An article in Southwest Builder & Contractor, issue of October 2, 1925, announced that architect L.A. Smith was preparing plans for the Imperial Theatre in Long Beach. The theatre was remodeled from an existing building. The previous use of the building was not specified.
A 1933 issue of the same publication said that architect Clifford Balch had been hired to plan repairs to the exterior of the Imperial Theatre following damage in the earthquake of that year.
As the theatre was art deco in later years, some extensive remodeling must have taken place, which probably eliminated most or all of Smith’s earlier design.
Architect Silas Reese Burns designed the Silent Building and the Alhambra Theatre. In partnership with architect Sumner P. Hunt at the time, his firm was called Hunt and Burns.
Two articles on the Temple Theatre in Alhambra (L.A. Times of 12/25/1921 and Southwest Builder & Contractor of 6/3/1921) mention that Mr. O.H.Scheusener would be the operator of the theatre. The SB&C article further mentions that Scheusener was already the operator of another picture house in Alhambra. As the other two theatres in Alhambra were built later than this (the Alhambra in 1923 and the Garfield in 1925), unless there was yet another theatre in the city at that time, the theatre Mr. Scheusener operated must have been the Granada.
That the Granada already existed in 1921 is shown by this 1920 photograph from the Los Angeles Public Library. Third Street is in the foreground, and the Granada is the white two story building on the far right corner of Second Street, one block east.
There is an article in the magazine Builder & Contractor, issue of December 25, 1916, which announces the plans for construction of a theatre in Alhambra, for J.D. Morgan, designed by architect Harley S. Bradley. Assuming that this theatre was actually built, then it was most likely the Granada. This is all a bit speculative so far, but there seems to be a good chance that the Granada opened in 1917 and was designed by Harley S. Bradley.
The Los Angeles Times mentions this theatre by the name Granada in an article published on July 16, 1941, so the name was changed to the Coronet some time after that.
A wider version of the picture at the top of this page is here.
Toni: According to this page at the Internet Broadway Database, Charles Alphin’s “Ski-Hi” was the final production mounted at Hoyt’s Theatre on 24th Street (between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue) in June and July of 1908. Charles Alphin’s IBDB page doesn’t list any other works yet. Many of the pages at the IBDB site are incomplete.
There is also a writer named Charles Alphin listed at the Internet Movie Database, with four movies in his filmography, all from 1926. Is this also your grandfather? At least one of the movies on his list, a Charley Chase short called “Bromo and Juliet” is available on DVD— in two different collections, in fact: The Charley Chase Collection, Vol.2, and The Lost Films of Laurel and Hardy, Vol.3 (Oliver Hardy had a small part in the movie.)
Also, I think that your grandfather’s Olympic Theatre is listed here at Cinema Treasures under one of its later names, The Gaiety (though the head of the page gives the wrong address for it. It should say 523 South Main Street.)
I’d like to see photos of the Olympic Theatre. If you have a picture of the exterior, we might be able to confirm that it was the same building seen at the lower left in this ca1917 photo, when it was called the Omar Theatre.
vokoban: It looks as though that is the Mozart building in that second picture. It’s the right distance down Grand Avenue, and is the right size. In fact, I recognized the cursive writing on the sign immediately, as I’ve seen a sign exactly like it, though much faded. It was (and according to a November 24th, 2004 comment by ejaycat on the Fox Pasadena page here, still is) on the wall of the former Clune’s Pasadena Theatre. Apparently, Billy Clune ran the Grand Avenue house for a while, too.
As for the date of the picture, it must be fairly close to 1912, and more likely earlier than later, given the fact that the southeast corner of 7th and Grand is still occupied by a house converted to commercial use, no cars are in sight, and the pavement looks very primitive. Even by the early 1920’s, that corner looked very different.
Oh, the salacious prurience! Bare breasts on the Internet! Who would have thought there could be such a thing? The club site does have three decent, though small, pictures of the facade. Let’s steal their bandwidth and link directly to the first picture here. See the next two pictures by changing the “club1” in the URL to “club2” and then “club3” (there are six more pictures after that, of the interior following conversion, but there’s little in them recognizable from the original theatre decor.) This way, the prudes can see the theatre without seeing the, um, mammalian features on the site’s front page. They will be uncorrupted (except for the whole bandwidth theft thing, but what’s that next to the evils of prurience?)
Yes, Sarah Bernhardt had her right leg chopped off following an accident in 1914: [quote]In 1915, during an unfortunate performance in the title role of Victorien Sardou’s drama La Tosca, Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) injured her right leg so badly that it had to be amputated. While she was recovering, the manager of the Pan-American Exposition (in San Francisco) asked for permission to exhibit her leg, offering $100,000 for the privilege. Bernhardt cabled this reply: “Which leg?”
She hummed the “Marseillaise” as she was wheeled down the hospital corridor and afterwards used a wheelchair, disdaining prostheses and crutches – bearers instead carried the divine Sarah around in a specially designed litter chair in Louis XV style with gilt carving, like a Byzantine princess. Immediately upon leaving the hospital, she filmed Jeanne Dore (1915), again directed by Louis Mercanton. She was shot either standing or sitting; this in fact pinned her down and forced her to use facial expression rather than movement and helped her performance. The five-reel film, distributed by Universal in the U.S., got rave reviews and reflected well upon both its game star and the industry as an art form. (From Richard Gordon’s “An Alarming History of Famous and Difficult Patients: Amusing Medical Anecdotes from Typhoid Mary to FDR.” St. Martin’s Press; 1997)[/quote]
A number of years ago, David Kirby published a book of poetry with the titel “Sarah Bernhardt’s Leg.” I’ve never read it, but I do like the title.
But back on the subject of the Mozart, I see that the May 8, 1908 article you quoted in your comment of March 1st gives the name of the original architects of the theatre as Eisen & Son. This must have been Theodore A. Eisen (1852-1924) and Percy A. Eisen (1885-1946.) T.A. was the Eisen in the firm of Curlet, Eisen and Cuthbertson which designed the old L.A. County Courthouse on New High Street in the 1880’s. Percy was later a partner in the firm of Walker and Eisen which designed many Los Angeles area theatres in the 1920’s and later. T.A. was also in partnership with Sumner P. Hunt for a while in the late 19th century. The partnership of Eisen & Son was disolved in 1917.
This theatre certainly endured a lot of changes in its less than 40 years. I suppose the instability was partly the result of its having been outside the main theatre district of Los Angeles. At least we now have the name of the architects, a firm opening date of the first Monday after December 18th, 1908, a closing date of the first Saturday after July 4th, 1946, and an opening night seating capacity of 900. Now, if someone can only find some pictures (of more than just its back wall) under one or another of its identities.
someonewalks: Fischer’s Theatre (your first link) had its entrance on First Street just west of Main. It became a movie house called the Spanish Theatre before being demolished in the 1920’s. Your second link, the Belasco, is listed at Cinema Treasures under its final name, the Follies.
The photo I linked on March 1st dates from about 1920 or a bit earlier, and I’m pretty sure the sign on the back of the theatre says “Strand”, so there’s another name to fill at least part of that gap between 1916 and 1923.
My very first comment at the top of the page tells about the map book which lists the theatre as the Grand Playhouse.
Does the source for the Grand International name include the address of the theatre? One of William’s comments at the Fox Criterion page claims the Grand International as the name of that theatre in the 1940’s. Maybe both theatres used that name at different times?
vokoban: My date of August 14, 1913 for the opening of the Mozart Theatre is from a card in the L.A. Library’s California Index database. It quotes an L.A. Times article of that date (part III, p.2, column 2), which purportedly announces the grand opening of the theatre. It’s possible that the person who typed the card made a mistake (mistakes are not uncommon in that database, I’ve found.) It also seems quite possible that the article quoted on the card might have referred to an opening under the new management which took over after (as the 1913 article you posted above says) Mrs. Mozart “…disposed of the theater on Grand Avenue….”
I have now found another card in the database (by using the spelling “theater” rather than “theatre”) which says that the Mozart opened as the Walker Theater in 1908. The place certainly had a colorful history— though not so colorful, it appears, as that of Mr. Mozart (or Kuttner) himself.
The Alhambra Theatre once had a rooftop sign located up the block from the theatre, atop a building on the south side of 7th Street just west of Hill Street. It can be seen at the center of this photograph from the USC digital archives.
Incidentally, though the photo is labeled by the archives as being from 1921, it must be from 1920 or earlier, as demolition of the buildings left foreground on 7th and Broadway, where Loew’s State Theatre opened in 1921, had not yet begun.
At the center top of this photograph at the USC digital archives, there can be seen the rear of a theatre with the painted sign “Strand Theatre' on its wall (use the archive’s "zoom” feature to enlarge the section and make the writing legible.) This is probably the Mozart, which I believe was the only theatre on that block of Grand Avenue. I’ve also found that the name Orange Grove was used for this theatre in the mid-1920’s, not the 1940’s.
Incidentally, though the photo is labeled by the archives as being from 1921, it must be from 1920 or earlier, as demolition of the buildings left foreground on 7th and Broadway, where Loew’s State Theatre opened in 1921, had not yet begun.
vokoban: The June 12, 1926 article you posted is particularly interesting for its mention of the Orange Grove Theatre. That was one of the names used by the Mozart Theatre on Grand Avenue. That’s a rather mysterious theatre itself, and it’s been difficult to track down much solid information about it.
The last line of that article sounds a bit strange today. I wonder if somebody Googling for “Morrissey” will come across this post in their results and be terribly confused?
It also seems a bit odd that Beau Deep refers to the Majestic with the phrase “…those antiquated purlieus…” in his 1933 remembrance. The place was only 25 years old! I supposed it probably did seem antiquated in comparison to the new Orpheum across the street, though, and the even newer Los Angeles Theatre a few blocks up. Broadway’s theatres did become far more lavish over that quarter century.
I’ve heard excerpts from the 1884 Manon by Massenet, and the entire 1893 Manon by Puccini, but Auber’s earlier version is so rarely recorded (and almost as rarely performed) that I don’t think I’ve ever heard so much as a single aria from it.
The Lyric Opera company’s ticket prices seem quite reasonable, though. The ten dollar tickets are probably for the second balcony. I’ve only ever been up there once, but I recall the view being fairly decent— in fact, better than the comparable seats in the Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre (though the best seats in the Los Angeles are definitely those in the side sections that extend from the first balcony.) I wish I could get to L.A. for this event. Even if Auber was no Puccini, it would be worth sitting through an archaic, Victorian opera just to see the Los Angeles Theatre in operation again.
Oops. My bad. The link I posted goes to the same page ken mc linked to in the comment just above mine. Remind me to click previously posted links before adding a new one.
Here is a page containing a photo of the Admiral Theatre on it’s opening night, January 22, 1942. The caption of the photo reveals that the theatre was owned by John Danz’s Sterling Theaters (later SRO), and that it opened with 1000 seats.
According to a photo caption on this page, the classical Greek Revival facade of the Colonial Theatre was still intact as late as 1981. By 2001, the location was occupied by a Borders book store. The caption does not say whether the building was replaced or merely remodeled.
It seems from that article that all six of Greenville’s Main Street theatres were in operation from 1925 until perhaps as late as 1947, when the oldest of them, the 1905 Bijou burned. It says that the Majestic and the Casino didn’t make it past the end of the 1950’s, and that the Carolina closed in the 1960’s and the Rivoli/Fox closed in 1978. The only theatre whose closing period is not mentioned is the Rialto. So, unless the Rialto closed earlier than the Bijou, Greenville supported six movie houses for more than two decades.
The article says nothing about which theatres might have been demolished, or if any are still standing. Even the Bijou is said only to have been “gutted” by the fire, so it’s possible the building is still there, used for something else. I’ve never been to Greenville, so I don’t know if any of the buildings have survived. If there is a local historical society or a history room at the local library, the information would probably be known to someone there.
Ah, so it is. My mistake. I just checked their Greenville, South Carolina page and there are no pictures there of any theatres except one modern multiplex. In fact, none of Greenville’s old Main Street theatres are listed on that site at all, not even the Carolina (my link to the Carolina in my earlier comment doesn’t work for some reason.) At one time, there were apparently six theatres on Main Street: The Bijou, the Carolina, the Rivoli/Fox (all listed at CT), the Casino, the Rialto, and the Majestic (not yet listed.)
I expect day-and-date release to be an advantage for small, independent movies that rely on word of mouth to maximize their audience. Blockbusters with corporate money can saturate the theatres and spend as much on advertising as was spent on making the movie. Of course, if the movie is crap, all the advertising won’t bail it out, but the saturation of theatres will at least bring in some revenue before the negative word-of-mouth kills the box office. I don’t think the big, expensive movies will gain anything by day-and-date release.
The small movie can only afford to be in a few theatres at a time, and will probably never be shown at all in some markets unless word-of-mouth makes it a sleeper hit. Releasing such a movie to DVD and, even more importantly, to the Internet at the same time as it is released to theatres may be able to serve as the independent filmmaker’s substitute for the millions the big boys spend on advertising and widely distributing their costly special effects movies.
In the long run, assuming a particular independent movie is good enough to attract an audience at all, day-and-date release may actually help it sell more tickets to its theatrical runs, and even get it into more theatres than it would have been in otherwise. We’ll have to wait and see if it works out this way, but I’d say it’s worth trying.
An article in Southwest Builder & Contractor, issue of October 2, 1925, announced that architect L.A. Smith was preparing plans for the Imperial Theatre in Long Beach. The theatre was remodeled from an existing building. The previous use of the building was not specified.
A 1933 issue of the same publication said that architect Clifford Balch had been hired to plan repairs to the exterior of the Imperial Theatre following damage in the earthquake of that year.
As the theatre was art deco in later years, some extensive remodeling must have taken place, which probably eliminated most or all of Smith’s earlier design.
Architect Silas Reese Burns designed the Silent Building and the Alhambra Theatre. In partnership with architect Sumner P. Hunt at the time, his firm was called Hunt and Burns.
Two articles on the Temple Theatre in Alhambra (L.A. Times of 12/25/1921 and Southwest Builder & Contractor of 6/3/1921) mention that Mr. O.H.Scheusener would be the operator of the theatre. The SB&C article further mentions that Scheusener was already the operator of another picture house in Alhambra. As the other two theatres in Alhambra were built later than this (the Alhambra in 1923 and the Garfield in 1925), unless there was yet another theatre in the city at that time, the theatre Mr. Scheusener operated must have been the Granada.
That the Granada already existed in 1921 is shown by this 1920 photograph from the Los Angeles Public Library. Third Street is in the foreground, and the Granada is the white two story building on the far right corner of Second Street, one block east.
There is an article in the magazine Builder & Contractor, issue of December 25, 1916, which announces the plans for construction of a theatre in Alhambra, for J.D. Morgan, designed by architect Harley S. Bradley. Assuming that this theatre was actually built, then it was most likely the Granada. This is all a bit speculative so far, but there seems to be a good chance that the Granada opened in 1917 and was designed by Harley S. Bradley.
Here is a photo of the Mission Playhouse from September, 1940, during the time it was operating as a movie theatre.
The Los Angeles Times mentions this theatre by the name Granada in an article published on July 16, 1941, so the name was changed to the Coronet some time after that.
A wider version of the picture at the top of this page is here.
Toni: According to this page at the Internet Broadway Database, Charles Alphin’s “Ski-Hi” was the final production mounted at Hoyt’s Theatre on 24th Street (between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue) in June and July of 1908. Charles Alphin’s IBDB page doesn’t list any other works yet. Many of the pages at the IBDB site are incomplete.
There is also a writer named Charles Alphin listed at the Internet Movie Database, with four movies in his filmography, all from 1926. Is this also your grandfather? At least one of the movies on his list, a Charley Chase short called “Bromo and Juliet” is available on DVD— in two different collections, in fact: The Charley Chase Collection, Vol.2, and The Lost Films of Laurel and Hardy, Vol.3 (Oliver Hardy had a small part in the movie.)
Also, I think that your grandfather’s Olympic Theatre is listed here at Cinema Treasures under one of its later names, The Gaiety (though the head of the page gives the wrong address for it. It should say 523 South Main Street.)
I’d like to see photos of the Olympic Theatre. If you have a picture of the exterior, we might be able to confirm that it was the same building seen at the lower left in this ca1917 photo, when it was called the Omar Theatre.
vokoban: It looks as though that is the Mozart building in that second picture. It’s the right distance down Grand Avenue, and is the right size. In fact, I recognized the cursive writing on the sign immediately, as I’ve seen a sign exactly like it, though much faded. It was (and according to a November 24th, 2004 comment by ejaycat on the Fox Pasadena page here, still is) on the wall of the former Clune’s Pasadena Theatre. Apparently, Billy Clune ran the Grand Avenue house for a while, too.
As for the date of the picture, it must be fairly close to 1912, and more likely earlier than later, given the fact that the southeast corner of 7th and Grand is still occupied by a house converted to commercial use, no cars are in sight, and the pavement looks very primitive. Even by the early 1920’s, that corner looked very different.
Oh, the salacious prurience! Bare breasts on the Internet! Who would have thought there could be such a thing? The club site does have three decent, though small, pictures of the facade. Let’s steal their bandwidth and link directly to the first picture here. See the next two pictures by changing the “club1” in the URL to “club2” and then “club3” (there are six more pictures after that, of the interior following conversion, but there’s little in them recognizable from the original theatre decor.) This way, the prudes can see the theatre without seeing the, um, mammalian features on the site’s front page. They will be uncorrupted (except for the whole bandwidth theft thing, but what’s that next to the evils of prurience?)
Yes, Sarah Bernhardt had her right leg chopped off following an accident in 1914: [quote]In 1915, during an unfortunate performance in the title role of Victorien Sardou’s drama La Tosca, Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) injured her right leg so badly that it had to be amputated. While she was recovering, the manager of the Pan-American Exposition (in San Francisco) asked for permission to exhibit her leg, offering $100,000 for the privilege. Bernhardt cabled this reply: “Which leg?”
She hummed the “Marseillaise” as she was wheeled down the hospital corridor and afterwards used a wheelchair, disdaining prostheses and crutches – bearers instead carried the divine Sarah around in a specially designed litter chair in Louis XV style with gilt carving, like a Byzantine princess. Immediately upon leaving the hospital, she filmed Jeanne Dore (1915), again directed by Louis Mercanton. She was shot either standing or sitting; this in fact pinned her down and forced her to use facial expression rather than movement and helped her performance. The five-reel film, distributed by Universal in the U.S., got rave reviews and reflected well upon both its game star and the industry as an art form. (From Richard Gordon’s “An Alarming History of Famous and Difficult Patients: Amusing Medical Anecdotes from Typhoid Mary to FDR.” St. Martin’s Press; 1997)[/quote]
A number of years ago, David Kirby published a book of poetry with the titel “Sarah Bernhardt’s Leg.” I’ve never read it, but I do like the title.
But back on the subject of the Mozart, I see that the May 8, 1908 article you quoted in your comment of March 1st gives the name of the original architects of the theatre as Eisen & Son. This must have been Theodore A. Eisen (1852-1924) and Percy A. Eisen (1885-1946.) T.A. was the Eisen in the firm of Curlet, Eisen and Cuthbertson which designed the old L.A. County Courthouse on New High Street in the 1880’s. Percy was later a partner in the firm of Walker and Eisen which designed many Los Angeles area theatres in the 1920’s and later. T.A. was also in partnership with Sumner P. Hunt for a while in the late 19th century. The partnership of Eisen & Son was disolved in 1917.
This theatre certainly endured a lot of changes in its less than 40 years. I suppose the instability was partly the result of its having been outside the main theatre district of Los Angeles. At least we now have the name of the architects, a firm opening date of the first Monday after December 18th, 1908, a closing date of the first Saturday after July 4th, 1946, and an opening night seating capacity of 900. Now, if someone can only find some pictures (of more than just its back wall) under one or another of its identities.
someonewalks: Fischer’s Theatre (your first link) had its entrance on First Street just west of Main. It became a movie house called the Spanish Theatre before being demolished in the 1920’s. Your second link, the Belasco, is listed at Cinema Treasures under its final name, the Follies.
The photo I linked on March 1st dates from about 1920 or a bit earlier, and I’m pretty sure the sign on the back of the theatre says “Strand”, so there’s another name to fill at least part of that gap between 1916 and 1923.
My very first comment at the top of the page tells about the map book which lists the theatre as the Grand Playhouse.
Does the source for the Grand International name include the address of the theatre? One of William’s comments at the Fox Criterion page claims the Grand International as the name of that theatre in the 1940’s. Maybe both theatres used that name at different times?
vokoban: My date of August 14, 1913 for the opening of the Mozart Theatre is from a card in the L.A. Library’s California Index database. It quotes an L.A. Times article of that date (part III, p.2, column 2), which purportedly announces the grand opening of the theatre. It’s possible that the person who typed the card made a mistake (mistakes are not uncommon in that database, I’ve found.) It also seems quite possible that the article quoted on the card might have referred to an opening under the new management which took over after (as the 1913 article you posted above says) Mrs. Mozart “…disposed of the theater on Grand Avenue….”
I have now found another card in the database (by using the spelling “theater” rather than “theatre”) which says that the Mozart opened as the Walker Theater in 1908. The place certainly had a colorful history— though not so colorful, it appears, as that of Mr. Mozart (or Kuttner) himself.
The Alhambra Theatre once had a rooftop sign located up the block from the theatre, atop a building on the south side of 7th Street just west of Hill Street. It can be seen at the center of this photograph from the USC digital archives.
Incidentally, though the photo is labeled by the archives as being from 1921, it must be from 1920 or earlier, as demolition of the buildings left foreground on 7th and Broadway, where Loew’s State Theatre opened in 1921, had not yet begun.
At the center top of this photograph at the USC digital archives, there can be seen the rear of a theatre with the painted sign “Strand Theatre' on its wall (use the archive’s "zoom” feature to enlarge the section and make the writing legible.) This is probably the Mozart, which I believe was the only theatre on that block of Grand Avenue. I’ve also found that the name Orange Grove was used for this theatre in the mid-1920’s, not the 1940’s.
Incidentally, though the photo is labeled by the archives as being from 1921, it must be from 1920 or earlier, as demolition of the buildings left foreground on 7th and Broadway, where Loew’s State Theatre opened in 1921, had not yet begun.
vokoban: The June 12, 1926 article you posted is particularly interesting for its mention of the Orange Grove Theatre. That was one of the names used by the Mozart Theatre on Grand Avenue. That’s a rather mysterious theatre itself, and it’s been difficult to track down much solid information about it.
The last line of that article sounds a bit strange today. I wonder if somebody Googling for “Morrissey” will come across this post in their results and be terribly confused?
It also seems a bit odd that Beau Deep refers to the Majestic with the phrase “…those antiquated purlieus…” in his 1933 remembrance. The place was only 25 years old! I supposed it probably did seem antiquated in comparison to the new Orpheum across the street, though, and the even newer Los Angeles Theatre a few blocks up. Broadway’s theatres did become far more lavish over that quarter century.
I’ve heard excerpts from the 1884 Manon by Massenet, and the entire 1893 Manon by Puccini, but Auber’s earlier version is so rarely recorded (and almost as rarely performed) that I don’t think I’ve ever heard so much as a single aria from it.
The Lyric Opera company’s ticket prices seem quite reasonable, though. The ten dollar tickets are probably for the second balcony. I’ve only ever been up there once, but I recall the view being fairly decent— in fact, better than the comparable seats in the Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre (though the best seats in the Los Angeles are definitely those in the side sections that extend from the first balcony.) I wish I could get to L.A. for this event. Even if Auber was no Puccini, it would be worth sitting through an archaic, Victorian opera just to see the Los Angeles Theatre in operation again.
Ken, the theatre on the right is the Rialto.
There is also an interesting bird’s eye view of the demolition of the Metropolitan in 1956.
Oops. My bad. The link I posted goes to the same page ken mc linked to in the comment just above mine. Remind me to click previously posted links before adding a new one.
Here is a page containing a photo of the Admiral Theatre on it’s opening night, January 22, 1942. The caption of the photo reveals that the theatre was owned by John Danz’s Sterling Theaters (later SRO), and that it opened with 1000 seats.
According to a photo caption on this page, the classical Greek Revival facade of the Colonial Theatre was still intact as late as 1981. By 2001, the location was occupied by a Borders book store. The caption does not say whether the building was replaced or merely remodeled.
The East Tennessee Paranormal society has a page about the Bijou, with a few small historic photographs.
It seems from that article that all six of Greenville’s Main Street theatres were in operation from 1925 until perhaps as late as 1947, when the oldest of them, the 1905 Bijou burned. It says that the Majestic and the Casino didn’t make it past the end of the 1950’s, and that the Carolina closed in the 1960’s and the Rivoli/Fox closed in 1978. The only theatre whose closing period is not mentioned is the Rialto. So, unless the Rialto closed earlier than the Bijou, Greenville supported six movie houses for more than two decades.
The article says nothing about which theatres might have been demolished, or if any are still standing. Even the Bijou is said only to have been “gutted” by the fire, so it’s possible the building is still there, used for something else. I’ve never been to Greenville, so I don’t know if any of the buildings have survived. If there is a local historical society or a history room at the local library, the information would probably be known to someone there.
Ah, so it is. My mistake. I just checked their Greenville, South Carolina page and there are no pictures there of any theatres except one modern multiplex. In fact, none of Greenville’s old Main Street theatres are listed on that site at all, not even the Carolina (my link to the Carolina in my earlier comment doesn’t work for some reason.) At one time, there were apparently six theatres on Main Street: The Bijou, the Carolina, the Rivoli/Fox (all listed at CT), the Casino, the Rialto, and the Majestic (not yet listed.)
I expect day-and-date release to be an advantage for small, independent movies that rely on word of mouth to maximize their audience. Blockbusters with corporate money can saturate the theatres and spend as much on advertising as was spent on making the movie. Of course, if the movie is crap, all the advertising won’t bail it out, but the saturation of theatres will at least bring in some revenue before the negative word-of-mouth kills the box office. I don’t think the big, expensive movies will gain anything by day-and-date release.
The small movie can only afford to be in a few theatres at a time, and will probably never be shown at all in some markets unless word-of-mouth makes it a sleeper hit. Releasing such a movie to DVD and, even more importantly, to the Internet at the same time as it is released to theatres may be able to serve as the independent filmmaker’s substitute for the millions the big boys spend on advertising and widely distributing their costly special effects movies.
In the long run, assuming a particular independent movie is good enough to attract an audience at all, day-and-date release may actually help it sell more tickets to its theatrical runs, and even get it into more theatres than it would have been in otherwise. We’ll have to wait and see if it works out this way, but I’d say it’s worth trying.