The General Cinema Columbia Mall Cinema I-II-III-IV opened July 14, 1978. It closed on February 4, 1990 for a major renovation. It opened as the General Cinema Columbia Mall Cinemas 8 on June 22, 1990. General Cinema left its Columbia Mall 8 behind on October 18, 2000 in free fall collapse in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closing all but 72 theaters nationwide.
Phoenix Theatres took on the venue November 16, 2001 as the Columbia Mall Cinema 8 to match the Mall’s rebranding, the venue became the Columbia Place Cinema 8 in early September of 2002. The theatre had a phenomenal run comparatively speaking remaining under Phoenix until closure on January 7, 2007.
Brian Cline and Columbia Entertainment Group took on the venue with the Mall scuffling reopening with stadium seating as the Columbia Place Stadium Cinemas 8 on November 9, 2007. It closed on October 20, 2011. A final operator took on the venue - likely with little to no leasing expenses - on June 29, 2012. That arrangement lasted over two months ending on September 16, 2012. The theatre stood vacant for 13 years awaiting demolition as the interior Mall went from greyfield status to ghost town - though still unlocked for mall walkers and a few stores in 2025.
Though perhaps unnecessary, the proper names here were the General Cinema Columbia Mall Cinema I-II-III-IV, General Cinema Columbia Mall Cinemas 8, (Phoenix) Columbia Mall Cinema 8, (Phoenix) Columbia Place Cinema 8, and the Columbia Place Stadium Cinemas 8 (technically, this entry’s proper name). BTW: Regal was never an operator here.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gingerich and Ennis Ray opened the rustic Westerner on July 28, 1950 with “The Sundowners” & “Red Stallion in the Rockies.” Mrs. Gingerich and Ray sold the venue to Reno Amusement Circuit in 1958 which staged a grand reopening on April 16th with a wider, 50x100' screen.
For 1963, the venue was under California United Theatres. It remained there though March 30, 1967 when that circuit name was retired in favor of United Artists Theatre Corp. The final countdown to the expiry of the UA Westerner Drive-In’s 30-year leasing agreement took place on September 1, 1980. The films were “Dressed to Kill” and “The Final Countdown.”
Opened by Colonel Butterfield and his Circuit on August 30, 1917, the Palace cost $200,000 to build. It ceased operations on January 25, 1976 with Pam Grier in “Foxy Brown” and Richard Pryor in “The Mack.”
Begie “Moose” Breeding operated here from 1980 to 2000. For seasons from 1980-1989 it was known as the Cinema 7 Drive-In Theatre It launched with Clint Eastwood in “Bronco Billy” and Clint Eastwood in “Every Which Way But Loose” on August 26, 1980. The venue sported a 32' by 36' screen and space for 200 cars.
In 1990, it was briefly renamed Moose’s Movies Drive-In Theatre. During that season, it became the Jeremiah Drive-In Theatre. The last advertised shows were Clint Eastwood in “Space Cowboys” and Not Clint Eastwood in “The Replacements” on Sept. 16, 2000 likely completing his 20-year leasing period
Any site claiming to be serious about film and theatrical history would never suggest that there were “XXX rated” films. There is - and was - no such rating. Period. To provide some info that you won’t find in the entry above, feel free to read on or not as the case may be. (This data is provided only by me and not the contributor listed above; please don’t cream skim from here unless attributed as this theater’s story is an interesting one in its entirety but not when factoids are separated from the bigger picture.)
Steve Paluch started the Hi-Vue Drive-In without controversy on April 5, 1956. Two years later, Paluch would take over the town’s hardtop venue, the Durand Theatre, as well. The Durand Theatre ceases operation on June 27, 1965 with the Hi-Vue departing likely - although not known - following the 1962 season following a wind storm that had damaged the property. This should have been the end of the story as small town cinemas such as these - Durand’s population not fluctuating much between 3k and 3,500 folks - were dying - or had died a decade earlier - nationwide. But things were only getting started in Durand Cinema History.
The Hi-Vue was taken over by Durand resident Harry V. Mohney, he - the most prolific figure in the history of adult drive-in theaters. (Oddly, this a fact that is overlooked in the entry above by the contributor.) Of course, Mohney is better known for his Déjà Vu company which operated some 132 strip clubs in 41 U.S. States. He’s also known for fighting off a specious charge by the Michigan Department of Revenue as they tried everything to take away his business and money. And he’s also known for fighting First Amendment cases brought by various agencies. But where did this all begin? Look no further than the once sleepy Hi-Vue Drive-In here in Durand.
Mohney’s first job was as a projectionist job at Battle Creek’s Eastown Theatre - an aging hardtop theater that was transformed by Floyd G. Bloss to a porno chic theater. Eastown projectionist O.E. Anderson died and Mohney would be hired as the projectionist. Bloss sued the Battle Creek Enquirer for not agreeing to run advertisements for the Eastown. Bloss and Mohney became partners in 1966 but lost their case. New operators rebranded the Eastown as the Eastown Cinema showing more respectable art films beginning in January of 1967. This also could have been the end of the story, but Mohney returned home to Durand buying the moribund Hi-Vue ozoner while taken on the Michigan Theatre in Saginaw.
Relabeling the venue as the Sceen Auto Theatre, Mohney showed porno chic era films for mature audiences beginning on July 28, 1967 with Libertad Leblanc in “Love Hunger” and Nélida Lobato in “Scream of The Butterfly.” The theater was a major hit in just one season of operation - tens of thousands of dollars poured in between Mohney’s ozoner and his Michigan Theatre. Not surprisingly, legal charges began to pile up agains Mohney’s newly-formed American Amusement Co., the predecessor of Deja Vu. In Saginaw, alone, three different attempts were made hoping to dissuade Mohney from showing films at the Michigan Theatre: one, challenging his license to operate; another, on whether the films were obscene; and, a third, on whether city taxes should have been reported and paid on coin-operated machine revenues. Instead of dissuading Mohney, he started taking his profits and picking up theaters around the state of Michigan.
In Lapeer, Michigan, Mohney took on the Sunset Drive-In Theatre. He set something of a record for being arrested twice in the first week of that venue’s operation and being jailed both times. He then was arrested for failing to have a fence around the theater to protect stray eyeballs from catching a glimpse of the film. He built a fence around the ozoner and was sued because the fence was then deemed to be a safety violation. Then, a Citizens for Decency Committee picketed the theater with the police arresting the projectionist so that films couldn’t be shown. When Judge John Norman A. Baguley ruled that no unrated, no X, and no R rated films could be played in Lapeer, the films were seized making their return to the distributor impossible. To say that the first six months at the venue were litigious is an understatement. Then a felony case was brought in Corunna, Michigan so it was a lot of lawyering up for American Amusement.
Cases bounded. Mohney would be found guilty of obscenity by a jury in 1973 on selling obscene materials. Most defendants would pay a fine or seek a settlement; Mohney appealed even with the Miller v. California interpretation firmly in hand. Years later, that “smut” case was overturned. A 1977 interstate transportation charge associated with “Deep Throat” and “Swing High” was lost at a jury trial and overturned later. 45 indictments of transporting obscene material in 1980 was lost at a jury trial in Florida and all 45 indictments were thrown out on reversal later. Oh, and the Justice Baguley ruling that the Sunset couldn’t even show “R” rated films - also overturned - especially when a “safer” fence was built.
Meanwhile, the uber-successful Sceen Auto Theatre which was renamed as the Sceen Drive-In Theatre in 1969 - began really toying with their ad copy. For “Diary of a Bed,” the Sceen advertised the film as a “XXXXX” film with the disclaimer, “If you would be disturbed by very explicit scenes of full disclosure of the private side of married life, please do not see this film.” The “XXXXX” label was in retaliation for competing venues that used “XX,” “XXX,” and had upped to “XXXX” in order to provide self-labeled “strength” to films not rated by the MPAA classification system. (The MPAA only reached a strength level of “X” which later became NC-17.) Every other designation of adult film was simply a non-rated MPAA film. When Gerard Damiano’s “Deep Throat” played at the Sceen beginning in 1973, traffic jams abounded and farmers - or the farmers' kids - climbed grain elevators and got on rooftops for free looks. It played ten weeks from May 2, 1973 to August 21, 1973.
In the home video era, the Sceen added adult videotapes to its mix. Private Drive-In booths, a mini-movie arcade and other elements were on the property. The most important element on the property, however, was the Modern Bookkeeping Co. that kept the adult entrepreneur’s books. That’s what the Michigan Department of Revenue attacked trying once and for all to end the Sceen and its progeny. Oddly, the Michigan Revenue squad did not charge any wrong doing other than the taxes on coins collected from coin-op machines. Not surprisingly, a jury found him guilty. Again, most would pay the fine or seek a settlement; not Mohney who likely felt this was simply a bullying tactic. After multiple appeals and citing that the coin-op revenue required a cut with a coin collector - and citing that skimming of coins led to reduced taxes going to the state and that the state had failed to provide the defense with due diligence -Mohney would win that case on appeal some 11 years later.
However, in that period, the Sceen left the scene on September 30, 1989. It was referred to as the “Durand Dirties” by radio station WOAP, a desultory nickname that stuck but was - obviously - never, ever the operating name of this theater. Meanwhile, American Amusement Co. had morphed into the notorious Deja Vu operation with locations in over 40 states. Durand was on the map as a major hub of adult entertainment and its founder, Harry V. Mohney, graced the front page of the local newspaper as “The Smut King.” It had started right on the grounds of the Sceen Auto Theatre in Durand. BTW: the Sceen became a golfing range which in the 2020s was known as The Tee Box Driving Range. Somehow, you just couldn’t ask for a much better name.
August 29, 1935 opening ad as the new, streamlined Rialto posted in photos with “West Point of the Air.” Also added is the Charles H. Agree architectural sketch of same. And, technically, this entry should be the Royal Art Theatre, its closing name on April 20, 1973 with Candy Samples in “Mrs. Harris Cavity” and Lloyd Kaufman’s “The New Comers” ending the ride for a few hours.
The Royal Art Theatre picked up the projectors and moved less than a block away to 224. S. Saginaw opening up the very next day also as the Royal Art Theatre with “3 Came Running” and “Initiation Night”. It lasted until August 19,1979 going out in porno chic style with Linda Lovelace in “Deep Throat” and John Holmes in “The Jade Pussycat.” As John might have said, it doesn’t get any bigger than that. The second Royal was demolished in 1979 for the Hyatt Hotel project.
Perhaps this is a technicality but the local paper states that Jennie I. Cleveland created the Bijou Theatre space opening in March 1905. Col. Butterfield soon acquired the venue likely doubling it in size by taking over the neighboring storefront. He then sold it to Waterman & Bryce of Michigan Vaudeville late in 1908 who refreshed it for summer of 1909. Butterfield and Michigan V. feuded briefly over vaudeville bookings with Butterfield taking over as the head of Michigan Vaudeville and reacquiring the Bijou for good.
In March of 1915, Butterfield announced a larger vaudeville house and said that the Bijou would be transitioned to the top end movie house of “the garden type” with live acts interspersed. It was renamed the Garden at its September 18, 1915 reboot.
In 1937, a new streamlined Garden Theater is announced by Butterfield Circuit with plans originally by Perara & Perara of Chicago. Those plans are rejected and the Garden hangs on all the way to 1939. New plans - cheaper and faster ones - are accepted from Charles H. Crane - that allow the theater’s side walls to be retained in a sub-$100k New Garden Theater. The Garden’s closure occurred on April 16, 1939 with “King of Chinatown.” Dismantling work started the next day and was completed within six months.
This venue was known as Hayes' Opera House when Ella M. “Momma” Hayes built the facility and operated it under that name from 1909 to 1919. “Mother” Morgan operated the adjoining candy shop which served as the venue’s de facto concession stand. The theatre mixed in short films and live acts. In 1914, Hayes became the town’s first female movie theater operator changing the venue over to full-time film operation with Hayes training two other female employees to help her run the operation.
Hayes retired from her Hayes' Opera House at an event on May 9, 1919, likely at the end of a 10-year leasing period, selling it to Lewen Pizor. Pizor renamed the venue beginning on May 12, 1919 as the Palace Theatre beginning with D.W. Griffith’s “The Greatest Thing in Life.” Competition from the new Apollo Theatre that opened the next year combined with unruly patrons - perhaps encouraged by the Apollo Theatre management - seems to have unseated the Palace Theatre which closed early in 1922.
The Opera House (this entry’s title) / Gloucester Opera House operated at 6th Street and Water Street . It was part of the Gloucester City horse racing days of the early 1890s, a foreshadowing to the similarly-themed Havre de Grace racing area that would rise up in Maryland. Gloucester City’s version included an Opera House at the center of an entertainment area situated by the Delaware Riverfront featuring Gloucester’s Track, taverns, the Thompson Hotel, the Beachfront Hotel, and McGlade’s Hotel. Getting folks to come over from Pennsylvania and, particularly, nearby Philadelphia worked as Pennsylvania prohibited gambling on the ponies back in 1820.
The track scratched just four years in to its operation due to local ordinances aimed at reducing gambling and the concept failed. The flight of some 700 people along with the $1.4 million in revenues in 1893 dollars all but destroyed the entertainment district and forever changed the trajectory of Gloucester City along with its fledgling Opera House.
Sadly, the project was just about 15 years ahead of its time as the infamous Hart–Agnew anti-gambling law in New York State led to a bonanza in gambling activity across state lines after its passage in 1908 that the city might have welcomed. Unfortunately, the Gloucester City waterfront area - cheaply built - was already in decay by that time. The land was offered up during World War I to the government by its owner, J.H. McNally in 1917. That plan didn’t fully solidify and the Opera House there was vacant until its demolition in January of 1929. A different approach took place for the riverfront moving solidly away from its entertainment and tourist past to becoming home for the Delaware River Dredging Company.
This entry, by the way, should be the Palace Theatre - also known as Hayes' Opera House. The former Hayes'/Palace building continued to be a vibrant gathering area serving as a long-standing home to a fraternal lodge for the local VFW into the 2020s. I hope that answers some questions, contributor TC.
The theater should be also known as the Fox Theatre for its “Little Detroit Fox” movie and live concert programming era that began on October 2, 1960 after a $30,000 refresh. The era ended some three months later under new operators returning to the Michigan moniker. There went $30,000.
The theater is purchased by Nathan Scwartz who stages wrestling events, concerts and mostly burlesque shows through the theater’s end as the Michigan Theatre Auditorium. The final films screened at the Michigan Theatre were the adult films, “Kitty Galore” and “Smorgasbord” on August 22, 1965 - just after the 35th Anniversary of the joint.
Schwartz wanted to continue there but was evicted by the operators of a neighboring food store who bought the theatre and unceremoniously evicted Schwartz who took his films to the Royal. Demolition plans scheduled for late 1965… were scrapped. The venue became home to the short-lived Good Shepherd Cathedral before boarding up and remaining vacant until its demolition in 1975.
It was one of them days. The Pohatcong multiplex closed at what Regal said was the expiry of its lease on March 9, 2025. The last showtimes were for the film, “One of Them Days.”
Opened November 30, 1949 with “Grapes of Wrath.” Appears to have closed July 9, 1956 with “Far Country” and “House of Terrors.” This information is not from “A History of Film Exhibition in Caldwell County” by Gary R. Boye but is from the daily newspaper.
Fred Powell and L.C. Sipe renamed the Imperial as the Catawba Theatre on March 4, 1938 with the “Merry-Go-Round of 1938.” The theatre was gutted by fire on April 30, 1949 ending its run.
The New-Con Drive-In Theatre was built in late 1948 opening by Judge Fred Hasty, Elmer Rouzer, and Bennie Alexander on Feb. 12, 1949 with “Trail of the Vigilantes.” It operated until 1967 when it was merged with the Springs Road Drive-In to create a new drive-in.
The General Cinema Columbia Mall Cinema I-II-III-IV opened July 14, 1978. It closed on February 4, 1990 for a major renovation. It opened as the General Cinema Columbia Mall Cinemas 8 on June 22, 1990. General Cinema left its Columbia Mall 8 behind on October 18, 2000 in free fall collapse in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closing all but 72 theaters nationwide.
Phoenix Theatres took on the venue November 16, 2001 as the Columbia Mall Cinema 8 to match the Mall’s rebranding, the venue became the Columbia Place Cinema 8 in early September of 2002. The theatre had a phenomenal run comparatively speaking remaining under Phoenix until closure on January 7, 2007.
Brian Cline and Columbia Entertainment Group took on the venue with the Mall scuffling reopening with stadium seating as the Columbia Place Stadium Cinemas 8 on November 9, 2007. It closed on October 20, 2011. A final operator took on the venue - likely with little to no leasing expenses - on June 29, 2012. That arrangement lasted over two months ending on September 16, 2012. The theatre stood vacant for 13 years awaiting demolition as the interior Mall went from greyfield status to ghost town - though still unlocked for mall walkers and a few stores in 2025.
Though perhaps unnecessary, the proper names here were the General Cinema Columbia Mall Cinema I-II-III-IV, General Cinema Columbia Mall Cinemas 8, (Phoenix) Columbia Mall Cinema 8, (Phoenix) Columbia Place Cinema 8, and the Columbia Place Stadium Cinemas 8 (technically, this entry’s proper name). BTW: Regal was never an operator here.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gingerich and Ennis Ray opened the rustic Westerner on July 28, 1950 with “The Sundowners” & “Red Stallion in the Rockies.” Mrs. Gingerich and Ray sold the venue to Reno Amusement Circuit in 1958 which staged a grand reopening on April 16th with a wider, 50x100' screen.
For 1963, the venue was under California United Theatres. It remained there though March 30, 1967 when that circuit name was retired in favor of United Artists Theatre Corp. The final countdown to the expiry of the UA Westerner Drive-In’s 30-year leasing agreement took place on September 1, 1980. The films were “Dressed to Kill” and “The Final Countdown.”
November 10, 1950 opening ad in photos
Opening ad with “Singapore” and “North of the Divide"playing April, 15 1951 in photos
Remains closed by Regal following showtimes on March 9, 2025.
Opened by Colonel Butterfield and his Circuit on August 30, 1917, the Palace cost $200,000 to build. It ceased operations on January 25, 1976 with Pam Grier in “Foxy Brown” and Richard Pryor in “The Mack.”
Closing April 1, 2025
Begie “Moose” Breeding operated here from 1980 to 2000. For seasons from 1980-1989 it was known as the Cinema 7 Drive-In Theatre It launched with Clint Eastwood in “Bronco Billy” and Clint Eastwood in “Every Which Way But Loose” on August 26, 1980. The venue sported a 32' by 36' screen and space for 200 cars.
In 1990, it was briefly renamed Moose’s Movies Drive-In Theatre. During that season, it became the Jeremiah Drive-In Theatre. The last advertised shows were Clint Eastwood in “Space Cowboys” and Not Clint Eastwood in “The Replacements” on Sept. 16, 2000 likely completing his 20-year leasing period
Any site claiming to be serious about film and theatrical history would never suggest that there were “XXX rated” films. There is - and was - no such rating. Period. To provide some info that you won’t find in the entry above, feel free to read on or not as the case may be. (This data is provided only by me and not the contributor listed above; please don’t cream skim from here unless attributed as this theater’s story is an interesting one in its entirety but not when factoids are separated from the bigger picture.)
Steve Paluch started the Hi-Vue Drive-In without controversy on April 5, 1956. Two years later, Paluch would take over the town’s hardtop venue, the Durand Theatre, as well. The Durand Theatre ceases operation on June 27, 1965 with the Hi-Vue departing likely - although not known - following the 1962 season following a wind storm that had damaged the property. This should have been the end of the story as small town cinemas such as these - Durand’s population not fluctuating much between 3k and 3,500 folks - were dying - or had died a decade earlier - nationwide. But things were only getting started in Durand Cinema History.
The Hi-Vue was taken over by Durand resident Harry V. Mohney, he - the most prolific figure in the history of adult drive-in theaters. (Oddly, this a fact that is overlooked in the entry above by the contributor.) Of course, Mohney is better known for his Déjà Vu company which operated some 132 strip clubs in 41 U.S. States. He’s also known for fighting off a specious charge by the Michigan Department of Revenue as they tried everything to take away his business and money. And he’s also known for fighting First Amendment cases brought by various agencies. But where did this all begin? Look no further than the once sleepy Hi-Vue Drive-In here in Durand.
Mohney’s first job was as a projectionist job at Battle Creek’s Eastown Theatre - an aging hardtop theater that was transformed by Floyd G. Bloss to a porno chic theater. Eastown projectionist O.E. Anderson died and Mohney would be hired as the projectionist. Bloss sued the Battle Creek Enquirer for not agreeing to run advertisements for the Eastown. Bloss and Mohney became partners in 1966 but lost their case. New operators rebranded the Eastown as the Eastown Cinema showing more respectable art films beginning in January of 1967. This also could have been the end of the story, but Mohney returned home to Durand buying the moribund Hi-Vue ozoner while taken on the Michigan Theatre in Saginaw.
Relabeling the venue as the Sceen Auto Theatre, Mohney showed porno chic era films for mature audiences beginning on July 28, 1967 with Libertad Leblanc in “Love Hunger” and Nélida Lobato in “Scream of The Butterfly.” The theater was a major hit in just one season of operation - tens of thousands of dollars poured in between Mohney’s ozoner and his Michigan Theatre. Not surprisingly, legal charges began to pile up agains Mohney’s newly-formed American Amusement Co., the predecessor of Deja Vu. In Saginaw, alone, three different attempts were made hoping to dissuade Mohney from showing films at the Michigan Theatre: one, challenging his license to operate; another, on whether the films were obscene; and, a third, on whether city taxes should have been reported and paid on coin-operated machine revenues. Instead of dissuading Mohney, he started taking his profits and picking up theaters around the state of Michigan.
In Lapeer, Michigan, Mohney took on the Sunset Drive-In Theatre. He set something of a record for being arrested twice in the first week of that venue’s operation and being jailed both times. He then was arrested for failing to have a fence around the theater to protect stray eyeballs from catching a glimpse of the film. He built a fence around the ozoner and was sued because the fence was then deemed to be a safety violation. Then, a Citizens for Decency Committee picketed the theater with the police arresting the projectionist so that films couldn’t be shown. When Judge John Norman A. Baguley ruled that no unrated, no X, and no R rated films could be played in Lapeer, the films were seized making their return to the distributor impossible. To say that the first six months at the venue were litigious is an understatement. Then a felony case was brought in Corunna, Michigan so it was a lot of lawyering up for American Amusement.
Cases bounded. Mohney would be found guilty of obscenity by a jury in 1973 on selling obscene materials. Most defendants would pay a fine or seek a settlement; Mohney appealed even with the Miller v. California interpretation firmly in hand. Years later, that “smut” case was overturned. A 1977 interstate transportation charge associated with “Deep Throat” and “Swing High” was lost at a jury trial and overturned later. 45 indictments of transporting obscene material in 1980 was lost at a jury trial in Florida and all 45 indictments were thrown out on reversal later. Oh, and the Justice Baguley ruling that the Sunset couldn’t even show “R” rated films - also overturned - especially when a “safer” fence was built.
Meanwhile, the uber-successful Sceen Auto Theatre which was renamed as the Sceen Drive-In Theatre in 1969 - began really toying with their ad copy. For “Diary of a Bed,” the Sceen advertised the film as a “XXXXX” film with the disclaimer, “If you would be disturbed by very explicit scenes of full disclosure of the private side of married life, please do not see this film.” The “XXXXX” label was in retaliation for competing venues that used “XX,” “XXX,” and had upped to “XXXX” in order to provide self-labeled “strength” to films not rated by the MPAA classification system. (The MPAA only reached a strength level of “X” which later became NC-17.) Every other designation of adult film was simply a non-rated MPAA film. When Gerard Damiano’s “Deep Throat” played at the Sceen beginning in 1973, traffic jams abounded and farmers - or the farmers' kids - climbed grain elevators and got on rooftops for free looks. It played ten weeks from May 2, 1973 to August 21, 1973.
In the home video era, the Sceen added adult videotapes to its mix. Private Drive-In booths, a mini-movie arcade and other elements were on the property. The most important element on the property, however, was the Modern Bookkeeping Co. that kept the adult entrepreneur’s books. That’s what the Michigan Department of Revenue attacked trying once and for all to end the Sceen and its progeny. Oddly, the Michigan Revenue squad did not charge any wrong doing other than the taxes on coins collected from coin-op machines. Not surprisingly, a jury found him guilty. Again, most would pay the fine or seek a settlement; not Mohney who likely felt this was simply a bullying tactic. After multiple appeals and citing that the coin-op revenue required a cut with a coin collector - and citing that skimming of coins led to reduced taxes going to the state and that the state had failed to provide the defense with due diligence -Mohney would win that case on appeal some 11 years later.
However, in that period, the Sceen left the scene on September 30, 1989. It was referred to as the “Durand Dirties” by radio station WOAP, a desultory nickname that stuck but was - obviously - never, ever the operating name of this theater. Meanwhile, American Amusement Co. had morphed into the notorious Deja Vu operation with locations in over 40 states. Durand was on the map as a major hub of adult entertainment and its founder, Harry V. Mohney, graced the front page of the local newspaper as “The Smut King.” It had started right on the grounds of the Sceen Auto Theatre in Durand. BTW: the Sceen became a golfing range which in the 2020s was known as The Tee Box Driving Range. Somehow, you just couldn’t ask for a much better name.
The Durand Theatre ceased operations on June 27, 1965 with “The Crooked Road” and “Why Bother to Knock?”
August 29, 1935 opening ad as the new, streamlined Rialto posted in photos with “West Point of the Air.” Also added is the Charles H. Agree architectural sketch of same. And, technically, this entry should be the Royal Art Theatre, its closing name on April 20, 1973 with Candy Samples in “Mrs. Harris Cavity” and Lloyd Kaufman’s “The New Comers” ending the ride for a few hours.
The Royal Art Theatre picked up the projectors and moved less than a block away to 224. S. Saginaw opening up the very next day also as the Royal Art Theatre with “3 Came Running” and “Initiation Night”. It lasted until August 19,1979 going out in porno chic style with Linda Lovelace in “Deep Throat” and John Holmes in “The Jade Pussycat.” As John might have said, it doesn’t get any bigger than that. The second Royal was demolished in 1979 for the Hyatt Hotel project.
Perhaps this is a technicality but the local paper states that Jennie I. Cleveland created the Bijou Theatre space opening in March 1905. Col. Butterfield soon acquired the venue likely doubling it in size by taking over the neighboring storefront. He then sold it to Waterman & Bryce of Michigan Vaudeville late in 1908 who refreshed it for summer of 1909. Butterfield and Michigan V. feuded briefly over vaudeville bookings with Butterfield taking over as the head of Michigan Vaudeville and reacquiring the Bijou for good.
In March of 1915, Butterfield announced a larger vaudeville house and said that the Bijou would be transitioned to the top end movie house of “the garden type” with live acts interspersed. It was renamed the Garden at its September 18, 1915 reboot.
In 1937, a new streamlined Garden Theater is announced by Butterfield Circuit with plans originally by Perara & Perara of Chicago. Those plans are rejected and the Garden hangs on all the way to 1939. New plans - cheaper and faster ones - are accepted from Charles H. Crane - that allow the theater’s side walls to be retained in a sub-$100k New Garden Theater. The Garden’s closure occurred on April 16, 1939 with “King of Chinatown.” Dismantling work started the next day and was completed within six months.
Opened February 12, 1937 with “Mine with the Iron Door” and “Song of the Saddle”
This venue was known as Hayes' Opera House when Ella M. “Momma” Hayes built the facility and operated it under that name from 1909 to 1919. “Mother” Morgan operated the adjoining candy shop which served as the venue’s de facto concession stand. The theatre mixed in short films and live acts. In 1914, Hayes became the town’s first female movie theater operator changing the venue over to full-time film operation with Hayes training two other female employees to help her run the operation.
Hayes retired from her Hayes' Opera House at an event on May 9, 1919, likely at the end of a 10-year leasing period, selling it to Lewen Pizor. Pizor renamed the venue beginning on May 12, 1919 as the Palace Theatre beginning with D.W. Griffith’s “The Greatest Thing in Life.” Competition from the new Apollo Theatre that opened the next year combined with unruly patrons - perhaps encouraged by the Apollo Theatre management - seems to have unseated the Palace Theatre which closed early in 1922.
The Opera House (this entry’s title) / Gloucester Opera House operated at 6th Street and Water Street . It was part of the Gloucester City horse racing days of the early 1890s, a foreshadowing to the similarly-themed Havre de Grace racing area that would rise up in Maryland. Gloucester City’s version included an Opera House at the center of an entertainment area situated by the Delaware Riverfront featuring Gloucester’s Track, taverns, the Thompson Hotel, the Beachfront Hotel, and McGlade’s Hotel. Getting folks to come over from Pennsylvania and, particularly, nearby Philadelphia worked as Pennsylvania prohibited gambling on the ponies back in 1820.
The track scratched just four years in to its operation due to local ordinances aimed at reducing gambling and the concept failed. The flight of some 700 people along with the $1.4 million in revenues in 1893 dollars all but destroyed the entertainment district and forever changed the trajectory of Gloucester City along with its fledgling Opera House.
Sadly, the project was just about 15 years ahead of its time as the infamous Hart–Agnew anti-gambling law in New York State led to a bonanza in gambling activity across state lines after its passage in 1908 that the city might have welcomed. Unfortunately, the Gloucester City waterfront area - cheaply built - was already in decay by that time. The land was offered up during World War I to the government by its owner, J.H. McNally in 1917. That plan didn’t fully solidify and the Opera House there was vacant until its demolition in January of 1929. A different approach took place for the riverfront moving solidly away from its entertainment and tourist past to becoming home for the Delaware River Dredging Company.
This entry, by the way, should be the Palace Theatre - also known as Hayes' Opera House. The former Hayes'/Palace building continued to be a vibrant gathering area serving as a long-standing home to a fraternal lodge for the local VFW into the 2020s. I hope that answers some questions, contributor TC.
The theater should be also known as the Fox Theatre for its “Little Detroit Fox” movie and live concert programming era that began on October 2, 1960 after a $30,000 refresh. The era ended some three months later under new operators returning to the Michigan moniker. There went $30,000.
The theater is purchased by Nathan Scwartz who stages wrestling events, concerts and mostly burlesque shows through the theater’s end as the Michigan Theatre Auditorium. The final films screened at the Michigan Theatre were the adult films, “Kitty Galore” and “Smorgasbord” on August 22, 1965 - just after the 35th Anniversary of the joint.
Schwartz wanted to continue there but was evicted by the operators of a neighboring food store who bought the theatre and unceremoniously evicted Schwartz who took his films to the Royal. Demolition plans scheduled for late 1965… were scrapped. The venue became home to the short-lived Good Shepherd Cathedral before boarding up and remaining vacant until its demolition in 1975.
It was one of them days. The Pohatcong multiplex closed at what Regal said was the expiry of its lease on March 9, 2025. The last showtimes were for the film, “One of Them Days.”
Opened on October 14, 1927 with “We’re All Gamblers” with Thomas Meighan.
Opened May 9, 1940 with “Two Girls on Broadway.” Discontinued showtimes following March 13, 1966 showings.
Opened November 30, 1949 with “Grapes of Wrath.” Appears to have closed July 9, 1956 with “Far Country” and “House of Terrors.” This information is not from “A History of Film Exhibition in Caldwell County” by Gary R. Boye but is from the daily newspaper.
Opened May 13, 1950 with Devil on Wheels
Fred Powell and L.C. Sipe renamed the Imperial as the Catawba Theatre on March 4, 1938 with the “Merry-Go-Round of 1938.” The theatre was gutted by fire on April 30, 1949 ending its run.
Closed permanently October 1, 1972 and was demolished.
Opened Oct. 18, 1948 with “Wild West.”
The New-Con Drive-In Theatre was built in late 1948 opening by Judge Fred Hasty, Elmer Rouzer, and Bennie Alexander on Feb. 12, 1949 with “Trail of the Vigilantes.” It operated until 1967 when it was merged with the Springs Road Drive-In to create a new drive-in.
Opened as the Friendly Drive-In Theatre on May 2, 1947 by J.C. Bynum, Jr. and F.B Grigg.