The shop on this theater’s site today, Not Another Pottery Studio, uses the address 5052 Eagle Rock Blvd. The parcel viewer at the L.A. County Assessors Office website is no longer functional on any of my web browsers, so I can’t find out when the current building was built, but It is known that the United Theatre, last known as the Sierra Theatre, opened just up the block at 5058 Eagle Rock in 1922, and the Family Theatre, if it was still open then, most likely closed at that time.
The 1924 L.A. City Directory, the first edition to include listings for newly-annexed Eagle Rock, lists a Central Avenue Garage at 5052 Eagle Rock Boulevard. The garage had obviously been opened before Los Angeles annexed Eagle Rock and changed the name of Central Avenue to Eagle Rock Boulevard, so the theater probably vacated the space by 1923 at the latest.
An article in the Dunlap Reporter of April 17, 1914 notes that Dunlap then had two movie theaters, “…the Hupp Theater, conducted by E. G. Hunter, and Beck’s Picture Show, conducted by Mrs. L. R. Beck.” I’ve found Mrs. Beck and her theater mentioned in a trade journal as early as December, 1913.
The PDF about the building at 701 Iowa Avenue is not clear about the years of operation of the house there, and mentions the Hupp only briefly, but the 1945 FDY lists three theaters in Dunlap. They were the 250-seat Dunlap Theatre, the 264 seat Royal Theatre, and a house called the Miller Theatre, listed only as closed. As the bank on the Hupp’s site is of a style characteristic of the 1970s or 1980s, I wonder if the Hupp survived for a long time and became one of those three houses? I’ve found the Royal mentioned in Boxoffice as late as 1951 and the Dunlap Theatre as late as 1957.
This PDF file is about the building at 701-703 Iowa Avenue in Dunlap, which was indeed the location of the Idle Hour Theatre during the 1920s into the 1940s. The document has quite a few newspaper clippings about the theater, including one with a photo of the front. There are also a couple of non-clipping photos which show the original arched front of the theater portion of the building.
The building, erected in 1909, housed a furniture store on the ground floor of the two-story section for more than half a century, but the document doesn’t say when the theater opened. One reminiscence says that the theater closed for a while and was occupied by a bowling alley, but in the early 1920s the bowling alley moved into the second floor above the furniture store, where there had been a dance hall, and the theater was restored.
The document doesn’t give the closing date of the theater either, though it indicates that in the 1950s the theater’s space came to be occupied by a business called Gorham Motors. The last reference that is probably to the Idle Hour Theatre I’ve found in trade journals is from the September 3, 1949 Boxoffice, which simply says “John Broaderick, exhibitor at Dunlap, Iowa, is vacationing.”
A document about the building at 701-703 Iowa Avenue, which once housed the Idle Hour Theatre, mentions in passing a second theater in Dunlap, “…located in the area which is now the drive-in of the new bank.” That must have been this house. It was called the Hupp Theatre. The June 27, 1914 issue of The Billboard mentions “E. G. Hunter & Son, of Dunlap, Ia., proprietors of the Hupp Theater and Roller Rink…”
I am wondering if a “Willup” Theatre at Dunlap in the AMPD could have been an error, perhaps an accidental displacement of the Willup Theatre in Woodbine? I’ve found no other references linking the name Willup to Dunlap. The March 10, 1916 issue of the Estherville Iowa Opera House Reporter, mentions both the Idle Hour Theatre in Dunlap and the Willup Theatre in Woodbine.
The May 5, 1923 Moving Picture World had this item, which might reveal another aka for this house: “The Playhouse, Hermiston, Oregon, formerly operated by J. L. Morfitt, has been reported closed.”
However, I’m skeptical of the 1910 opening date. This item is from the September 11, 1920 Exhibitors Herald: “HERMISTON, ORE.— A new, modern $12,000 motion picture house, built by local capital, is nearing completion here.” If a town as small as Hermiston (the population never topped 1000 until the 1940s) already had a substantial theater built in 1910, I doubt another would have been built in 1920.
The 1927 FDY lists for Hermiston only a 300-seat house called the Legion Theatre, probably also an aka for this place. Given the name it also seems likely that the house doubled as the local American Legion hall.
The May 5, 1923 issue of Moving Picture World had this item about the first Hayward Theatre: “The Hayward Theatre, Hayward, Cal. has been reopened, following rebuilding operations that have cost almost $100,000. The house is finished in semi-Egyptian style and is one of the finest in the east-bay region. A pipe organ is a feature.”
Andrew Barrett probably isn’t following this page anymore, but just in case, the Smith organ he mentioned in the comment above was undoubtedly installed in the first Hayward Theatre, which closed when this house opened and was later reopened as the State Theatre, which has its own listing at Cinema Treasures. The first Hayward was extensively (and expensively) remodeled in 1923, which is probably when the Smith organ was installed there.
The September 5, 1925 Moving Picture World had this item: “James J. Wood, whose theatre at Red Bluff, Cal., was badly damaged by fire recently, is making use of a small theatre until a decision can be reached in regard to whether the Orpheum Theatre will be repaired or whether a new house will be necessary.”
The Orpheum theatre that had been damaged was the aka Red Bluff Opera House, later the first State Theatre, finally destroyed by another fire in 1944. The small theater referenced in the item was probably the Granada.
The Logan theatre at Logan, Iowa is mentioned in the July 13, 1935 issue of Motion Picture Herald. The Manager was named L. H. Ireland. Evidence that the Logan might have been the Pastime is found in this item from the October 15, 1927 issue of Movie Age: “Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Ireland of the Pastime Theatre at Logan, Ia., were visitors at the Exchange Bldg., last week.”
The Logan was in operation at least as late as 1961, when this notice appeared in the July 24 issue of Boxoffice: “Ken Moore has closed his Logan Theatre at Logan, Iowa, but he will reopen in September.” The august 14 issue of the same journal noted that Mr. Moore had been hospitalized due to a heart condition. The August 28 issue said that Mr. Moore had gone to Ireland to recuperate from a heart attack. The September issue had no news about either Mr. Moore or the theater, so I don’t know if he managed to reopen it or not.
The brief history on the genealogy web site says “Mr. and Mrs. Bill Noyes operated a two story Hotel on the corner where Keith’s store is today [the history was written in 1968]. Next to this was a meat market owned by John Crewdson. Later there was a Harness Shop, Drug Store, and Klutts Opera House built in this section of the street.” A link at the bottom of the page once led to information about the Wallis family, but the url has been highjacked by a gambling site.
Still, a Flickr photo of the Wallis building shows it was once occupied by Keith’s Store, so it appears that the Opera House was not in the Wallis building itself, but was nearby. It might be that the Opera House building was lost sometime between 1925 and 1935.
The FAQs section of the Bohm Theatre’s web site attributes the design of the house to architect Christian W. Brandt. Brandt had been preparing plans for a thousand-seat house in Albion since as early as 1925, when the November 29 issue of Moving Picture World mentioned the project.
The Grand Photoplay Theatre of West Liberty, Iowa was mentioned in the November 9, 1918 issue of Motion Picture News. A W. H. Heath was the manager. The name of the house had shrunk a bit by the time of this item appearing in the March 3, 1923 Moving Picture World: “WEST LIBERTY, IA.—Glenn Miller, of Muscatine, has purchased and reopened Grand Photo Theatre.”
A letter from W. Glenn Miller was published in the March 29, 1924 Exhibitors Herald, but by then he was running the Strand Theatre in West Liberty.
Here is a bit or information from a thumbnail history of Mondamin found on the Iowa Genealogy web site: “In the early days on the south end of old Main street, there was a Boarding House where the Hotel is now. Then there was Ed Springer’s Jewelry Store, and a Harness Shop run by Mike Husselstine. This building later became the Lyric Theatre.”
A couple of paragraphs later the history notes that Maple Street later developed as the town’s main business area, which included a theater called Klutts Opera House. The only reference to Mondamin I’ve come across in theater industry trade journals is this item from Moving Picture World of November 7, 1925: “Charles Behm, Jr., and L. H. Johnson of Mondamin, Ia., have leased the Opera House at that place.”
This item from the April 4, 1947 Film Daily is probably about the Earl Theatre: “Newcomb Sets Earlville Stand
“Earlville, Ia.—W. J. Newcomb of Williamsburg, Ia., announced plans of building a new theater at Earlville. Newcomb said construction would start as soon as materials are available.”
I haven’t found Earlville listed in the FDYs from the late 1940s or early 1950s, so this house might have had a very short life, if it opened at all.
A book was published in 1954 commemorating the Centennial of North English. It says that “[i]n 1908 Alva Allen built the East Side Theatre. Stage shows were produced weekly and the building was also used for roller skating. Alva Allen sold the opera house to John Whitmore. Other owners were J. W. Hadley and Roy Coxe. Vance Smith and son Dean operate the Orpheum Theatre in the same remodeled building at the present time.”
Vance Smith is mentioned as operator the Orpheum in the April 13, 1929 Motion Picture News. The house had just had sound equipment installed.
Trade journals from 1913 and 1914 mention a W. C. Eddy of Marengo who was secretary of the Iowa Motion Picture Exhibitors' League, and the July 4, 1914 issue of The Billboard even devoted a large part of a page to a letter he wrote to them regarding the evils of censorship, but not once have I found the name of his theater mentioned. The only theater name connected with Marengo I’ve found in the trades is the Strand, and that never before 1940.
A 1909 opening for the Comet is confirmed by an item from the January 1, 1910 issue of The Nickelodeon: “ALBIA, IOWA.-The Comet theater, a new vaudeville and picture house, has been opened here under the management of Mr. Struber, who is also interested in a similar enterprise in Oskaloosa and other places.”
The Lyric didn’t make the American Motion Picture Directory in 1914, but it was the only picture theater listed at Albia in that year’s Gus Hill directory. It was listed there with a capacity of 388 (which, if accurate, does seem a bit large for this space) and admission prices of five and ten cents. The Lyric subscribed to the Mutual picture service, and the manager was named C. A. Hibbard.
A house called the Kings Theatre was the only listing for Albia in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. Probably a typo for this house. It seems very unlikely that the listings were complete, though. I’ve come across multiple trade journal references to the Comet Theatre being in operation during this period.
An item in the March 19, 1927 Moving Picture World said that Harry Weinberg had bought the King Theatre and the Rex Theatre at Albia, Iowa. The seller was A. Frankel.
The Comet was apparently open by 1909. This item is from the September, 1911 issue of Motography: “A deal has been consummated whereby Alex Long has come into possession of the Comet theater of Albia, the leading moving picture theater in that part of the state. For the past two years the house has been conducted by the Comet Amusement Company, Red Oak. The Comet has the reputation of being first class in every way, and the new owners will maintain the same high standard.”
The Comet was also mentioned in the December 25, 1915 Moving Picture World which said that a 17-piece Orchestrion had been installed in the house. Large orchestrions were fairly costly devices, so the Comet must have still been quite prosperous at that time.
The Scenic at Albia was mentioned in the December 28, 1907 issue of Show World.
The February 1, 1913 issue of Motography had this brief notice: “J. E. Benton will now have a monopoly practically on the picture shows in Albia. He will conduct two shows, using both the Comet and the Scenic.”
This house might or might not have yet another aka. The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists only two houses at Pella: the Electric Palace and a house called the Royal. However, as the Opera House is also missing from the listings, Royal could have been its aka instead. If it wasn’t an aka for one or the other then it must have been a different theater, probably short-lived as I’ve found no other references to it.
Oddly, there is supposed to be a movie house called the Royal Theatre in Pella today, as part of the Royal Amsterdam Hotel, a recently built project, but I can’t find any listings for it.
The shop on this theater’s site today, Not Another Pottery Studio, uses the address 5052 Eagle Rock Blvd. The parcel viewer at the L.A. County Assessors Office website is no longer functional on any of my web browsers, so I can’t find out when the current building was built, but It is known that the United Theatre, last known as the Sierra Theatre, opened just up the block at 5058 Eagle Rock in 1922, and the Family Theatre, if it was still open then, most likely closed at that time.
The 1924 L.A. City Directory, the first edition to include listings for newly-annexed Eagle Rock, lists a Central Avenue Garage at 5052 Eagle Rock Boulevard. The garage had obviously been opened before Los Angeles annexed Eagle Rock and changed the name of Central Avenue to Eagle Rock Boulevard, so the theater probably vacated the space by 1923 at the latest.
An article in the Dunlap Reporter of April 17, 1914 notes that Dunlap then had two movie theaters, “…the Hupp Theater, conducted by E. G. Hunter, and Beck’s Picture Show, conducted by Mrs. L. R. Beck.” I’ve found Mrs. Beck and her theater mentioned in a trade journal as early as December, 1913.
The PDF about the building at 701 Iowa Avenue is not clear about the years of operation of the house there, and mentions the Hupp only briefly, but the 1945 FDY lists three theaters in Dunlap. They were the 250-seat Dunlap Theatre, the 264 seat Royal Theatre, and a house called the Miller Theatre, listed only as closed. As the bank on the Hupp’s site is of a style characteristic of the 1970s or 1980s, I wonder if the Hupp survived for a long time and became one of those three houses? I’ve found the Royal mentioned in Boxoffice as late as 1951 and the Dunlap Theatre as late as 1957.
This PDF file is about the building at 701-703 Iowa Avenue in Dunlap, which was indeed the location of the Idle Hour Theatre during the 1920s into the 1940s. The document has quite a few newspaper clippings about the theater, including one with a photo of the front. There are also a couple of non-clipping photos which show the original arched front of the theater portion of the building.
The building, erected in 1909, housed a furniture store on the ground floor of the two-story section for more than half a century, but the document doesn’t say when the theater opened. One reminiscence says that the theater closed for a while and was occupied by a bowling alley, but in the early 1920s the bowling alley moved into the second floor above the furniture store, where there had been a dance hall, and the theater was restored.
The document doesn’t give the closing date of the theater either, though it indicates that in the 1950s the theater’s space came to be occupied by a business called Gorham Motors. The last reference that is probably to the Idle Hour Theatre I’ve found in trade journals is from the September 3, 1949 Boxoffice, which simply says “John Broaderick, exhibitor at Dunlap, Iowa, is vacationing.”
A document about the building at 701-703 Iowa Avenue, which once housed the Idle Hour Theatre, mentions in passing a second theater in Dunlap, “…located in the area which is now the drive-in of the new bank.” That must have been this house. It was called the Hupp Theatre. The June 27, 1914 issue of The Billboard mentions “E. G. Hunter & Son, of Dunlap, Ia., proprietors of the Hupp Theater and Roller Rink…”
I am wondering if a “Willup” Theatre at Dunlap in the AMPD could have been an error, perhaps an accidental displacement of the Willup Theatre in Woodbine? I’ve found no other references linking the name Willup to Dunlap. The March 10, 1916 issue of the Estherville Iowa Opera House Reporter, mentions both the Idle Hour Theatre in Dunlap and the Willup Theatre in Woodbine.
The May 5, 1923 Moving Picture World had this item, which might reveal another aka for this house: “The Playhouse, Hermiston, Oregon, formerly operated by J. L. Morfitt, has been reported closed.”
However, I’m skeptical of the 1910 opening date. This item is from the September 11, 1920 Exhibitors Herald: “HERMISTON, ORE.— A new, modern $12,000 motion picture house, built by local capital, is nearing completion here.” If a town as small as Hermiston (the population never topped 1000 until the 1940s) already had a substantial theater built in 1910, I doubt another would have been built in 1920.
The 1927 FDY lists for Hermiston only a 300-seat house called the Legion Theatre, probably also an aka for this place. Given the name it also seems likely that the house doubled as the local American Legion hall.
The May 5, 1923 issue of Moving Picture World had this item about the first Hayward Theatre: “The Hayward Theatre, Hayward, Cal. has been reopened, following rebuilding operations that have cost almost $100,000. The house is finished in semi-Egyptian style and is one of the finest in the east-bay region. A pipe organ is a feature.”
Andrew Barrett probably isn’t following this page anymore, but just in case, the Smith organ he mentioned in the comment above was undoubtedly installed in the first Hayward Theatre, which closed when this house opened and was later reopened as the State Theatre, which has its own listing at Cinema Treasures. The first Hayward was extensively (and expensively) remodeled in 1923, which is probably when the Smith organ was installed there.
The September 5, 1925 Moving Picture World had this item: “James J. Wood, whose theatre at Red Bluff, Cal., was badly damaged by fire recently, is making use of a small theatre until a decision can be reached in regard to whether the Orpheum Theatre will be repaired or whether a new house will be necessary.”
The Orpheum theatre that had been damaged was the aka Red Bluff Opera House, later the first State Theatre, finally destroyed by another fire in 1944. The small theater referenced in the item was probably the Granada.
The Coalfield Jamboree website link is dead. They still have a Facebook page, but it hasn’t been updated since November 2, 2024.
The Logan theatre at Logan, Iowa is mentioned in the July 13, 1935 issue of Motion Picture Herald. The Manager was named L. H. Ireland. Evidence that the Logan might have been the Pastime is found in this item from the October 15, 1927 issue of Movie Age: “Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Ireland of the Pastime Theatre at Logan, Ia., were visitors at the Exchange Bldg., last week.”
The Logan was in operation at least as late as 1961, when this notice appeared in the July 24 issue of Boxoffice: “Ken Moore has closed his Logan Theatre at Logan, Iowa, but he will reopen in September.” The august 14 issue of the same journal noted that Mr. Moore had been hospitalized due to a heart condition. The August 28 issue said that Mr. Moore had gone to Ireland to recuperate from a heart attack. The September issue had no news about either Mr. Moore or the theater, so I don’t know if he managed to reopen it or not.
The brief history on the genealogy web site says “Mr. and Mrs. Bill Noyes operated a two story Hotel on the corner where Keith’s store is today [the history was written in 1968]. Next to this was a meat market owned by John Crewdson. Later there was a Harness Shop, Drug Store, and Klutts Opera House built in this section of the street.” A link at the bottom of the page once led to information about the Wallis family, but the url has been highjacked by a gambling site.
Still, a Flickr photo of the Wallis building shows it was once occupied by Keith’s Store, so it appears that the Opera House was not in the Wallis building itself, but was nearby. It might be that the Opera House building was lost sometime between 1925 and 1935.
The FAQs section of the Bohm Theatre’s web site attributes the design of the house to architect Christian W. Brandt. Brandt had been preparing plans for a thousand-seat house in Albion since as early as 1925, when the November 29 issue of Moving Picture World mentioned the project.
The Grand Photoplay Theatre of West Liberty, Iowa was mentioned in the November 9, 1918 issue of Motion Picture News. A W. H. Heath was the manager. The name of the house had shrunk a bit by the time of this item appearing in the March 3, 1923 Moving Picture World: “WEST LIBERTY, IA.—Glenn Miller, of Muscatine, has purchased and reopened Grand Photo Theatre.”
A letter from W. Glenn Miller was published in the March 29, 1924 Exhibitors Herald, but by then he was running the Strand Theatre in West Liberty.
Here is a bit or information from a thumbnail history of Mondamin found on the Iowa Genealogy web site: “In the early days on the south end of old Main street, there was a Boarding House where the Hotel is now. Then there was Ed Springer’s Jewelry Store, and a Harness Shop run by Mike Husselstine. This building later became the Lyric Theatre.”
A couple of paragraphs later the history notes that Maple Street later developed as the town’s main business area, which included a theater called Klutts Opera House. The only reference to Mondamin I’ve come across in theater industry trade journals is this item from Moving Picture World of November 7, 1925: “Charles Behm, Jr., and L. H. Johnson of Mondamin, Ia., have leased the Opera House at that place.”
This item from the April 4, 1947 Film Daily is probably about the Earl Theatre: “Newcomb Sets Earlville Stand
“Earlville, Ia.—W. J. Newcomb of Williamsburg, Ia., announced plans of building a new theater at Earlville. Newcomb said construction would start as soon as materials are available.”
I haven’t found Earlville listed in the FDYs from the late 1940s or early 1950s, so this house might have had a very short life, if it opened at all.
A book was published in 1954 commemorating the Centennial of North English. It says that “[i]n 1908 Alva Allen built the East Side Theatre. Stage shows were produced weekly and the building was also used for roller skating. Alva Allen sold the opera house to John Whitmore. Other owners were J. W. Hadley and Roy Coxe. Vance Smith and son Dean operate the Orpheum Theatre in the same remodeled building at the present time.”
Vance Smith is mentioned as operator the Orpheum in the April 13, 1929 Motion Picture News. The house had just had sound equipment installed.
Trade journals from 1913 and 1914 mention a W. C. Eddy of Marengo who was secretary of the Iowa Motion Picture Exhibitors' League, and the July 4, 1914 issue of The Billboard even devoted a large part of a page to a letter he wrote to them regarding the evils of censorship, but not once have I found the name of his theater mentioned. The only theater name connected with Marengo I’ve found in the trades is the Strand, and that never before 1940.
Good grief!
A 1909 opening for the Comet is confirmed by an item from the January 1, 1910 issue of The Nickelodeon: “ALBIA, IOWA.-The Comet theater, a new vaudeville and picture house, has been opened here under the management of Mr. Struber, who is also interested in a similar enterprise in Oskaloosa and other places.”
The Lyric didn’t make the American Motion Picture Directory in 1914, but it was the only picture theater listed at Albia in that year’s Gus Hill directory. It was listed there with a capacity of 388 (which, if accurate, does seem a bit large for this space) and admission prices of five and ten cents. The Lyric subscribed to the Mutual picture service, and the manager was named C. A. Hibbard.
A house called the Kings Theatre was the only listing for Albia in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. Probably a typo for this house. It seems very unlikely that the listings were complete, though. I’ve come across multiple trade journal references to the Comet Theatre being in operation during this period.
An item in the March 19, 1927 Moving Picture World said that Harry Weinberg had bought the King Theatre and the Rex Theatre at Albia, Iowa. The seller was A. Frankel.
The Comet was apparently open by 1909. This item is from the September, 1911 issue of Motography: “A deal has been consummated whereby Alex Long has come into possession of the Comet theater of Albia, the leading moving picture theater in that part of the state. For the past two years the house has been conducted by the Comet Amusement Company, Red Oak. The Comet has the reputation of being first class in every way, and the new owners will maintain the same high standard.”
The Comet was also mentioned in the December 25, 1915 Moving Picture World which said that a 17-piece Orchestrion had been installed in the house. Large orchestrions were fairly costly devices, so the Comet must have still been quite prosperous at that time.
The Scenic at Albia was mentioned in the December 28, 1907 issue of Show World.
The February 1, 1913 issue of Motography had this brief notice: “J. E. Benton will now have a monopoly practically on the picture shows in Albia. He will conduct two shows, using both the Comet and the Scenic.”
This house might or might not have yet another aka. The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists only two houses at Pella: the Electric Palace and a house called the Royal. However, as the Opera House is also missing from the listings, Royal could have been its aka instead. If it wasn’t an aka for one or the other then it must have been a different theater, probably short-lived as I’ve found no other references to it.
Oddly, there is supposed to be a movie house called the Royal Theatre in Pella today, as part of the Royal Amsterdam Hotel, a recently built project, but I can’t find any listings for it.