The Norka Theatre opened its doors on November 23, 1940 with a Saturday matinee of “Grand Ole Opry” and “Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum” with no extra short subjects.
The Norka’s first normal attraction was the following day with Gloria Jean in “A Little Bit Of Heaven” with no extras.
The Rialto opened its doors on December 27, 1929 with “Dynamite” (unclear if any short subjects were added).
On opening night despite the three performances by the Villisca band conducted by J.H. Todd followed by Attorney R.J. Swanson delivering opening remarks, owner Frank B. Pennington announced to the entire crowd that every seat in the building was occupied and that those waiting could not be accommodated until the second showing the picture. About a total of 150 people waited in the Rialto building for hours while some others left until the time comes.
The 540-seat Iowana Theatre opened its doors on November 22, 1923 with Jackie Coogan in “Long Live The King” and Larry Simon in “Lightning Love” along with a newsreel. It was first managed by Ted Samuelson with music conducted by Julia Roemer. The original projectionist of the theater is Russell Hawkins.
Some information about the Iowana features two grace doors on each side of the ticket window leading to the foyer, golden lighting effects for entertaining purposes, and an estimate $45,000 in equipment and construction. Talkies were installed on May 9, 1929 (with “Syncopation”).
Shortly after the Grand Theatre installed CinemaScope in July 1954, the Iowana did its own CinemaScope installation in September 1954.
The Iowana closed for the final time in December 1962.
The Grand Theatre was a replacement of another Grand Theatre (former the Beardsley Theatre) that was completely destroyed in a massive fire on April 12, 1932. It’ll have its own Cinema Treasures page soon.
The second Grand Theatre opened its doors on September 22, 1932 with the Marx Brothers in “Horsefeathers” (unknown if any short subjects were added), and was first managed by Carl Johnson. The theater originally housed 350 seats and featured sound installations of RCA Photophone. Carl was the one who chose the RCA section for sound as a “great deal” as he replied.
CinemaScope was installed on July 30, 1954 (with “The Robe”). The Grand Theatre was once operated by Fridley Theatres in the 1970s and 1980s, but later taken over by Associated Theatres in 1982, and went back to Fridley in December 1994.
The Red Oak Drive-In opened its gates on June 3, 1949 with Ray Milland in “California” (unclear if any short subjects were added). It was first operated by Alfred “Ed” Haal of Aubudon, Iowa, and the original screen tower measures 50x50ft while the screen plate measures 32x44ft.
It was originally scheduled to open its doors the previous night but was postponed due to both severe weather and a tornado outbreak which spawned multiple tornadoes in Southwest Iowa. The theater did not receive any damage.
On the evening of May 8, 1950, the entire drive-in theater and the nearby Skyway Inn both escaped damage from a tornado that severely damaged the Red Oak airport as well as 12 to 14 planes (only two managed to escape). Despite the $28,000 in damages, nobody was injured or killed. Since 8:20 PM that evening, the entire town of Red Oak was left without power until the following afternoon. In other portions of the town’s damage includes a large tree being toppled from 60 MPH wind gusts nearby on power lines, and a fire broke out at someone’s house caused by a lightning strike that struck the switchboard.
The Red Oak Drive-In became the last operating drive-in theater in Southwest Iowa until closing for the final time in mid-July 1987 due to property issues.
The actual opening date is July 20, 1949 with Abbott and Costello in “Ride ‘Em Cowboy” along with an unnamed Tom And Jerry cartoon, with an original capacity of 430 cars and installations of 430 Century speakers, Altec’s “Voice of the Theater” sound system (that was also used at the nearby Webster Theatre), and then-latest Century projection (which operates on 75 amperes of electrical current to throw the beam 242ft to the screen).
The original bricked concession stand measures 30x30ft, and featured a unique Sportservice stand. The size of the entire screen including its 70-foot poles that were buried 10ft in the ground measures 2,160 square feet, while the silver transite screen-plate only measures unknown. Behind the screen and between the six supports featured rooms that were built with a width of 12ft featuring switchboards for distributing power throughout the theater, as well as storage.
On March 1, 1964, Art Downard came to Webster City to operate the two remaining theaters, the Webster Theatre and the Corral Drive-In. He was the one that last owned the Corral Drive-In who closed it after the 1986 season.
The Granada Theatre was renamed the Webster Theatre on February 19, 1939 after a five-week closure due to remodeling, reopening with Henry Fonda in “Jesse James” along with Paramount Pictorial and Paramount News.
The Pioneer Theaters chain operated the theater throughout the entirety of the golden age of films. Pioneer operated the theater from 1930 until Fridley Theatres took over the Webster from Pioneer in July 1988.
Actually, there are four Germania Opera Houses. During its early heyday, it was once known as “Germania Hall”. The Germania was relocated multiple times throughout much of 1894 to 1914.
The first one opened in 1894 and closed in 1907, the second one opened in 1907 and closed in May 1913, the third one opened in May 31, 1913 and closed in May 1914, and the fourth/current one opened on May 18, 1914.
The theater opened on May 19, 1949 with Robert Page in “Red Stallion” along with an unnamed cartoon, a sportlight, and an unnamed musical short. It closed after the 1955 season.
The Circle Theatre opened its doors on January 19, 1920, and was renamed the Capitol in 1926. The Capitol Theatre closed in 1985 when it was sub-divided and also incorporated the adjacent to the Capri V Theatre. The main auditorium officially became Screen #5 of the Capri V.
The Princess Theatre opened in 1912, renamed the Square Theatre in June 1925, and renamed the Ottumwa Theatre on December 25, 1930.
The April 21, 1941 fire occurred during intermission at approximately 6:57 PM right before a showing of Deanna Durbin in “Nice Girl” and Hugh Hubert in “Meet The Chump” with no extras. The fire estimates a total loss of $100K, typically one of the largest theater losses in Iowa. The fire started under the west stairway leading to the balcony.
John J. Johnston of 505 South Milner Street, the projectionist at the time for the 1,160-seat Ottumwa Theatre, was on-duty at the time when he smelled smoke. Johnston rushed down to the doorman of the theater, Kenneth Shipley of 620 Richmond Avenue, told him that there is smoke. Shipley replied then went to the stage at the auditorium and calmly said that there was smoke. The operator then turned off the power and left the theater. Everyone evacuated at the time right when the smoke started to worsen. Shipley said that there was a flame while looking through a view of the projection room alongside the west wall of the balcony near where the center aisle crosses. The theater’s manager at the time, Kermit B. Carr, was eating dinner in his house when he notified about the fire. He quickly got into his car and drove to the theater when he saw the flames, 14 hoses battling the flames, the marquee partially destroyed, and the side walls coming down. Over 10,000 people including Police Chief Carl M. Higdon witnessed the fire. The nearby gas company building was also impacted by the flames.
Right after the fire was extinguished at the Ottumwa Theatre, the neighboring Capitol Theatre manager at the time, Russell Hill, asked patrons to leave a few minutes after the fire.
The Ottumwa Theatre reopened its doors after reconstruction from the fire on May 28, 1942 with the Midwest premiere of John Wayne in “Reap The Wild Wind” with no extra short subjects.
It was renamed Capri Theatre on January 10, 1968 after a $30,000 remodeling project. The theater held on as a single-screener until it was converted into a 5-plex on December 20, 1985, renaming it as the Capri V Theatre.
The South Ottumwa Drive-In opened its gates on July 14, 1953 with Joseph Cotton in “Untamed Frontier” along with a couple of cartoons. It started life under the name “South Drive-In”. It was first managed by Jake Cohen and first operated by Ottumwa Theatres Incorporated.
The South Ottumwa Drive-In closed for the final time after the 1995 season due to poor business, and the theater was torn down in May 1996.
The Clark Theatre opened its doors on July 30, 1926 with Clara Bow In “Mantrap” with no extra short subjects, and was renamed the Vacaville Theatre in mid-1932. The Vacaville Theatre closed as a movie house in 1983.
This replaced an earlier theater known as the Empress Theatre (and yes, the Empress was once known as the Norka Theatre).
The Norka Theatre opened its doors on November 23, 1940 with a Saturday matinee of “Grand Ole Opry” and “Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum” with no extra short subjects.
The Norka closed in late-1975.
The Rialto opened its doors on December 27, 1929 with “Dynamite” (unclear if any short subjects were added).
The 540-seat Iowana Theatre opened its doors on November 22, 1923 with Jackie Coogan in “Long Live The King” and Larry Simon in “Lightning Love” along with a newsreel. It was first managed by Ted Samuelson with music conducted by Julia Roemer. The original projectionist of the theater is Russell Hawkins.
Some information about the Iowana features two grace doors on each side of the ticket window leading to the foyer, golden lighting effects for entertaining purposes, and an estimate $45,000 in equipment and construction. Talkies were installed on May 9, 1929 (with “Syncopation”).
Shortly after the Grand Theatre installed CinemaScope in July 1954, the Iowana did its own CinemaScope installation in September 1954.
The Iowana closed for the final time in December 1962.
The Grand Theatre was a replacement of another Grand Theatre (former the Beardsley Theatre) that was completely destroyed in a massive fire on April 12, 1932. It’ll have its own Cinema Treasures page soon.
The second Grand Theatre opened its doors on September 22, 1932 with the Marx Brothers in “Horsefeathers” (unknown if any short subjects were added), and was first managed by Carl Johnson. The theater originally housed 350 seats and featured sound installations of RCA Photophone. Carl was the one who chose the RCA section for sound as a “great deal” as he replied.
CinemaScope was installed on July 30, 1954 (with “The Robe”). The Grand Theatre was once operated by Fridley Theatres in the 1970s and 1980s, but later taken over by Associated Theatres in 1982, and went back to Fridley in December 1994.
The Red Oak Drive-In opened its gates on June 3, 1949 with Ray Milland in “California” (unclear if any short subjects were added). It was first operated by Alfred “Ed” Haal of Aubudon, Iowa, and the original screen tower measures 50x50ft while the screen plate measures 32x44ft.
On the evening of May 8, 1950, the entire drive-in theater and the nearby Skyway Inn both escaped damage from a tornado that severely damaged the Red Oak airport as well as 12 to 14 planes (only two managed to escape). Despite the $28,000 in damages, nobody was injured or killed. Since 8:20 PM that evening, the entire town of Red Oak was left without power until the following afternoon. In other portions of the town’s damage includes a large tree being toppled from 60 MPH wind gusts nearby on power lines, and a fire broke out at someone’s house caused by a lightning strike that struck the switchboard.
The Red Oak Drive-In became the last operating drive-in theater in Southwest Iowa until closing for the final time in mid-July 1987 due to property issues.
The actual opening date is July 20, 1949 with Abbott and Costello in “Ride ‘Em Cowboy” along with an unnamed Tom And Jerry cartoon, with an original capacity of 430 cars and installations of 430 Century speakers, Altec’s “Voice of the Theater” sound system (that was also used at the nearby Webster Theatre), and then-latest Century projection (which operates on 75 amperes of electrical current to throw the beam 242ft to the screen).
The original bricked concession stand measures 30x30ft, and featured a unique Sportservice stand. The size of the entire screen including its 70-foot poles that were buried 10ft in the ground measures 2,160 square feet, while the silver transite screen-plate only measures unknown. Behind the screen and between the six supports featured rooms that were built with a width of 12ft featuring switchboards for distributing power throughout the theater, as well as storage.
On March 1, 1964, Art Downard came to Webster City to operate the two remaining theaters, the Webster Theatre and the Corral Drive-In. He was the one that last owned the Corral Drive-In who closed it after the 1986 season.
The Granada Theatre was renamed the Webster Theatre on February 19, 1939 after a five-week closure due to remodeling, reopening with Henry Fonda in “Jesse James” along with Paramount Pictorial and Paramount News.
The Pioneer Theaters chain operated the theater throughout the entirety of the golden age of films. Pioneer operated the theater from 1930 until Fridley Theatres took over the Webster from Pioneer in July 1988.
George Lehmann opened the Lyric Theatre in January 1912, and closed in 1916.
The Chris-Town is also the Phoenix area’s first THX-certified theater.
The Har-Mar is also the Twin Cities' first THX-certified theater.
I’m strongly sure that this started life as the Grand Opera House, but I know it was known as Capitol Theatre since as early as 1927.
The Capitol Theatre closed for the final time on January 17, 1980 with Robert F. Logan in “Mountain Family Robinson”.
Actually, there are four Germania Opera Houses. During its early heyday, it was once known as “Germania Hall”. The Germania was relocated multiple times throughout much of 1894 to 1914.
The first one opened in 1894 and closed in 1907, the second one opened in 1907 and closed in May 1913, the third one opened in May 31, 1913 and closed in May 1914, and the fourth/current one opened on May 18, 1914.
Opened on May 17, 1924 with Mae Marsh in “Daddies” along with a comedy short “Back To Earth”.
Closed on November 30, 1976.
Closed on October 10, 1985 with “Invasion USA” and “Future Kill”.
Closed on December 16, 2004.
The theater opened on May 19, 1949 with Robert Page in “Red Stallion” along with an unnamed cartoon, a sportlight, and an unnamed musical short. It closed after the 1955 season.
The Circle Theatre opened its doors on January 19, 1920, and was renamed the Capitol in 1926. The Capitol Theatre closed in 1985 when it was sub-divided and also incorporated the adjacent to the Capri V Theatre. The main auditorium officially became Screen #5 of the Capri V.
The Princess Theatre opened in 1912, renamed the Square Theatre in June 1925, and renamed the Ottumwa Theatre on December 25, 1930.
The April 21, 1941 fire occurred during intermission at approximately 6:57 PM right before a showing of Deanna Durbin in “Nice Girl” and Hugh Hubert in “Meet The Chump” with no extras. The fire estimates a total loss of $100K, typically one of the largest theater losses in Iowa. The fire started under the west stairway leading to the balcony.
John J. Johnston of 505 South Milner Street, the projectionist at the time for the 1,160-seat Ottumwa Theatre, was on-duty at the time when he smelled smoke. Johnston rushed down to the doorman of the theater, Kenneth Shipley of 620 Richmond Avenue, told him that there is smoke. Shipley replied then went to the stage at the auditorium and calmly said that there was smoke. The operator then turned off the power and left the theater. Everyone evacuated at the time right when the smoke started to worsen. Shipley said that there was a flame while looking through a view of the projection room alongside the west wall of the balcony near where the center aisle crosses. The theater’s manager at the time, Kermit B. Carr, was eating dinner in his house when he notified about the fire. He quickly got into his car and drove to the theater when he saw the flames, 14 hoses battling the flames, the marquee partially destroyed, and the side walls coming down. Over 10,000 people including Police Chief Carl M. Higdon witnessed the fire. The nearby gas company building was also impacted by the flames.
Right after the fire was extinguished at the Ottumwa Theatre, the neighboring Capitol Theatre manager at the time, Russell Hill, asked patrons to leave a few minutes after the fire.
The Ottumwa Theatre reopened its doors after reconstruction from the fire on May 28, 1942 with the Midwest premiere of John Wayne in “Reap The Wild Wind” with no extra short subjects.
It was renamed Capri Theatre on January 10, 1968 after a $30,000 remodeling project. The theater held on as a single-screener until it was converted into a 5-plex on December 20, 1985, renaming it as the Capri V Theatre.
The South Ottumwa Drive-In opened its gates on July 14, 1953 with Joseph Cotton in “Untamed Frontier” along with a couple of cartoons. It started life under the name “South Drive-In”. It was first managed by Jake Cohen and first operated by Ottumwa Theatres Incorporated.
The South Ottumwa Drive-In closed for the final time after the 1995 season due to poor business, and the theater was torn down in May 1996.
Opened on December 17, 2004.
The Clark Theatre opened its doors on July 30, 1926 with Clara Bow In “Mantrap” with no extra short subjects, and was renamed the Vacaville Theatre in mid-1932. The Vacaville Theatre closed as a movie house in 1983.
A 1982 aerial view shows the theater completely demolished, so it appears that it may’ve demolished in the early-1980s.
Opened in 1951, closed in the late-1970s.