The address is wrong. There is no East or West. 113 is a house, but 111 is the old Logan Hotel. There’s a date stone by the central entry that says 1839, but it must have been remodeled later. The 1911 map shows it to not be very large, but there is a big fake barn added onto the back now, possibly an old auditorium, or maybe a later addition. It’s currently a liquor store.
The reference to an explosion is curious. There was some renumbering of addresses, but it seems to have taken place between 1899 and 1905. The ORIGINAL 29, which became 31, does appear on the 1905 map as ‘Ruins of Fire’. It was a clothing store in 1899. There were a lot of wooden buildings on that block early on. 29/31 appears on the 1886 map as the Brunswick Hotel, and 27/29 as a shoe store.
So much information that contradicts other information! It may be impossible to untangle it.
The dates for the ‘Gem’ are definitely wrong. There was an opera house at 15 Chambers St (originally 3 Chambers). It appears on the 1886 map as the Peoples Opera House. (There was also an Opera House Hotel across the street.) The building was a 3 story wooden structure that spanned the entire width of the narrow block. It was directly behind the Wagner Opera House, much of which is still there. However, by 1890 it had become a livery run by Fair & Co., and then by 1899 by F. Weaver, and by 1905 by George Baker. It was still there in 1911, but was demolished sometime before 1925 when the large church at the end of the block was built.
This address is not a jewelry store, but an old department store (maybe something like a W.T. Grant?) used by the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce. It does appear to be the remodeled remains of a large three-story building dating to before 1886. It looks like it was remodeled sometime after 1930, and the upper story removed from the front.
The original building was a brick veneered wood frame structure known as Wagner’s Opera House. The rear portion originally had a sloped truss roof. The 1899 map shows the structure as condemned, but by 1905 the old auditorium in the rear had been extensively rebuilt and was divided into stores and offices. The central entrance lobby was still used to access this portion.
I’m not sure where the theater would have been. The 1905 and 1911 maps show a jewelry store in 62, and 64 was a dry goods store in 1905 and a furniture store in 1911. The 1925 map shows most of the building used by a 5 and 10, with the Warner Business College on the third floor of the front portion.
If this address is correct, this was gone by 1910. The 1905 map shows a wooden storefront here with a 5 and dime in it. By 1910, this address was being used by one of the retail spaces in the Grand theater building.
80-82 is a 3 story building built in 1902. The maps call it the Baker Building. If there was a theater here, it was gone by 1911. The 1905 map shows a jewelry store here. The 1911 map shows that space as a vacant store. F.C. French was the architect. The ground floor has been vacant for a few years.
Joe, the photo of the Madera does show the Liberty name still up top, so they must have been the same. Perhaps it was built in 1921 as the article indicates, but not opened for some reason until a few years later.
Possibly the theater at about 439 Main St (it used a 437 address which now belongs to another building). This is shown on the 1922 map as a simple wooden one story box with the rear incorporating a pre-existing house. The theater does not appear on the 1910 map. Despite the town having a huge paper mill and a blank book factory, there was hardly any downtown at all. That theater was demolished long ago, and the site is a parking lot south of the beat up old house.
This has been demolished, likely many years ago. Address would have been an odd number on W Main St, maybe something like 11? The building to the left in the photo is still visible on the 2008 Streetview. The location is a parking lot.
This was operated by Mid-State Theatres. I saw ‘March of the Penguins’ here, which must have been just before it closed. They were not very friendly, and wouldn’t let me bring my camera in. I had to run back and lock it in the trunk, and missed getting the marquee lit up. The theater had several ‘loveseat’ double seats. As of a year or so ago, it was still in pretty good shape. It looked like they’d tried running a snack bar out of the lobby for a while.
I didn’t expect to find a Sanborn for such a dinky town, but there were several. I am almost positive this was at about 2986 Main, which is now a parking lot for the fire station. The odd thing is that this building, which definitely matches the plan of the Liberty from the photo, is not shown as a theater on the 1923 map. There is a theater in a one story building to the east.
The address would have been something between 745 and 769. 751 might work. I’m not sure why the numbers jump up so much. It’s the vacant lot between the post office and the bar. I’ve added an old photo and the Sanborn view.
The Sherkel Opera House appears on the 1924 map. It does not appear on the previous map from 1910. I’ve added an old photo (with the name spelled wrong in the caption), and the map view. Correct address was 812. 810 and 814 were storefronts in the building. This was demolished many years ago, and there’s now a crummy little office building on the site. It uses an 808 address.
This has definitely been demolished, likely many years ago. Most of downtown is gone. It’s hard to say where it was. I found an old photo that looks like it might have been across from a gas station. The name had changed from Liberty to Madera by the early ‘40s. It was run by Mid-State Theatres.
The 1924 map shows the theater as a very basic wooden box that is flush with the house to the left. According to the website, there was a fire in the ‘30s, and it was remodeled, which seems to have drawn the front of the building back from the street. Sounds like it may have closed in the late '70s, and then become a live theater.
Not showing movies, but it is still open. Repainted with darker trim. The website is: https://www.startheatrepa.com/ The 1904 date is incorrect, as this theater does not show up on the 1905 or 1910 map. 1911 makes sense, and is the date given on the website. The theater does appear on the 1924 map.
The address is wrong. There is no East or West. 113 is a house, but 111 is the old Logan Hotel. There’s a date stone by the central entry that says 1839, but it must have been remodeled later. The 1911 map shows it to not be very large, but there is a big fake barn added onto the back now, possibly an old auditorium, or maybe a later addition. It’s currently a liquor store.
The address is wrong. As you can see in the photo, the facade matches 317, which houses a photography studio.
If we can confirm the address, I have pictures of both the 4 story building at 78 (Auerheim Building) and the building at 80-82.
I’ve added a recent picture I took a few weeks ago.
Looks like you’ve named it. Thanks!
The reference to an explosion is curious. There was some renumbering of addresses, but it seems to have taken place between 1899 and 1905. The ORIGINAL 29, which became 31, does appear on the 1905 map as ‘Ruins of Fire’. It was a clothing store in 1899. There were a lot of wooden buildings on that block early on. 29/31 appears on the 1886 map as the Brunswick Hotel, and 27/29 as a shoe store.
So much information that contradicts other information! It may be impossible to untangle it.
The dates for the ‘Gem’ are definitely wrong. There was an opera house at 15 Chambers St (originally 3 Chambers). It appears on the 1886 map as the Peoples Opera House. (There was also an Opera House Hotel across the street.) The building was a 3 story wooden structure that spanned the entire width of the narrow block. It was directly behind the Wagner Opera House, much of which is still there. However, by 1890 it had become a livery run by Fair & Co., and then by 1899 by F. Weaver, and by 1905 by George Baker. It was still there in 1911, but was demolished sometime before 1925 when the large church at the end of the block was built.
This address is not a jewelry store, but an old department store (maybe something like a W.T. Grant?) used by the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce. It does appear to be the remodeled remains of a large three-story building dating to before 1886. It looks like it was remodeled sometime after 1930, and the upper story removed from the front.
The original building was a brick veneered wood frame structure known as Wagner’s Opera House. The rear portion originally had a sloped truss roof. The 1899 map shows the structure as condemned, but by 1905 the old auditorium in the rear had been extensively rebuilt and was divided into stores and offices. The central entrance lobby was still used to access this portion.
I’m not sure where the theater would have been. The 1905 and 1911 maps show a jewelry store in 62, and 64 was a dry goods store in 1905 and a furniture store in 1911. The 1925 map shows most of the building used by a 5 and 10, with the Warner Business College on the third floor of the front portion.
If this address is correct, this was gone by 1910. The 1905 map shows a wooden storefront here with a 5 and dime in it. By 1910, this address was being used by one of the retail spaces in the Grand theater building.
80-82 is a 3 story building built in 1902. The maps call it the Baker Building. If there was a theater here, it was gone by 1911. The 1905 map shows a jewelry store here. The 1911 map shows that space as a vacant store. F.C. French was the architect. The ground floor has been vacant for a few years.
Joe, the photo of the Madera does show the Liberty name still up top, so they must have been the same. Perhaps it was built in 1921 as the article indicates, but not opened for some reason until a few years later.
Possibly the theater at about 439 Main St (it used a 437 address which now belongs to another building). This is shown on the 1922 map as a simple wooden one story box with the rear incorporating a pre-existing house. The theater does not appear on the 1910 map. Despite the town having a huge paper mill and a blank book factory, there was hardly any downtown at all. That theater was demolished long ago, and the site is a parking lot south of the beat up old house.
This was demolished a long time ago, and replaced by a big ugly bank which might be from the late ‘50s or early '60s.
This has been demolished, likely many years ago. Address would have been an odd number on W Main St, maybe something like 11? The building to the left in the photo is still visible on the 2008 Streetview. The location is a parking lot.
This was operated by Mid-State Theatres. I saw ‘March of the Penguins’ here, which must have been just before it closed. They were not very friendly, and wouldn’t let me bring my camera in. I had to run back and lock it in the trunk, and missed getting the marquee lit up. The theater had several ‘loveseat’ double seats. As of a year or so ago, it was still in pretty good shape. It looked like they’d tried running a snack bar out of the lobby for a while.
Note that it was apparently operated by Mid-State Theatres in 1944.
I didn’t expect to find a Sanborn for such a dinky town, but there were several. I am almost positive this was at about 2986 Main, which is now a parking lot for the fire station. The odd thing is that this building, which definitely matches the plan of the Liberty from the photo, is not shown as a theater on the 1923 map. There is a theater in a one story building to the east.
Sorry, the picture is most likely from 1944.
This was operated by Mid-State Theatres in the 1940s, at least.
The address would have been something between 745 and 769. 751 might work. I’m not sure why the numbers jump up so much. It’s the vacant lot between the post office and the bar. I’ve added an old photo and the Sanborn view.
The Sherkel Opera House appears on the 1924 map. It does not appear on the previous map from 1910. I’ve added an old photo (with the name spelled wrong in the caption), and the map view. Correct address was 812. 810 and 814 were storefronts in the building. This was demolished many years ago, and there’s now a crummy little office building on the site. It uses an 808 address.
From the ads, this definitely stayed longer than 30 years. I’ve added a small photo of the theater.
This has definitely been demolished, likely many years ago. Most of downtown is gone. It’s hard to say where it was. I found an old photo that looks like it might have been across from a gas station. The name had changed from Liberty to Madera by the early ‘40s. It was run by Mid-State Theatres.
The 1924 map shows the theater as a very basic wooden box that is flush with the house to the left. According to the website, there was a fire in the ‘30s, and it was remodeled, which seems to have drawn the front of the building back from the street. Sounds like it may have closed in the late '70s, and then become a live theater.
Not showing movies, but it is still open. Repainted with darker trim. The website is: https://www.startheatrepa.com/ The 1904 date is incorrect, as this theater does not show up on the 1905 or 1910 map. 1911 makes sense, and is the date given on the website. The theater does appear on the 1924 map.