The April 23, 1921 issue of Moving Picture World ran this item:
“$50,000 New Athens House
“NEW ATHENS, ILL.-Peoples Co-operative Amusement Company has plans by Reister [sic] & Rubach, Murphy Building, East St. Louis, for one-story brick moving picture theatre and dance hall, 53 by 100 feet, with seating capacity of 650, to cost $50,000.”
The correct names of the architects are Frank P. Riester and Otto W. Rubach.
The Blackstone Theatre is listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, one of three theaters listed in Martinsville, the others being the Metropolitan on Morgan Street and the Mystic at 44 N. Main Street.
While the Corona Theatre is not listed in the FDY until 1930, I suspect it was opened sooner. There is a photo of the Corona with the 1927 silent movie Let It Rain on the marquee. It was certainly possible to show an older movie in 1930, but it would have been odd for even a neighborhood house in a competitive theater market like New York to be running a silent movie as its feature film in 1930.
The Corona was originally operated by S&S Theatres, and an item in the February 3, 1926 issue of Variety said that a theater was being built for Strausberg and Small at Junction Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona. This must have been the Corona. Architect for the project was Eugene DeRosa.
Hree’s something from the April 3, 1920 issue of Moving Picture World:
“Fort Wayne House Remodelling [sic]
“For a consideration of $20,000, B. Borkenstein, of Fort Wayne, Ind., has bought the Wells Street Theatre in that city from Edward Hammerle, and has leased it to his son, Alfred Borkenstein, who will assume active management at once. The theatre, which is devoted exclusively to motion pictures, is situated at 1435 Wells street.
“Following the purchase, Mr. Borkenstein announced that the building will be extensively remodeled. The complete interior of the theatre will be redecorated, a new fireproof operating booth will be constructed, and a modern ventilating system will be installed. The remodeling work will not be started for several weeks.”
The building is currently listed for sale on LoopNet for a consideration quite a bit larger than $20,000.
The Maumee Theatre was listed in Film Daily Yearbooks in the late 1920s, and most likely was opened in 1926, when the “Theater Construction” column of the February 3 issue of Variety listed a $50,000 movie theater project on Maumee Avenue in Fort Wayne for Oscar E. Wobrock. The item says that the architect was named C. C. Brunswick, but I’ve been unable to find any other references to an architect of that name, so this could have been a typo.
According to the February 3, 1926 issue of Variety, the theater being built for John Guthrie at Grove City, Pennsylvania had been designed by C. W. Bates and W. H. Cook of Wheeling, West Virginia. This would have been architect Charles W. Bates and his then-partner, engineer William H. Cook. Bates is known for designing a number of theaters in West Virginia and eastern Ohio, including Wheeling’s splendid Capitol Theatre.
The Ithaca Theatre Company was formed in April, 1920, through the consolidation of the Crescent Corporation, the Strand Theater Corporation, and Star Theater, Inc., under the auspices of former vaudevillian William Dillon. The Star Theatre was closed later that year in favor of the company’s other houses, the Strand and Crescent. The May 19, 1921 issue of The Cornell Alumni News reported that the Star Theater building had been sold to the Ithaca Conservatory of Music, and that the school intended to remodel it for use as a gymnasium. The building has since been demolished. Today its site is occupied by the drive-up teller windows and parking lot of a bank.
The house now known as Reel Attractions Cinema began showing movies as the Lux Theatre on February 10, 1948, though the formal grand opening did not take place until February 28. Owner Frank G. Bailey built the house as a replacement for his original Lux Theatre (located just south of the new house) which he had opened in 1911. The new Lux originally seated over 400. The Bailey family owned the Lux until 1960.
In 1977, the name was changed to Golden West Cinema by new owner Bernard Besenski, who owned the Golden West Drive-In near town. Sometime during this period the theater was twinned. The house became the Reel Attractions Cinema in 2007.
The Windsor Theatre is represented on the web site Canada’s Historic Places, which says:
“The heritage value of the Windsor Block lies in its significance as one of the oldest Masonic Halls in Saskatchewan. Constructed in 1896, the property was reported to be one of the few Masonic-owned buildings in western Canada. The property symbolized the Masons' confidence in the future of the town. In 1906 the Masons sold the building to businessman J.D. Cumming.
“The heritage value of the property also resides in its status as a long-standing theatre in the community. In 1912, a theatre was incorporated into the Windsor Block, and became an important venue for live performances and travelling Vaudeville companies. When electricity was added to the building, motion pictures were introduced. The theatre was in operation until 1974. In the years since, the Windsor Block has hosted a variety of commercial and residential tenants.”
A Saskatchewan directory published in 1921 lists only an Esterhazy Theatre at Esterhazy. I’ve been unable to discover if this is an earlier name for the Maple Leaf or not.
This modern theater is probably named for an earlier Olympia Theatre in Assiniboia, probably the one on Main Street mentioned in the previous comment by TivFan. It’s possible that that house dated back to at least as early as 1921, when an Olympia Theatre was the only house at Assiniboia on a list of theaters found in a provincial directory published that year.
Boxoffice of April 30, 1955 reported that Famous Players' Skyway Drive-In at Stoney Creek would be the first in Canada to be equipped to show CinemaScope movies. The new screen being installed at that time would be 100 feet wide and 45 feet high.
The Fox struggled financially even before its final closure. An item in the March 10, 1958 issue of Boxoffice was headed “Fox at Stoney Creek, Ont., Closed Despite Protests” and included this paragraph:
“Rising expenses and declining revenue were given as principal reasons for the closing by Mrs. Audrey Marr, manager. But, Mrs. Marr added that damage done by teenage patrons, including ruined seats, was a factor.”
The item doesn’t specify whether the damage to seats was the result of deliberate vandalism or of an epidemic of incontinence, perhaps brought on by the scary movies of the 1950s, but I suspect the former. Teenagers are less likely to suffer incontinence than their elders, especially when those elders are contemplating the misbehavior of the always horrible young people of each generation.
The “Paramount” vertical sign in the photo elmorovivo uploaded probably didn’t belong to a theater. Film Daily Yearbooks from the period the photo dates from (it looks like the 1940s) didn’t list a house called the Paramount in Clarksburg. The Paramount listed on Hamill Avenue in the 1921 City Directory was likely a small, neighborhood house that was gone by the mid-1920s. The name Paramount has been (and is) used by many businesses other than theaters. In fact Clarksburg itself currently has company called Paramount Safety Supplies, though it was founded in 2019 so wouldn’t have anything to do with that sign from the 1940s.
The original Grand Theatre in Ronceverte was a wood framed building dating from the 1910s that was demolished to make way for an entirely new building that was erected on the same site in 1937.
The drawing of the Griffin Opera House is from the short-lived architectural firm of Bovell & Molesworth, which consisted of the little-known James Howard Bovell, who had a very brief career, and the well-known George Nepean Molesworth, who had a very long career indeed.
The papers of architect Bernard Herman Prack list a project for Fred Guest at the Empire Theatre in 1922. The specifics of the project are not mentioned. !922 was the same year Prack drew the plans for Guest’s Delta Theatre.
Fred Guest was making plans to build the Delta Theatre as early as 1922, when this item appeared in the November 4 issue of Motion Picture News:
“To Build Theatre in Ont.
“Fred Guest, one of the pioneer moving picture theatre proprietors of Hamilton, Ontario has completed arrangements for the erection of a large moving picture theatre and apartment block in Hamilton to cost upwards of $500,000. The project involves the construction of a theatre having two entrances, one on King Street and the other on Main Street, with individual facilities for fourteen stores and a number of apartment suites.”
Records of the Prack family of architects, who had offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, list the Delta Theatre as a 1922 project for Fred Guest, designed by architect Bernard Herman Prack. Although designed in late 1922, the Delta apparently did not open until sometime in 1925, as the first year I see it listed in the Hamilton City Directory is 1926.
To add to all the other early mentions of the Strand Theatre noted in earlier comments, the house (and owner Fred Guest) were mentioned in the October 14, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World. The item also mentioned Guest’s Empire Theatre.
The April 23, 1921 issue of Moving Picture World ran this item:
The correct names of the architects are Frank P. Riester and Otto W. Rubach.The Blackstone Theatre is listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, one of three theaters listed in Martinsville, the others being the Metropolitan on Morgan Street and the Mystic at 44 N. Main Street.
While the Corona Theatre is not listed in the FDY until 1930, I suspect it was opened sooner. There is a photo of the Corona with the 1927 silent movie Let It Rain on the marquee. It was certainly possible to show an older movie in 1930, but it would have been odd for even a neighborhood house in a competitive theater market like New York to be running a silent movie as its feature film in 1930.
The Corona was originally operated by S&S Theatres, and an item in the February 3, 1926 issue of Variety said that a theater was being built for Strausberg and Small at Junction Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona. This must have been the Corona. Architect for the project was Eugene DeRosa.
Hree’s something from the April 3, 1920 issue of Moving Picture World:
The building is currently listed for sale on LoopNet for a consideration quite a bit larger than $20,000.The State Theatre was listed in the 1928 FDY.
The Maumee Theatre was listed in Film Daily Yearbooks in the late 1920s, and most likely was opened in 1926, when the “Theater Construction” column of the February 3 issue of Variety listed a $50,000 movie theater project on Maumee Avenue in Fort Wayne for Oscar E. Wobrock. The item says that the architect was named C. C. Brunswick, but I’ve been unable to find any other references to an architect of that name, so this could have been a typo.
According to the February 3, 1926 issue of Variety, the theater being built for John Guthrie at Grove City, Pennsylvania had been designed by C. W. Bates and W. H. Cook of Wheeling, West Virginia. This would have been architect Charles W. Bates and his then-partner, engineer William H. Cook. Bates is known for designing a number of theaters in West Virginia and eastern Ohio, including Wheeling’s splendid Capitol Theatre.
The Ithaca Theatre Company was formed in April, 1920, through the consolidation of the Crescent Corporation, the Strand Theater Corporation, and Star Theater, Inc., under the auspices of former vaudevillian William Dillon. The Star Theatre was closed later that year in favor of the company’s other houses, the Strand and Crescent. The May 19, 1921 issue of The Cornell Alumni News reported that the Star Theater building had been sold to the Ithaca Conservatory of Music, and that the school intended to remodel it for use as a gymnasium. The building has since been demolished. Today its site is occupied by the drive-up teller windows and parking lot of a bank.
The current occupant of the Princess Theatre building is the Washington Street Pub, a bar and restaurant.
The house now known as Reel Attractions Cinema began showing movies as the Lux Theatre on February 10, 1948, though the formal grand opening did not take place until February 28. Owner Frank G. Bailey built the house as a replacement for his original Lux Theatre (located just south of the new house) which he had opened in 1911. The new Lux originally seated over 400. The Bailey family owned the Lux until 1960.
In 1977, the name was changed to Golden West Cinema by new owner Bernard Besenski, who owned the Golden West Drive-In near town. Sometime during this period the theater was twinned. The house became the Reel Attractions Cinema in 2007.
The Windsor Theatre is represented on the web site Canada’s Historic Places, which says:
A directory of Saskatchewan published in 1921 lists only an Orpheum Theatre at Estevan.
A Saskatchewan directory published in 1921 lists only an Esterhazy Theatre at Esterhazy. I’ve been unable to discover if this is an earlier name for the Maple Leaf or not.
This modern theater is probably named for an earlier Olympia Theatre in Assiniboia, probably the one on Main Street mentioned in the previous comment by TivFan. It’s possible that that house dated back to at least as early as 1921, when an Olympia Theatre was the only house at Assiniboia on a list of theaters found in a provincial directory published that year.
Boxoffice of April 30, 1955 reported that Famous Players' Skyway Drive-In at Stoney Creek would be the first in Canada to be equipped to show CinemaScope movies. The new screen being installed at that time would be 100 feet wide and 45 feet high.
The Fox struggled financially even before its final closure. An item in the March 10, 1958 issue of Boxoffice was headed “Fox at Stoney Creek, Ont., Closed Despite Protests” and included this paragraph:
The item doesn’t specify whether the damage to seats was the result of deliberate vandalism or of an epidemic of incontinence, perhaps brought on by the scary movies of the 1950s, but I suspect the former. Teenagers are less likely to suffer incontinence than their elders, especially when those elders are contemplating the misbehavior of the always horrible young people of each generation.The “Paramount” vertical sign in the photo elmorovivo uploaded probably didn’t belong to a theater. Film Daily Yearbooks from the period the photo dates from (it looks like the 1940s) didn’t list a house called the Paramount in Clarksburg. The Paramount listed on Hamill Avenue in the 1921 City Directory was likely a small, neighborhood house that was gone by the mid-1920s. The name Paramount has been (and is) used by many businesses other than theaters. In fact Clarksburg itself currently has company called Paramount Safety Supplies, though it was founded in 2019 so wouldn’t have anything to do with that sign from the 1940s.
The original Grand Theatre in Ronceverte was a wood framed building dating from the 1910s that was demolished to make way for an entirely new building that was erected on the same site in 1937.
“The Red Mill” was the name of a popular operetta by Victor Herbert which premiered in 1906. Quite a few theaters were subsequently named for it.
The drawing of the Griffin Opera House is from the short-lived architectural firm of Bovell & Molesworth, which consisted of the little-known James Howard Bovell, who had a very brief career, and the well-known George Nepean Molesworth, who had a very long career indeed.
The papers of architect Bernard Herman Prack list a project for Fred Guest at the Empire Theatre in 1922. The specifics of the project are not mentioned. !922 was the same year Prack drew the plans for Guest’s Delta Theatre.
Fred Guest was making plans to build the Delta Theatre as early as 1922, when this item appeared in the November 4 issue of Motion Picture News:
Records of the Prack family of architects, who had offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, list the Delta Theatre as a 1922 project for Fred Guest, designed by architect Bernard Herman Prack. Although designed in late 1922, the Delta apparently did not open until sometime in 1925, as the first year I see it listed in the Hamilton City Directory is 1926.To add to all the other early mentions of the Strand Theatre noted in earlier comments, the house (and owner Fred Guest) were mentioned in the October 14, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World. The item also mentioned Guest’s Empire Theatre.
Fred Guest’s Empire Theatre on Barton Street East was mentioned, along with his Strand Theatre, in the October 14, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World.
The Kenilworth Theatre first appears in the 1923 Hamilton City Directory, making a 1922 construction date most likely.