RKO Orpheum Theater

941-945 E. McMillan Avenue,
Cincinnati, OH 45202

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Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on July 23, 2016 at 6:34 pm

Cheersdan: A city directory published in June, 1910, lists the Century Theater as being on the west side of Gilbert Avenue south of McMillan Avenue. The Peebles Theatre is not listed in the directory, so your surmise that the Peebles and the Century might be one and the same is probably correct.

There is a mention of a Peebles Theatre in the August 1, 1891, issue of The Cincinnati Enquirer, but the mention doesn’t give enough information to determine if it was the house at 2445-2449 Gilbert. If it was, though, the Moving Picture World item I cited previously was mistaken (not at all unusual for such trade journals) about the house having been built in 1909. It would probably have been converted to a movie house that year.

There is also a classified ad in the May 22, 1930, issue of the Enquirer offering for sale “A PROMINENT CORNER McMillan St. Brick building, consisting of 3 large stores and 10 flats; Peebles theater: $10,000 cash, balance good terms or trade.” If that item referred to this Peebles Theatre, then the building still housed a theater in 1930 and the planned conversion to retail noted in MPW item must not have taken place, or was reversed at some point.

I’ve been unable to find the Peebles Theatre listed in any available editions of any of the theatrical guides from the late 19th century, so I don’t know anything about it. The entrance building is too small to have held a significant theater, but the building across the alley behind it and extending up to McMillan Street looks like it could have been converted from an auditorium. The best way to find out is if you can get hold of some old Sanborn Fire Insurance maps from the period. It’s possible that Cincinnati’s public library has some. I’ve never been to Cincinnati myself and live in California, so I won’t be able to unearth anything that isn’t on the Internet.

Cheersdan
Cheersdan on July 23, 2016 at 12:47 pm

Hello Enthusiasts of Cincinnati’s Walnut Hills Theaters! I am so glad to have found you all! I am a Historic Preservation Architect working on a masters thesis project on Peebles' Corner and it includes the theaters of the Walnut Hills area.

First are Wayne C, HankSykes, Otto18, Joe Vogel, dickneeds111, and dallasmovietheaters all still members or active with this website?

Where exactly was the Century theater besides 1914 Gilbert, because that address does no show up on the auditor website any longer? Was it possible three buildings down from the intersection of Peebles' Corner on the southwest corner (bottom left)? The old photos show that theater at Peebles' __________…I cannot make out the name. The theater that I am referencing is next door to the 4-story Durner Building on the same left side of the street. I have some more questions about the Orpheum and as many other buildings around that bustling area of Peebles' Corner for anyone of you that may remember them from1900’s to current. Thank you!!! Dan

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on February 25, 2016 at 7:00 pm

The Orpheum launched December 19, 1909 and the Orpheumscope with moving pictures was a part of the opening bill.

dickneeds111
dickneeds111 on January 21, 2016 at 3:57 pm

To Hank Sykes. The sound Scanner as you referred to it is wrong. In my days as a projectionist it was always called an EXCITER LAMP. You always had to have spares because if it burnt out you could just take it out and put in a new one. Then when Cinemascope came along with 4 track stereo on the film there was a magnetic reader like a tape player installed to read the magnetic stripe. If your theatre did not have stereo the film was played optically from a track on the film.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on December 25, 2014 at 11:03 pm

To rather belatedly respond to hanksykes question of March 14, 2012, regarding the Century Theatre, I found this item in the November 11, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World:

“Exit Cincinnati’s Century Theater.

“Cincinnati, Ohio. — The Century theater at Peebles corner, which has been at various times used with some success as a picture house, with interims of vaudeville, is to be turned into a public market, according to plans which have been perfected by local interests with capital behind them. The Century has been idle for the past two years, in spite of its apparently fine location, right at one of the busiest suburban corners in the city, its proximity to the popular Orpheum being largely responsible for its failure to prove a success. It was built in 1909 for use as a moving-picture house by John J. and Edward Ryan.”

Otto18
Otto18 on July 24, 2014 at 12:25 pm

I grew up around Peebles Corner in the late30’s and 40’s, attended Assumption church and school on Gilbert ave…..my dad, Earl Graham, managed the Orpheum in the late 40’s…..never missed a double feature there ….walked across the street to the Paramount for big Technicolor shows with B etty Grable, Alice Faye et al. Harris Rosedale and wife Roberta ran a local dance studio….occasionally staged an amateur show 0n the Orpheum stage.

hanksykes
hanksykes on March 14, 2012 at 8:46 pm

Wayne C ,I ment to say Turner Movie Classics not American Movie Classics,sorry. Hank

hanksykes
hanksykes on March 14, 2012 at 8:45 pm

Hello WayneC;The device on a film projector which reads the sound is called a sound scanner. Most old film prints ran about 20 minutes and the cues for the projectionist were printed in the right hand corner of the film print which was projected upon the cinema screen. This printed signal told the projectionist when to start the second machine to complete a smooth film changeover. Thats the little I have gleaned about film projection. The (Nati )I refered to was a shortened version of the word Cincinnati taken from a litter ad which ran on tv here encouraging people not to “Trash the Nati!” I’m guessing that AMC in L.A. stands for American Movie Classics? What goes on at that event? If you’re back visiting Peebles Corner a great local restaurant in that area is called (The Parkside Cafe)on McMillian Ave. Do you know anything about The Century Theater of 1914 on Gilbert Ave? As you mentioned Tyrone Powers was an usher at the Orpheum and Paramount Theaters ,he took his training at The Schuster-Martin School on Kemper Lane, which later became The Little Playhouse.Also the Twenthieth Century Th., in Oakley opened in 1941 with Tyrone Powers in “Blood and Sand”. You probably know that Mrs. Wurlitzer had the Paramount Th. built in 1931, but because Cincinnati was an RKO dominated town they took over her operation. So strange for a Paramount Th. to be affilated with RKO and not Publix Films which was their studio film distributor! Any more recall about your Orpheum days?

WayneC
WayneC on March 8, 2012 at 10:16 am

To answer more of Mr Sykes questions:

I could get passes to all of the RKO theatres in Cincinnati, although I didn’t use the perk all that much. Maybe to the Albee and quit often across the street to the Paramount.

I’m not quit sure what the ‘Nati’ area is to which you refer. I now live in Venice, Florida, but visit Cincinnati frequently. And yes I have noticed the Peebles Corner area. Quit a change from the mid to late 1940’s, but I guess that’s gone – forever, at least in my life time.

Relative to the project booths: I would visit these occasionaly, and what a magical place that was. This was when I learned that the film being projected had a sound track on the left side of the film. This would was ‘read’ by a lighted box – not sure what it’s called, and this would make the sound. When the film was passing through the projector it would flash various codes to the proejector operator signalling him when to swith to another projector. As the film was produced in reels of about 35-45 minutes in length, and they needed a way to switch to another reel once one was completed. They did this rather seamlessly (usually). Today they make the films in reels about 5 feer in diameter, and can usually get a full length movie on one reel.
There were located on the second balcony.

Yes, there were opening and closing curtains. There were rather massive – I would say 20feet by 60 ft., and there were 3 layers or so. They would open and close them between each picture showing. I sure they must have been used when there where vaudeville shows.

Not sure if the EJ Graham you mentioned was the same. Could have been.

No I no longer am with any cinema business. Would like to take the trip to TMC’s upcoming event in LA this spring.

Did not get to hear the organ at the Paramount. Remember that the one at the Orpheum was played once.

WC

hanksykes
hanksykes on March 7, 2012 at 6:54 pm

Hello WayneC,What a terriffic place to play at Cowboys and Sheriff with real guns. Did you have passes to all the other RKO Theaters in Cincinnati?Maybe the near by Paramount Th.? Do you still live in the Nati area?Have you visited the Peebles Corner Area to see what the vast changes are?Where was the projection booth located? Were there opening and closing curtains and were there more than one set of drapes?Was there any stage scenery left from the earlier days?Could you tell us about Mr. Earl (J.)Graham (the manager), I found an obituary about Earl (A.) Graham from the Enquirer of Nov. 7,2001 he was aged 87, but I doubt that this is the same man. Did you remain in the cinema business? Did you ever get to hear the Wurlitzer at the Paramount Th?Your recall if splendid hope you can tell us more.

WayneC
WayneC on March 3, 2012 at 1:50 pm

To answer Hank Sykes questions – I was not an usher, to young, however did work in the concession stands and with the cleaning up of the auditorium.

About the elevators – what I can remember was there 2 or 3 in the main lobby, 2 near the boxes in the main auditorium, and I think there or four in the main back stage area.

Tthe organs; yes, they still had there pipes, and as I recall these were located on the right side of the main auditorium. The boxes on the left and right, both floors, also had various other musical devices, such as cymbals, bells, violins, sort of like a calliope, in that all sorts of musical sound would be emitted. Must have been quit something in the early 1900’s.

The Martin family, I don’t think I met any of them, perhaps more information would ring a bell or two. I do remember E. J. (Earl) Graham as the top manager at this location.

I’m not sure when they shut down the bowling alleys, but they were not in operation from 1947 onward.

In the late ‘40s, early ‘50s the Orpheum would occasionally have some type of special showing, something with particular theme, such as Westerns. They were having a Western showing – which was for about a week or so. One of the displays they had was a set of western style pistols. Must have been 15 or 20 of them.

Since I, as well as my brothers and cousins, had access to the entire theatre facility, we each took a pistol and went about chasing each other around the entire place, playing cowboys (and sheriff)! How dangerous was that? We ran around throughout the entire place, in the balconies (there were 3 levels), basement, back stage, down in the dressing rooms back stage, and the dressing rooms which encircled the entire back stage area, there must have been about 15 or so. Quiet and experience.

hanksykes
hanksykes on February 28, 2012 at 8:10 pm

Hello Wayne C. ,thanks for some fresh new info on the Orpheum! In the 1940’s were you also an usher? Were the 5 elevators on only one side of the building?Were the organ pipes still in their first and second story chambers? Were any of the Martin Family members still working there? Was the bowling operation still being used in the l940"s? What was your Moms first and last name? Sorry to be so nosey, but this theate fascinates me! Love to hear more of your rememberances!

WayneC
WayneC on December 8, 2011 at 10:46 am

In 1945 my mother was a manager at this theatre. It’s curios that no one has commented that Tyrone Power, about 1932 or 1933, had been an usher here. The hey-day of theatre going was slowing down, (TV, demolished in 1952) and the theatre was barley able to stay open. I remember that they start having various orphanages around the city come in and enjoy a live variety stage show with the like Harris Rosedale and others. I had access to all parts of the building at that time, and was able to make off hour tours. I was able to actual see the background equipment for the Wurlitzer Organ that was located in the side boxes on the first and second floor of the auditorium. Some other features of the building: A bowling alley on the third floor; There were two balcony levels in the main auditorium; Of course the skylight theatre at the very top of the building; The skylight theatre about 1946 was converted into a TV manufacturing plant for Muntz TVs – lasted about 2 years or so; there was a swimming pool under the main stage stage, that was used as an aqua show during the 1920-1930s; there were at least 20 dressing rooms throughout the building; there were at least 5 elevators; the building was funished with marble through out the pedestrian areas; and on and on. Too bad it was demolished.

Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois
Ret. AKC (NAC) CCC Bob Jensen, Manteno, Illinois on March 5, 2008 at 8:57 am

ARCHITECT C.C. & E.A. Weber

A Mighty WurliTzer Theater Theater Pipe Organ, Opus 7, was shipped to an unknown location in Philadelphia, Pennsylania. It was reposesed and rebuilt as Opus 61 a 2 Manual/6 Rank and shipped to this theater on June 4, 1915. Another Console was added on January 18, 1916. This matches exactly with the above comment of hank.sykes “Two WurliTzer organs were in use…with the master on the first floor and a slave unit on the sixth floors Sky Th.”. It is not known what happened to these organs.

Another WurliTzer, Opus 1922, Style 1903M was shipped to this theater on July 31, 1928. It is know what happened to this organ, sit down for this, (I hope this is an eror) it was junked!

If you know anything about the organs, please email us!

Gee Dad, it “WAS” a WurliTzer/WurliTzer!"

hanksykes
hanksykes on August 18, 2007 at 5:44 pm

Two Wurlitzer organs were in use at the Orpheum Th. with the master on the first floor and a slave unit on the sixth floors Sky Th. An organist could play a selection on the main instrument and it would be repeated five floors above, but both of these theatres showed different length films at simular times so this system rarely worked to their advantage. Although Orpheum was built as an independant live theatre in 1909 it did add films and was finally taken over by RKO in the 1930’s.

hanksykes
hanksykes on August 15, 2007 at 7:20 pm

This glass theater called Sky Theater was decorated with false vines ,Japanese lanterns ,and its glass panels were controlled by electric motors which allowed this house to be snugly warm in winter. Walls were also decorated by intricate lattices,but because The Sky was on the roof it must only have been used at night?

hanksykes
hanksykes on August 15, 2007 at 7:10 pm

On April 4th. 1920 the Sky Theater opening was by Orpheum Theater resident manager A.J.Hettesheimer,it was for the publics enjoyment. The Sky Theater lasted into the 1930’s, but was pretty much done by depressions end. The Sky Th.long abandoned was torn down in 1952. Between the 2nd and 5th floors were banquet halls that were muchly used throughtout the years.

hanksykes
hanksykes on December 12, 2006 at 3:04 pm

The R.K.O. Orpheum was demolished in 1952, the architects were C.C.&E.A. Weber and construction was by H.Harig&Company.

hanksykes
hanksykes on November 7, 2006 at 3:54 pm

As might be expectedin the Orpheum’s early vaudeville days the competition with B.F.Keiths Columbia Theater on Walnut Street downtown was most aggresive and Keiths had the whole Keith-Albee Vaudeville chain to recruit well known performers from where the Orpheum had to buck very stiff big time chains.