Cinema 63
121 E. Main Street,
Ansted,
WV
25812
121 E. Main Street,
Ansted,
WV
25812
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Functions: Fraternal Hall
Previous Names: Lyric Theatre, Ritz Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Lyric Theatre was opened prior to 1915. It was renamed Ritz Theatre in 1935, when it was listed with 245 seats. It still operated under the Ritz name in 1950 when the seating capacity was given as 412. It was renamed Cinema 63 in August 1978.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
Google Street View of where the Ritz/Cinema 63 was in Anstead, WV. The building is now a V.F.W. post.
http://goo.gl/maps/qAIGI
Clickable version of street view. The V.F.W. Hall is in between Blue Smoke at 119 E. Main and Subway at 123 E. Main, so Cinema 63’s address must have been 121 E. Main.
As the Ritz opened in 1935, it was probably an earlier house called the Lyric Theatre renamed. The July 16, 1935, issue of The Film Daily said: “Ansted, W. V. — Skaggs and Ruffner have reopened the Lyric.” Though the item doesn’t mention a name change, the 1934 FDY lists only the Lyric Theatre, with 245 seats, at Ansted, and the 1935 FDY lists only the Ritz Theatre, again with 245 seats. Sounds like a name change to me.
The Lyric Theatre, Ansted, West Virginia, with 250 seats, was on a list of movie theaters published in the January 2, 1915, issue of The Billboard, so it was a pretty old house.
Just a note, the Ritz had a balcony, but it was not open to the public while the theater was the Cinema 63. We (family) were allowed to sit up there, but after watching a movie once or twice, I spent my time in the projection booth.
The Lyric was listed in the 1914/15 American Motion Picture Directory as being at the corner of Maple St and Florence St in Ansted, so it was probably not the same theatre.
That being said, Maple & Florence Sts do not meet so was it an error or have streets been renamed/rerouted in the last 100+ years?