That would be the Hilltop Theater, 1401 Blaine Avenue. It’s in the 1916 City Directory; the American Theater Organ Society’s list shows it operating in 1927.
The Street View above shows the SW corner; if you rotate it you can see the brick building on the SE corner. That’s where Google Maps put 1401 (numbers increase going south with odds on the east side), but I can’t read any address numbers in the street view.
“Two doors from the corner”… west on Howard from Blaine, right?
I may wander down and take a look. I wonder if there are any oldtimers at St.John’s who remember the neighborhood.
The post office is in the original building. Theater was originally a rectangular box, with the screen at the west (far) end, and entrance, concession, and restrooms on the east. USPS added the loading dock extension on the south side— originally that was a straight wall running all the way back. Between the dock and the front of the building is an alcove that once held a fire exit.
The front canopy is much as it was. You entered the lobby through a center cutout (standard “shopping center” glass doors and windows) between two concrete block walls. Above the canopy was an “art” window made of colored glass chips embedded in mortar. That may still be there, but it’s been covered by what look like aluminum panels. The interior was thoroughly gutted; I’d guess the service windows sit about where the booth used to be.
That would be the Hilltop Theater, 1401 Blaine Avenue. It’s in the 1916 City Directory; the American Theater Organ Society’s list shows it operating in 1927.
The Street View above shows the SW corner; if you rotate it you can see the brick building on the SE corner. That’s where Google Maps put 1401 (numbers increase going south with odds on the east side), but I can’t read any address numbers in the street view.
“Two doors from the corner”… west on Howard from Blaine, right?
I may wander down and take a look. I wonder if there are any oldtimers at St.John’s who remember the neighborhood.
The post office is in the original building. Theater was originally a rectangular box, with the screen at the west (far) end, and entrance, concession, and restrooms on the east. USPS added the loading dock extension on the south side— originally that was a straight wall running all the way back. Between the dock and the front of the building is an alcove that once held a fire exit.
The front canopy is much as it was. You entered the lobby through a center cutout (standard “shopping center” glass doors and windows) between two concrete block walls. Above the canopy was an “art” window made of colored glass chips embedded in mortar. That may still be there, but it’s been covered by what look like aluminum panels. The interior was thoroughly gutted; I’d guess the service windows sit about where the booth used to be.