Comments from 50sSNIPES

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50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Irving Mall Cinema IV-V-VI-VIII on Aug 17, 2024 at 11:47 am

This was the adjacent to the Irving Mall I-II-III.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about General Cinema Irving Mall 1-3 on Aug 17, 2024 at 11:46 am

The Irving Mall launched on August 4, 1971 and was theaterless for only its first three months of operation. When the Irving I & II opened its doors by General Cinema on November 17, 1971 with “Something Big” in Screen 1 and “Doctor Zhivago” in Screen 2, it had a capacity of 1,350 seats (with 900 seats in Screen 1 and 450 seats in Screen 2). Screen 1 was divided into two in late-1976 and became the Irving I-II-III.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about $1.00 Cinema on Aug 16, 2024 at 11:04 am

Once operated by Cineplex Odeon.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Princess Theatre on Aug 16, 2024 at 11:01 am

Demolished in 2020.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Temple Theater on Aug 15, 2024 at 12:21 pm

Opened in the late-1920s, closed in either the late-1970s or early-1980s.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Brampton Drive-In on Aug 15, 2024 at 10:34 am

Opened in the early-1950s, closed in the mid-1980s.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Tujunga Theatre on Aug 15, 2024 at 10:31 am

The Tujunga Theatre appears to have opened in October 1938, as the Los Angeles Times began showing showtimes to the Tujunga Theatre beginning on its October 31, 1938 edition, screening “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (unknown if extras added).

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about North Theatre on Aug 15, 2024 at 9:35 am

During its final few years as a movie theater, it screened exploitation films. The North closed as a movie theater on June 10, 1976 with “Mean Johnny Barrows” and an unknown second feature.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Ballou Park 4 on Aug 15, 2024 at 9:30 am

Closed on March 28, 2008.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about 360 Drive-In on Aug 15, 2024 at 9:25 am

Closed after the 1984 season.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Rex Theater on Aug 14, 2024 at 9:43 am

The Rex Theatre became the Fox Theatre on November 2, 1929 by the Fox-Midwesco Theatres chain. The Fox Theatre then reverted back to its original Rex Theatre name in 1933. Closing in the late-1950s as a movie house, it became a special events theater for a time until the early-1960s.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Bellows Falls Opera House on Aug 13, 2024 at 2:59 pm

Edited from my previous comment from last night which includes some corrections:

While the original Union Hall was still under construction during both 1869 and 1870, a meeting on January 22, 1870 was voted to call the large public hall by the name “Union Hall”. As of January 1870, Bellows Falls had two halls. There’s the Masonic Hall and the Union Hall. The original Union Hall consists of five stores on the first floor and several offices on the second floor. The Union Hall opened the following month in February 1870.

In the Spring of 1887, the proprietor of the Union Hall announced that he was considering the project of changing the hall into an Opera House, which it did. The Bellows Falls Opera House opened its doors on September 11, 1887 with a live presentation of “The Old Homestead” costing an estimate $100,000 in upgrades, and the historic clock tower was built four years later in 1891 by the estates of Dr. Daniel Campbell and John Robertson.

The Bellows Falls Opera House began showing movies in 1914. Bellows Falls already had a Nickelodeon across the street from the Opera House. After 1914, the Sunshine Theater Company leased the Opera House for $100 a month with Charles Buchanan as manager, but this venture lasted for only a year and the chain leased the house to H. DeMotte Perry who carried on many moving picture ventures locally. Perry left the house in 1920 and was leased by the Bellows Falls Amusement Company led by incorporator Henry D. Sparrow.

The fire on the early morning of May 10, 1925 destroyed both the theater and the next-door United States Post Office building, which originated from the basement debris of the USPS office (not the theater). The fire became statewide headlines and for the damage cost an estimate $200,000 in damages.

After two years of reconstruction and a few ownership issues before reopening, the Bellows Falls Opera House reopened its doors on October 10, 1927, and a large rectangular marquee was erected a few years later in the early-1930s. Since its 1927 reopening, the house has been a longtime dominant first-run movie mainstreamer for more than five decades, although it did had a couple of name changes from here and there.

The Falls Cinema name was introduced in the Spring of 1970. In January 1982, the Falls Cinema received a very short closure due to the lack of a heating system, although the temperatures were not really cold though. The Falls Cinema reopened less than a couple weeks later.

Unfortunately four years later after a special event on May 5, 1986, the Falls Cinema closed again because of a prospective lease and the selectmen failing on finding private ownership who can take over the Falls Cinema, stating that the show must go on and promised that movies will return soon. Some selectmen went to other theaters across the Vermont/New Hampshire area, one of which went to the Colonial Theatre in Keene to see how their work was doing, and did very well. Right after the selectmen failed to find a private investor to reopen and operate, they authorized the Rockingham Recreation Department to run the theater originally on a 22-week basis, which later turned into many years. It officially became the first and only movie theater in the state of Vermont to be operated by the town itself, and not by a chain nor local management.

The Falls Cinema reopened as the New Falls Cinema on February 20, 1987 with “Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home”, and throughout the first two months since its reopening, more than 3,500 people attended movies at the Falls from Bellows Falls and surrounding towns.

Right when it reopened, the first show drew good crowds with former governor Thomas Salmon in attendance, and over time received really good business, especially its largest draw during the reopening week was its showing of “Crocodile Dundee” the following month. Despite being planned as a second-run basis, during its early years as the New Falls Cinema was generically a first-run theater. The New Falls Cinema’s run of “Crocodile Dundee” was so popular that according to Rockingham Recreation Department manager Allen Halberg, he added in his interview that for the first time he had to turn people away at the door until the next showing. Almost 500 children showed up for the two matinee showings of Disney’s 1986 reissue of the 1955 CinemaScope classic “Lady And The Tramp”, but unfortunately “Outrageous Fortune” a few days later drew the smallest crowds due to its R-rating policy. Halberg said that the Falls Cinema had to focus on the 12-to-25-year-old audiences and would book a few if any R-rated movies in the future, but with one exception is the then-already-reserved “The Color Of Money” for unknown reasons. Halberg ended up running the movie in early April 1987 with an idea coming out of his head during the newspaper interview saying that he should bring matinees for younger audiences during R-rated runs. He did, and Halberg ended up booking “Labyrinth” as the run’s matinee for children. His idea was so grand that he added more matinees to PG and PG-13 shows as well at times, such as “An American Tail” being added as a matinee to “Mannequin” a few days later.

Halberg even booked some titles from the previous year that was never picked up in Bellows Falls because of its 10-month closure such as “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” among others. He contacted with other theater managers in Springfield, Brattleboro, and Keene to help with the theater before its February 1987 reopening. Despite its initial success, the theater did receive some problems with its projection. Halberg reported that the projector bulb, a Xenon lamp that was originally purchased for the Ellis Theatre 1 & 2 in Springfield, was failing and had to be replaced and other parts would be needed in the near future, which it did.

With an addition to its original mix of both first-run/second-run movie policies, the Rockingham Recreation Department also booked some classic movies in its Falls Cinema lineup at very rare occasions. Live performances didn’t start at the New Falls Cinema until the following year in Spring 1988, and performing arts were also added around a decade later.

The New Falls Cinema closed in October 2005 for major renovation, which lasted for two months, and the theater reopened under its original Bellows Falls Opera House name in December 2005, showing live performances, performing arts, second-run films, independent films, classic films, and special events.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Cinema Drive-In on Aug 13, 2024 at 5:54 am

The Cinema Drive-In originally closed for the 1972 season, but gusty winds knocked the entire screen down on December 1, 1972.

  • Its not the first time the screen was knocked down due to gusty winds. The first gusty incident happened in 1968.
50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Belmont Drive-In on Aug 12, 2024 at 5:00 pm

Closed on October 2, 1982 with “Firefox” and “Sharkey’s Machine”.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Keene Cinemas 6 on Aug 12, 2024 at 8:37 am

Despite being renamed Keene Cinemas 6 in 1999, some newspapers retained its original Key Cinemas name into as late as 2004.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Ideal Theatre on Aug 12, 2024 at 8:28 am

The Ideal Theatre opened its doors on October 31, 1914 with the Edison film “The Long Way” along with two shorts “The German Band” and “The Tragedy That Lived”, and closed on May 17, 1960 with Anthony Quinn in “Heller In Pink Tights”.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Windsor Theatre on Aug 12, 2024 at 7:28 am

The Latchis chain opened the Windsor Theatre’s doors on November 1, 1936 with Clark Gable in “Cain And Mabel” (unknown if extras added), and was first managed by Charles Ross who also operated the Strand Theatre there as well.

Some original installations featured in the Windsor Theatre include blue and gold colored walls with golden draperies and stuccos, a blue-painted ceiling, RCA sound, French-styled entrance doors, a fireproof projection booth, and a balcony containing two combination seats.

The Windsor Theatre closed in 1962.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Keene Drive-In on Aug 12, 2024 at 5:15 am

The Keene Drive-In opened its gates on March 18, 1954 with Esther Williams in “Million Dollar Mermaid” and Gilbert Roland in “The Apache War Smoke” (unknown if extras added).

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Nugget Theaters on Aug 11, 2024 at 2:20 pm

Actual opening date is September 24, 1951.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Nugget Theater on Aug 11, 2024 at 2:19 pm

The January 28, 1944 fire happened around 4:00 PM ET, and a few minutes after comes an explosion which blew the entire roof off. Many of the roof parts landed on top of a few buildings including an old barn owned by W.H. Rand & Son and the neighboring Dartmouth Cooperative Store. Neighboring fire departments from several cities across Vermont and New Hampshire raced to put out the fire. Despite the fire dangerously spreading, water immediately played over the building over the most of the forenoon.

It was later reported that the theater have closed two days prior to the fire due to renovation.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Plaza Cinema 1 & 2 on Aug 11, 2024 at 9:10 am

Last operated by Cate Enterprises.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Plaza Cinema 1 & 2 on Aug 11, 2024 at 6:43 am

This started life as a single-screener for a time while Screen 2 was still under construction. Esquire Theatres of America opened the Plaza Cinema on April 12, 1968 with “The Graduate”, and was twinned several months later.

It has a total capacity of 700 seats, with 400 seats in Screen 1 and 300 seats in Screen 2. It was first managed by Stephen Hanson of Keene. Some original features of the theater include 9x20ft screens and gold fireproof fiberglass material.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about White River Drive-In on Aug 11, 2024 at 5:55 am

The White River Drive-In actually closed on September 2, 1986 with “Legal Eagles” and “Back To The Future”. The drive-in never reopened for the 1987 season due to VHS popularity. It was last owned by Peter Flanagan and managed by Andre Rocheleau.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Uptown Theater on Aug 8, 2024 at 6:41 pm

Opened in August 1936, closed in early 1966.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES commented about Golden Nugget Theatre on Aug 8, 2024 at 6:34 pm

The Golden Nugget Theatre opened its doors on February 12, 1966 with Jay North in “Zebra In The Kitchen”, and closed on October 5, 1969 with Walter Matthau in “A Guide For A Married Man” along with a cartoon due to increased freight/film charges and failed to draw major audiences.

Todd West operated the theater throughout its life, and was managed by the husband-and-wife team of Jim and Alma Gilchrist.