The architectural firm of Leon H. Lempert & Son designed the Cook Opera House. The firm was located in Rochester, and designed numerous theaters there. The other Rochester theaters they had designed, as listed in an ad for the firm in the 1905 editionof Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide, were the National, the Baker, the Lyceum, the Empire, and the Corinthian.
The Rochester, New York, architectural firm Leon H. Lempert & Son placed an ad in the 1905 edition of Julius Cahn’s Theatrical Guide. It listed a number of theaters the firm had designed, and the Gilger Opera House in Norwalk, Ohio, was among them.
Joe Vogel
commented about
Vixenon
Nov 23, 2010 at 3:48 am
The entry for Chicago architect John van der Meulen in the 1962 American Architects Directory lists this 1955 theater among his works. Later in his career van der Meulen and his architectural partner Ralph Rapson became known for the American embassies they designed in various cities, including Stockholm, Copenhagen, and The Hague.
The McHenry Theater could still be a handsome Midcentury Modern building if they’d rip that shingled fake mansard and other accumulated bits of ticky-tacky off of it. It deserves better treatment than it’s had.
Here is a history of the Star Theatre as a legitimate house, from 1888 to 1919. It only mentions briefly that it then became a movie house called the Criterion.
The Art Institute of Chicago provides this drawing, captioned “Levi Theatre, for Emanuel Levi, Buffalo, N.Y.” The drawing might be by the theater’s architect, William Worth Carlin. The building was designed in the Romanesque Revival style.
In 1899 the Garrick’s architect, William Albert Swasey, designed a building for the Masons at 1042 N. Grand Avenue, which included a theater that operated as the Odeon for over thirty years. I’ve been unable to discover if the Odeon ever operated as a movie house, though. Does anybody know? It would have to have been before 1936, the year the building was condemned and demolished following a major fire.
Here is a biographical sketch of W.A. Swasey from the Landmarks Association of St. Louis. It mentions the Garrick as well as the Odeon, but only briefly.
The public library of Henderson County, North Carolina, has published a book titled “Buildings as History” which is about the works of Hendersonville architect Erle G. Stillwell. The State Theatre in Greenwood, South Carolina, is listed as one of the many theaters he designed.
The public library of Henderson County, North Carolina, has published a book titled “Buildings as History” which is about the works of Hendersonville architect Erle G. Stillwell. The Calhoun Theatre in Anniston, Alabama, is listed as one of the many theaters he designed.
The description accompanying this photo of the Center Theatre from the Kingsport Public Library collection, gives the address as 119-121 Commerce Street.
The public library of Henderson County, North Carolina, has published a book titled “Buildings as History” which is about the works of Hendersonville architect Erle G. Stillwell. The Center Theatre in Kingsport is listed as one of the many theaters he designed.
The public library of Henderson County, North Carolina, has published a book titled “Buildings as History” which is about the works of Hendersonville architect Erle G. Stillwell. The Diamond Theatre in Tuscaloosa is listed as one of the many theaters he designed.
The public library of Henderson County, North Carolina, has published a book titled “Buildings as History” which is about the works of Hendersonville architect Erle G. Stillwell. The State Theatre in Anderson, South Carolina, is listed as one of the many theaters he designed.
The theater first built on this site was opened on April 1, 1925, as the Nu-Strand, according to Margaret Ripley Wolfe’s book “Kingsport, Tennessee: a Planned American City” (Google Books preview.)
Following the disastrous fire in December, 1945, the Strand Theatre was rebuilt on the same site, and opened in July, 1947. The rebuilt house seated 1040, about a 20% greater capacity than the 1925 Strand.
The Kingsport Public Library has several photos of the 1947 Strand, and one of the original Strand (which became the Gem Theatre) on Main Street, but there are no photos of the theater building that stood on this site from 1925 to 1945.
This theater opened as the Strand, but was never called the Nu-Strand. When the Nu-Strand Theatre opened on Broad Street in 1925, the original Strand on Main Street became the Gem.
This aerial photo, ca.1916, shows the original Strand/Gem Theatre at center.
The description accompanying this 1946 photo of the Rialto and a neighboring store gives the theater’s address as 400 Cherokee Street. It also says that the buildings on this block have been demolished to make way for a parking lot.
The Colonial Theatre is mentioned in a magazine at least as early as 1913, when the January 13 issue of trade journal Electrical Review and Western Electrician said “The Daupin Electrical Supplies Company of Harrisburg, Pa., …recently wired the Colonial Theater, in Harrisburg….”
More interesting is an item in a magazine called New York Topics and International Courier, issue of June 27, 1914:[quote]“‘Local talent is now being enlisted in the 'Moviement,’ according to an advertisement appearing in newspapers of the Pennsylvania Capital:
“‘WANTEDâ€"Motion picture plays, motion picture players. The Colonial Theater announces the formation of a motion picture dramatic company, to be composed of Harrisburg actors and to pose for films made in Harrisburg. Harrisburg comedies, Harrisburg dramas. Harrisburg tragedies. Company will be made up at once. If you want to be a motion picture player, apply now for a position in the companyâ€"no experience required. Scenarios wanted. Cash prizes for the best motion picture stories with scenes laid in Harrisburg. Write your own motion picture and see it played on the screen. Full particulars upon inquiry at the Colonial Theater. If you can act, become a motion picture actor If you can write, become a motion picture author.’
“Well, if Gifford Pinchot wins that Keystone State Senatorship there will be a fine bunch of Penrose machine politicians available as ‘movie actors’ in Harrisburg.”[/quote]I’ve found nothing else about this attempt to launch a local movie production industry in Harrisburg, but it apparently did nothing to help business at the Colonial. The July 31, 1915, issue of The Moving Picture World ran this item:
“The Colonial theater, Harrisburg, Pa., prominent vaudeville and moving picture establishment, recently closed its doors to the public and will remain so for several months to come, according to announcement made by the management. No definite reasons were assigned for the temporary closing of the theater, but it is generally supposed that the closing Is a matter of business policy decided upon to prevent operation at a loss, for at this season of the year the theatrical business is very poor. The coming to Harrisburg of an International League baseball team has had a decided effect upon the attendance of the afternoon matinees at the theaters.”
The Little Theatre’s marquee reads “Admission Free” in the first of two additional photos linked from this page (photos 2 and 3 are accessed via links after the “view other images” note on the right, above the thumbnail.) The double bill consisted of two movies released in 1952. As the house was not first-run, the photo might have been from 1953 or later.
The directly linked photo shows patrons, apparently leaving the theater, passing by a table with a jar on it, and a sign reading “You may donate any amount of money that you think your evening’s entertainment was worth.” I don’t know if that was then the regular policy of the house (it was certainly unique if it was) or if it was just for this one program.
The part of the facade visible in these night shots showed some nice architectural detail, probably of terra cotta, but parts of it looked to be deteriorating even at that date.
Here is a 1940 photo of the Boulevard Theatre from the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Click on the “2” where it says “view other images” to see a night shot of the theater’s marquee.
The text accompanying the photos at Columbus Metropolitan Library (Ron Newman’s comment of May 8, 2005) says that the Beechwold Theatre was designed by the F&Y Building Service.
While the exterior of the theater was predominantly Streamline Moderne, and even displayed some early Midcentury Modern elements, the photos of the interior show that the auditorium was more ornate than the facade. There was still a lot of Art Deco in that interior design, especially in the wall sconces and the decorations above them.
In 1915, this house was called the Broadway Theatre (it was at the corner of Broadway and Montana Street.) There is a photo of it and four other Butte theaters of the time here. The photos are from this page of a 1915 booklet about Butte, which has a few paragraphs about the theaters.
The booklet gives the seating capacity of the Broadway as 2,280. It was a very tall building, and undoubtedly had a balcony and at least one gallery. The lower seating capacity in later years was probably the result of closing off the upper levels of the house.
The July 4, 1908, issue of The Moving Picture World ran this item, datelined Goshen, Ind.: “The New Jefferson Theater has been leased to E. R. Joseph for a moving picture show.”
The Superba Theatre was mentioned in trade journal The Moving Picture World, issue of July 4, 1908. The operator, a Mr. Bandy, reported that the Superba in Augusta had been closed for the summer, and that his new Airdome Theatre had been opened. Mr. Bandy announced that the Airdome in Augusta was proving such a success that he intended to build another open-air house, to be opened in Savannah the following summer.
This theater will be gone before I ever get a chance to see it. The Boxoffice article I linked to in an earlier comment is no longer available online, but I remember it saying that Edwards spent about twice as much per seat building this project than the industry was spending on the average multiplex at the time.
The multi-level garage probably accounted for much of that extra expense, and that will probably remain in use for whatever project gets built in the theater’s place, but it’s hard to imagine the theater itself being reopened with so many other screens nearby. In fact it’s likely that the availability of the parking facility will hasten the destruction of this theater once the real estate market recovers.
There’s been a theater at this location since 1924, except for the period between the destruction of the old Alhambra Theatre and the completion of the Atlantic Palace. It’s going to seem very strange without one.
The earliest purpose-built twin cinema to go into operation that I know of was the Duplex Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, which was opened in 1915. The Duplex was apparently too far ahead of its time, as it was closed in 1922. A link in the second comment on the Cinema Treasures page fetches a page with several photos and a floor plan of the theater.
Detroit got a second twin theater a few years later, when the Catherine Theatre (later the Carver Tehatre) was twinned.
The Carver Theatre was operating into the 1950s. An item in Billboard, March 24, 1951, said that the theater’s operator, David Korman, intended to convert the theater’s 210-seat television lounge back into a regular auditorium for movies. The item didn’t say when the television lounge had begun operation, but made it clear that it had once been the second auditorium of the two-screen Catherine Theatre. Prior to being opened as a television theater, the second auditorium had for many years been a tavern, according to Billboard, but it didn’t say when the auditorium had first been closed as a movie venue.
If the house was a true twin, and Billboard is correct that the television lounge had 210 seats, the other auditorium probably had about 210 seats as well.
As the Carver, this house was operated as an African-American theater. Television came along about the time theaters were being desegregated in many American cities, so houses catering to black audiences suffered a double blow, losing patrons to formerly segregated theaters as well as to television, so they went out of business at a faster pace than theaters in white neighborhoods during this period.
I’ve been unable to find any follow-up articles indicating that Korman’s plan to re-twin the Carver Theatre was actually carried out, but whether it was or not the theater probably didnt stay open much longer. The cost of installing CenemaScope equipment for two auditoriums probably would have done it in by the mid-1950s, if it lasted even that long.
Also, I found a couple of references to a Thomas Lynch as the operator of the Catherine Theatre in its early days, the earliest reference being from 1917. He might have been the operator who twinned the house.
The Liberty Theatre was under construction at 831 Detroit Avenue in Toledo in late 1917, according to an issue of Michigan Film Review late that year (the date is missing, but it was probably from early November.) The item said that the owners of the new Liberty Theatre had placed a large order with the United Theatre Equipment Co., and the house was expected to open within a few weeks.
I don’t know if the 1924 opening date currently given in the description is an error, of if disaster befell the original Liberty and it had to be rebuilt.
The architectural firm of Leon H. Lempert & Son designed the Cook Opera House. The firm was located in Rochester, and designed numerous theaters there. The other Rochester theaters they had designed, as listed in an ad for the firm in the 1905 editionof Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide, were the National, the Baker, the Lyceum, the Empire, and the Corinthian.
The Rochester, New York, architectural firm Leon H. Lempert & Son placed an ad in the 1905 edition of Julius Cahn’s Theatrical Guide. It listed a number of theaters the firm had designed, and the Gilger Opera House in Norwalk, Ohio, was among them.
The entry for Chicago architect John van der Meulen in the 1962 American Architects Directory lists this 1955 theater among his works. Later in his career van der Meulen and his architectural partner Ralph Rapson became known for the American embassies they designed in various cities, including Stockholm, Copenhagen, and The Hague.
The McHenry Theater could still be a handsome Midcentury Modern building if they’d rip that shingled fake mansard and other accumulated bits of ticky-tacky off of it. It deserves better treatment than it’s had.
Here is a history of the Star Theatre as a legitimate house, from 1888 to 1919. It only mentions briefly that it then became a movie house called the Criterion.
The Art Institute of Chicago provides this drawing, captioned “Levi Theatre, for Emanuel Levi, Buffalo, N.Y.” The drawing might be by the theater’s architect, William Worth Carlin. The building was designed in the Romanesque Revival style.
In 1899 the Garrick’s architect, William Albert Swasey, designed a building for the Masons at 1042 N. Grand Avenue, which included a theater that operated as the Odeon for over thirty years. I’ve been unable to discover if the Odeon ever operated as a movie house, though. Does anybody know? It would have to have been before 1936, the year the building was condemned and demolished following a major fire.
Here is a biographical sketch of W.A. Swasey from the Landmarks Association of St. Louis. It mentions the Garrick as well as the Odeon, but only briefly.
The public library of Henderson County, North Carolina, has published a book titled “Buildings as History” which is about the works of Hendersonville architect Erle G. Stillwell. The State Theatre in Greenwood, South Carolina, is listed as one of the many theaters he designed.
The public library of Henderson County, North Carolina, has published a book titled “Buildings as History” which is about the works of Hendersonville architect Erle G. Stillwell. The Calhoun Theatre in Anniston, Alabama, is listed as one of the many theaters he designed.
The description accompanying this photo of the Center Theatre from the Kingsport Public Library collection, gives the address as 119-121 Commerce Street.
The public library of Henderson County, North Carolina, has published a book titled “Buildings as History” which is about the works of Hendersonville architect Erle G. Stillwell. The Center Theatre in Kingsport is listed as one of the many theaters he designed.
The public library of Henderson County, North Carolina, has published a book titled “Buildings as History” which is about the works of Hendersonville architect Erle G. Stillwell. The Diamond Theatre in Tuscaloosa is listed as one of the many theaters he designed.
The public library of Henderson County, North Carolina, has published a book titled “Buildings as History” which is about the works of Hendersonville architect Erle G. Stillwell. The State Theatre in Anderson, South Carolina, is listed as one of the many theaters he designed.
Here is a 1947 photo of the State Theatre’s auditorium, showing part of the original Mediterranean atmospheric decoration of the sidewall.
The theater first built on this site was opened on April 1, 1925, as the Nu-Strand, according to Margaret Ripley Wolfe’s book “Kingsport, Tennessee: a Planned American City” (Google Books preview.)
Following the disastrous fire in December, 1945, the Strand Theatre was rebuilt on the same site, and opened in July, 1947. The rebuilt house seated 1040, about a 20% greater capacity than the 1925 Strand.
The Kingsport Public Library has several photos of the 1947 Strand, and one of the original Strand (which became the Gem Theatre) on Main Street, but there are no photos of the theater building that stood on this site from 1925 to 1945.
This theater opened as the Strand, but was never called the Nu-Strand. When the Nu-Strand Theatre opened on Broad Street in 1925, the original Strand on Main Street became the Gem.
This aerial photo, ca.1916, shows the original Strand/Gem Theatre at center.
The description accompanying this 1946 photo of the Rialto and a neighboring store gives the theater’s address as 400 Cherokee Street. It also says that the buildings on this block have been demolished to make way for a parking lot.
The Colonial Theatre is mentioned in a magazine at least as early as 1913, when the January 13 issue of trade journal Electrical Review and Western Electrician said “The Daupin Electrical Supplies Company of Harrisburg, Pa., …recently wired the Colonial Theater, in Harrisburg….”
More interesting is an item in a magazine called New York Topics and International Courier, issue of June 27, 1914:[quote]“‘Local talent is now being enlisted in the 'Moviement,’ according to an advertisement appearing in newspapers of the Pennsylvania Capital:
“‘WANTEDâ€"Motion picture plays, motion picture players. The Colonial Theater announces the formation of a motion picture dramatic company, to be composed of Harrisburg actors and to pose for films made in Harrisburg. Harrisburg comedies, Harrisburg dramas. Harrisburg tragedies. Company will be made up at once. If you want to be a motion picture player, apply now for a position in the companyâ€"no experience required. Scenarios wanted. Cash prizes for the best motion picture stories with scenes laid in Harrisburg. Write your own motion picture and see it played on the screen. Full particulars upon inquiry at the Colonial Theater. If you can act, become a motion picture actor If you can write, become a motion picture author.’
“Well, if Gifford Pinchot wins that Keystone State Senatorship there will be a fine bunch of Penrose machine politicians available as ‘movie actors’ in Harrisburg.”[/quote]I’ve found nothing else about this attempt to launch a local movie production industry in Harrisburg, but it apparently did nothing to help business at the Colonial. The July 31, 1915, issue of The Moving Picture World ran this item:
The Little Theatre’s marquee reads “Admission Free” in the first of two additional photos linked from this page (photos 2 and 3 are accessed via links after the “view other images” note on the right, above the thumbnail.) The double bill consisted of two movies released in 1952. As the house was not first-run, the photo might have been from 1953 or later.
The directly linked photo shows patrons, apparently leaving the theater, passing by a table with a jar on it, and a sign reading “You may donate any amount of money that you think your evening’s entertainment was worth.” I don’t know if that was then the regular policy of the house (it was certainly unique if it was) or if it was just for this one program.
The part of the facade visible in these night shots showed some nice architectural detail, probably of terra cotta, but parts of it looked to be deteriorating even at that date.
Here is a 1940 photo of the Boulevard Theatre from the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Click on the “2” where it says “view other images” to see a night shot of the theater’s marquee.
The text accompanying the photos at Columbus Metropolitan Library (Ron Newman’s comment of May 8, 2005) says that the Beechwold Theatre was designed by the F&Y Building Service.
While the exterior of the theater was predominantly Streamline Moderne, and even displayed some early Midcentury Modern elements, the photos of the interior show that the auditorium was more ornate than the facade. There was still a lot of Art Deco in that interior design, especially in the wall sconces and the decorations above them.
In 1915, this house was called the Broadway Theatre (it was at the corner of Broadway and Montana Street.) There is a photo of it and four other Butte theaters of the time here. The photos are from this page of a 1915 booklet about Butte, which has a few paragraphs about the theaters.
The booklet gives the seating capacity of the Broadway as 2,280. It was a very tall building, and undoubtedly had a balcony and at least one gallery. The lower seating capacity in later years was probably the result of closing off the upper levels of the house.
The July 4, 1908, issue of The Moving Picture World ran this item, datelined Goshen, Ind.: “The New Jefferson Theater has been leased to E. R. Joseph for a moving picture show.”
The Superba Theatre was mentioned in trade journal The Moving Picture World, issue of July 4, 1908. The operator, a Mr. Bandy, reported that the Superba in Augusta had been closed for the summer, and that his new Airdome Theatre had been opened. Mr. Bandy announced that the Airdome in Augusta was proving such a success that he intended to build another open-air house, to be opened in Savannah the following summer.
This theater will be gone before I ever get a chance to see it. The Boxoffice article I linked to in an earlier comment is no longer available online, but I remember it saying that Edwards spent about twice as much per seat building this project than the industry was spending on the average multiplex at the time.
The multi-level garage probably accounted for much of that extra expense, and that will probably remain in use for whatever project gets built in the theater’s place, but it’s hard to imagine the theater itself being reopened with so many other screens nearby. In fact it’s likely that the availability of the parking facility will hasten the destruction of this theater once the real estate market recovers.
There’s been a theater at this location since 1924, except for the period between the destruction of the old Alhambra Theatre and the completion of the Atlantic Palace. It’s going to seem very strange without one.
The earliest purpose-built twin cinema to go into operation that I know of was the Duplex Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, which was opened in 1915. The Duplex was apparently too far ahead of its time, as it was closed in 1922. A link in the second comment on the Cinema Treasures page fetches a page with several photos and a floor plan of the theater.
Detroit got a second twin theater a few years later, when the Catherine Theatre (later the Carver Tehatre) was twinned.
The Carver Theatre was operating into the 1950s. An item in Billboard, March 24, 1951, said that the theater’s operator, David Korman, intended to convert the theater’s 210-seat television lounge back into a regular auditorium for movies. The item didn’t say when the television lounge had begun operation, but made it clear that it had once been the second auditorium of the two-screen Catherine Theatre. Prior to being opened as a television theater, the second auditorium had for many years been a tavern, according to Billboard, but it didn’t say when the auditorium had first been closed as a movie venue.
If the house was a true twin, and Billboard is correct that the television lounge had 210 seats, the other auditorium probably had about 210 seats as well.
As the Carver, this house was operated as an African-American theater. Television came along about the time theaters were being desegregated in many American cities, so houses catering to black audiences suffered a double blow, losing patrons to formerly segregated theaters as well as to television, so they went out of business at a faster pace than theaters in white neighborhoods during this period.
I’ve been unable to find any follow-up articles indicating that Korman’s plan to re-twin the Carver Theatre was actually carried out, but whether it was or not the theater probably didnt stay open much longer. The cost of installing CenemaScope equipment for two auditoriums probably would have done it in by the mid-1950s, if it lasted even that long.
Also, I found a couple of references to a Thomas Lynch as the operator of the Catherine Theatre in its early days, the earliest reference being from 1917. He might have been the operator who twinned the house.
The Liberty Theatre was under construction at 831 Detroit Avenue in Toledo in late 1917, according to an issue of Michigan Film Review late that year (the date is missing, but it was probably from early November.) The item said that the owners of the new Liberty Theatre had placed a large order with the United Theatre Equipment Co., and the house was expected to open within a few weeks.
I don’t know if the 1924 opening date currently given in the description is an error, of if disaster befell the original Liberty and it had to be rebuilt.