Comments from Joe Vogel

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Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Republic Theatre on May 14, 2022 at 10:09 pm

The 200-seat Republic Theatre first appears in the 1936 FDY. In 1935 there is a 200-seat house called the Liberty Theatre, which could be the same theater under an earlier name. Republic’s theater history is pretty straightforward through 1929. The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists a house called the Casino Theatre, on Main Street (as there is no Main Street in Republic now, it was probably an earlier name for Clark Avenue.) The Casino is still listed in the 1929 FDY, with 218 seats.

It’s from 1930 through 1934 that things get a bit puzzling. Republic does not appear in the 1930 FDY, but in 1931 the Casino is listed, now with 235 seats, and it is joined by a 150-seat house called the Liberty. Neither house had been wired for sound. In 1932 the Casino is gone, and the Liberty, still with 150 seats, is listed as closed. Republic vanishes again in 1933 and 1934, reappearing only with the 200-seat Liberty in 1935, followed by the 200-seat Republic the next year.

It could be that the Liberty of 1935 and the later Republic were the same house as the Casino, and the Liberty of 1931-1932 was a short-lived rival, or it might be that the 1931-32 Liberty was expanded and reopened and became the Republic. It will probably be difficult to find out just what happened during that period.

Republic did have another theater at one time, which came to a tragic end. The November 18, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World reported that a theater called either the Princess or the Palace (the item uses both names) was destroyed by a fire on November 11, leading to the death of Mrs. B. F. Hibbard, wife of the projectionist. The item noted that this theater had previously been the Republic Opera House.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Onalaska Theatre on May 14, 2022 at 10:08 pm

The names Dream and Onalaska switched more than once. The Dream was listed in the 1935 FDY and the Onalaska in 1936. The Dream had been listed with 229 seats but the Onalaska was listed with only 150.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Dream Theatre on May 14, 2022 at 6:24 pm

The Dream Theatre is listed in the 1935 FDY and the Onalaska in the 1936 edition.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Dream Theatre on May 14, 2022 at 3:53 pm

It doesn’t give a theater name, but an item in The Moving Picture World of June 7, 1919 mentions a Richard J. Charles, operating theaters in Vader, Winlock, and Onalaska, Washington.

There is also this notice of a change of ownership, from Film Daily of March 31, 1937: “ONALASKA— Onalaska (formerly Dream), transferred to Carlyle Lumber Co.”

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Rem Theatre on May 13, 2022 at 5:46 am

The January 6, 1940 issue of Boxoffice had this item: “Remington— The Rem, operated entirely by local merchants and tradesmen, has opened under management of Howard A. Hyer.”

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Isis Theatre on May 13, 2022 at 5:25 am

The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists three theaters in this block: The Arc at 103 National Avenue, the Colonial at 105, and the Isis at 109.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Beverly Theatre on May 13, 2022 at 5:22 am

The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists a movie house called the Princess Theatre at 15 E. National Avenue, next door to the store that would become the Beverly. I’ve been unable to find out how long this theater lasted.

The January 11, 1935 issue of Motion Picture Daily had an item about a new theater that might have been the Beverly, but it doesn’t give an exact location or name:

“Brazil, Ind., Jan. 10.— A new downtown theatre is being completed here from a remodeled business building by a company headed by H. V. Neese. It will seat 500.”

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Carver Theater on May 13, 2022 at 2:39 am

I wonder if Carver was a later name for the Rainbow Theatre, opened in 1939, noted in the January 6, 1940 issue of Boxoffice?: “Waycross— H. G. Williams of Fitzgerald has opened the Rainbow, a colored house, seating 400.”

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Star Theatre on May 13, 2022 at 2:30 am

There might have been two houses called the Star in Toccoa, or this house might have been rebuilt in 1939-1940. Here is an item from Boxoffice of January 6, 1940: “Toccoa— Joe B. Meyer reports progress on the new house by Wilby Theatre[s]. Enterprise to be known as the New Star. An early opening is indicated.”

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Drake Theatre on May 13, 2022 at 2:23 am

The January 6, 1940 issue of Boxoffice said “Pearson— The new Drake has opened.” The opening was probably in November or December, 1939.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Cobb Theatre on May 13, 2022 at 2:20 am

The January 6, 1940 Boxoffice said: “Marietta— A new theatre, the Cobb, has been built on North Park Square.” It might have opened in late 1939.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Fort Theatre on May 13, 2022 at 2:15 am

CinemaTour says the Fort Theatre was at 104 N. Third Avenue. The current use is office space. There is one photo, from 2019.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about State Theatre on May 13, 2022 at 1:16 am

The January 6, 1940 issue of Boxoffice said: “Plant City— The State, E. J. Sparks house seating 700, is in operation.”

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Arthur Theatre on May 12, 2022 at 11:19 pm

Someone named Lindenau was connected with the Ideal Theatre as early as 1919, as attested by this item from Motion Picture News of October 4 that year:

“OTTO C. LINDENAU of the Ideal Theatre, Lemont, Illinois, has been in Chicago recently, looking over the feature market and reports that business in Lemont is in splendid shape, his house doing capacity business at all performances.”

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Tedens Opera House on May 12, 2022 at 11:11 pm

The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directorylists only a house called the Lemont Orpheum Theatre at Lemont. Might that have been an aka for this house? If so, it was temporary, as the Tedens Opera House is mentioned in the September 6, 1919 issue of Motion Pciture News.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Sher-Ritz Theatre on May 12, 2022 at 10:20 pm

George Settos took over the Sher-Ritz Theatre in 1940, as part of a deal in which he also took the Cine. He had already gotten hold of the Grand. A 1940 Boxofficeitem said that Settos planned to rename the Sher-Ritz simply the Ritz, but that never happened. Instead, the house was closed by sometime in 1942, though it continued to be listed in the FDY as late as 1947 (as the Sheritz.)

The November 4, 1916 issue of Motography said that J. H. Scherer had opened the Nicklo Theatre at Linton on October 11. Another trade journal item I’ve lost track of said that Scherer had moved his operation from another location, and a December 10, 1938 Boxoffice item about the opening of the Cine Theatre said that the Scherer brothers had entered the theater business at Linton 26 years earlier, which would be 1912.

The name Nicklo did not appear in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, but there were five theaters listed at Linton: the Grand Opera House, the Crystal, the Dreamland, the Palace and the Star. One of the latter four might have been the Scherer brothers' first theater, or the Directory might simply have missed listing the Nicklo.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Grand Theater on May 12, 2022 at 9:36 pm

Boxoffice of January 6, 1940 said: “Linton— Settos’ new Grand opened for the holidays.” An October 13, 1939 item in Film Daily had noted that George Settos' Grand Theatre in Linton was one of twenty houses that had recently ordered RCA sound equipment. Settos' renovation and reopening of the Grand must have been successful, as later in 1940 he took over the Sher-Ritz and Cine theaters from the Scherer brothers.

One Boxoffice item (I’ve lost track of the date from later in 1940 said that Settos intended to change the name of the Sher-Ritz to simply the Ritz, but that never happened. The FDY was still listing the house (though styled as Sheritz) as late as 1947, but as closed. It was no longer listed in 1949, but the Grand still was, along with the Cine.

The Grand Opera House was showing movies by 1914, and was one of five theaters listed at Linton in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Surfside Cinema on May 11, 2022 at 3:10 pm

Boxofficeof June 21, 1971 said that the new Gulf States twin theater under construction in Biloxi would seat 750, with 450 in the larger auditorium and 300 in the smaller. As an economy move, both auditoriums would be served by a single booth employing a single projectionist. Gulf States had a similar twin under construction in Vicksburg.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Rapids Cinema on May 11, 2022 at 2:41 pm

Boxoffice of August 6, 1973 noted the recent opening of the 224-seat Owl Theatre in the Red Owl Family Shopping Center at Coon Rapids. The February 11, 1974 issue of Boxoffice said that [t]he Owl Theatre… has closed indefinitely, due to a lack of business."

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Willmar Theater on May 11, 2022 at 2:12 pm

The Willmar Theatre was twinned in 1971, but it does not appear to have been a conventional twinning. The June 28 Boxoffice item about it said that “[t]he Willmar will be open nightly with two shows, one in the main theatre and one in the new mini-auditorium.” The Willmar Cinema Twins debuted on June 3.

I’ve been unable to find out when this theater closed, but it was still open in 1977, as it was one of the theaters that hosted the run of the original “Star Wars” that year, opening in this house on August 11. Since at least 2010, and probably earlier, the building has housed offices of Divine House, a privately operated social services agency which now owns the building.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Q-Cinema 9 on May 11, 2022 at 12:58 pm

The intention of Douglas Theatres to build what would become the Q Cinema 4 was announced in the June 21, 1971 issue of Boxoffice. The original plans, by Omaha architectural firm Wilscam & Mullins, called for a total of 1320 seats, with two auditoriums of 280 seats and two auditoriums of 380 seats each. The first phase of a projected 3-phase shopping center, also owned by Douglas Theatres, would be built at the same time as the cinemas. As noted in an earlier comment by rivest266, the theaters opened on June 28, 1972.

A January 16, 2009 article in the Omaha World-Herald about the demise of the theaters said that the house had become the Q Cinema 6 in 1982 and the Q Cinema 9 in 1989.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Cinema 20 on May 11, 2022 at 11:40 am

Boxoffice of June 28, 1971 said that the formal opening ceremony for Cinecom’s new Cinema 20 in Painesville had taken place on June 22, with regular public shows commencing the following day. It was the 126th location for the rapidly growing Cinecom chain, which had an additional 21 locations under construction. The chain must have expanded too rapidly, as in January of 1973 it declared bankruptcy, and the last of its theaters were shut down by a court order in July that year.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Odem Theater Pub on May 10, 2022 at 8:01 pm

The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn indicate that he worked on the Odem Theatre twice, providing the original plans in 1936 and plans for a remodeling job in 1947.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Star Theatre on May 10, 2022 at 7:58 pm

At some point architect Day Walter Hilborn provided the plans for a remodeling of the Star Theatre, but the records don’t include the year.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Estacada Theater on May 10, 2022 at 7:25 pm

The records of architect Day Walter Hilborn include a project for the Estacada Theatre, but no date is given for it.