Howard Regional Health System’s Downtown Kokomo Campus, which is on the site of the Victory/Indiana Theatre, uses the address 322 N. Main, so that was most likely the address of the theater as well.
According to this article by Tom Hamilton, the theater at 110 W. Mulberry Street was in operation in 1920 as the Paramount Theatre. I’ve found references to the Paramount Theatre in Kokomo as late as 1936, when the May 7 issue of The Film Daily reported that the house, then being operated by Stanley Theaters, was to be remodeled.
It must have been across the street from Lacey’s Tax Services, as the odd numbers are on the north side of Main Street (Lacey’s building has 112 on it, but if the number is properly placed the offices probably occupy former storefronts from 108 to 114.) The theater must have been on part of the parking lot that has all the school buses on it.
The Motion Picture supplement of the 1921 Cahn guide lists the Kossuth Theatre at 973 Fresh Pond Road, so the entrance must have been on that side of the building. Despite the fact that a search for that address at Google Maps goes right to the intersection of Fresh Pond and 70th Avenue, for some reason Street View gives two-digit addresses to this block.
Is there any chance that the correct address for this theater was 202 N. Broad Street? The second building north of 2nd Avenue on the east side of Broad Street looks like it might have housed a theater. It has Streamline Modern detailing and a wide entrance that has been closed with a conventional retail front. York appears to be too small to have supported two theaters.
If that building isn’t the former Sumter Theatre, then the theater has probably been demolished. There’s a modern, single-story building where 220 N. Broad probably was.
The 1918 city directory lists the Palace Theatre at 87 Bedford Street, corner of 3rd Street. That would put it across Bedford Street from the Metacomet Bank, so I don’t think it burned in 1928. It might have gone out of business about that time anyway, possibly even before the fire. Its site is now the location of a loading dock for the Post Office, which looks like it might have been built in the late 1920s or very early 1930s, so even if it survived the fire it must not have operated for long after.
The Capitol Theatre was the last of several theaters in Fall River designed by the firm of J.M. Darling & Son (Joseph M. Darling and George S. Darling.) Following J.M. Darling’s death, son George and daughter Maude Darling Parlin, who had joined the firm in 1921, changed the name of the firm to Darling & Parlin and went on to design at least two more theaters in Fall River, the Durfee and the Embassy.
The Bijou Theatre was designed by local architect Joseph M. Darling, possibly with his son, George S. Darling. The Bijou was in operation by 1904, and I’m not sure when the firm of J.M. Darling & Son was formed (it was listed in the city directory by 1918.) J.M. Darling and son designed several other theaters in Fall River, and the successor firm Darling & Parlin designed at least two more.
The Empire was one of several theaters in Fall River that were designed by local architectural firm J.M. Darling & Son (Joseph M. Darling and George S. Darling.)
The Strand was one of several Fall River theaters originally designed by the local architectural firm of J.M. Darling & Son (Joseph M. Darling and George S. Darling.)
The Park Theatre was one of several Fall River theaters designed by the local architectural firm J.M. Darling & Son (Joseph M. Darling and George S. Darling.)
According to a biographical sketch in The First American Women Architects, by Sarah Allaback, the Durfee Theatre was designed by the local architectural firm Darling & Parlin. The principals of the firm were George S. Darling and his sister, Maude Darling-Parlin. She was one of the few women practicing architecture during her era, having joined the family firm, which had been founded by her grandfather, in 1921.
The firm designed many of the buildings that were erected in Fall River following the 1928 fire which had destroyed much of the city’s business district. Several other theaters in Fall River were designed by members of the Darling family, both before and after the fire. Among them were the Rialto (Savoy), Capitol, Strand, Bijou, Park, and Empire Theatres.
The Holyoke Opera House was being operated by the Shea Amusement Company from at least 1916 to at least 1920, as noted in the theater inspection reports of the Massachusetts District Police for those years.
The March 18, 1916, issue of The American Contractor said that Boston architects Jackson & Salmonson were preparing plans for $40,000 of alterations to a theater on Dwight Street in Holyoke for the Shea Amusement Company.
A history of Fall River published in 1908 says that William Durfee built the Savoy Theatre in 1905. Other sources indicate that the Savoy was designed by local architect Joseph M. Darling. His son, William S. Darling, and daughter, Maude Darling Parlin, who took over the family firm in the 1920s, designed the Durfee Theatre, which was built on the site of the Savoy after the earlier house was destroyed by the 1928 fire that wiped out much of Fall River’s business district.
The Elks Theatre at Port Arthur was mentioned in the March 14, 1913, issue of The Player. The item said that the house had been taken over by R.S. Lazenby, operator of the Isis Theatre in Port Arthur.
The Premier Theatre in Fall River was in operation in 1912, when the December 6 issue of The Player reported that it had been badly damaged by a fire on December 2.
Construction of Charles Hyde’s opera house at Pierre was set to begin in the spring, according to a notice in the January 10, 1906, issue of The American Carpet and Upholstery Journal.
This web page has some history of Biloxi’s theaters, and it indicates that the Buck Theatre was on the northwest corner of Jackson and Lameuse Streets. It apparently began as an airdome theater called the Gaiety in 1912, and was renamed the Past Time Theatre in 1914. At some later point an indoor theater was built on the site, and it returned to the name Gaiety. It was a Saenger house when remodeled in 1927, and was still operated by Saenger when it was again remodeled and renamed the Buck Theatre in 1936.
This house was never called the Bijou. The Bijou opened in 1910, and was renamed the Crown Theatre (Biloxi’s second house of that name) in 1914. In 1920, the Gaiety and the Crown were both being operated by the Gulf Coast Amusement Company.
The box office has been retained in the renovation, as seen in this post in the weblog of Adolph Rose Antiques, the shop that shares the building with the Strand. No word on whether or not they’ve kept the wooden seats.
I’ve been trying to follow the lead from abarry33’s earlier comment saying that the Saneger Theatre was once called the Walnut Theatre. I’ve come across a Walnut Street Theatre on a list of historic buildings in Vicksburg, and it was listed at 1207 Walnut Street. This house was listed int he 1899-1900 Cahn guide as a 1,200-seat, ground floor theater. In two later editions of the guide it was listed with a capacity of 1,400.
There is a photo of the Walnut Street Theatre on this page of the April, 1907, issue of The Theatre. The building’s facade appears to be about the same size and shape as the Saenger, but it has lots of windows. I’ve found only one source stating specifically that the Walnut Street Theatre was renamed the Saenger, in a July 25, 2010, feature article in The Vicksburg Post, in which 96 year old Evelyn White recalls being in a play at the Walnut Street Theatre before it was renamed.
I think that the Saenger Theatre probably was the Walnut Street Theatre, with either a remodeled front or with more extensive reconstruction, but I’m unable to account for the drastic reduction in seating capacity between the 1900s and 1950.
The Strand dated back to the silent era. In The Child Called Nanoot, Evangeline H. Commeau’s memoir (Google Books preview), she recalls watching Charlie Chaplin, Tom Mix, and the Keystone Cops with the accompaniment of a piano played by Madeline Duffey. The Strand was owned by the Goldsmith family, who also owned a men’s haberdashery next door.
It appears that both the Strand and the store have been demolished, the former replaced by a modern building housing the Orono Pharmacy and the latter by its parking lot.
Chuck, I believe BamaFnNTn was referring to the Street View image, which is indeed set on the Lyric Theatre. I don’t think the vintage photo currently displayed had been uploaded yet when the comment was made.
Move Street View almost two blocks east and you can see that the Rialto building still has the name Rialto on it, though it has no resemblance to a theater. 1923 3rd Avenue North now houses the offices of Moore Solutions, a company that sells furniture to commercial and institutional customers, but the company’s name is not on the building. It just says Rialto.
Howard Regional Health System’s Downtown Kokomo Campus, which is on the site of the Victory/Indiana Theatre, uses the address 322 N. Main, so that was most likely the address of the theater as well.
According to this article by Tom Hamilton, the theater at 110 W. Mulberry Street was in operation in 1920 as the Paramount Theatre. I’ve found references to the Paramount Theatre in Kokomo as late as 1936, when the May 7 issue of The Film Daily reported that the house, then being operated by Stanley Theaters, was to be remodeled.
It must have been across the street from Lacey’s Tax Services, as the odd numbers are on the north side of Main Street (Lacey’s building has 112 on it, but if the number is properly placed the offices probably occupy former storefronts from 108 to 114.) The theater must have been on part of the parking lot that has all the school buses on it.
The Motion Picture supplement of the 1921 Cahn guide lists the Kossuth Theatre at 973 Fresh Pond Road, so the entrance must have been on that side of the building. Despite the fact that a search for that address at Google Maps goes right to the intersection of Fresh Pond and 70th Avenue, for some reason Street View gives two-digit addresses to this block.
Is there any chance that the correct address for this theater was 202 N. Broad Street? The second building north of 2nd Avenue on the east side of Broad Street looks like it might have housed a theater. It has Streamline Modern detailing and a wide entrance that has been closed with a conventional retail front. York appears to be too small to have supported two theaters.
If that building isn’t the former Sumter Theatre, then the theater has probably been demolished. There’s a modern, single-story building where 220 N. Broad probably was.
In the 1913-1914 Cahn guide, the Premier Theatre is listed as a 933-seat, ground floor house playing Loew’s vaudeville.
The Savoy had been renamed the Rialto by 1921, which is how it was listed in the city directory that year.
The Plaza Theatre is listed in the 1921 Fall River city directory.
The 1918 city directory lists the Palace Theatre at 87 Bedford Street, corner of 3rd Street. That would put it across Bedford Street from the Metacomet Bank, so I don’t think it burned in 1928. It might have gone out of business about that time anyway, possibly even before the fire. Its site is now the location of a loading dock for the Post Office, which looks like it might have been built in the late 1920s or very early 1930s, so even if it survived the fire it must not have operated for long after.
The Capitol Theatre was the last of several theaters in Fall River designed by the firm of J.M. Darling & Son (Joseph M. Darling and George S. Darling.) Following J.M. Darling’s death, son George and daughter Maude Darling Parlin, who had joined the firm in 1921, changed the name of the firm to Darling & Parlin and went on to design at least two more theaters in Fall River, the Durfee and the Embassy.
The Bijou Theatre was designed by local architect Joseph M. Darling, possibly with his son, George S. Darling. The Bijou was in operation by 1904, and I’m not sure when the firm of J.M. Darling & Son was formed (it was listed in the city directory by 1918.) J.M. Darling and son designed several other theaters in Fall River, and the successor firm Darling & Parlin designed at least two more.
The Empire was one of several theaters in Fall River that were designed by local architectural firm J.M. Darling & Son (Joseph M. Darling and George S. Darling.)
The Strand was one of several Fall River theaters originally designed by the local architectural firm of J.M. Darling & Son (Joseph M. Darling and George S. Darling.)
The Park Theatre was one of several Fall River theaters designed by the local architectural firm J.M. Darling & Son (Joseph M. Darling and George S. Darling.)
According to a biographical sketch in The First American Women Architects, by Sarah Allaback, the Durfee Theatre was designed by the local architectural firm Darling & Parlin. The principals of the firm were George S. Darling and his sister, Maude Darling-Parlin. She was one of the few women practicing architecture during her era, having joined the family firm, which had been founded by her grandfather, in 1921.
The firm designed many of the buildings that were erected in Fall River following the 1928 fire which had destroyed much of the city’s business district. Several other theaters in Fall River were designed by members of the Darling family, both before and after the fire. Among them were the Rialto (Savoy), Capitol, Strand, Bijou, Park, and Empire Theatres.
The Holyoke Opera House was being operated by the Shea Amusement Company from at least 1916 to at least 1920, as noted in the theater inspection reports of the Massachusetts District Police for those years.
The March 18, 1916, issue of The American Contractor said that Boston architects Jackson & Salmonson were preparing plans for $40,000 of alterations to a theater on Dwight Street in Holyoke for the Shea Amusement Company.
A history of Fall River published in 1908 says that William Durfee built the Savoy Theatre in 1905. Other sources indicate that the Savoy was designed by local architect Joseph M. Darling. His son, William S. Darling, and daughter, Maude Darling Parlin, who took over the family firm in the 1920s, designed the Durfee Theatre, which was built on the site of the Savoy after the earlier house was destroyed by the 1928 fire that wiped out much of Fall River’s business district.
The Elks Theatre at Port Arthur was mentioned in the March 14, 1913, issue of The Player. The item said that the house had been taken over by R.S. Lazenby, operator of the Isis Theatre in Port Arthur.
The Premier Theatre in Fall River was in operation in 1912, when the December 6 issue of The Player reported that it had been badly damaged by a fire on December 2.
Construction of Charles Hyde’s opera house at Pierre was set to begin in the spring, according to a notice in the January 10, 1906, issue of The American Carpet and Upholstery Journal.
This web page has some history of Biloxi’s theaters, and it indicates that the Buck Theatre was on the northwest corner of Jackson and Lameuse Streets. It apparently began as an airdome theater called the Gaiety in 1912, and was renamed the Past Time Theatre in 1914. At some later point an indoor theater was built on the site, and it returned to the name Gaiety. It was a Saenger house when remodeled in 1927, and was still operated by Saenger when it was again remodeled and renamed the Buck Theatre in 1936.
This house was never called the Bijou. The Bijou opened in 1910, and was renamed the Crown Theatre (Biloxi’s second house of that name) in 1914. In 1920, the Gaiety and the Crown were both being operated by the Gulf Coast Amusement Company.
The box office has been retained in the renovation, as seen in this post in the weblog of Adolph Rose Antiques, the shop that shares the building with the Strand. No word on whether or not they’ve kept the wooden seats.
I’ve been trying to follow the lead from abarry33’s earlier comment saying that the Saneger Theatre was once called the Walnut Theatre. I’ve come across a Walnut Street Theatre on a list of historic buildings in Vicksburg, and it was listed at 1207 Walnut Street. This house was listed int he 1899-1900 Cahn guide as a 1,200-seat, ground floor theater. In two later editions of the guide it was listed with a capacity of 1,400.
There is a photo of the Walnut Street Theatre on this page of the April, 1907, issue of The Theatre. The building’s facade appears to be about the same size and shape as the Saenger, but it has lots of windows. I’ve found only one source stating specifically that the Walnut Street Theatre was renamed the Saenger, in a July 25, 2010, feature article in The Vicksburg Post, in which 96 year old Evelyn White recalls being in a play at the Walnut Street Theatre before it was renamed.
I think that the Saenger Theatre probably was the Walnut Street Theatre, with either a remodeled front or with more extensive reconstruction, but I’m unable to account for the drastic reduction in seating capacity between the 1900s and 1950.
The Strand dated back to the silent era. In The Child Called Nanoot, Evangeline H. Commeau’s memoir (Google Books preview), she recalls watching Charlie Chaplin, Tom Mix, and the Keystone Cops with the accompaniment of a piano played by Madeline Duffey. The Strand was owned by the Goldsmith family, who also owned a men’s haberdashery next door.
It appears that both the Strand and the store have been demolished, the former replaced by a modern building housing the Orono Pharmacy and the latter by its parking lot.
Chuck, I believe BamaFnNTn was referring to the Street View image, which is indeed set on the Lyric Theatre. I don’t think the vintage photo currently displayed had been uploaded yet when the comment was made.
Move Street View almost two blocks east and you can see that the Rialto building still has the name Rialto on it, though it has no resemblance to a theater. 1923 3rd Avenue North now houses the offices of Moore Solutions, a company that sells furniture to commercial and institutional customers, but the company’s name is not on the building. It just says Rialto.