Casino Theatre

Joe Vogel on November 13, 2010 at 3:08 am

The August 15, 1915, issue of The Moving Picture World has this item about John Karzin and the Casino Theatre:

“John Karzin, president of the McKinley Amusement Company, and proprietor of the Casino and Royal theaters, on Market street, reports that the Casino at 1620 Market Street is to be rebuilt. The present wall of the Casino will be used, but as it is only 50 feet In length, it will be extended 50 feet further, and the building, when completed, will be 50 feet wide and 100 feet deep at the back, and 25 feet wide at the entrance, giving an L shape to the auditorium. The new building will have a balcony, and the seating capacity will be 900, of which 268 seats will be in the balcony. The front will be of white enameled brick, with a canopy extending over the pavement. This will be the largest moving picture house on Market street, and will be ready for business when the airdome season closes. Mr. Karzin, owner of the Casino, also owns the Royal, across the street from the Casino, and a big airdome at 18th and Chestnut streets, besides being the president of the McKinley Amusement Company, that operates the Majestic theater at 1024 Franklin Avenue”

I don’t know if Mr. Karzin’s plans for the Casino Theatre were carried out or not. I’ve been unable to find any later references to the Casino.

I did come across one puzzling item in the November 7, 1908, issue of The Moving Picture World which is about a different St. Louis theater which was also called the Casino:

“The Casino, on Fourth Avenue, near Green Street, another link in the circuit of the Princess Amusement Company, and in which O. T. Crawford, of the Crawford Film Exchange, is interested, opened its doors this week. The new house is a revelation for St. Louis patrons of moving picture theaters and represents an investment of over $15,000.”

Cinema Treasures doesn’t have any other Casino Theatre listed in St. Louis, nor is it given as an aka for any St. Louis house, so I’ve been unable to identify this surplus Casino Theatre. It’s possible that the magazine just got the name wrong.

JAlex on August 17, 2011 at 2:00 pm

The William and Marcella Magnan book on St. Louis street names says Green Street is now known as Lucas.

dallasmovietheaters on October 30, 2024 at 6:52 pm

There were two Casino Theaters operating simultaneously in St. Louis. This was one was opened by Edward Twiehaus & Son in 1907 whose license was revoked apparently for blocking the sidewalks to Union Station. John Karzin improved the Casino in 1907 apparently easing the blocking problem. E. Jacob Weiss then expanded the building in 1915 moving from a nickelodeon to a legitimate theater with, now, fire exits which its predecessor did not have. This Casino closed on August 7, 1927 with Hoot Gibson in “A Hero on Horseback.”

Another Casino Theater operated at 608 Olive Street. It was a 330-seat nickelodeon opening in 1908 by E.M. Hanauer. It had a piano, two Powers No. 6 projectors, and dual stereopticon units that dissolved from one image to the other. All the leases were terminated in the building including the Casino Theater’s late in 1911 with this Casino auctioned off on January 30, 1912. The building was demolished weeks later and replaced with a modern building.