Ritz Theatre

The 1922 and 1932 Sanborn maps of Commerce show a movie theater, the Colonial, at 1650 S. Broad Street. In the early to mid 1930s, the new Roxy Theatre was built into a former livery stable building on S. Elm Street, which is actually the other half of Broad Street, on the other side of the railroad tracks that divide them two names.

I have a suspicion (but only circumstantial evidence) that Ritz was simply a new name for the re-opened Colonial Theatre. The Colonial was last listed in the 1934 FDY with 250 seats. The 1935 FDY lists a 250-seat house called the Cynderella and the 275-seat Roxy. The same listings appear in 1936, and the name Ritz first appears in 1937, when it still has 250 seats. The Roxy is later listed (by 1938) with 400 seats, but I think the 250-seat Colonial, Cynderella and Ritz are all the same house with name changes.

1650 Broad Street is the center bay of three in an impressive brick building that was built in 1907 with an Opera House on its upper floor. An early photo, probably from the 1910s judging from the parked cars, shows the storefront theater in the center bay. Either the Opera House, or the storefront show (maybe both) was called the Ellida Theatre, and was listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD. The Ellida was also listed in the 1914 Gus Hill guide, with 800 seats, which is why I suspect it was the upstairs Opera House. The storefront was just too small. The name Colonial was in use for the storefront house by 1921.