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.”
An article about the Ascher Bros circuit in the March 10, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World had this paragraph about the Cosmopolitan:
“A good deal of credit is due Bruce Goshaw for the success of the Cosmopolitan theater, Halsted and Seventy-ninth
streets, which was the first thousand-seat house to be erected for the Ascher Bros. Manager Godshaw enjoys the distinction of having managed this house since its opening on Saturday, September 6, 1913. This fine modern structure is situated in the suburb of Auburn Park far out in the southwest end of town and is strictly a neighborhood theater.
Although in its fifth season, some of the ‘opening night’ patrons can still be seen in the audiences. The foyer of the house is finished in marble and the general color scheme is old rose and blue. The equipment is modern in every detail from the box-office to the operating room. Feature subjects are exhibted [sic] both afternoon and evening, at an admission price of 10 cents.”
Ascher Bros. took control of this house as early as 1912, according to a list of the Chicago chain’s important theaters published in Moving Picture World of March 10, 1917:
“The President theater, Garfield Boulevard and Calumet avenue, was the first of the larger houses operated under the Ascher system. It was taken over by the Ascher Bros, and opened to the public under their management on September 30, 1912. Previous to this time it was used exclusively for vaudeville. The President is located on one of Chicago’s finest boulevards, within a short distance of Jackson Park. It has a seating capacity of 800, and pictures are shown every afternoon and evening, at an admission price of 10 cents. There are six exits from the large auditorium which is decorated in white and blue. The music is furnished by a Kimball organ and a five-piece orchestra. Harry F. Beaumont is the resident manager.”
If the Princess was still in operation in 1929, it’s possible that there were two different theaters of that name in Oil City. A 2009 comment by kencmcintyre on the Lyric Theatre page cites a 1974 Oil City Derrick photo caption saying that Princess was one of the aka’s for the second Lyric Theatre, at 216-218 Seneca Street. We don’t yet have a page for the first Lyric, but it was at 106-108 Seneca, and was in operation prior to 1916, when it was renovated, and then the Lyric name was moved to the former Orpheum/Princess/Cameo location in 1927. One page says that the house became the Cameo in the early 1920s, so the listing for the Princess in 1929 was either a different house or the FDY just hadn’t gotten around to removing the name from their listings.
Per kencmcintyre’s comment above, this page is missing the aka’s Princess Theatre and Cameo Theatre. We don’t yet have a page for the first Lyric Theatre, at 106-108 Seneca Street. (I’ve found out that the first Lyric was in operation prior to March, 1916, when it was reported to have reopened following a major renovation.) According to the current Lyric web site, this house opened as the Orpheum in 1906.
A July 16, 1921 article in The Moving Picture World gave the names of the four movie theaters then operating in Oil City, and the Star was not among them, so it must have closed by that time. The four houses in 1921 were the Venango, the Princess, the Lyric, and the Temple. The Temple, which was open by 1916, was at 230 Seneca, so if the Temple and Star’s periods of operation overlapped they were fairly near neighbors.
Also, I came across an article from the January 28, 2021 Oil City Derick (I can only see a small part of it as it’s behind their pay wall) and it gives the address of the Majestic as 102 Seneca Street.
A July 16, 1921 article in The Moving Picture World gave the names of the four movie theaters then operating in Oil City, and the Majestic was not among them, so it had either closed or been renamed by that time. The four houses were the Venango, the Princess, the Lyric, and the Temple.
The April 17, 1920 issue of Moving Picture World reported that the formal grand opening of the Venengo Theatre in Oil City had taken place on March 22. As the item specifies that this was the formal opening, it’s possible that the house had already been informally opened to the public earlier.
This web pagehas a very early photo of the Baby Grand, and says that it opened on February 1, 1917, and was rebuilt in 1927 (which must have been the project for Universal noted in my previous comment.)
Universal’s control of the house was brief. The June 28 issue of Film Daily reported a deal in which E. J. Sparks took over most of Universal’s theaters in the region, and the Baby Grand was not listed among the few that were excluded.
The Baby Grand closed in 1940 when the Colony Theatre opened, but had a brief afterlife in 1947 showing westerns and adventure films for less than a year.
Universal Pictures took over operation of the Baby Grand in early 1928, according to this item from the January 22 issue of Film Daily that year: “Orlando, Fla.— Universal’s new Baby Grand at Winter Park, the millionaire winter colony closely adjacent to Orlando, opened last week.”
The 1939 redecoration of the Studio was occasioned by a fire on June 7 which damaged the interior and destroyed the sound system, as reported in The Film Daily of July 21. The house was then being operated by Intermountain Theatres.
The “Theaters Planned” column of Film Daily for July 21, 1939 had this item datelined Maxton: “Maxton, 300 seats, City Square; Builder: M. S. Weaver; Architect: M. S. Weaver; Cost: $3,500; Operator: James Finch.”
In 1956, the Buck Theatre was owned and operated by a Mr. E. V. Landaiche, as noted in the July 28 issue of Motion Picture Herald. Landaiche also had the Beach Drive-In at Biloxi, and was in process of selling the Bay View Theatre in that city. He also had the Carver Theatre at Prichard, Alabama.
A courtesy ad with the grand opening ad posted by rivest266 reveals that the Bay View Amusement Center was designed by the Biloxi architectural firm Collins & Collins. Principals were architect John T. Collins and Engineer William J. Collins Jr. An item in the July 28, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Herald said that the Bayview Theatre, owned by E. V. Landraiche, was up for sale. Landraiche also owned and operated the Buck Theatre and Beach Drive-In at Biloxi and the Carver Theatre at Prichard, Alabama.
The Carver was mentioned in the July 28, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Herald. It was owned and operated by a Mr. E. V. Landraiche, who also had theaters in Biloxi.
The “Theatres Under Construction” column of Film Daily for July 21, 1939 had this item listed for Alabama: “Prichard — Gem, 480 seats, Wilson Ave.; Builder: L. Harris; Operator: Chas. Waterall; To be completed 9-1-39.”
A post on a City-Data forum says that the site of the Gem Theatre is now a park. Some streets in the area have been reconfigured, so it’s impossible to tell exactly where the theater was.
The Million Dollar is being operated as an event venue and filming location. Apparently it no longer has a dedicated web site, or the monthly movie screenings. It has this page at the web site of the operating company, the Piovra Group, which also manages 22 other Los Angeles area venues. There are some photos, mostly of the auditorium.
A comment on a Concordia Facebook page by a former projectionist says that this house was built by Delmar Harris in the late 1940s as the Delharco Theatre, became the Strand in the early 1950s, closed for more than a decade and was reopened in 1968 as the Sigma Theatre. It probably became the Apollo in the 1970s.)
This doesn’t quite jibe with other information about the theaters in Concordia that I’ve found (for example the listing of a “Del Harco” Theatre in the 1930 FDY and the mention of the Strand in the minutes of a 1947 City Council meeting, plus the fact that the Strand might have burned in 1948– there is a photo of a fire at the Strand burning, but it is undated.) Still, I have no doubt that Sigma is definitely and aka for this house, and that Delharco and Strand are definite possibilities.
I did discover that the early Concordia movie house called the Lyric became the Iris in 1916, and that the Lyric was at 6th Street and Broadway. I’ve held off on submitting the Lyric/Iris, which was still in operation in 1929, as, given its location, there is some possibility that it was the same theater that eventually became the Apollo.
Here is an item from the May 22, 1926 issue of Motion Picture News which could be about the Montesano Theatre:
“W. P. Armour is well under way with his new 650-seat first-run house at Montesano, and expects to have it ready for opening the latter part of the coming summer season.”
The Armour Theatre Company also operated an earlier house at Montesano called the Gem Theatre.
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:
An article about the Ascher Bros circuit in the March 10, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World had this paragraph about the Cosmopolitan:
Ascher Bros. took control of this house as early as 1912, according to a list of the Chicago chain’s important theaters published in Moving Picture World of March 10, 1917:
If the Princess was still in operation in 1929, it’s possible that there were two different theaters of that name in Oil City. A 2009 comment by kencmcintyre on the Lyric Theatre page cites a 1974 Oil City Derrick photo caption saying that Princess was one of the aka’s for the second Lyric Theatre, at 216-218 Seneca Street. We don’t yet have a page for the first Lyric, but it was at 106-108 Seneca, and was in operation prior to 1916, when it was renovated, and then the Lyric name was moved to the former Orpheum/Princess/Cameo location in 1927. One page says that the house became the Cameo in the early 1920s, so the listing for the Princess in 1929 was either a different house or the FDY just hadn’t gotten around to removing the name from their listings.
Per kencmcintyre’s comment above, this page is missing the aka’s Princess Theatre and Cameo Theatre. We don’t yet have a page for the first Lyric Theatre, at 106-108 Seneca Street. (I’ve found out that the first Lyric was in operation prior to March, 1916, when it was reported to have reopened following a major renovation.) According to the current Lyric web site, this house opened as the Orpheum in 1906.
A July 16, 1921 article in The Moving Picture World gave the names of the four movie theaters then operating in Oil City, and the Star was not among them, so it must have closed by that time. The four houses in 1921 were the Venango, the Princess, the Lyric, and the Temple. The Temple, which was open by 1916, was at 230 Seneca, so if the Temple and Star’s periods of operation overlapped they were fairly near neighbors.
Also, I came across an article from the January 28, 2021 Oil City Derick (I can only see a small part of it as it’s behind their pay wall) and it gives the address of the Majestic as 102 Seneca Street.
A July 16, 1921 article in The Moving Picture World gave the names of the four movie theaters then operating in Oil City, and the Majestic was not among them, so it had either closed or been renamed by that time. The four houses were the Venango, the Princess, the Lyric, and the Temple.
The April 17, 1920 issue of Moving Picture World reported that the formal grand opening of the Venengo Theatre in Oil City had taken place on March 22. As the item specifies that this was the formal opening, it’s possible that the house had already been informally opened to the public earlier.
The church no longer occupies this building, which is currently being offered for sale on LoopNet.
This web pagehas a very early photo of the Baby Grand, and says that it opened on February 1, 1917, and was rebuilt in 1927 (which must have been the project for Universal noted in my previous comment.)
Universal’s control of the house was brief. The June 28 issue of Film Daily reported a deal in which E. J. Sparks took over most of Universal’s theaters in the region, and the Baby Grand was not listed among the few that were excluded.
The Baby Grand closed in 1940 when the Colony Theatre opened, but had a brief afterlife in 1947 showing westerns and adventure films for less than a year.
Universal Pictures took over operation of the Baby Grand in early 1928, according to this item from the January 22 issue of Film Daily that year: “Orlando, Fla.— Universal’s new Baby Grand at Winter Park, the millionaire winter colony closely adjacent to Orlando, opened last week.”
The 1939 redecoration of the Studio was occasioned by a fire on June 7 which damaged the interior and destroyed the sound system, as reported in The Film Daily of July 21. The house was then being operated by Intermountain Theatres.
The “Theaters Planned” column of Film Daily for July 21, 1939 had this item datelined Maxton: “Maxton, 300 seats, City Square; Builder: M. S. Weaver; Architect: M. S. Weaver; Cost: $3,500; Operator: James Finch.”
In 1956, the Buck Theatre was owned and operated by a Mr. E. V. Landaiche, as noted in the July 28 issue of Motion Picture Herald. Landaiche also had the Beach Drive-In at Biloxi, and was in process of selling the Bay View Theatre in that city. He also had the Carver Theatre at Prichard, Alabama.
A courtesy ad with the grand opening ad posted by rivest266 reveals that the Bay View Amusement Center was designed by the Biloxi architectural firm Collins & Collins. Principals were architect John T. Collins and Engineer William J. Collins Jr. An item in the July 28, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Herald said that the Bayview Theatre, owned by E. V. Landraiche, was up for sale. Landraiche also owned and operated the Buck Theatre and Beach Drive-In at Biloxi and the Carver Theatre at Prichard, Alabama.
The Carver was mentioned in the July 28, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Herald. It was owned and operated by a Mr. E. V. Landraiche, who also had theaters in Biloxi.
The “Theatres Under Construction” column of Film Daily for July 21, 1939 had this item listed for Alabama: “Prichard — Gem, 480 seats, Wilson Ave.; Builder: L. Harris; Operator: Chas. Waterall; To be completed 9-1-39.”
A post on a City-Data forum says that the site of the Gem Theatre is now a park. Some streets in the area have been reconfigured, so it’s impossible to tell exactly where the theater was.
The Million Dollar is being operated as an event venue and filming location. Apparently it no longer has a dedicated web site, or the monthly movie screenings. It has this page at the web site of the operating company, the Piovra Group, which also manages 22 other Los Angeles area venues. There are some photos, mostly of the auditorium.
A comment on a Concordia Facebook page by a former projectionist says that this house was built by Delmar Harris in the late 1940s as the Delharco Theatre, became the Strand in the early 1950s, closed for more than a decade and was reopened in 1968 as the Sigma Theatre. It probably became the Apollo in the 1970s.)
This doesn’t quite jibe with other information about the theaters in Concordia that I’ve found (for example the listing of a “Del Harco” Theatre in the 1930 FDY and the mention of the Strand in the minutes of a 1947 City Council meeting, plus the fact that the Strand might have burned in 1948– there is a photo of a fire at the Strand burning, but it is undated.) Still, I have no doubt that Sigma is definitely and aka for this house, and that Delharco and Strand are definite possibilities.
I did discover that the early Concordia movie house called the Lyric became the Iris in 1916, and that the Lyric was at 6th Street and Broadway. I’ve held off on submitting the Lyric/Iris, which was still in operation in 1929, as, given its location, there is some possibility that it was the same theater that eventually became the Apollo.
Here is an item from the May 22, 1926 issue of Motion Picture News which could be about the Montesano Theatre:
The Armour Theatre Company also operated an earlier house at Montesano called the Gem Theatre.