The September 9, 1950 issue of Boxiffice noted that the Warner Theatre in Lynchburg, formerly the Trenton, had recently opened following extensive renovations.
Patsy: Do you know if the May Theatre to the left was in the same building as the Carlson? The reason Blatt gave for closing was because new State fire regulations would have required extensive alterations to the old theater which would have been too costly. I’m wondering if perhaps one of the storefronts in the building was then converted into a small theater by the subsequent operators.
The September 9, 1950 issue of Boxoffice gives different dates than the real estate listing above does, and additional information. The headline is “Mayville Theatre Closed by Blatt” and the article says that the theater had opened in 1904 as the Swetland Opera House, with a live show featuring the young Al Jolson.
The theater was sold to A. A. Carlson around 1929, becoming the Carlson Theatre, and bought by the Blatt circuit in 1946, when it was renamed the May Theatre. The building was originally two stories, but a third floor was a dded a few years after it was built (this was probably the source of the real estate listing’s 1910 date for construction.) The 1950 article also noted that the theater had operated as a movie house for “…almost forty years.”
An April 5, 1952 Boxoffice article revealed that the house had been reopened for a while under different management, but was able to operate for only about a year. As of 1952, a plan was afoot to have the house opened again under the auspices of a local businessmen’s group and to have the actual operation handled by students from the local high school, but I’ve found nothing indicating that this plan ever came to fruition.
This closed real estate listing says that the three-story brick commercial block at 34 South Erie Street, “[k]nown as the former ‘THEATER’ building….” was sold for $206,000 on January 30, 2017. The building was erected in 1910. There is one photo. There are still four storefronts on the ground floor, and the upper floors now house sixteen apartments.
A post on the “Remember Connellsville” Facebook page says that the Colonial Theatre was designed by Pittsburgh architectural firm McCollum & Dowler (Jennings Moss McCollum and Press C. Dowler.)
The June, 1908 issue of Insurance Engineering noted a number of fires that year including this one: “May 10. Connellsville, Pa. Magic Land, vaudeville theater, Samuel Hantman, North Pittsburg street; also two stores. Total losses, $20,000.” I’ve been unable to discover if the theater was ever rebuilt.
The June 24, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World had an item about Wagner and Wishart’s new Paramount Theatre, which was soon to open. It said that the partners had “…conducted the Globe theater in Connellsville for the last four years….” so the Globe must have been in operation by 1912. The article also noted that the Globe would be closed when the Paramount opened and its space would be converted to retail use. The Paramount opened on July 18, so July 17 was most likely that last day of operation for the Globe.
Here is an item about the Paramount Theatre from the June 24, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World:
“Connellsville, Pa.—The attractive new theaters of Messrs. Wagner and Wishart, at Connellsville, Pa., is receiving the finishing touches of decorators and furnishers and will be ready for opening about July 1. It will be called the Paramount, and promises to establish a place among the foremost theaters in Western Pennsylvania. The building itself is fireproof and thoroughly up-to-date in every way, having cost about $30,000 to erect. The seating capacity will be 1,000. Among other features of the house the projection booth is built of steel and is located on the outside of the theater. Two Simplex machines are being Installed. Wagner and Wishart have conducted the Globe theater in Connellsville for the past four years with much success, and they are embodying in the Paramount the results of their experience. When the new house is opened the Globe theater will be discontinued and the building it occupies converted into storerooms. C. A. Wagner, who has personally looked after the Globe, will continue in the active management of the new house. The large patronage which the Globe has enjoyed will assure the popularity of the Paramount among the moving picture goers of Connellsville and vicinity.”
The fact that the article says the building had cost $30,000 to erect suggests that it was not a remodeling of the furniture store at 207 Pittsburgh Street, but a replacement for the house at 215 Pittsburgh.
The February 15, 1913 issue of Motography ran this somewhat sloppy notice in its “Ohio” section:
“Architect Anthony Kunz is receiving estimates for the Belvidere motion picture house to be built on the east side of Belvidere, north of Hatch, Mt. Adams, for Aloysium Schumaker.”
Misspellings and misdirection notwithstanding, the item clearly is about the Belvedere Theatre.
The Franklin might have closed for a while in the early 1930s but apparently reopened. A 908-seat Franklin Theatre is listed at Ensley, Alabama, in the 1950 Film Daily Yearbook.
The Ritz Theatre was at 216 Broad Street, and the theater operated from 1936 to 1972, according to this web page, which features many historic and recent photos of the Ritz building, along with much other information about the house. The entrance to the Ritz was in an existing building converted from a cafe, but the auditorium was newly built in 1936. The current occupant of the building is a sporting goods retailer
A twin indoor cinema was built for United Artists on the site of the Jet Drive-In in 1970. The Angelo Twin Drive-In was built as a replacement for the Jet Drive-In itself, according to Boxoffice of March 16, 1970.
Boxoffice of March 16, 1970 said that the Midtown Cinema 1 & 2 had opened “last month.” Each of the twin auditoriums had 220 seats. The opening features were Doctor Zhivago in Cinema 1 and Like Mother, Like Daughter in Cinema 2.
Boxoffice of March 16, 1970 said that a farewell party would be held at the Miller Theatre on March 18, as a benefit for the local art museum. Organist Gaylord Carter would perform on the Miller’s Wurlitzer, which had been restored for the occasion by members of the Theater Organ Club. National General Corp. were the last operators of the Miller, and would soon open the suburban Mall Cinema as a replacement for the 1922 downtown house.
Andrew J. Burin of Youngstown, Ohio, designed the Gateway Cinema. Burin was the chief architect for William M. Cafaro & Associates, also of Youngstown, developers of the Gateway Plaza shopping center.
The March 16, 1970 issue of Boxoffice had a brief item saying that the Square Amusement Company of New York had announced that the Plaza Theatre in Bayonne had been shuttered and would not operate as a movie theater again.
The October 11, 1911 issue of Harvard Alumni Bulletin said that James R. Stewart, class of 1905, and Robert W. Stewart, class of 1908, had established their architectural offices in the Bell Block, Cincinnati.
Here is the official web site of the State Theatre. The house is currently not showing movies due to Ohio’s pandemic lockdown, but since March 17 they have been serving food for takeout and delivery. The State is a splendid asset for a small town like London, and I hope they can get through this difficult time and will soon be running movies again.
Given the fact that it had opened by early 1916, and that the Sanborn map shows different buildings on its site in 1914, the Fayette Theatre in its two-story building was most likely this project noted in the February 27, 1915 issue of The American contractor:
“Celina, O.—Motion Picture Theater, Store & Apt. Bldg.: 2 sty. & bas. 80x82. Archt. B. F. Matthews, 420 Opera House bldg., Lima, O. Owner Otto Ott, Celina. Architect will take bids next week.”
Benjamin F. Mathews (1854-1916) was one of Lima’s prominent architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The January 22, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World ran a letter from E. E. Bair, manager and operator, Fayette theater, Celina, Ohio, in which he says he is the “… manager and operator of a brand new show house seating 220.”
Boxoffice of September 9, 1950, said that John White had opened his new Lake Theatre on August 25 and closed the Jons Theatre.
The September 9, 1950 issue of Boxiffice noted that the Warner Theatre in Lynchburg, formerly the Trenton, had recently opened following extensive renovations.
Patsy: Do you know if the May Theatre to the left was in the same building as the Carlson? The reason Blatt gave for closing was because new State fire regulations would have required extensive alterations to the old theater which would have been too costly. I’m wondering if perhaps one of the storefronts in the building was then converted into a small theater by the subsequent operators.
The September 9, 1950 issue of Boxoffice gives different dates than the real estate listing above does, and additional information. The headline is “Mayville Theatre Closed by Blatt” and the article says that the theater had opened in 1904 as the Swetland Opera House, with a live show featuring the young Al Jolson.
The theater was sold to A. A. Carlson around 1929, becoming the Carlson Theatre, and bought by the Blatt circuit in 1946, when it was renamed the May Theatre. The building was originally two stories, but a third floor was a dded a few years after it was built (this was probably the source of the real estate listing’s 1910 date for construction.) The 1950 article also noted that the theater had operated as a movie house for “…almost forty years.”
An April 5, 1952 Boxoffice article revealed that the house had been reopened for a while under different management, but was able to operate for only about a year. As of 1952, a plan was afoot to have the house opened again under the auspices of a local businessmen’s group and to have the actual operation handled by students from the local high school, but I’ve found nothing indicating that this plan ever came to fruition.
This closed real estate listing says that the three-story brick commercial block at 34 South Erie Street, “[k]nown as the former ‘THEATER’ building….” was sold for $206,000 on January 30, 2017. The building was erected in 1910. There is one photo. There are still four storefronts on the ground floor, and the upper floors now house sixteen apartments.
A post on the “Remember Connellsville” Facebook page says that the Colonial Theatre was designed by Pittsburgh architectural firm McCollum & Dowler (Jennings Moss McCollum and Press C. Dowler.)
The June, 1908 issue of Insurance Engineering noted a number of fires that year including this one: “May 10. Connellsville, Pa. Magic Land, vaudeville theater, Samuel Hantman, North Pittsburg street; also two stores. Total losses, $20,000.” I’ve been unable to discover if the theater was ever rebuilt.
The Arcade Theatre opened on April 6, 1907, according to the April 14 edition of Connellsville’s The Weekly Courier.
The June 24, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World had an item about Wagner and Wishart’s new Paramount Theatre, which was soon to open. It said that the partners had “…conducted the Globe theater in Connellsville for the last four years….” so the Globe must have been in operation by 1912. The article also noted that the Globe would be closed when the Paramount opened and its space would be converted to retail use. The Paramount opened on July 18, so July 17 was most likely that last day of operation for the Globe.
Here is an item about the Paramount Theatre from the June 24, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World:
The fact that the article says the building had cost $30,000 to erect suggests that it was not a remodeling of the furniture store at 207 Pittsburgh Street, but a replacement for the house at 215 Pittsburgh.The February 15, 1913 issue of Motography ran this somewhat sloppy notice in its “Ohio” section:
Misspellings and misdirection notwithstanding, the item clearly is about the Belvedere Theatre.The Franklin might have closed for a while in the early 1930s but apparently reopened. A 908-seat Franklin Theatre is listed at Ensley, Alabama, in the 1950 Film Daily Yearbook.
The 1950 Film Daily Yearbook lists the Ritz with 500 seats.
The Ritz Theatre was at 216 Broad Street, and the theater operated from 1936 to 1972, according to this web page, which features many historic and recent photos of the Ritz building, along with much other information about the house. The entrance to the Ritz was in an existing building converted from a cafe, but the auditorium was newly built in 1936. The current occupant of the building is a sporting goods retailer
A twin indoor cinema was built for United Artists on the site of the Jet Drive-In in 1970. The Angelo Twin Drive-In was built as a replacement for the Jet Drive-In itself, according to Boxoffice of March 16, 1970.
Boxoffice of March 16, 1970 said that the Midtown Cinema 1 & 2 had opened “last month.” Each of the twin auditoriums had 220 seats. The opening features were Doctor Zhivago in Cinema 1 and Like Mother, Like Daughter in Cinema 2.
Boxoffice of March 16, 1970 said that the Tower Cinema, then under construction, had been designed by local architect Joe W. Hiller.
Boxoffice of March 16, 1970 said that a farewell party would be held at the Miller Theatre on March 18, as a benefit for the local art museum. Organist Gaylord Carter would perform on the Miller’s Wurlitzer, which had been restored for the occasion by members of the Theater Organ Club. National General Corp. were the last operators of the Miller, and would soon open the suburban Mall Cinema as a replacement for the 1922 downtown house.
Andrew J. Burin of Youngstown, Ohio, designed the Gateway Cinema. Burin was the chief architect for William M. Cafaro & Associates, also of Youngstown, developers of the Gateway Plaza shopping center.
The March 16, 1970 issue of Boxoffice had a brief item saying that the Square Amusement Company of New York had announced that the Plaza Theatre in Bayonne had been shuttered and would not operate as a movie theater again.
The October 11, 1911 issue of Harvard Alumni Bulletin said that James R. Stewart, class of 1905, and Robert W. Stewart, class of 1908, had established their architectural offices in the Bell Block, Cincinnati.
Here is the official web site of the State Theatre. The house is currently not showing movies due to Ohio’s pandemic lockdown, but since March 17 they have been serving food for takeout and delivery. The State is a splendid asset for a small town like London, and I hope they can get through this difficult time and will soon be running movies again.
Given the fact that it had opened by early 1916, and that the Sanborn map shows different buildings on its site in 1914, the Fayette Theatre in its two-story building was most likely this project noted in the February 27, 1915 issue of The American contractor:
Benjamin F. Mathews (1854-1916) was one of Lima’s prominent architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.The January 22, 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World ran a letter from E. E. Bair, manager and operator, Fayette theater, Celina, Ohio, in which he says he is the “… manager and operator of a brand new show house seating 220.”
The Uptown’s web site says the house opened on March 17, 1950.