Gladys Johnson established the Southlawn Theatre Corporation in 1928. Likely using non-union projectionists, the Southlawn is attacked by stink bombs on the same day as targeting of the Creston, Stocking, Idlehour, Fulton, Biltmore, Alcazar, Royal, Rivoli, Liberty, Madison, Michigan, Madison, and Franklin theaters.
The Southlawn closed without converting to sound becoming home to a house of worship from 1929 and into 1931. But the venue reopened with sound on August 15, 1931 with “Trader Horn.” The Southlawn closed at the expiry of a 25-year lease on January 31, 1954 with “Tropic Zone” and “The Stand at Apache River.” It was converted for other purposes almost immediately thereafter.
The Stocking Theatre closed at the end of its second 20-year lease on December 2, 1956 with “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy,” “Love Happy” and Walt Disney’s Musicland."
Blessed Sacrament Parish purchased the Roxy Theater building on April 1, 1946. The theater operated to the end of its lease closing on April 23, 1946 with “Irish Eyes are Smiling” and “Wild Geese Calling.”
It appears that the Royal Theater opened on May 16, 1914. The “Cool” Royal Theatre closed after its second 20-year lease on July 11, 1954 with “The Long Long Trailer” and “Dangerous Mission.”
It was listed as “closed for the summer” after the July 29, 1947 showings of “The Harvey Girls” and “Blondie Knows Best” supported by a clever cartoon. Blondie knows that the State did not reopen.
The theater was renamed the Park Theatre on May 29, 1932 with “Play Girl” and “Strangers in Love.” The Park Theater closed on July 6, 1958 with “I Was a Teen-Age Werewolf” and “The Devil’s Hairpin.” It was offered for lease becoming an auction house and then a laundromat.
The RKO Keith Theatre closed on September 5, 1962 with “The Spiral Road.” Stars on its stage included Houdini, Jack Benny and Ethel Barrymore. The city took on the property as part of urban renewal.
Houting & Meeusen Wrecking Company of Holland salvaged all of the seats and it also salvaged its Wurlitzer seven-rank two manual pipe organ that had been installed in 1926 which was sold. The theater was demolished in 1963.
The 650-seat Michigan Theatre launched on June 24, 1916 by G.H. and C.W. Budde. of the Alcazar. Howard T. Reynolds took on the the Michigan Theater giving it a $5,000 streamline makeover and new name of the Vogue Theatre.
It relaunched on April 17, 1938 with High Wide and Handsome supported by The Wrong Road. The Vogue Theater temporarily closed on August 30, 1946 after showing “The Bells of St. Mary’s.” An ad promised its return after a refresh that never occurred. Reynolds, who also had the Family and the Stocking theaters - moved on from the Vogue. It sat vacant and was sold to Radio Bible Class, Inc. in 1951 for $20,000.
Final shows at the RKO Regent Theatre were held September 29, 1964 at end of lease with “The Hustler” and “Blue Denim.” Leonard VanderMate was on duty on opening night and was still working the booth on September 29, 1964. Good effort!
The city took on the property as part of urban renewal. They were able to salvage the Robert Morton organ - once played by Hazel “Bird” McGahey in its silent years - prior to the Regent’s demolition in 1966 and its extensive art collection. Houting & Meeusen Wrecking Company of Holland reportedly did a good job of salvaging useful items including the 16-lane bowling alley above the theater.
Gillingham and Smith Theatre Enterprises circuit had plans drawn by Detroit architect C. Howard Crane with superivisng architects Williamson & Crow as they created the new build Strand Theatre in 1915. The style was Adam. The theatre was bathed in green with mahogany wood accents.
The Strand joined Gillingham and Smith’s Monroe, Idlehour, and Original Vaudette theaters. The opening of the Strand occurred on September 18, 1915 with Clara Young Kimball in “Marrying Money.” The Strand was not able to make the transition to sound. In 1929, the building was sold to the Prange family and was remodeled to the Planos of George L. Stone becoming a new Prange’s Store opening on May 7, 1930.
N.P. and J.D. Winchell contracted with architects, the Benjamin Brothers to create the new-build Colonial Theater that opened on October 9, 1913. The theater at 752 Wealthy was next door to a busy Piggly Wiggly grocery store. However, it was not able to make the conversion to the sound era.
Charles P. Dickerman opened the Madison Theater in 1916 in the Gifford Block building at 1168 Madison. If reported correctly, it reopens in a new build Madison Square facility in 1920 at 1231 Madison by the Beecher Theater, Inc. Circuit. Beecher operated the Madison, Franklin, Liberty, Biltmore and Alcazar at that time. Grovner Willer and Herbert Boshoven (later of Boshoven-Busic Theatres) take on the venue giving it a major makeover and converting it to sound to remain viable. It reopens as the “New” Madison Theater on September 5, 1931 with “Daddy Longlegs.”
In 1940, Willer and Boshoven gave the venue an even more drastic streamline moderne makeover with new-look marquee. B.K.R. Theatres with Busic and two partners takes on the venue in 1949 and then it operated by the reformulated Boshoven-Busic Circuit in the 1950s.
Joe Busic closed here on January 12, 1957 with “These Wilder Years” and “The Young Guns.” It was converted to a roller rink at a cost of $8,000 by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Meholic opening on Feb. 7, 1957.
The Family Theatre opened October 27, 1923 with “Strangers of the Night.” It initially closed at the end of its lease on October 5, 1958 with “Tammie and the Bachelor” and “The Kettles in the Ozarks.” Williams Heidman reopened the venue on March 7, 1959 retaining the Family Theater name and policy. He closed April 30, 1961 with Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson" and a Disney cartoon festival.
As the Cinema, it showed art films beginning October 21st, 1961 . It stopped advertising some ten years later on June 19, 1971 with “Precious Jewels” and “The Fabulous Bastard from Chicago.”
The Creston started advertising in 1920 along with the adjoining Creston Candy Shop that served as the de facto concession stand for the venue. It did not close in 1959 running continuously to the adult transformation in 1973.
George C. Nichols opened the second ever movie house in Grand Rapids with the Superba Theatre in 1907. The venue had a 44 year run. Nichols would build a the Nichols Theatre (turned Uptown and Capri #1) - his first from the ground up in 1914 and the Isis Theatre (turned Center) in 1916. He also owned the Apollo, the Mystic and the Lyceum. Nichols appeared to have difficulty making sound conversions not transitioning the house to talking pictures with vaudeville on July 4, 1931.
The Superba struggled with live acts and exploitation fare until its 25-year lease expired. The next operator, Roy Taylor - of the Fulton and Southlawn theaters changed the name of the venue to the Rialto. This transition included a modern sound system by Western Electric and a Spanish Bungalow architecturally styled auditorium after a refresh. The opening of the Rialto was on September 4, 1932 with “Palmy Days” and “Midnight Morals.”
On May 19, 1948, the theater moved to a third-tier, grind house policy as the Fox Theatre with Jean Tierney in “Sundown” and Richard Dix in “Kansan.” It becomes the Fox Follies Theatre with burlesque on December 25, 1948. It reverts to the Fox Theatre but not before receiving an indecency claim for the double feature of “Souls in Pawn” and “Fools of Desire.”
The Fox lost its license in 1949 and was fined $10 but regained its license after agreeing to eliminate live burlesque acts. At that time, it is rebranded as the Art Theater on September 9, 1949 with “Stella Dallas” and “Topper.” The Art appears to have closed June 4, 1951 with “Edge of Doom” and “Tomahawk.”
Butterfield Theatre Circuit took on the Orpheum on July 3, 1929. It wired the venue to remain viable and opened on its new Kent Theatre moniker on August 29, 1929. Butterfield moved the office space from the Orpheum/Kent to the Isis so he could create improved restrooms and a mezzanine.
The Kent was closed permanently after the expiry of a 25-year lease on July 4, 1954 with “The Fighting Rats of Tobruk” and “The Bushwhackers.” The building was approved for a remodel in 1956 becoming a house of worship. That arrangement lasts exactly ten years indicating the end of another lease and the building was likely demolished.
Operators Willer and Boshoven hired architects F.P. Allen & Son to create the Our. It launched on January 22, 1929 with Jack Holt and Betty Compton in “Court Martial.” The venue closed on March 29, 1964 with a triple feature of “Pepe,” “12 to the Moon,” and “27th Day.”
In April of 1964, Civic Theater officials purchased the building for $42,000 from Willer & Boshoven. The used architect Wold & Bowers to refresh the space.
The New Galewood Theater opened on January 30, 1926 with Patsy Ruth Miller in “Loraine of Lions.” The Galewood converted to sound to remain viable. In 1955, it converted to a “wide-vision screen” to present CinemaScope titles.
The Galewood appears to have closed following the June 16, 1957 showing of Alan Ladd and Virginia Mayo in “The Big Land” with Abbott and Costello in “Dance With Me, Henry” supported by two cartoons.
The space became a roller rink in 1958, was denied conversion to a dance hall in 1963, became a church in 1965, and was approved for a printer / paint warehouse in 1968 which sounded like a fire risk. And that’s how the Galewood Theatre building met its demise.
George C. Nichols, operator of the Superba Theatre, decided to create a new theater from the ground up. The Nichols Theatre launched January 22, 1914, a 540-seat theater designed for photoplays. On July 21, 1918, the venue was renamed as the Rivoli Theatre under new operators. In 1929, the Rivoli was converted to sound to remain viable.
Frank Kleaver took on the venue and, after a refresh, it was rebranded as the Uptown Theatre on August 12, 1933 with Cary Grant in “Gambling Ship” and “Be Mine Tonight” supported by a Pathé newsreel and a Mickey Mouse Cartoon. It closed on April 3, 1960 with Vera Day in “Woman Eater” and Fred MacMurray in “Face of a Fugitive.”
It reopened as the Capri Theatre #1 on September 3, 1965 with Jayne Mansfield in the uncut version of “Promises! Promises!” The Capri closed on June 23, 1968 with Par Harrington in “Agony of Love” and “For Love or Money.” The theatre was torched early the next day permanently ending its run.
Lead Architects: Crane, Kiehler & Kellogg of Detroit. They worked in conjunction with Eastbrook Mall architect Hornbach, Steenwyk, and Thrall of Grand Rapids who were the originators of the Mall and the outparcels' original layout. Ads for the 70mm presentations of “Gone with the Wind” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” are in photos.
The theater closed as a twin at the end of a 20-year lease. It reopened as Club Eastbrook, a live concert hall from October 12, 1998 to December 1, 1993. It then became the Orbit Room on February 20, 1994. it was closed permanently 15 years later just prior to a December 31, 2018 New Year’s Eve Show due to safety concerns. It sat vacant until the former theater was demolished in 2022 and 2023.
Opened September 2, 1922 with Norma Talmade in “Smilin' Through.” It also opened with a recital on the Link organ and the venue also had a Link piano. Projectors were by Simplex. The name Elvin was a combination of Mrs. Dittrich’s “Ellen” and Mrs. Ammerman’s “Vina” - “Elvin.” The venue added sound to remain viable. It closed February 2, 1960 by Mrs. S. Howard Ammerman and Dittrich Enterprises showing “Blue Angel” and “Beloved Infidel.” The town also lost its Strand Theatre two months earlier. The building was razed in 1961 for the Midland Trust bank.
Gladys Johnson established the Southlawn Theatre Corporation in 1928. Likely using non-union projectionists, the Southlawn is attacked by stink bombs on the same day as targeting of the Creston, Stocking, Idlehour, Fulton, Biltmore, Alcazar, Royal, Rivoli, Liberty, Madison, Michigan, Madison, and Franklin theaters.
The Southlawn closed without converting to sound becoming home to a house of worship from 1929 and into 1931. But the venue reopened with sound on August 15, 1931 with “Trader Horn.” The Southlawn closed at the expiry of a 25-year lease on January 31, 1954 with “Tropic Zone” and “The Stand at Apache River.” It was converted for other purposes almost immediately thereafter.
Closed permanently following the September 28, 2024 programming
The Stocking Theatre closed at the end of its second 20-year lease on December 2, 1956 with “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy,” “Love Happy” and Walt Disney’s Musicland."
Blessed Sacrament Parish purchased the Roxy Theater building on April 1, 1946. The theater operated to the end of its lease closing on April 23, 1946 with “Irish Eyes are Smiling” and “Wild Geese Calling.”
It appears that the Royal Theater opened on May 16, 1914. The “Cool” Royal Theatre closed after its second 20-year lease on July 11, 1954 with “The Long Long Trailer” and “Dangerous Mission.”
It was listed as “closed for the summer” after the July 29, 1947 showings of “The Harvey Girls” and “Blondie Knows Best” supported by a clever cartoon. Blondie knows that the State did not reopen.
Reopened as the Roosevelt Theatre on September 23, 1933 with The Mind Reader and As the Devil Commands.
The theater was renamed the Park Theatre on May 29, 1932 with “Play Girl” and “Strangers in Love.” The Park Theater closed on July 6, 1958 with “I Was a Teen-Age Werewolf” and “The Devil’s Hairpin.” It was offered for lease becoming an auction house and then a laundromat.
The RKO Keith Theatre closed on September 5, 1962 with “The Spiral Road.” Stars on its stage included Houdini, Jack Benny and Ethel Barrymore. The city took on the property as part of urban renewal.
Houting & Meeusen Wrecking Company of Holland salvaged all of the seats and it also salvaged its Wurlitzer seven-rank two manual pipe organ that had been installed in 1926 which was sold. The theater was demolished in 1963.
The 650-seat Michigan Theatre launched on June 24, 1916 by G.H. and C.W. Budde. of the Alcazar. Howard T. Reynolds took on the the Michigan Theater giving it a $5,000 streamline makeover and new name of the Vogue Theatre.
It relaunched on April 17, 1938 with High Wide and Handsome supported by The Wrong Road. The Vogue Theater temporarily closed on August 30, 1946 after showing “The Bells of St. Mary’s.” An ad promised its return after a refresh that never occurred. Reynolds, who also had the Family and the Stocking theaters - moved on from the Vogue. It sat vacant and was sold to Radio Bible Class, Inc. in 1951 for $20,000.
Final shows at the RKO Regent Theatre were held September 29, 1964 at end of lease with “The Hustler” and “Blue Denim.” Leonard VanderMate was on duty on opening night and was still working the booth on September 29, 1964. Good effort!
The city took on the property as part of urban renewal. They were able to salvage the Robert Morton organ - once played by Hazel “Bird” McGahey in its silent years - prior to the Regent’s demolition in 1966 and its extensive art collection. Houting & Meeusen Wrecking Company of Holland reportedly did a good job of salvaging useful items including the 16-lane bowling alley above the theater.
Gillingham and Smith Theatre Enterprises circuit had plans drawn by Detroit architect C. Howard Crane with superivisng architects Williamson & Crow as they created the new build Strand Theatre in 1915. The style was Adam. The theatre was bathed in green with mahogany wood accents.
The Strand joined Gillingham and Smith’s Monroe, Idlehour, and Original Vaudette theaters. The opening of the Strand occurred on September 18, 1915 with Clara Young Kimball in “Marrying Money.” The Strand was not able to make the transition to sound. In 1929, the building was sold to the Prange family and was remodeled to the Planos of George L. Stone becoming a new Prange’s Store opening on May 7, 1930.
N.P. and J.D. Winchell contracted with architects, the Benjamin Brothers to create the new-build Colonial Theater that opened on October 9, 1913. The theater at 752 Wealthy was next door to a busy Piggly Wiggly grocery store. However, it was not able to make the conversion to the sound era.
Charles P. Dickerman opened the Madison Theater in 1916 in the Gifford Block building at 1168 Madison. If reported correctly, it reopens in a new build Madison Square facility in 1920 at 1231 Madison by the Beecher Theater, Inc. Circuit. Beecher operated the Madison, Franklin, Liberty, Biltmore and Alcazar at that time. Grovner Willer and Herbert Boshoven (later of Boshoven-Busic Theatres) take on the venue giving it a major makeover and converting it to sound to remain viable. It reopens as the “New” Madison Theater on September 5, 1931 with “Daddy Longlegs.”
In 1940, Willer and Boshoven gave the venue an even more drastic streamline moderne makeover with new-look marquee. B.K.R. Theatres with Busic and two partners takes on the venue in 1949 and then it operated by the reformulated Boshoven-Busic Circuit in the 1950s.
Joe Busic closed here on January 12, 1957 with “These Wilder Years” and “The Young Guns.” It was converted to a roller rink at a cost of $8,000 by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Meholic opening on Feb. 7, 1957.
The Family Theatre opened October 27, 1923 with “Strangers of the Night.” It initially closed at the end of its lease on October 5, 1958 with “Tammie and the Bachelor” and “The Kettles in the Ozarks.” Williams Heidman reopened the venue on March 7, 1959 retaining the Family Theater name and policy. He closed April 30, 1961 with Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson" and a Disney cartoon festival.
As the Cinema, it showed art films beginning October 21st, 1961 . It stopped advertising some ten years later on June 19, 1971 with “Precious Jewels” and “The Fabulous Bastard from Chicago.”
The Creston started advertising in 1920 along with the adjoining Creston Candy Shop that served as the de facto concession stand for the venue. It did not close in 1959 running continuously to the adult transformation in 1973.
George C. Nichols opened the second ever movie house in Grand Rapids with the Superba Theatre in 1907. The venue had a 44 year run. Nichols would build a the Nichols Theatre (turned Uptown and Capri #1) - his first from the ground up in 1914 and the Isis Theatre (turned Center) in 1916. He also owned the Apollo, the Mystic and the Lyceum. Nichols appeared to have difficulty making sound conversions not transitioning the house to talking pictures with vaudeville on July 4, 1931.
The Superba struggled with live acts and exploitation fare until its 25-year lease expired. The next operator, Roy Taylor - of the Fulton and Southlawn theaters changed the name of the venue to the Rialto. This transition included a modern sound system by Western Electric and a Spanish Bungalow architecturally styled auditorium after a refresh. The opening of the Rialto was on September 4, 1932 with “Palmy Days” and “Midnight Morals.”
On May 19, 1948, the theater moved to a third-tier, grind house policy as the Fox Theatre with Jean Tierney in “Sundown” and Richard Dix in “Kansan.” It becomes the Fox Follies Theatre with burlesque on December 25, 1948. It reverts to the Fox Theatre but not before receiving an indecency claim for the double feature of “Souls in Pawn” and “Fools of Desire.”
The Fox lost its license in 1949 and was fined $10 but regained its license after agreeing to eliminate live burlesque acts. At that time, it is rebranded as the Art Theater on September 9, 1949 with “Stella Dallas” and “Topper.” The Art appears to have closed June 4, 1951 with “Edge of Doom” and “Tomahawk.”
Appears to have thrown in the towel on January 29, 1957 after showing “Court Jester” and “Port Afrique.”
Butterfield Theatre Circuit took on the Orpheum on July 3, 1929. It wired the venue to remain viable and opened on its new Kent Theatre moniker on August 29, 1929. Butterfield moved the office space from the Orpheum/Kent to the Isis so he could create improved restrooms and a mezzanine.
The Kent was closed permanently after the expiry of a 25-year lease on July 4, 1954 with “The Fighting Rats of Tobruk” and “The Bushwhackers.” The building was approved for a remodel in 1956 becoming a house of worship. That arrangement lasts exactly ten years indicating the end of another lease and the building was likely demolished.
Operators Willer and Boshoven hired architects F.P. Allen & Son to create the Our. It launched on January 22, 1929 with Jack Holt and Betty Compton in “Court Martial.” The venue closed on March 29, 1964 with a triple feature of “Pepe,” “12 to the Moon,” and “27th Day.”
In April of 1964, Civic Theater officials purchased the building for $42,000 from Willer & Boshoven. The used architect Wold & Bowers to refresh the space.
The New Galewood Theater opened on January 30, 1926 with Patsy Ruth Miller in “Loraine of Lions.” The Galewood converted to sound to remain viable. In 1955, it converted to a “wide-vision screen” to present CinemaScope titles.
The Galewood appears to have closed following the June 16, 1957 showing of Alan Ladd and Virginia Mayo in “The Big Land” with Abbott and Costello in “Dance With Me, Henry” supported by two cartoons.
The space became a roller rink in 1958, was denied conversion to a dance hall in 1963, became a church in 1965, and was approved for a printer / paint warehouse in 1968 which sounded like a fire risk. And that’s how the Galewood Theatre building met its demise.
George C. Nichols, operator of the Superba Theatre, decided to create a new theater from the ground up. The Nichols Theatre launched January 22, 1914, a 540-seat theater designed for photoplays. On July 21, 1918, the venue was renamed as the Rivoli Theatre under new operators. In 1929, the Rivoli was converted to sound to remain viable.
Frank Kleaver took on the venue and, after a refresh, it was rebranded as the Uptown Theatre on August 12, 1933 with Cary Grant in “Gambling Ship” and “Be Mine Tonight” supported by a Pathé newsreel and a Mickey Mouse Cartoon. It closed on April 3, 1960 with Vera Day in “Woman Eater” and Fred MacMurray in “Face of a Fugitive.”
It reopened as the Capri Theatre #1 on September 3, 1965 with Jayne Mansfield in the uncut version of “Promises! Promises!” The Capri closed on June 23, 1968 with Par Harrington in “Agony of Love” and “For Love or Money.” The theatre was torched early the next day permanently ending its run.
Lead Architects: Crane, Kiehler & Kellogg of Detroit. They worked in conjunction with Eastbrook Mall architect Hornbach, Steenwyk, and Thrall of Grand Rapids who were the originators of the Mall and the outparcels' original layout. Ads for the 70mm presentations of “Gone with the Wind” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” are in photos.
The theater closed as a twin at the end of a 20-year lease. It reopened as Club Eastbrook, a live concert hall from October 12, 1998 to December 1, 1993. It then became the Orbit Room on February 20, 1994. it was closed permanently 15 years later just prior to a December 31, 2018 New Year’s Eve Show due to safety concerns. It sat vacant until the former theater was demolished in 2022 and 2023.
Opened September 2, 1922 with Norma Talmade in “Smilin' Through.” It also opened with a recital on the Link organ and the venue also had a Link piano. Projectors were by Simplex. The name Elvin was a combination of Mrs. Dittrich’s “Ellen” and Mrs. Ammerman’s “Vina” - “Elvin.” The venue added sound to remain viable. It closed February 2, 1960 by Mrs. S. Howard Ammerman and Dittrich Enterprises showing “Blue Angel” and “Beloved Infidel.” The town also lost its Strand Theatre two months earlier. The building was razed in 1961 for the Midland Trust bank.
AMC closed here following the September 22, 2024 showtimes opting not to renew its lease.