This theatre started life as a grocery store. In the 1940’s, the wooden floor was sloped, and the rest of the building was remodeled to turn it into a neat “little” 300 seat theatre. It was named the Mars, after it’s owner, Marvin Fosse. It usually featured three show changes in any given week. The Mars was never any kind of a movie palace but it (like it’s predecessor the Pastime) was the center of small town life on Friday and Saturday nights into the very early 50’s. When local TV came upon the scene, and because the theatre could not book pictures anywhere near their release date, and with many of it’s potential patrons traveling 15 miles to the “big city” of Waterloo to see their movies new, many in the Paramount (movie palace), business began to decline and the theatre started closing on selected weekdays. In the mid to late 50’s, the theatre was closed. It later was reopened on weekends and operated at various times by Terry Philpott and/or Mike Geater. (who installed it’s first Cinemascope screen). But by the early 60’s the handwriting was on the wall and the theatre was once again closed and returned to it’s roots as a (short-lived) grocery store. It is now a furniture store.
When I managed this theatre in about 1964, it was called the Rocket. It generally played 2nd run features behind the Movie Palace RKO Orpheum (these days called the Adler)across the Mississippi River in Davenport. On occasion, it played a roadshow (reserved seats, 10 shows a week) attraction, such as shown on it’s marquee, pictured above. The Rocket had two distinctive features: Paintings on curved walls on either side of the screen that were lighted by “black light”. It also had “love seats” in the middle of the center seating section and on the wall ends of the side sections. Seating capacity of the Rocket was about 500.
This theatre was one of three built on a similar floor plan in the middle to late 60’s by ABC TriStates Theatres. (The other two were the Plazas in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. They were designed by Henry George Greene of ABC Theatres.) All three theatres featured rocking chair seating, large screens complete with drapes, and 70mm projection. Due to their basic floor plan, they were extremely efficient theatres to operate. I managed each of these theatres either as manager or as vacation relief manager.
As referred to above, this theatre was one of three built in the middle to late 60’s by ABC/TriStates Theatres. (The third was the Parkway/Moline,IL. All were designed by Henry George Greene of ABC Theatres.) All three featured rocking chair seating, large screens complete with drapes and 70mm projection. Because of their basic floor plan, they were extremely efficient theatres to operate. I managed this theatre for about a year, and relieved managers for vacations in the other two. I refer to these theatres and others like them as the “second generation” of movie palaces.
This theatre was one of three built on the same interior floor plan by ABC/TriStates Theatres. (The other two were the Plaza/Cedar Rapids, IA and the Parkway, Moline IL. The three were designed by Henry George Greene of ABC Theatres.) All featured rocking chair seating, large screens complete with drapes, and 70mm Projection. Because of their basic floor plan, all were extremely efficient to operate. I managed each of the three for varying periods of time. I call these theatres and others like them as the “second generation” of movie palaces.
mansorama has told me what my memories of yesteryear were having trouble with. The Warner was the theatre where I saw a couple of Cinerama movies back about 1958. A fine theatre. Thanks for the memory jog.
I see I need to make a correction. The owner of the Paramount was Creighton University. I must have been thinking about another former Omaha Movie Palace, the Brandeis long since replaced by a parking ramp.
A little extra information on the Paramount. Between the time it was turned over to it’s owner, Brandeis University and until it became the Astro, it was home to a professional bowling team. As the Astro, it boasted a 70 foot screen and 70mm projection capability.
After the theatre closed, it’s seats were refurbished and installed in the new Orchard 4 Cinemas (in 1982,) which itself is apparently now closed.
I was Assistant Manager of the Orpheum in the early 1960’s. The picture above does not show the theatre as it was in 1961. When a person entered the theatre then, it was thru a half block long lobby thru the City National Bank building. At the end of the lobby on the right was an elevator. (Used only for taking projectionists to the 6th floor projection room.) Straight ahead was the Grand Staircase which took you to the mezzanine level and on up to the third floor, or down to the main lounge. The third floor was the entrance to the middle section of the balcony. Also on that level was another foyer with a lounge area. Stairways on each end led to the fifth floor hallway which led to the top row of seats.
To the left after leaving the lobby was the Grand Foyer which featured three huge glass chandeliers, a carpet that was hand made in Czechoslovakia (and cost $10,000 – as the story goes), and several large paintings. The foyer on the mezzanine overlooked the Grand Foyer.
At the time the seating capacity was 3300. As I recall the configuration, there were 900 seats on the main floor, 300 on the mezzanine level (it was shaped like a horseshoe, with boxes on each end) and 1100 in the balcony.
The theatre still had it’s pipe organ, but it was inoperable then.
The Orpheum was a place of wonderment to a young, curious Assistant manager (me) who somehow found the time to explore the (spooky) old dressing rooms(elevator there, too), and walk the catwalk (dark and spooky) that ran across the auditorium ceiling from the fly loft to the projection room. (A person falling from that catwalk in certain places would never be found.)
In the late 60’s or early 70’s, the Orpheum became the property of the city of Omaha, which then went about restoring the theatre to it’s former grandeur. I was fortunate to be able to tour the theatre in 1978 and found that the City had expanded the stage and repaired the pipe organ along with the restoration work. It was just beautiful.
The Indian Hills was built while I was still an Assistant Manager at the Orpheum in Omaha (while it still ran movies). It was right at the end of the three panel Cinerama period. I saw “Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” there, but memory fails whether it was the original Cinerama for the 70mm Version. When the Cinerama company went out of business they offered the Cinerama theatres the option of buying the special lens that allowed a theatre to project pictures on the full size of the Cinerama screen. The operator of the theatre at the time (Commonwealth) chose to decline, meaning that about 20 feet on either end of the screen was not used. Even so, seeing a movie at the Indian Hill (“2001: A Space Odyssey”, for example.) was a spectacular experience. While working at Commonwealth’s Orchard Four in Omaha, I had the opportunity of relieving the Indian Hills manager for his vacation. The feature at the time: “RETURN OF THE JEDI”
I watched the original “This is Cinerama” in this theatre back in the mid 1960’s in the three projector process. The round Cinerama theatres were a unique experience.
This theatre started life as a grocery store. In the 1940’s, the wooden floor was sloped, and the rest of the building was remodeled to turn it into a neat “little” 300 seat theatre. It was named the Mars, after it’s owner, Marvin Fosse. It usually featured three show changes in any given week. The Mars was never any kind of a movie palace but it (like it’s predecessor the Pastime) was the center of small town life on Friday and Saturday nights into the very early 50’s. When local TV came upon the scene, and because the theatre could not book pictures anywhere near their release date, and with many of it’s potential patrons traveling 15 miles to the “big city” of Waterloo to see their movies new, many in the Paramount (movie palace), business began to decline and the theatre started closing on selected weekdays. In the mid to late 50’s, the theatre was closed. It later was reopened on weekends and operated at various times by Terry Philpott and/or Mike Geater. (who installed it’s first Cinemascope screen). But by the early 60’s the handwriting was on the wall and the theatre was once again closed and returned to it’s roots as a (short-lived) grocery store. It is now a furniture store.
The Fort is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
When I managed this theatre in about 1964, it was called the Rocket. It generally played 2nd run features behind the Movie Palace RKO Orpheum (these days called the Adler)across the Mississippi River in Davenport. On occasion, it played a roadshow (reserved seats, 10 shows a week) attraction, such as shown on it’s marquee, pictured above. The Rocket had two distinctive features: Paintings on curved walls on either side of the screen that were lighted by “black light”. It also had “love seats” in the middle of the center seating section and on the wall ends of the side sections. Seating capacity of the Rocket was about 500.
This theatre was one of three built on a similar floor plan in the middle to late 60’s by ABC TriStates Theatres. (The other two were the Plazas in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. They were designed by Henry George Greene of ABC Theatres.) All three theatres featured rocking chair seating, large screens complete with drapes, and 70mm projection. Due to their basic floor plan, they were extremely efficient theatres to operate. I managed each of these theatres either as manager or as vacation relief manager.
As referred to above, this theatre was one of three built in the middle to late 60’s by ABC/TriStates Theatres. (The third was the Parkway/Moline,IL. All were designed by Henry George Greene of ABC Theatres.) All three featured rocking chair seating, large screens complete with drapes and 70mm projection. Because of their basic floor plan, they were extremely efficient theatres to operate. I managed this theatre for about a year, and relieved managers for vacations in the other two. I refer to these theatres and others like them as the “second generation” of movie palaces.
This theatre was one of three built on the same interior floor plan by ABC/TriStates Theatres. (The other two were the Plaza/Cedar Rapids, IA and the Parkway, Moline IL. The three were designed by Henry George Greene of ABC Theatres.) All featured rocking chair seating, large screens complete with drapes, and 70mm Projection. Because of their basic floor plan, all were extremely efficient to operate. I managed each of the three for varying periods of time. I call these theatres and others like them as the “second generation” of movie palaces.
mansorama has told me what my memories of yesteryear were having trouble with. The Warner was the theatre where I saw a couple of Cinerama movies back about 1958. A fine theatre. Thanks for the memory jog.
I see I need to make a correction. The owner of the Paramount was Creighton University. I must have been thinking about another former Omaha Movie Palace, the Brandeis long since replaced by a parking ramp.
Mike
A little extra information on the Paramount. Between the time it was turned over to it’s owner, Brandeis University and until it became the Astro, it was home to a professional bowling team. As the Astro, it boasted a 70 foot screen and 70mm projection capability.
After the theatre closed, it’s seats were refurbished and installed in the new Orchard 4 Cinemas (in 1982,) which itself is apparently now closed.
I was Assistant Manager of the Orpheum in the early 1960’s. The picture above does not show the theatre as it was in 1961. When a person entered the theatre then, it was thru a half block long lobby thru the City National Bank building. At the end of the lobby on the right was an elevator. (Used only for taking projectionists to the 6th floor projection room.) Straight ahead was the Grand Staircase which took you to the mezzanine level and on up to the third floor, or down to the main lounge. The third floor was the entrance to the middle section of the balcony. Also on that level was another foyer with a lounge area. Stairways on each end led to the fifth floor hallway which led to the top row of seats.
To the left after leaving the lobby was the Grand Foyer which featured three huge glass chandeliers, a carpet that was hand made in Czechoslovakia (and cost $10,000 – as the story goes), and several large paintings. The foyer on the mezzanine overlooked the Grand Foyer.
At the time the seating capacity was 3300. As I recall the configuration, there were 900 seats on the main floor, 300 on the mezzanine level (it was shaped like a horseshoe, with boxes on each end) and 1100 in the balcony.
The theatre still had it’s pipe organ, but it was inoperable then.
The Orpheum was a place of wonderment to a young, curious Assistant manager (me) who somehow found the time to explore the (spooky) old dressing rooms(elevator there, too), and walk the catwalk (dark and spooky) that ran across the auditorium ceiling from the fly loft to the projection room. (A person falling from that catwalk in certain places would never be found.)
In the late 60’s or early 70’s, the Orpheum became the property of the city of Omaha, which then went about restoring the theatre to it’s former grandeur. I was fortunate to be able to tour the theatre in 1978 and found that the City had expanded the stage and repaired the pipe organ along with the restoration work. It was just beautiful.
Mike Geater
The Indian Hills was built while I was still an Assistant Manager at the Orpheum in Omaha (while it still ran movies). It was right at the end of the three panel Cinerama period. I saw “Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” there, but memory fails whether it was the original Cinerama for the 70mm Version. When the Cinerama company went out of business they offered the Cinerama theatres the option of buying the special lens that allowed a theatre to project pictures on the full size of the Cinerama screen. The operator of the theatre at the time (Commonwealth) chose to decline, meaning that about 20 feet on either end of the screen was not used. Even so, seeing a movie at the Indian Hill (“2001: A Space Odyssey”, for example.) was a spectacular experience. While working at Commonwealth’s Orchard Four in Omaha, I had the opportunity of relieving the Indian Hills manager for his vacation. The feature at the time: “RETURN OF THE JEDI”
Mike Geater
I watched the original “This is Cinerama” in this theatre back in the mid 1960’s in the three projector process. The round Cinerama theatres were a unique experience.
I saw my very first Cinerama movie in this theatre. An impressive experience for the time. I’m glad to see it survive.