Hollywood Theatre

50sSNIPES on July 23, 2024 at 4:11 pm

The Hollywood Theatre opened its doors on January 28, 1939 with Penny Singleton in “Blondie” along with the Walt Disney’s Silly Symphony cartoon “Mother Goose Goes Hollywood”, a technicolor travel film on Bermuda, and RKO Pathé News. Joe Floyd was the first main manager who previously operated the Granada Theatre there beforehand, and the assistant manager is then-21-year-old Harold Boyd. The chief projectionists are longtime theater operators Kenneth Blood and Earl Nason. The cashiers are Dorothy Buck and Marion Ray, the ushers are Milton Knutson, John Rock, and two unknown other men, and Tony Johnson is the maintenance man.

Information about the Hollywood Theatre as of 1939 goes as follows: The original front exterior of the showhouse as of 1939 features the panels of blue-gray porcelain with the buff-colored brickwork and black slate cornices. The marquee itself measures 36ft in height with spells the name of the theater, and a total of more than 1,500 electric bulbs combining with neon tubing to provide more lighting. Walking through the entrance doors, patrons will pass through a vestibule which planned to afford protection during inclement weather. The floors, ceiling, and walls are made of flexible rubber, and the lobby features an unusual ceiling height and vari-colored floor patterns. There is also fluorescent lamps and a picture of a much-heralded photo mural created by ace cameraman Whitey Schaefer of Columbia Pictures. The original lobby then leads into the foyer which is unique in its circular architecture. A circular staircase winds its way down to the general lounge as well as restrooms.

After the foyer is the oval-shaped auditorium with an original capacity of 736 self-lifting springless cushioned seats arranged spaciously and on a sweeping incline to provide the maximum of comfort and visibility. The seats were also invented from the northwest and was shipped to Sioux Falls. Aisle lights are also built right into the seats. Simplex projections and Western Electric sound were the original installers for the Hollywood.

It was a decades-long Hollywood Theatre, running first-run movies for over 47 years, until final operator Midcontinent Theatres (or Midco Theatres) closed the Hollywood Theatre for the final time on September 27, 1987 with a special run of “The Last Picture Show” and was demolished in February 1990 to make way for parking lots.

TLSLOEWS on February 27, 2010 at 12:10 pm

Sad photo if the HOLLYWOOD vertical sign being knocked down.

roger on September 17, 2007 at 11:42 pm

more info and photos of the hollywood can be found here View link

roger on June 29, 2004 at 9:30 pm

this theater originaly seated 800+ patrons. in the 50’s seating was reduced to 765 to accomodate the 44 foot CinemScope screen. In 1970, 601 rocking chair seats were installed and it became a roadshow house for a brief period. the land where it stood is now a parking lot.