In August 1929, the North Adams Evening Transcript announced that Publix Theater Corp. had taken over the Empire, and that the name change to Paramount would be effective September 2.
This is an 8/11/98 article from the Indiana (PA) Gazette:
PUNXSUTAWNEY â€" The owner of the old Jefferson Theatre building was given seven days to complete demolition of the building at Monday night’s meeting of the Punxsutawney Borough Council. Borough Manager Sue Maczko told council that Bethpage Industries Inc. is planning to open a business in the vicinity of the former theater building on North Findley Street but has been unable to complete its project because of the lingering demolition of the three-story structure.
Maczko told council that Bethpage wants to open this fall, but has been unable to get a natural gas installation for its office because the theater demolition is still uncompleted. The theater has been closed since 1978. It is partially razed, but all of the high steel beams remain in place. Maczko said the Borough Code Enforcement Office had issued a permit to Blair Blose, the owner of the building, to demolish the building in February, 1998; Blose has since been granted an extension.
Council moved to direct borough Solicitor A. Ted Hudock to write a letter instructing Blose and the demolition crew that there is now a seven day deadline for completion of the project. Police Chief Bill Clement was directed to close off the portion of Pine Alley between the old theater and the Jefferson High Rise apartments to both vehicle and pedestrian traffic because of safety hazards until the demolition is completed. The vote on both directives was 9-0.
This is a February 1991 article from the Marysville Journal-Tribune:
BEXLEY, Ohio (AP) â€" Franklin County Sheriff Earl Smith says the Bexley Art Theatre is a public nuisance and wants it closed. Smith said undercover detectives saw lewd acts committed during four trips to the theater, which shows X-rated movies, this month.
Judge Dale Crawford of Franklin County Common Pleas Court issued a temporary restraining order that allowed Smith to photograph and inventory contents of the theater during a raid Wednesday. A complaint against the theater by detectives also names Arts Theatre Guild in Scottsdale, Ariz., the parent company, and Prentice Hall Corporate Services, the local theater agent.
Here is a 12/18/76 article from the Dover Times Reporter:
The Bexley Theater in downtown Dover will re-open Christmas Day, manager Kenneth Frew said Friday. It had been closed earlier this month as part of a pre-holiday economy move by Cinema
Corp. of America. Frew said the re-opening, originally scheduled for yesterday, had been delayed because of the popularity of “King Kong,” which opened Friday night at the Quaker Theater in downtown New Philadelphia. The Pittsburgh-based chain owns the two theaters and the Cinema Theater, also in New Philadelphia.
Frew, who manages all three theaters, said the Bexley will re-open with “Two Minute Warning,” starring Charlton Heston. The Bexley was one of more than 60 theaters closed temporarily by Cinema Corp. to reduce operating costs at a time when attendance at; the movies usually drops. The company planned to re-open the theaters with films designed to attract holiday audiences.
Here is an April 1948 article from the Murphysboro (IL) Daily Independent:
ZION, ILL,, April 12â€"The manager of Zion’s only motion picture theater appears before the local justice of the peace today accused of attempting to show a movie on Sunday. Connie Bridges, the manager, was arrested amicably yesterday in a test of the community’s ordinance banning Sunday movies. He had advertised that he would run the motion picture, ‘I Walk Alone,’ yesterday afternoon to test the law.
Bridges was arrested as the doors opened on a warrant issued on the complaint of Mayor Richard. Justice of the Peace Lester Koelz continued hearing of the charge until today and Bridges was released on $100 bond. Al Eric Carey, Zion City Attorney, said he believed, the case would eventually reach the State Supreme Court. Carey said he believed both parties would only be satisfied with an interpretation by the high court.
Motion pictures have been shown only weekdays in Zion since New Years day this year. At that time, the Zion theater opened. The theater, the first in the town, was opened after more than 2,000 of the community’s 3,000 residents signed a petition asking the city council to permit the showing of movies. The ordinance then passed by the council specifically banned Sunday movies and provided that all pictures shown should be subject to “proper censorship.”
The Justice of Peace also will hear charges today against Otto Lawrence, owner of Zion’s only bowling alley. He was arrested for violating another ordinance which prohibits bowling on Sundays. Like Bridges he attempted to open his establishment esterday. “Apparently Lawrence and Bridges are collaborating to test both ordinances,” Carey said.
Here is an October 2000 article from the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot:
Oct. 14—NORFOLK, Va.—As General Cinema heads for bankruptcy court, suffering from the same kind of financial trouble as its industry peers, the curtain will close on Norfolk’s Janaf Cinemas.
GC Cos. Inc., the corporate parent of General Cinema, said Wednesday that it will file to reorganize under Chapter 11, lining up behind United Artists Theatre Circuit, Edwards Theatres Circuit Inc. and Carmike Cinemas Inc., all of which have filed for bankruptcy in recent months.
General Cinema, like its industry peers, said oversaturation of the market created by a surge in the construction of megaplexes — theaters with stadium seating, state-of-the-art sound and more than 14 screens — has created intense competition.
The eight-screen, 34-year-old theater at Janaf Shopping Center will have its final showings Thursday evening, according to a source associated with General Cinema who declined to be identified. General Cinema has no other theaters in Hampton Roads. Janaf Cinemas is the third local theater to close in recent months
Company officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Here is part of an article in the LA Times dated 1/17/91:
After less than two months as a revival house, the Mayfair Theater has once again shut down. Formerly owned by the Pussycat theater chain and operated as an X-rated movie house, and more recently home to Spanish-language films, the Ventura theater found little success showing cult, art and classic films beginning in November.
“The people who were in there last just weren’t making any money, so they closed it up,” said Ethel Edwards of Walnut Properties, the Los Angeles company that owns and leases the property at 793 E. Santa Clara St. “We’re now trying to lease it out as either a Spanish house or a regular-run house. It’s either for lease or for sale.”
The theater actually had a pretty productive life before being purchased by the Pussycat chain. In the 1950s and ‘60s the building was leased by the family of Ventura resident Trudy Clark. “That was long before the drive-ins and the proliferation of theaters. There were only the two theaters in downtown Ventura … in all of Ventura,” Clark said. “The Mayfair was a regular first-run theater.”
Clark isn’t surprised that the Mayfair failed as a revival theater and questions its future as a movie house. “I didn’t see how it could do very well. You can see old movies on television … regular television, not even cable,” she said. “The theater is a single-screen theater and all the theaters that have been built in the last 15 years are multiple screen. And I don’t see how there would be room to expand.”
Here is a 1985 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/levhv5
The pizza website has some more information about the building:
http://tinyurl.com/qc6mg5
Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ov3nkz
Here is a site for the theater troupe that currently uses the building:
http://www.festivaltheatre.org/
Here is a 1984 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/m7nk3c
Some photos here:
http://tinyurl.com/ny4g83
There is a photo on this site:
http://tinyurl.com/mnrk6l
Here is a 2008 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/m8ek6h
Here are some photos from this weekend:
http://tinyurl.com/mo75cy
http://tinyurl.com/l3nt4n
http://tinyurl.com/nexslh
http://tinyurl.com/lzxonh
Here are some photos taken this weekend:
http://tinyurl.com/lkqk97
http://tinyurl.com/n3pboh
Here are some photos from this weekend:
http://tinyurl.com/m29h6f
http://tinyurl.com/mpluar
http://tinyurl.com/lujgtk
http://tinyurl.com/nn97y8
Here are some photos from this weekend:
http://tinyurl.com/kqxtza
http://tinyurl.com/ndkhjb
http://tinyurl.com/ld6h86
http://tinyurl.com/mmsc6d
Here is a photo taken Sunday:
http://tinyurl.com/krmce8
Here is a photo taken this weekend:
http://tinyurl.com/lh7zzm
There are some photos on this page:
http://tinyurl.com/kqyr4p
In August 1929, the North Adams Evening Transcript announced that Publix Theater Corp. had taken over the Empire, and that the name change to Paramount would be effective September 2.
This is an 8/11/98 article from the Indiana (PA) Gazette:
PUNXSUTAWNEY â€" The owner of the old Jefferson Theatre building was given seven days to complete demolition of the building at Monday night’s meeting of the Punxsutawney Borough Council. Borough Manager Sue Maczko told council that Bethpage Industries Inc. is planning to open a business in the vicinity of the former theater building on North Findley Street but has been unable to complete its project because of the lingering demolition of the three-story structure.
Maczko told council that Bethpage wants to open this fall, but has been unable to get a natural gas installation for its office because the theater demolition is still uncompleted. The theater has been closed since 1978. It is partially razed, but all of the high steel beams remain in place. Maczko said the Borough Code Enforcement Office had issued a permit to Blair Blose, the owner of the building, to demolish the building in February, 1998; Blose has since been granted an extension.
Council moved to direct borough Solicitor A. Ted Hudock to write a letter instructing Blose and the demolition crew that there is now a seven day deadline for completion of the project. Police Chief Bill Clement was directed to close off the portion of Pine Alley between the old theater and the Jefferson High Rise apartments to both vehicle and pedestrian traffic because of safety hazards until the demolition is completed. The vote on both directives was 9-0.
There are some great shots on Flickr as well, but so as not to aggravate your various neuroses I will leave those unposted.
Some additional photos on this page:
http://tinyurl.com/lrydnz
Here is a 2002 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/n6y2of
This is a February 1991 article from the Marysville Journal-Tribune:
BEXLEY, Ohio (AP) â€" Franklin County Sheriff Earl Smith says the Bexley Art Theatre is a public nuisance and wants it closed. Smith said undercover detectives saw lewd acts committed during four trips to the theater, which shows X-rated movies, this month.
Judge Dale Crawford of Franklin County Common Pleas Court issued a temporary restraining order that allowed Smith to photograph and inventory contents of the theater during a raid Wednesday. A complaint against the theater by detectives also names Arts Theatre Guild in Scottsdale, Ariz., the parent company, and Prentice Hall Corporate Services, the local theater agent.
Here is a 12/18/76 article from the Dover Times Reporter:
The Bexley Theater in downtown Dover will re-open Christmas Day, manager Kenneth Frew said Friday. It had been closed earlier this month as part of a pre-holiday economy move by Cinema
Corp. of America. Frew said the re-opening, originally scheduled for yesterday, had been delayed because of the popularity of “King Kong,” which opened Friday night at the Quaker Theater in downtown New Philadelphia. The Pittsburgh-based chain owns the two theaters and the Cinema Theater, also in New Philadelphia.
Frew, who manages all three theaters, said the Bexley will re-open with “Two Minute Warning,” starring Charlton Heston. The Bexley was one of more than 60 theaters closed temporarily by Cinema Corp. to reduce operating costs at a time when attendance at; the movies usually drops. The company planned to re-open the theaters with films designed to attract holiday audiences.
Here is an April 1948 article from the Murphysboro (IL) Daily Independent:
ZION, ILL,, April 12â€"The manager of Zion’s only motion picture theater appears before the local justice of the peace today accused of attempting to show a movie on Sunday. Connie Bridges, the manager, was arrested amicably yesterday in a test of the community’s ordinance banning Sunday movies. He had advertised that he would run the motion picture, ‘I Walk Alone,’ yesterday afternoon to test the law.
Bridges was arrested as the doors opened on a warrant issued on the complaint of Mayor Richard. Justice of the Peace Lester Koelz continued hearing of the charge until today and Bridges was released on $100 bond. Al Eric Carey, Zion City Attorney, said he believed, the case would eventually reach the State Supreme Court. Carey said he believed both parties would only be satisfied with an interpretation by the high court.
Motion pictures have been shown only weekdays in Zion since New Years day this year. At that time, the Zion theater opened. The theater, the first in the town, was opened after more than 2,000 of the community’s 3,000 residents signed a petition asking the city council to permit the showing of movies. The ordinance then passed by the council specifically banned Sunday movies and provided that all pictures shown should be subject to “proper censorship.”
The Justice of Peace also will hear charges today against Otto Lawrence, owner of Zion’s only bowling alley. He was arrested for violating another ordinance which prohibits bowling on Sundays. Like Bridges he attempted to open his establishment esterday. “Apparently Lawrence and Bridges are collaborating to test both ordinances,” Carey said.
Here is an October 2000 article from the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot:
Oct. 14—NORFOLK, Va.—As General Cinema heads for bankruptcy court, suffering from the same kind of financial trouble as its industry peers, the curtain will close on Norfolk’s Janaf Cinemas.
GC Cos. Inc., the corporate parent of General Cinema, said Wednesday that it will file to reorganize under Chapter 11, lining up behind United Artists Theatre Circuit, Edwards Theatres Circuit Inc. and Carmike Cinemas Inc., all of which have filed for bankruptcy in recent months.
General Cinema, like its industry peers, said oversaturation of the market created by a surge in the construction of megaplexes — theaters with stadium seating, state-of-the-art sound and more than 14 screens — has created intense competition.
The eight-screen, 34-year-old theater at Janaf Shopping Center will have its final showings Thursday evening, according to a source associated with General Cinema who declined to be identified. General Cinema has no other theaters in Hampton Roads. Janaf Cinemas is the third local theater to close in recent months
Company officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.
This New York Times article is dated June 5, 1909, which is a year before the opening given in the introduction.
http://tinyurl.com/mkkbyt
Here is part of an article in the LA Times dated 1/17/91:
After less than two months as a revival house, the Mayfair Theater has once again shut down. Formerly owned by the Pussycat theater chain and operated as an X-rated movie house, and more recently home to Spanish-language films, the Ventura theater found little success showing cult, art and classic films beginning in November.
“The people who were in there last just weren’t making any money, so they closed it up,” said Ethel Edwards of Walnut Properties, the Los Angeles company that owns and leases the property at 793 E. Santa Clara St. “We’re now trying to lease it out as either a Spanish house or a regular-run house. It’s either for lease or for sale.”
The theater actually had a pretty productive life before being purchased by the Pussycat chain. In the 1950s and ‘60s the building was leased by the family of Ventura resident Trudy Clark. “That was long before the drive-ins and the proliferation of theaters. There were only the two theaters in downtown Ventura … in all of Ventura,” Clark said. “The Mayfair was a regular first-run theater.”
Clark isn’t surprised that the Mayfair failed as a revival theater and questions its future as a movie house. “I didn’t see how it could do very well. You can see old movies on television … regular television, not even cable,” she said. “The theater is a single-screen theater and all the theaters that have been built in the last 15 years are multiple screen. And I don’t see how there would be room to expand.”