Film Daily of March 27, 1936 said that the Warfield Theatre in Detroit was being razed, and that owner Moe Teitel planned to built a new theater of 1,500 seats, to open about August 1. I don’t know if the rebuilding resulted in a theater as large as planned, but the vintage photo on this page at Water Winter Wonderland shows the entrance with four sets of double doors, which would be overkill for a house with only 376 seats, so the rebuilt theater must have been quite a bit larger, even if FDY never changed the capacity in its listing.
The Film Daily item also noted that by the time the Warfield was rebuilt it served an African American audience. One commenter at WWW says that she saw William Castle’s 1959 movie “The Tingler” at the Warfield, double billed with ‘The Mummy", released the same year. A nephew of Morris Teitel also left a comment, saying that the house was demolished to make way for Interstate 75. Construction on that highway within Detroit began in 1959, and was completed in December, 1960, so the horror double bill was probably one of the last shows at the Warfield. Judging from the maps, its entire neighborhood was wiped out for the interchange with the Edsel Ford Freeway.
Last known as the Elkins Theatre, and in operation at least as late as 1967, the Hippodrome was located a few doors north of the Manos Theatre. The site is now under the footprint of the modern Davis Trust Company Building, and its address was probably somewhere between 211 and 221 Davis. The Hippodrome opened in 1916, and was renamed Elkins Theatre about 1957, when it was operated by the Monessen Entertainment Company.
The Seneca Theatre was still in operation at least as late as 1961. A recap of events in the Pittsburgh area that year in Boxoffice of January 8, 1962 noted the sale of the Seneca at Belington to George Everitt by former owner Dan C. Hayman.
The obituary of a Lawrence R. Fleming, published in the November 1, 1932 issue of Variety includes the lines “[f]ormerly was manager of the Dixie theatre, film house, in Fairmont, and Blue Ridge theatre, vaudeville house there. Both theatres have been made into warehouses.”
It’s increasingly likely that the Aztec was the house that opened in 1930 as the Grande Theatre. Film Daily of June 2 noted the recent opening of the house by Mrs. Velma Montague. This web page reveals that it was the Valley Theatre that became the Juarez, probably in 1939 or 1940.
I still haven’t tracked down the Alameda and Roxy theaters, which were operated by Mike Benitez in the 1950s. These might have been aka’s for the Aztec and Juarez, though the names Aztec and Juarez were in use in 1966, when trade journals reported that the Aztec had just been renamed the Century, so it’s quite uncertain. There also appears to have been a different Juarez Theatre opened in 1939, before its owner took over the Valley Theatre and moved the name Juarez there. It’s possible that the first Juarez became the Roxy or the Alameda.
This article says that the Citrus Theatre opened on January 17, 1941, and closed in 1993.
This web page about Spanish language movie houses in Edinburg notes that the Valley Theatre was at 222 Harriman Street (now University Drive), so the Citrus was not built on its site after all.
This web page about Spanish language movie theaters in Edinburg clears up some of the history of this theater. It was open by 1930 as the Valley Theatre, and became the Juarez Theatre in 1939 or 1940. The Juarez was still in operation at least as late as 1966, when it was mentioned in the August 8 issue of Boxoffice as being under the management of Jim Longoria, who also operated the Citrus Theatre and had just renamed his former Aztec Theatre to the Century Theatre.
The March 23, 1907 issue of The Moving Picture World had this news about the Criterion Theatre in Bridgeton:
“Here’s another: The success of the moving-picture entertainments in Bridgeton, N. J., have been remarkable, and Manager Moore of the Criterion has determined to make such entertainments a feature of the house. He has purchased a new Powers machine, which is one of the best made, and will have it installed in the theater permanently. He has arranged to secure feature films for all occasions when he presents entertainments and will have many delightful programmes before the season is over. Harry Cowan, the stage manager, is a most successful operator, having had charge of the pictures at the Park last season. He will have the operation of Mr. Moore’s machine.”
The Savoy Theatre was mentioned in a promotional ad for the vaudeville singing duo the Brunswig Bros., in the August 31, 1912 issue of Moving Picture World. It was also mentioned in the September 3, 1922 issue of the same journal, so it had a run of at least ten years.
The Empress was mentioned in the January 8, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World. Owners B.C. and Ralph T. Morgan had just bought the Lyric Theatre and planned on running both houses, with the Lyric open nightly and the Empress operating on Fridays and Saturdays.
The marquee came off quite some time ago. This article posted on the Mountain Statesman web site on September 4, 2018 notes that the marquee was unsalvageable. The restoration underway apparently involves stripping away much, if not all, of Victor Rigaumont’s 1948 rebuilding project.
This 2015 post from the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia indicates that the Manos was not “built on the site of the Strand”, but actually is the Strand’s building, extensively remodeled. The house opened in 1912 as the Hippodrome Theatre with 325 seats, and has undergone expansion, and has been renamed twice over the years. It was still the Hippodrome in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, but had been renamed the Strand by 1923.
This 2019 post from the theater’s Facebook page has a photo that shows the original brick arches that have been uncovered as Rigaumont’s modern overlay is removed. The Facebook page has not been updated since May 18, 2020. I suspect that, like many other projects, the Manos renovation has been struggling with the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This web page says that Fred Romano opened the Keystone Theatre on February 21, 1925, ran the first sound movie on November 27, 1929, but closed the house on September 30, 1930. The house was reopened by Comerford Theatres as the Grand Theatre on October 20, 1930, but Romano regained control and restored the name Keystone on August 25, 1931.
In May, 1934, the house became the Roxy under a new management, and yet another owner renamed it the Ritz in 1938. There were numerous changes of management over the years, and business declined with the advent of television, leading to multiple closings and re-openings, and the Ritz last operated in 1961. The building was demolished in 1977.
It’s not a certainty, but it’s possible that this notice from Moving Picture World of February 10, 1923, was about the project that was built in 1924 and opened as the Keystone Theatre in early 1925: “WEATHERLY, PA.— Fred Domott has plans by C. F. Storch, of Summit Hill, for one-story brick moving picture theatre, 30 by 95 feet, to cost $10,000.”
An Oil City Derrick article says that the Venango Theatre was at 228 Seneca Street. The well-maintained brick building is still standing, currently shared by a hair styling salon and an office. It’s right next door to the I.O.O.F. building.
The March 10, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World featured an article about the theaters of the Ascher Bros. chain, and the Metropolitan, which had opened on January 20, was described in this paragraph:
“The Metropolitan theater, Forty-seventh street and Grand boulevard, is the thirteenth link in the chain of houses in
Chicago operated by the Ascher Bros. On Saturday night, January 20, 1917, the doors of this theater were opened to the public for the first time. Three overflowing performances were given that evening, and many were turned away. Automobiles were lined up for more than a block on either side of Grand boulevard, which is one of Chicago’s most fashionable thoroughfares. The photoplay program consisted of Metro’s production, ‘The White Raven,’ starring Ethel Barrymore, a two-reel Sidney Drew comedy, a Pathe weekly and a scenic, in addition to which were five musical numbers by an orchestra of six pieces, and a large pipe organ, directed by Lynne A. Hazzard. In the way of decorative appointments and general construction the Metropolitan is without a rival in the city of Chicago. With the beautiful arrangement of the interior and the visual advantages of the large auditorium, it might well be said that this theater is early perfect in modern moving picture theater design. The lobby walls are finished in Italian Verdi marble, while the floor is covered with black and white mosaic. The auditorium is decorated with a harmonious blend of colors, and is lighted by a large dome placed in the center of the ceiling which contains hundreds of colored bulbs blending into rays of softness and beauty. There are 20 exits from the Auditorium, and 1,600 finely-upholstered seats on the main floor. There is no gallery. The entire building, in which the theater is included, is of fireproof construction and cost about $250,000. The management of the house has been given to Harry E. Ascher.”
This paragraph about the Lane Court Theatre appeared in Moving Picture World for March 10, 1917, as part of an article about the Ascher Bros. circuit:
“The Lane Court theater, on Lane Court and Center street, was opened to the public on Saturday, November 25, 1916. This is one of the most recent acquisitions to the Ascher chain. Henry W. Peters was chosen to manage this house, and the Ascher policy is being maintained in the selection of the programs. Only the latest feature releases are shown with a daily change in the entire program. The musical accompaniment is furnished by a five-piece orchestra and a
pipe organ. An unusual ventilating system has been installed in this building, the air being introduced and exhausted from the side walls, thus eliminating any possibility of draft and dust. There are 1,000 seats in the auditorium, upholstered in leather. The house has no gallery.”
This description of the Oakland Square Theatre was featured in an article about the Ascher Bros. chain that appeared in the March 10, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World:
“The Oakland Square theater, on Oakwood and Drexel boulevards, was erected under the personal supervision of the architect, Henry L. Newhouse, and is recognized as one of the finest in the country. Until the erection of the Metropolitan, a description of which will follow, this house was unequalled for beauty and modernity by any moving picture theater in Chicago. On the opening night, March 4, 1916, nearly every section of the city was represented in a crowd of nearly 5,000 people who sought to gain admission, and many hundreds were turned away.
“This beautiful house is located in the heart of an exclusive residence district on the South Side. The interior decorations are carried out in a modified French Renaissance style. The exterior is of the Italian type, and in the copings are quaint grotesque figures. In the auditorium are 1,525 seats all so arranged as to afford a perfect view of the screen, no matter where one may sit. The Oakland Square has been doing a capacity business ever since its successful opening. This can be attributed somewhat to the capable management of Max E. Ascher, whose personal attention is given to the details of every exhibition. The Ascher policy of operating for the convenience of patrons rather than for employees is always in evidence here.”
Here is a description of the Columbus Theatre from an article about the Ascher Bros. chain in Moving Picture World of March 10, 1917:
“The Columbus, Ashland avenue and Sixty-third street, seats 1,500 people, and was annexed to the Ascher chain on Christmas Day, 1915. This theater has the distinction of being the first ‘cornerways’ house ever built, the auditorium being practically square, with the screen across one corner. An immense dome with hundreds of concealed lights produce a beautiful effect. The entire side walls are covered with life-size mural paintings. With its wonderful acoustics the fine tones of a huge pipe organ are heard to fine advantage, and
organ selections are given at each performance. The exterior of the building is lighted with powerful pylon beacon lights with a terra cotta border lighting, giving a flaming fire effect which can be seen for a mile around. A feature program is shown twice daily. D. E. Rice recently succeeded Harry Ascher as the manager.”
This description of the Frolic, which was a reverse theater, is from an article about the Ascher Bros. circuit that appeared in The Moving Picture World on March 10, 1917:
“The ‘Frolic,’ Fifty-fifth street and Ellis avenue, is a favorite place for the students of the University of Chicago. Located within a block of the campus, it is quite handy and one can usually see a number of students at every show. This theater represents an investment of about $150,000, and it is rather unique in design. The auditorium is arranged so that on entering, the patron faces the audience instead of the screen. Few theaters in Chicago have been planned in this way. One thousand seats, upholstered in leather, are on the main floor. The interior color scheme is banana, offset in blue and gold. The lobby is finished in Italian vein marble and mosaic work. The Frolic is equipped with a large pipe organ, and two Simplex motor-driven machines are used to project the pictures. Joseph A. Schaefter is the manager.”
This description of the Calo Theatre is from an article about the Ascher Bros. chain in the March 10, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World:
“Conspicuous in the construction of the Calo theater, on Clark street and Balmoral avenue, is the large foyer directly off the lobby. Oil paintings of various actors and actresses
adorn the walls, and the fixtures are very unusual in design. Particular attention has been given to the seating arrangement in this theater. There are 1,000 comfortable seats on the main floor, and the spacious seating plan is noticeable. The Calo is managed by Joseph Koppel, who had had considerable experience as an exhibitor. His program selections continue to meet with the approval of his patrons, most of whom are ‘regulars.’ The house is open afternoon and evening, and the music is furnished by a large two-manual pipe organ. The cost of the complete building was close to $125,000. It fronts on Clark street and there are seven stores besides the theater proper.”
This description of the Terminal Theatre is from an article about the Ascher Bros. chain in the March 10, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World:
“The Terminal theater, Lawrence and Spaulding avenues, is designed architecturally along the same lines as the Frolic. It has the same reverse seating arrangement with the screen hung in front of the auditorium. The exterior of the building is of rough cast tapestry brick. The foyer and ticket booth are of grain white marble. There are 1,000 seats all on one floor, and a feature picture, a comedy and occasionally a scenic completes the program each day. A pipe organ furnishes the music. Edward Nikodeon is the manager.”
Here is a description of the Lakeside Theatre from an article about Ascher Bros. in the March 10, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World:
“The opening of the Lakeside theater, Sheridan road and Lakeside place, marked the entrance of the Ascher Bros, to
the North side section of Chicago. This beautiful house was formally opened to the public on Saturday, September 4, 1915, and it has been doing a large and profitable business ever since. It is situated in the busiest neighborhood on the North Side, known as the ‘Wilson Avenue’ district, where more business is done each day than is transacted in an ordinary small town. There are close to thirty hotels in this neighborhood alone to draw from.
“Matinees are held daily in this theater and three shows are given in the evening. An orchestra of select musicians accompanied by a large pipe organ furnishes the music at all presentations. The seating capacity is 1,000, and the admission price is 10 cents for matinees and 15 cents at night. The theater is under the management of William C. Lamereaux.”
Film Daily of March 27, 1936 said that the Warfield Theatre in Detroit was being razed, and that owner Moe Teitel planned to built a new theater of 1,500 seats, to open about August 1. I don’t know if the rebuilding resulted in a theater as large as planned, but the vintage photo on this page at Water Winter Wonderland shows the entrance with four sets of double doors, which would be overkill for a house with only 376 seats, so the rebuilt theater must have been quite a bit larger, even if FDY never changed the capacity in its listing.
The Film Daily item also noted that by the time the Warfield was rebuilt it served an African American audience. One commenter at WWW says that she saw William Castle’s 1959 movie “The Tingler” at the Warfield, double billed with ‘The Mummy", released the same year. A nephew of Morris Teitel also left a comment, saying that the house was demolished to make way for Interstate 75. Construction on that highway within Detroit began in 1959, and was completed in December, 1960, so the horror double bill was probably one of the last shows at the Warfield. Judging from the maps, its entire neighborhood was wiped out for the interchange with the Edsel Ford Freeway.
Last known as the Elkins Theatre, and in operation at least as late as 1967, the Hippodrome was located a few doors north of the Manos Theatre. The site is now under the footprint of the modern Davis Trust Company Building, and its address was probably somewhere between 211 and 221 Davis. The Hippodrome opened in 1916, and was renamed Elkins Theatre about 1957, when it was operated by the Monessen Entertainment Company.
The Princess Theatre was the only house listed at Boomer in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.
The Seneca Theatre was still in operation at least as late as 1961. A recap of events in the Pittsburgh area that year in Boxoffice of January 8, 1962 noted the sale of the Seneca at Belington to George Everitt by former owner Dan C. Hayman.
A May 22, 1922 Newspaper page about the proposed Fairmont Theatre can be seen on this web page.
The obituary of a Lawrence R. Fleming, published in the November 1, 1932 issue of Variety includes the lines “[f]ormerly was manager of the Dixie theatre, film house, in Fairmont, and Blue Ridge theatre, vaudeville house there. Both theatres have been made into warehouses.”
It’s increasingly likely that the Aztec was the house that opened in 1930 as the Grande Theatre. Film Daily of June 2 noted the recent opening of the house by Mrs. Velma Montague. This web page reveals that it was the Valley Theatre that became the Juarez, probably in 1939 or 1940.
I still haven’t tracked down the Alameda and Roxy theaters, which were operated by Mike Benitez in the 1950s. These might have been aka’s for the Aztec and Juarez, though the names Aztec and Juarez were in use in 1966, when trade journals reported that the Aztec had just been renamed the Century, so it’s quite uncertain. There also appears to have been a different Juarez Theatre opened in 1939, before its owner took over the Valley Theatre and moved the name Juarez there. It’s possible that the first Juarez became the Roxy or the Alameda.
This article says that the Citrus Theatre opened on January 17, 1941, and closed in 1993.
This web page about Spanish language movie houses in Edinburg notes that the Valley Theatre was at 222 Harriman Street (now University Drive), so the Citrus was not built on its site after all.
This web page about Spanish language movie theaters in Edinburg clears up some of the history of this theater. It was open by 1930 as the Valley Theatre, and became the Juarez Theatre in 1939 or 1940. The Juarez was still in operation at least as late as 1966, when it was mentioned in the August 8 issue of Boxoffice as being under the management of Jim Longoria, who also operated the Citrus Theatre and had just renamed his former Aztec Theatre to the Century Theatre.
The April, 1911 issue of Motography noted that the Majestic Theatre had opened recently at Bridgeton, New Jersey.
The March 23, 1907 issue of The Moving Picture World had this news about the Criterion Theatre in Bridgeton:
The Savoy Theatre was mentioned in a promotional ad for the vaudeville singing duo the Brunswig Bros., in the August 31, 1912 issue of Moving Picture World. It was also mentioned in the September 3, 1922 issue of the same journal, so it had a run of at least ten years.
The Empress was mentioned in the January 8, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World. Owners B.C. and Ralph T. Morgan had just bought the Lyric Theatre and planned on running both houses, with the Lyric open nightly and the Empress operating on Fridays and Saturdays.
Theatres listed at Grafton in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory were the Strand and the Dixie.
The marquee came off quite some time ago. This article posted on the Mountain Statesman web site on September 4, 2018 notes that the marquee was unsalvageable. The restoration underway apparently involves stripping away much, if not all, of Victor Rigaumont’s 1948 rebuilding project.
This 2015 post from the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia indicates that the Manos was not “built on the site of the Strand”, but actually is the Strand’s building, extensively remodeled. The house opened in 1912 as the Hippodrome Theatre with 325 seats, and has undergone expansion, and has been renamed twice over the years. It was still the Hippodrome in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, but had been renamed the Strand by 1923.
This 2019 post from the theater’s Facebook page has a photo that shows the original brick arches that have been uncovered as Rigaumont’s modern overlay is removed. The Facebook page has not been updated since May 18, 2020. I suspect that, like many other projects, the Manos renovation has been struggling with the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This web page says that Fred Romano opened the Keystone Theatre on February 21, 1925, ran the first sound movie on November 27, 1929, but closed the house on September 30, 1930. The house was reopened by Comerford Theatres as the Grand Theatre on October 20, 1930, but Romano regained control and restored the name Keystone on August 25, 1931.
In May, 1934, the house became the Roxy under a new management, and yet another owner renamed it the Ritz in 1938. There were numerous changes of management over the years, and business declined with the advent of television, leading to multiple closings and re-openings, and the Ritz last operated in 1961. The building was demolished in 1977.
It’s not a certainty, but it’s possible that this notice from Moving Picture World of February 10, 1923, was about the project that was built in 1924 and opened as the Keystone Theatre in early 1925: “WEATHERLY, PA.— Fred Domott has plans by C. F. Storch, of Summit Hill, for one-story brick moving picture theatre, 30 by 95 feet, to cost $10,000.”
An Oil City Derrick article says that the Venango Theatre was at 228 Seneca Street. The well-maintained brick building is still standing, currently shared by a hair styling salon and an office. It’s right next door to the I.O.O.F. building.
The March 10, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World featured an article about the theaters of the Ascher Bros. chain, and the Metropolitan, which had opened on January 20, was described in this paragraph:
This paragraph about the Lane Court Theatre appeared in Moving Picture World for March 10, 1917, as part of an article about the Ascher Bros. circuit:
This description of the Oakland Square Theatre was featured in an article about the Ascher Bros. chain that appeared in the March 10, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World:
Here is a description of the Columbus Theatre from an article about the Ascher Bros. chain in Moving Picture World of March 10, 1917:
This description of the Frolic, which was a reverse theater, is from an article about the Ascher Bros. circuit that appeared in The Moving Picture World on March 10, 1917:
This description of the Calo Theatre is from an article about the Ascher Bros. chain in the March 10, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World:
This description of the Terminal Theatre is from an article about the Ascher Bros. chain in the March 10, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World:
Here is a description of the Lakeside Theatre from an article about Ascher Bros. in the March 10, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World: