Aladdin Theatre
Main Street and 3rd Street,
Minatare,
NE
69356
Main Street and 3rd Street,
Minatare,
NE
69356
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The Aladdin Theatre was opened on August 27, 1931 with Laura La Plante in “Lonely Wives”. It was closed in February 1932 and reopened on July 29, 1933 with Bob Steeele in “The Fighting Champ”. It was given a Streamline Moderne style makeover in 1940.
It was closed on April 1, 1956 and on May 26, 1956, Motion Picture Herald included the “Aladdin, Minitare (sic), Neb.” in a list of theatres closed since the first of that year. It was reopened on August 3, 1956 and finally closed on December 30, 1957 with Gordon MacRae in "Oklahoma!”.
Contributed by
Michael Kilgore
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
George W. Luce opened up his third theatre and this one was Aladdin’s Theatre in an existing space in the Harshman Building. The Aladdin appeared on August 27, 1931 with Laura La Plante in “Lonely Wives.” Just six months later, the Aladdin closed in February of 1932. On July 29, 1933, Gordon H. Cary took on the Aladdin. He equipped it with a Weber Synchrofilm Sound system for better audio fidelity and a Blizzard fan to better ventilate the venue. Its reopening film was Bob Steele in “The Fighting Champ.”
In 1940, it got a major streamline moderne makeover. On March 10, 1955, the theatre was equipped with widescreen projection to play CinemaScope titles beginning with “Knights of the Round Table.” But the combination of television and a 20% reduction in the town’s population that saw it sink to fewer than 900 residents led to the closure of the theatre. Cary closed the Aladdin on April 1, 1956 due to lack of patronage.
A new operator, Manuel Alvarez, reopened the Aladdin on August 3, 1956 with a sold-out sowing of Jack Palance in “Kiss of Fire.” But that outpouring of support was short-lived and Alvarez closed the Aladdin due to lack of patronage on December 30, 1957 with Shirley Jones in “Oklahoma!” in CinemaScope supported by a newsreel and a cartoon.
Uploaded a 1940s parade picture in which the Aladdin appears.
Great stuff… that certainly puts it on Main Street.
The tall structure in the background of the photo robboehm uploaded is a grain elevator still standing on Railroad Street. The view is south along Main Street, and the Aladdin theatre was at the northeast corner of Third Street. It has been demolished. Current Google street view.