Comments from Joe Vogel

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Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Elite Theatre on Sep 26, 2020 at 10:06 pm

The July 9, 1938 issue of Boxoffice had this brief item:

“Mr. Mellon [sic] of Portage la Prairie has started construction on a new theatre which will seat between 400 and 500. This house will stand on the site of the old Elite, which has been torn down.”
The man who rebuilt the Elite in 1938 was named Amasa E. Mellen, and according to this thumbnail biography he was the owner and operator of the Elite Theatre from 1907 until his death in 1949.

The architects for the rebuilding of the Elite Theatre were the Winnipeg firm Green, Blankstein, Russell (GBR) who also designed several other theaters in Canada, from Ontario to British Columbia.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Harbor Theatre on Sep 26, 2020 at 9:28 pm

Boxoffice of July 9, 1938 said that the new Harbor Theatre at Two Harbors had recently been opened by Nick Grengs and his sons.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Cartier Theatre on Sep 26, 2020 at 9:11 pm

The July 2, 1938 issue of Boxoffice said that the Perkins Electric Company had sold CTR equipment to three new theaters, one of which was the Cartier in Timmins.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Overton Theatre on Sep 26, 2020 at 9:06 pm

The July 2, 1938 issue of Boxoffice said that Ted Lewis, of Texarkana, would open his new theater at Overton on July 8. The building was owned by local businessmen and Lewis would operate the house under contract. It would be in competition with the Jefferson Amusement Company, but the article didn’t mention any theatre names.

Jefferson might have had two theaters in Overton, as a November 15, 1941 issue of Motion Picture Herald mentioned houses called the Gem and the Strand there, though it didn’t name the operators. The two houses had enjoyed a 60 day clearance over the Overton Theatre, which an arbiter had cut to 14 days.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Grant Theatre on Sep 26, 2020 at 8:25 pm

This item is from the July 2, 1938 issue of Boxoffice:

“Millvale, Pa. — The Grant Theatre is being remodeled. Present front on Grant St. will be closed and a new front will be installed facing 42 feet on North Ave. Seating capacity will be increased from the present capacity of 500 to approximately 800. The work will cover a period of several months and the house will be closed during the final week of the extensive remodeling. Louis J. Bender is the owner of the Grant, and Floyd Bender is the manager.”

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Eastland Theatre on Sep 26, 2020 at 8:08 pm

Boxoffice of July 2, 1938 reported that the owners of the new Eastland Theatre, then under construction in Fairmont, expected to open the house in late July. The Eastland was being outfitted by the National Theatre Supply Co.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Royal Theatre on Sep 26, 2020 at 7:53 pm

The July 2, 1938 issue of Boxoffice said that “[a] new theatre is being constructed in Parksley by John Hopkins jr. It will be called New Opera House and seat 600.”

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Central Opera House on Sep 26, 2020 at 7:40 pm

The Central Opera House building was destroyed by a fire in 2012.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Avon Theater on Sep 25, 2020 at 12:43 am

The new Avon Theatre was mentioned in the March 31, 1934 issue of Motion Picture Herald, which said that Gordon Ballew had been named manager, and added that “[t]he house is owned by local business men and constructed at a cost of $65,000.” The Avon had opened in February.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Strand Theatre on Sep 25, 2020 at 12:30 am

This house opened in 1926 as the Imperial Theatre. On December 11, 1932 it was taken over by the Paramount affiliate North Carolina Theatres, which operated it as a B-movie and sub-run house in conjunction with their State Theatre, the former Universal Theatre, acquired at the same time.

When Paramount opened their new Center Theatre in 1941, they converted the State into their B-house and closed the Imperial. It sat dark for over two years, then was reopened as the Strand by an independent operator in October, 1943. The Strand ran its last movies August, 1949.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about State Theatre on Sep 24, 2020 at 8:38 pm

A fairly extensive history of the State Theatre can be found on this web page. The house opened in 1922 as the Universal Theatre, which had operated earlier at another location. It became the State Theatre in 1933, and for the next several years competed with the new Avon Theatre (1934) for the position of the town’s leading theater.

The State’s smaller sister theater, the Imperial, was the town’s B-movie and sub-run house, while the State presented first run movie, often with vaudeville shows, though these became fewer as the years passed. In 1941, the operating company opened the new Center Theatre, which took the State’s place as the town’s outlet for Paramount pictures. The Imperial Theatre was closed and the State replaced it as the town’s B-movie and sub-run house.

The State became an independent operation in 1950 and, with other small town theaters, slipped into a gradual decline. For part of the next decade it was operating only two days a week, and ran a great many exploitation movies, though it still had an occasional live performance, particularly of country music. The last movie advertised in the local paper at the State was shown on September 27, 1960, though the house did sometimes run unadvertised shows, so there might have been some movies shown after that date. What is certain is that the lobby of the theater was converted for use as a hairdressing salon in early 1963, and the auditorium sat intact but vacant for decades.

The same website providing the page about the State also has this page about the house’s earlier life as the Universal Theatre. The Universal opened on May 9, 1922. In 1926, a new owner had a Wurlitzer organ installed. Lenoir heard its first talking picture at the Universal on May 20, 1929. The Universal and its sister theater, the Imperial, were taken over by Paramount-affiliated North Carolina Theatres on December 11, 1932.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Olympia Theatre on Sep 22, 2020 at 11:57 pm

The Olympia Theatre was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. In 1915, the Star and Whipple Amusement Company sold the Olympia to Mrs. R. C. Howell, according to the June 26 issue of Motography.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about State Theatre on Sep 22, 2020 at 11:23 pm

The March 9, 1937 issue of The Film Daily said that the New Theatre in Vicco, Kentucky, had been renamed the State Theatre.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Amusement Hall on Sep 22, 2020 at 10:26 pm

The closing of the Amusement Hall at North Wales was noted in the Pennsylvania section of the “Theatre Changes” column in The Film Daily of June 2, 1930.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Badger Theatre on Sep 22, 2020 at 4:42 pm

Liebenberg & Kaplan were the architects for the 1938 remodeling.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Delmar Garden Theatre on Sep 17, 2020 at 6:01 pm

The Delmar Garden Theatre was listed at 505 St. Louis Street in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Kickapoo Theatre on Sep 17, 2020 at 5:19 pm

The second Princess/Kickapoo Theatre opened in 1917. I see that the 1944 Kickapoo grand opening ad rivest266 just posted gives the address as 315 E. Commercial Street. An October 13, 1956 Boxoffice item announcing the launch of an art movie series at the Kickapoo said that the house was operated by Fox Midwest Theatres.

Although the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists the original Princess Theatre at 408 E. Commercial, the web page I cited in an earlier comment says that it was on the south side of Commercial two doors east of Benton Avenue, which puts it in the modern 500 E. block. Currently the second door east of Benton is occupied by Ruthie’s C Street Bar, at 504 E. Commercial. It is a very old building, and if the original Princess was there it is still standing.

Addresses in Springfield are very weird. In the middle of the block of Commercial between Booneville Avenue and Campbell Avenue the numbers instantly jump from the 200 E. block to the 300 W. block. I have no idea how to account for the three missing blocks. Perhaps they are the site of the Missouri branch of Hogwarts Academy.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Roxy Theatre on Sep 16, 2020 at 9:56 pm

The Roxy was advertised in the May 23, 1933 issue of the Harrisburg Evening News. An adult ticket was fifteen cents, and kids got in for a dime. On that night, you could see the 1931 drama Street Scene, starring Sylvia Sydney.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Tenafly Cinema 4 on Sep 14, 2020 at 10:29 pm

The April 6, 1939 issue of Motion Picture Daily said that the Tenefly Theatre, formerly the Bergen, would reopen on April 8. This theater switched back and forth between the names Bergen and Tenafly more than once, as there are references to it as the Tenafly in 1928 and as the Bergen in 1956. An April, 1927 Exhibitors Daily Review item said that the remodeled Tenafly Theatre had recently reopened as the Bergen. The 1926 FDY lists it as the Tenafly. The July 7, 1958 Motion Picture Daily calls it the New Bergen.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Park Royal Theatres on Sep 14, 2020 at 8:03 pm

The clipping rivest266 linked to says that the Park Royal Twin Theatres were designed by architect Ross Ritchie of Townley, Matheson & Associates.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Park Theatre on Sep 14, 2020 at 6:57 pm

The January 5, 1940 issue of The Film Daily had this item:

“Canton, 0. — New Park Theater, owned and under the personal management of George S. Ellis, has been opened at nearby North Canton. House is included in a building estimated to have cost $60,000, erected by M. M. and J. B. Mohler. An innovation is ‘love seats’ advertised as ‘cozy as your own couch.’”

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Keith's Theatre on Sep 12, 2020 at 10:57 pm

I’m puzzled by this item in the July 2, 1927 issue of Moving Picture World:

“One of the oldest theatres in Cincinnati, namely, Keith’s, is to be razed, and with its passing Cincinnati will be minus the two-a-day policy which has been in vogue here for many years, according to a statement issued personally by E. F. Albee, on a recent visit to the city. In place of the present theatre an elaborate new structure will be erected to the city. In place of the present theatre an elaborate new structure will be erected to house a continuous policy of vaudeville and pictures, similar to the Palace Theatre, another Cincinnati Keith house, established nine years ago.”
If Keith’s Theatre was rebuilt in 1921, why would there have been plans to rebuild it again in 1927?

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Lake Theater on Sep 12, 2020 at 10:12 pm

The Lake Theatre was gutted by a fire on May 5, 1969, and never reopened. It was soon demolished.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Crystal Theater on Sep 11, 2020 at 11:25 pm

St. Joseph Memory Lane has a clipping from the March 8, 1950 issue of the St. Joseph News-Press with a photo of the demolition of the Crystal Theatre, then underway. The caption says the house opened on October 30, 1906 as the Curd Theatre, owned by Isaac Curd. It was leased to the Crystal vaudeville circuit, who renamed it the Crystal Theatre. The Crystal circuit, later taken over by Alexander Pantages, operated a chain of ten-cent theaters in Colorado and Missouri.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel commented about Colonial Theatre on Sep 11, 2020 at 10:53 pm

St. Joseph Memory Lane lists the Colonial Theatre at 111 N. 7th Street. It notes that the building was demolished as part of an urban renewal project.