Elite Theatre

CJ1949 on September 9, 2012 at 7:33 am

Also see this link for corrections that pertain to this entry too:

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/28319

The only Elite theatre in my research is what became the Metro Theatre.

There was no Elite Theatre anywhere in Mpls in the 1960s, or during the sound era.

The circuit name was Franklin Amusement Co. – not Franklin Theatres. W. R. Frank, Oscar Woempner and Val Nearpass were Franklin Amusement Co. Frank produced some feature films in the 1940s and early 50s. He died around 1960. Frank Jr. was the producer of the 1974 feature, “The Wrestler”.

Joe Vogel on July 1, 2014 at 8:21 am

Dave Kenney’s Twin Cities Picture Show: A Century of Moviegoing does list two locations for the Elite Theatre, and one of them is 2934 Lyndale Avenue South. Kenney says that this house operated from 1911 to 1915, but an item in Construction News of December 26, 1914, said that the foundation work for a new theater at 2932 S. Lyndale Avenue had been completed.

The Lyndale Theatre occupies the modern addresses 2932-2934, so if the Elite was on the same site it had been closed and demolished by late 1914. It’s also possible that it was on an adjacent lot and the addresses have drifted a bit over the years. Either way it was gone by 1916, but apparently it did really exist.

Kenney also lists the Elite at 2517 27th Avenue S., operating from 1912 to 1929.