The New Olympic Theatre at 1511 4th Avenue in Canyon replaced its long-running predecessor on September 29, 1926 with “Brown of Harvard” as the first film. W.J. Wooten had purchased the original Olympic and extended it in 1919. In 1926, Harry Bradford convinced Wooten and the town’s local newspaper to relocate in a downtown renewal project on the town’s north side of the square. The newly built four buildings also gave the Olympic two businesses to its immediate left and right including a long-running barber shop.
At opening, the new Olympic seated 750 and its best features may have been the Arctic New Air cooling system and the pipe organ that was common to Amarillo movie-goers but not in Canyon. Films stopped in 1973 at the Olympic with sporadic live events occurring into 1981. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Swanson had considered reopening the Olympic for films in 1976 but concentrated on reopening the Canyon Drive-In which they did.
The Harris-Dubois Theatre launched on October 27, 1937. It changed names to match the hotel as the General Pershing Theatre. On May 28, 1968, the Pershing Theatre became the DuBois Playhouse launching with “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and playing a heavy mix of R-rated New American movies and some porno chic single X-rated films.
New operators came in repositioning the Dubois Playhouse to more family centric offerings. The theater returned to X-rated fare in 1979 and 1980 if not longer (ads aren’t published post-1980). After a period of inactivity, the Dubois Playhouse was upgraded and tried live plays from July through December of 1988. That appears to end the Dubois Playhouse run.
The architect was Clarence Vogel. The $50,000 theatre was built at the former Rolloway Rink was demolished. I’m guessing that the theatre didn’t reopen after a minor fire on June 10, 1962 as ads are discontinued. The furnishings were sold on March 25, 1966 with the marquee removed and the building sold at auction for $3,600 in 1968.
1937 opening shot in photos. The New Bandon Theatre replaced the Hartman Theatre which was destroyed along with most of the city in a catastrophic September 1936 fire.
Albert E. Davis architected the Peerless Theatre launching in the Bronx in 1923 with 600 seats for the N & P Amusement Company. The $50,000 Greek Revival two-story house was bathed in olive green, gold and Pompeii red. The Peerless had Typhoon fans for cooling and Powers 6-B projectors at its opening.
J.J. Marshall has his grand opening of the Marshall Theatre on December 6, 1909 with the 3-act play of “Girls.” It had a seating capacity of 1,100. In May of 1921, Glen W. Dickinson bought the theatre. It was converted in 1961 to a J.C. Penney’s department store.
Grand opening was September 16, 1922. A fire on November 26, 1950 just after a busy Sunday show destroyed the auditorium including the stage and screen. The theater never reopened.
Six-screen theatre opened at 635 Haywood Road in Greenville, SC on October 7, 1988 and closed November 30, 2001. Opened with an arcade on the second level for the gaming portion and a discount house from beginning to closing. Received a $20,000 upgrade to become the Redemption World Outreach Center launching in 2003. It then became the fitness venue called the Imagine Center thereafter.
Charles Garing began the silent-era Garing Theatre at 115 North Main Street in 1915. The theater closed for repairs in 1920 after a fire. It became part of the Southern Enterprises Circuit. It closed August 4, 1925 after fire gutted the projection booth and flooded the auditorium. Southern Enterprises had recently opened the Rivoli and announced that the Garing space would be retrofitted for other retail operations which appeared to happen in 1926. The space was used to advertise other theaters in the interim. The former theater’s building burned down in 1938. Demolished.
The Lewis Plaza Shopping Center was developed by R.M. Caine in 1948 as a shopper’s village. The architects of the Plaza Theatre were Beacham Associates built by Triangle Construction. First film was February 28, 1949 with “Romance on the High Sea”. The theatre was the third of the Star Theaters Circuit based in Greenvillle which was bought out by the Fuqua Circuit in 1972 along with the Astro. It closed at the beginning of 1978 just shy of its 30th anniversary.
The Branwood Theatre closed on September 22, 1956 with “Hell on Frisco Bay.” It becomes the Peoples' Faith Temple and has a brief rebirth as the Branwood Theatre in 1957 with some live events. December 9, 1922 was most often cited as the opening date but the theatre’s history dates to its initial opening in 1919.
The Belmont Drive-in Theatre opened August 29, 1949 with “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.“ It was also known as the Belmont Outdoor Cinema. The Belmont closed after a 30-year lease operating throughout the 1979 season before closing. It was demolished thereafter.
Circus veteran W.P. Newman operated the Wonderland Theatre in Bacyrus in 1908. When the competing Hippodrome failed in 1910, Newman moved to it because it was larger (453 seats at that time) and had better projection. The theatre had a Seeburg organ on one side of the stage and a Welte organ on the other. Newman fought against both censorship rules though wouldn’t show anything “his daughter wouldn’t see.” Improvements in seating led to its overall count being reduced to 375.
In 1919, Newman sold the theatre to Richard L. Hertzer who continued its operation. He fought against Sunday blue laws and operated without permission. The theatre was robbed of $1,000 in 1930 and went dark not long after. It was said to have been leased by a final operator, Settos Amusement Co., but there’s not much evidence that it actually re-opened.
Opened July 11, 1950 as the Joy Drive-In Theatre. In 1966, it was rebuilt as the Showtown Drive-In Theatre relaunching on July 15, 1966. On September 22, 1972, the Showtown added a second screen constructed by Wilmut Co. of Texas at a cost of $100,000. The twin opened playing “Dirty Harry” on the East Screen and “The Concert for Bangladesh” on the West Screen. The twin screener seemed to close after the 1980 season which would time out with a 30-year lease. It was demolished. Address was 464 South Beauchamp Street and is roughly where McCoy’s Building Supply was in the 21st Century.
The Anne Drive-In launched on July 3, 1953 with “Bugs Bunny Cartoon Revue” and “Meet Me At The Fair”. Everyone got free Coca-Colas and the kids got crayons and coloring books. Operator of the Leland Temple Theatre and the Greenville Harlem Theater, J.C. Noble named the drive-in for his wife Anne Greenwood Noble and his daughter Anne Elizabeth Noble. The snack bar had doughnuts along with the usual drive-in fare. The slogan of the drive-in was, “When the sun sets behind the trees, it’s showtime at the Anne Drive-In.” It became part of the Gulf State Theaters Circuit in 1960 which appears to have closed it the following season.
aka Liberty Art Theatre from 1961-1970 as it became an art house theater.
Launched February 23, 1923 with the film, “The Man Who Played God”
The New Olympic Theatre at 1511 4th Avenue in Canyon replaced its long-running predecessor on September 29, 1926 with “Brown of Harvard” as the first film. W.J. Wooten had purchased the original Olympic and extended it in 1919. In 1926, Harry Bradford convinced Wooten and the town’s local newspaper to relocate in a downtown renewal project on the town’s north side of the square. The newly built four buildings also gave the Olympic two businesses to its immediate left and right including a long-running barber shop.
At opening, the new Olympic seated 750 and its best features may have been the Arctic New Air cooling system and the pipe organ that was common to Amarillo movie-goers but not in Canyon. Films stopped in 1973 at the Olympic with sporadic live events occurring into 1981. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Swanson had considered reopening the Olympic for films in 1976 but concentrated on reopening the Canyon Drive-In which they did.
The Harris-Dubois Theatre launched on October 27, 1937. It changed names to match the hotel as the General Pershing Theatre. On May 28, 1968, the Pershing Theatre became the DuBois Playhouse launching with “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and playing a heavy mix of R-rated New American movies and some porno chic single X-rated films.
New operators came in repositioning the Dubois Playhouse to more family centric offerings. The theater returned to X-rated fare in 1979 and 1980 if not longer (ads aren’t published post-1980). After a period of inactivity, the Dubois Playhouse was upgraded and tried live plays from July through December of 1988. That appears to end the Dubois Playhouse run.
Last call: The Grand Theatre ends its cinema run with “Olympic Elk” and “Son of Paleface” following a Three Stooges short on April 10, 1955
The architect was Clarence Vogel. The $50,000 theatre was built at the former Rolloway Rink was demolished. I’m guessing that the theatre didn’t reopen after a minor fire on June 10, 1962 as ads are discontinued. The furnishings were sold on March 25, 1966 with the marquee removed and the building sold at auction for $3,600 in 1968.
1937 opening shot in photos. The New Bandon Theatre replaced the Hartman Theatre which was destroyed along with most of the city in a catastrophic September 1936 fire.
Albert E. Davis architected the Peerless Theatre launching in the Bronx in 1923 with 600 seats for the N & P Amusement Company. The $50,000 Greek Revival two-story house was bathed in olive green, gold and Pompeii red. The Peerless had Typhoon fans for cooling and Powers 6-B projectors at its opening.
Grand opening was October 11, 1920 with DW Griffith’s “The Idol Dancer” and Harold Lloyd’s “High and Dizzy”
J.J. Marshall has his grand opening of the Marshall Theatre on December 6, 1909 with the 3-act play of “Girls.” It had a seating capacity of 1,100. In May of 1921, Glen W. Dickinson bought the theatre. It was converted in 1961 to a J.C. Penney’s department store.
Grand opening was September 16, 1922. A fire on November 26, 1950 just after a busy Sunday show destroyed the auditorium including the stage and screen. The theater never reopened.
Correction: Rodney Bush (not Brush).
Grand opening was March 15, 1935 with the film, “The Whole Town is Talking.”
Letterhead as the Apollo Theatre circa 1922 – its third year of operation.
Six-screen theatre opened at 635 Haywood Road in Greenville, SC on October 7, 1988 and closed November 30, 2001. Opened with an arcade on the second level for the gaming portion and a discount house from beginning to closing. Received a $20,000 upgrade to become the Redemption World Outreach Center launching in 2003. It then became the fitness venue called the Imagine Center thereafter.
Charles Garing began the silent-era Garing Theatre at 115 North Main Street in 1915. The theater closed for repairs in 1920 after a fire. It became part of the Southern Enterprises Circuit. It closed August 4, 1925 after fire gutted the projection booth and flooded the auditorium. Southern Enterprises had recently opened the Rivoli and announced that the Garing space would be retrofitted for other retail operations which appeared to happen in 1926. The space was used to advertise other theaters in the interim. The former theater’s building burned down in 1938. Demolished.
The Lewis Plaza Shopping Center was developed by R.M. Caine in 1948 as a shopper’s village. The architects of the Plaza Theatre were Beacham Associates built by Triangle Construction. First film was February 28, 1949 with “Romance on the High Sea”. The theatre was the third of the Star Theaters Circuit based in Greenvillle which was bought out by the Fuqua Circuit in 1972 along with the Astro. It closed at the beginning of 1978 just shy of its 30th anniversary.
Architects were Beacham Associates built by Triangle Construction. First film was February 28, 1949 with “Romance on the High Sea”
The city had the building demolished in 2003 after performing asbestos abatement.
The Branwood Theatre closed on September 22, 1956 with “Hell on Frisco Bay.” It becomes the Peoples' Faith Temple and has a brief rebirth as the Branwood Theatre in 1957 with some live events. December 9, 1922 was most often cited as the opening date but the theatre’s history dates to its initial opening in 1919.
The Belmont Drive-in Theatre opened August 29, 1949 with “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.“ It was also known as the Belmont Outdoor Cinema. The Belmont closed after a 30-year lease operating throughout the 1979 season before closing. It was demolished thereafter.
Circus veteran W.P. Newman operated the Wonderland Theatre in Bacyrus in 1908. When the competing Hippodrome failed in 1910, Newman moved to it because it was larger (453 seats at that time) and had better projection. The theatre had a Seeburg organ on one side of the stage and a Welte organ on the other. Newman fought against both censorship rules though wouldn’t show anything “his daughter wouldn’t see.” Improvements in seating led to its overall count being reduced to 375.
In 1919, Newman sold the theatre to Richard L. Hertzer who continued its operation. He fought against Sunday blue laws and operated without permission. The theatre was robbed of $1,000 in 1930 and went dark not long after. It was said to have been leased by a final operator, Settos Amusement Co., but there’s not much evidence that it actually re-opened.
Opened July 11, 1950 as the Joy Drive-In Theatre. In 1966, it was rebuilt as the Showtown Drive-In Theatre relaunching on July 15, 1966. On September 22, 1972, the Showtown added a second screen constructed by Wilmut Co. of Texas at a cost of $100,000. The twin opened playing “Dirty Harry” on the East Screen and “The Concert for Bangladesh” on the West Screen. The twin screener seemed to close after the 1980 season which would time out with a 30-year lease. It was demolished. Address was 464 South Beauchamp Street and is roughly where McCoy’s Building Supply was in the 21st Century.
It’s July 11, 1950 and time for the Joy Drive-In Theatre to open in Greenville, Mississippi.
The Anne Drive-In launched on July 3, 1953 with “Bugs Bunny Cartoon Revue” and “Meet Me At The Fair”. Everyone got free Coca-Colas and the kids got crayons and coloring books. Operator of the Leland Temple Theatre and the Greenville Harlem Theater, J.C. Noble named the drive-in for his wife Anne Greenwood Noble and his daughter Anne Elizabeth Noble. The snack bar had doughnuts along with the usual drive-in fare. The slogan of the drive-in was, “When the sun sets behind the trees, it’s showtime at the Anne Drive-In.” It became part of the Gulf State Theaters Circuit in 1960 which appears to have closed it the following season.