.
Opened in April 1909 and closed in 1919.
It appears that showtimes for the Lincoln Square Theatre disappeared after its July 23, 1950 showings of “No Sad Songs For Me” and “The Big Hangover”.
The Lincoln Square Theatre continued to operate as a special events theater (one of those special events gave fame when Jack Benny stopped by in February 1954 to record an episode on both radio and television).
This closed in mid-to-late January 1988.
I’m very sure that this was lastly known as the Smyrna Theatre before the newer one was built in mid-1965. The earliest info I can gather about the Smyrna Theatre’s name date back as early as 1962, but was still known as the Victoria in 1961. The Victoria opened as early as 1927.
The older Smyrna Theatre closed on July 6, 1965 with “Beach Blanket Bingo” and “McHale’s Navy Joins The Air Force” due to the opening of the newer Smyrna Theatre the following day.
There are two theaters that are named the Smyrna Theatre. This one replaced an older one, and opened on July 7, 1965 with “The Yellow Rolls-Royce” featuring a capacity of 500 seats and was operated by Thomas E. (Ted) Bell. The older location closed the previous day.
It was lastly known as the “New Smyrna Theatre” before closing in mid-to-late January 1988.
Opened on May 25, 1988 as the Citrus Center Cinemas.
Last known as “Spring Cinema On The Square”, closed on October 1, 1987 with “The Untouchables”.
Tripled in Spring 1986, closed on September 5, 1989.
Closed on June 28, 1957 with Donald O'Connor in “The Buster Keaton Story”.
The four screens were added on October 26, 1984.
MCM Theatres opened the Vista Theatre on January 10, 1973 with “Fiddler On The Roof”, with a capacity of 300 rocking chair seats and stereophonic sound. It was a single-screener throughout its life.
The Vista Theatre was renamed the Vista Cinema Pub on August 1, 1982 with “Victor/Victoria” after two weeks of remodeling, and was lastly known as Vista Cinema & Restaurant before closing for the final time on September 26, 1996 with “The Nutty Professor”.
Closed on September 25, 1998.
First operated by CinemaCal Enterprises.
Once operated by CinemaCal Enterprises.