However, shortly after the Lisbon Drive-In closed, things went totally wrong. On November 2, 1986, vandals broke into the screen room and heavily damaged a Coastal Energy truck who was parked on the traces of the theater. The vehicle was severe damaged after the vandals smashed a grill, broke the lights, destroyed the wiper blades, and ripped the antenna off causing $1,000 in damages.
The Amusu Theatre opened as early as 1921, and it became the State Theatre in 1939.
On December 31, 1941, the State Theater was destroyed by a fire, leaving the Kilroy and the Ritz the only movie houses in Winnsboro for a short time. After a full-reconstruction, the State Theater reopened its doors on April 22, 1942 with a total capacity of 635 seats.
The State Theater closed in 1968 for a full year, but reopened in September 1969 under new management of two Dallas men (Joe Foster and Gene Dickerson), one of which was also a resident from DeKalb. This didn’t last long at all, and the State Theater closed for the final time a few months later.
Shortly before the Paramount 7 Theatres was constructed, there was some mystery cinema that had quite a lost timeline located east of the city of Indianola and was unknown if that theater operated or not.
During the first week of November 1988, the Fridley chain announced that the Tomahawk Theatre would close the following year after construction of a then-new 793-seat triplex cinema (with 370 seats at Screen 1, 217 seats at Screen 2, and 206 seats in Screen 3) started at the site of a former Ford dealership located east of downtown, and replied that there will also be a video rental store next to the theater.
As shown above, I don’t know if the triplex actually had life or not.
The actual opening date is November 6, 1936 with Pat O'Brien in “China Clipper” along with the Buster Keaton short in “The Chemist” and the Popeye cartoon “What! No Spinach?”. It was first managed by Will H. Eddy.
Some information about the theater as of 1936 features a black and agate art glass box office, cream-colored walls inside the lobby, gold-colored walls inside the auditorium, and scarlet inside the stage. There are also original installations of 15 amber, blue, green, and red light fixtures creating 15 different combinations, as well as a 2600-pound fan for air-conditioning proposes.
On June 16, 1974, the Empress Theatre closed with “Where The Lilies Bloom” for a few months. The theater reopened as the Tomahawk Theatre on October 3, 1974 with “Conrack”.
In November 1988, it was announced by Fridley Theatres that the Tomahawk Theatre would close the following year due to the construction of a triplex cinema being built east of the city located on the site of a former Ford dealership. Unfortunately, it was unclear if that triplex theater actually opened or not due to lost information, as Indianola and Fridley Theatres would later open the Paramount 7 Theatres on August 31, 1990.
The Elite Theatre opened in 1915. The theater was once abandoned for a few years when it was once closed on December 31, 1957 until the theater reopened in early March 1964. The Elite closed its doors for the final time during the first week of February 1975.
Shortly before the East Bend Drive-In started construction in 1998, former WCPO-TV staff engineer David Schwarberg of Hamilton, Ohio, originally planned on constructing a drive-in theater in Maysville, Kentucky but the land deal fell through. Schwarberg immediately then found an ideal piece of farm land across the Ohio River near Decatur.
Schwarberg opened up the East Bend Drive-In along with his manager Wally Kemmeyer during a weekend of August 2000 as a single-screen drive-in. Schwarberg replied that what’s weird about the East Bend Drive-In is that the concession stand is in a tent rather than an actual building, and its ticket booth was located inside the owner’s barn. Another weird fact is that there are no strips of traces being found, as Google Earth shows only the screen (later screens), the barn, and the projection booth which was its actual small booth building.
But unfortunately on March 13, 2001, its 100x50ft screen was completely destroyed by severe thunderstorms. Schwarberg did not have any money to rebuild, so area residents and officials came to the rescue organizing bake sales and other fundraisers in order to rebuilt the screens.
On the 4th of July 2002, the East Bend Drive-In reopened its gates with an 80x40ft screen and two radio frequencies for sound (88.1 and 95.5 FM). According to Schwarberg, they replied that the current films they screened were not as bright and it takes a lot of light to project the screen. A second screen was added in mid-2005.
The East Bend Twin Drive-In closed after the 2012 season and was demolished a short time later that same year.
The Ben Bolt Theatre also opened with the Bugs Bunny cartoon “Mississippi Hare”, the FrizPatrick’s Traveltalks short “Calling On Michigan”, and Pathe News.
In 1971, Commonwealth Theatres took over operations of the Ben Bolt, and in March 1985, an attempt on converting the single-screener into a triplex by adding two more screens in the upstairs section of the building failed for unknown reasons.
The Ben Bolt Theatre closed for the final time in February 1999 when the Grand 6 Cinemas opened on North Grand Drive, and was sadly demolished in September of that same year.
However in April 1999 while the theater was still abandoned, a group of members of the Fine Arts Theater Group of Kansas City rescued scavenged parts of the theater and managed to save items before demolition.
The Colonial Theatre was built as a replacement of the Lyric Theatre (also in Osage) that got burned down in July 1920. The Colonial Theatre opened its doors on October 15, 1920 with a seven-act vaudeville presentation of “Raffles”. The theater housed an original capacity of 425 seats.
On November 5, 1937, the Colonial Theatre was renamed Osage Theatre following extensive remodeling, reopening with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in “Pick A Star” with no extra short subjects. Some of these include nu-wood treatment been used throughout the auditorium and foyer, as well as an updated marquee featuring neon lights around the entire face and the neon sign reading “Osage”. Structural glass in ivory and gray were used as the entrance. The box office features an ivory glass exterior, and updated establishments of sound equipment were featured embodying wide-range and high-fidelity.
The Roxy Theatre opened on August 4, 1937 with David Carlyle in “Meet The Boy Friend”, along with the Three Stooges short “Dizzy Doctors”, a musical short “Swing Hutton Swing”, an unnamed color cartoon, and a newsreel (on a 12x16ft screen). The Roxy closed its doors in 1956.
However, this does not mark the end of the Roxy. After being abandoned for 20 years, the 260-seat Roxy made a surprise comeback and reopened under the name “Cinema Capri” on October 7, 1976. Unfortunately, this did not last at all. After three years of bringing back movies, the Capri closed in 1979.
This started life as the Roxy Outdoor Drive-In in July 1953 with an original capacity of 300 cars and a 50ft Glatex screen. The concession stand measures 25x50ft, while the snack bar measuring 30x16ft and the projection booth measuring 14x14ft.
Way before the theater officially became a fly-in drive-in in 1964, free airplane rides were presented for the kiddies near the drive-in as well. During the 1964 season, Anderson opened a strip for airplanes, which eventually downgraded its car capacity to 100 cars.
Actual closing date is January 7, 1999 and its final features in screen order are “Mighty Joe Young”, “Jack Frost”, and “The Rugrats Movie”.
The Post Mall 3 did survive the opening of the Cinemark Hollywood USA 16 in December 1993 but the Schulman family who operated the Post Mall 3 switched the three-screen theater’s policy from first-run to $1 second-run discount due to the four-mile exclusivity rule as both the Cinemark 16 and the Post Mall 3 were located less than a mile away from each other and the staff at the Post Mall 3 are not allowed to play the same first-run movies as what the Cinemark had due to its location.
In December 1993, Morris Schulman switched the Manor East 3’s policy from first-run to $1 second-run because of the opening to the Hollywood USA 16 in College Station nearby. He closed the Manor East 3 in mid-June 1994.
The Royal Theatre opened in 1918 but closed for a short time in Spring 1931 following building reconstruction. The Royal Theatre then reopened its doors by manager Kenneth Parkinson of LeMars on May 30, 1931 with a one-day showing of Lowell Sherman in “Bachelor Apartment” along with an unnamed cartoon and a newsreel.
From World War II until July 1976, the Royal Theatre was operated by the March family led by Jack March, and was then taken over by Jay Kohl that same year. Throughout the late-1970s and early-1980s, the theater had multiple manager changes. First there’s Dave Anderson, and later Milford resident Walter Hanson on November 8, 1983 (who was also a certified auto mechanic and owns his own business in Arnolds Park, called the Iowa Great lakes Auto Repair).
The Royal Theatre closed for the final time on mid-January 1998 and the marquee was removed in October 1998.
Twinned in November 1979. The Mid-Valley Cinema closed during the first week of February 1987 when UA opened the nearby 10-screen theater.
First known as “UA Movies At Newburgh” when it opened on February 6, 1987. It was renamed “United Artists Newburgh Cinema 10” later that same year.
Closed on August 29, 1985 with “Goonies”.
Closed in March 1957.
The actual closing date is September 26, 1986.
However, shortly after the Lisbon Drive-In closed, things went totally wrong. On November 2, 1986, vandals broke into the screen room and heavily damaged a Coastal Energy truck who was parked on the traces of the theater. The vehicle was severe damaged after the vandals smashed a grill, broke the lights, destroyed the wiper blades, and ripped the antenna off causing $1,000 in damages.
The Amusu Theatre opened as early as 1921, and it became the State Theatre in 1939.
On December 31, 1941, the State Theater was destroyed by a fire, leaving the Kilroy and the Ritz the only movie houses in Winnsboro for a short time. After a full-reconstruction, the State Theater reopened its doors on April 22, 1942 with a total capacity of 635 seats.
The State Theater closed in 1968 for a full year, but reopened in September 1969 under new management of two Dallas men (Joe Foster and Gene Dickerson), one of which was also a resident from DeKalb. This didn’t last long at all, and the State Theater closed for the final time a few months later.
Opened on December 22, 1976, closed on July 8, 2001.
Shortly before the Paramount 7 Theatres was constructed, there was some mystery cinema that had quite a lost timeline located east of the city of Indianola and was unknown if that theater operated or not.
During the first week of November 1988, the Fridley chain announced that the Tomahawk Theatre would close the following year after construction of a then-new 793-seat triplex cinema (with 370 seats at Screen 1, 217 seats at Screen 2, and 206 seats in Screen 3) started at the site of a former Ford dealership located east of downtown, and replied that there will also be a video rental store next to the theater.
As shown above, I don’t know if the triplex actually had life or not.
The actual opening date is November 6, 1936 with Pat O'Brien in “China Clipper” along with the Buster Keaton short in “The Chemist” and the Popeye cartoon “What! No Spinach?”. It was first managed by Will H. Eddy.
Some information about the theater as of 1936 features a black and agate art glass box office, cream-colored walls inside the lobby, gold-colored walls inside the auditorium, and scarlet inside the stage. There are also original installations of 15 amber, blue, green, and red light fixtures creating 15 different combinations, as well as a 2600-pound fan for air-conditioning proposes.
On June 16, 1974, the Empress Theatre closed with “Where The Lilies Bloom” for a few months. The theater reopened as the Tomahawk Theatre on October 3, 1974 with “Conrack”.
In November 1988, it was announced by Fridley Theatres that the Tomahawk Theatre would close the following year due to the construction of a triplex cinema being built east of the city located on the site of a former Ford dealership. Unfortunately, it was unclear if that triplex theater actually opened or not due to lost information, as Indianola and Fridley Theatres would later open the Paramount 7 Theatres on August 31, 1990.
Closed on December 1, 1977 and demolished on February 27, 1978.
The Elite Theatre opened in 1915. The theater was once abandoned for a few years when it was once closed on December 31, 1957 until the theater reopened in early March 1964. The Elite closed its doors for the final time during the first week of February 1975.
Actual opening date is June 9, 1941 featuring a 31x43ft screen.
Correction: It was Warner Pathe News. It was listed as Pathe News on grand opening ad.
Opened on September 3, 1931 with Walter Huston with “The Star Witness” along with the Wheeler & Woolsey short “Oh, Oh, Cleopatra”.
Opened on April 25, 2003.
Shortly before the East Bend Drive-In started construction in 1998, former WCPO-TV staff engineer David Schwarberg of Hamilton, Ohio, originally planned on constructing a drive-in theater in Maysville, Kentucky but the land deal fell through. Schwarberg immediately then found an ideal piece of farm land across the Ohio River near Decatur.
Schwarberg opened up the East Bend Drive-In along with his manager Wally Kemmeyer during a weekend of August 2000 as a single-screen drive-in. Schwarberg replied that what’s weird about the East Bend Drive-In is that the concession stand is in a tent rather than an actual building, and its ticket booth was located inside the owner’s barn. Another weird fact is that there are no strips of traces being found, as Google Earth shows only the screen (later screens), the barn, and the projection booth which was its actual small booth building.
But unfortunately on March 13, 2001, its 100x50ft screen was completely destroyed by severe thunderstorms. Schwarberg did not have any money to rebuild, so area residents and officials came to the rescue organizing bake sales and other fundraisers in order to rebuilt the screens.
On the 4th of July 2002, the East Bend Drive-In reopened its gates with an 80x40ft screen and two radio frequencies for sound (88.1 and 95.5 FM). According to Schwarberg, they replied that the current films they screened were not as bright and it takes a lot of light to project the screen. A second screen was added in mid-2005.
The East Bend Twin Drive-In closed after the 2012 season and was demolished a short time later that same year.
The Ben Bolt Theatre also opened with the Bugs Bunny cartoon “Mississippi Hare”, the FrizPatrick’s Traveltalks short “Calling On Michigan”, and Pathe News.
In 1971, Commonwealth Theatres took over operations of the Ben Bolt, and in March 1985, an attempt on converting the single-screener into a triplex by adding two more screens in the upstairs section of the building failed for unknown reasons.
The Ben Bolt Theatre closed for the final time in February 1999 when the Grand 6 Cinemas opened on North Grand Drive, and was sadly demolished in September of that same year.
However in April 1999 while the theater was still abandoned, a group of members of the Fine Arts Theater Group of Kansas City rescued scavenged parts of the theater and managed to save items before demolition.
The Colonial Theatre was built as a replacement of the Lyric Theatre (also in Osage) that got burned down in July 1920. The Colonial Theatre opened its doors on October 15, 1920 with a seven-act vaudeville presentation of “Raffles”. The theater housed an original capacity of 425 seats.
On November 5, 1937, the Colonial Theatre was renamed Osage Theatre following extensive remodeling, reopening with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in “Pick A Star” with no extra short subjects. Some of these include nu-wood treatment been used throughout the auditorium and foyer, as well as an updated marquee featuring neon lights around the entire face and the neon sign reading “Osage”. Structural glass in ivory and gray were used as the entrance. The box office features an ivory glass exterior, and updated establishments of sound equipment were featured embodying wide-range and high-fidelity.
The Roxy Theatre opened on August 4, 1937 with David Carlyle in “Meet The Boy Friend”, along with the Three Stooges short “Dizzy Doctors”, a musical short “Swing Hutton Swing”, an unnamed color cartoon, and a newsreel (on a 12x16ft screen). The Roxy closed its doors in 1956.
However, this does not mark the end of the Roxy. After being abandoned for 20 years, the 260-seat Roxy made a surprise comeback and reopened under the name “Cinema Capri” on October 7, 1976. Unfortunately, this did not last at all. After three years of bringing back movies, the Capri closed in 1979.
This started life as the Roxy Outdoor Drive-In in July 1953 with an original capacity of 300 cars and a 50ft Glatex screen. The concession stand measures 25x50ft, while the snack bar measuring 30x16ft and the projection booth measuring 14x14ft.
Way before the theater officially became a fly-in drive-in in 1964, free airplane rides were presented for the kiddies near the drive-in as well. During the 1964 season, Anderson opened a strip for airplanes, which eventually downgraded its car capacity to 100 cars.
Actual closing date is January 7, 1999 and its final features in screen order are “Mighty Joe Young”, “Jack Frost”, and “The Rugrats Movie”.
The Post Mall 3 did survive the opening of the Cinemark Hollywood USA 16 in December 1993 but the Schulman family who operated the Post Mall 3 switched the three-screen theater’s policy from first-run to $1 second-run discount due to the four-mile exclusivity rule as both the Cinemark 16 and the Post Mall 3 were located less than a mile away from each other and the staff at the Post Mall 3 are not allowed to play the same first-run movies as what the Cinemark had due to its location.
Actual closing date is August 26, 1969 with John Wayne’s “Hellfighters” and George Peppard’s “House Of Cards”.
In December 1993, Morris Schulman switched the Manor East 3’s policy from first-run to $1 second-run because of the opening to the Hollywood USA 16 in College Station nearby. He closed the Manor East 3 in mid-June 1994.
Opened on June 13, 1997.
The Royal Theatre opened in 1918 but closed for a short time in Spring 1931 following building reconstruction. The Royal Theatre then reopened its doors by manager Kenneth Parkinson of LeMars on May 30, 1931 with a one-day showing of Lowell Sherman in “Bachelor Apartment” along with an unnamed cartoon and a newsreel.
From World War II until July 1976, the Royal Theatre was operated by the March family led by Jack March, and was then taken over by Jay Kohl that same year. Throughout the late-1970s and early-1980s, the theater had multiple manager changes. First there’s Dave Anderson, and later Milford resident Walter Hanson on November 8, 1983 (who was also a certified auto mechanic and owns his own business in Arnolds Park, called the Iowa Great lakes Auto Repair).
The Royal Theatre closed for the final time on mid-January 1998 and the marquee was removed in October 1998.