Wade Hampton Renick, Jr. built the Drive-In Theatre in Hays in 1948. Technically, it opened and operated for a brief period as Drive-In Theatre. It then became known as the Hays Drive-In. It was twinned operating some 30 years, again, technically under the moniker of the Hays Twin Drive-In Theatre. The Hays Twin was torn down in 1982.
Agreed with Joe Vogel’s comment that Merle F. Baker was the circuit owner of the venue and not the building’s architect. It is likely that the Tallmadge & Watson plans of 1921 were rejected as the trade press lists the architectural plans of the new Grand Theatre to Owen, Payton & Carswell out of Kansas City circa 1922 and into 1923. Then when the building opened, Owen, Payton and Carswell were credited in news and trade reports as the venue’s architects. Mr. Baker likely approved the plans but had little to do with the actual creation of those plans.
Mark Angell launched Orpheum Theatre primarily as a movie house in downtown Keokuk on August 11, 1911. The opening program feature Mary Pickford in “Science,” the Powers Picture western, “Nevada,” and Carl Alstrup in “The Son of the Executioner.” It appears to have closed permanently on June 23, 1917 with Wally Van in “Cutey’s Vacation.” Not sure where the guessy opening date of the “early 1920s” provided by user Chuck in the above synopsis originated.
The venue opened May 18, 1999 with “The Phantom Menace.” It added two screens for its May 19, 1999 operation adding “October Sky” and “Life is Beautiful.” It would then get to its seven screen operation. It would close on November 7, 2018 due to a spreading wildfire. Though the building stood, it did not reopen.
The El Rey Theatre was closed permanently on January 26, 1963. The theater struggled with patronage and when teenaged vandals struck on January 26th, the theater was shuttered.
The Tower Drive-In was announced in 1949 by Francis Hardwick. It’s grand opening was on April 9, 1950 with Loretta Young in “The Farmer’s Daughter.” It closed likely at the end of a 25-year lease playing Hispanic films. The final show appears to be September 9, 1984 with a double feature of Alicia Juarez in “La Cosecha de Mujeres” and David Zalzar in “Cruz de Olvido”.
The New Drive-In Theatre opened in November of 1952 by Jack McReynolds. He closed for the season just ten days later. It operated again as the New Drive-In Theatre in 1953 but was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kinsel Tucker who operated it as the Sunset Drive-In in 1954. Mrs. Tucker sold it in 1955 to the K. Lee Williams circuit which operated the town’s hardtop theater in downtown Wilburton. That change took place on May 19, 1955 with a new widescreen tower, stereo sound and a double-feature of “Outlaw Stallion” and “Prisoner of War.” The ozoner preferred to show CinemaScope titles.
That’s what is known and verifiable. I don’t have any idea what the paragraph above is referring to with tall pine trees, et al. The naming is correct with Wilburton Auto Theatre, formerly Sunset Drive-In. It just needs an also known as the New Drive-In and less about the trees and architecture.
The Auburn Theatre’s grand opening was on October 2, 1928 with William Haines in “Excess Baggage” following a pre-opening the night prior. The venue closed for movies on November 6, 1954 with a double-feature of “Four Guns to the Border” and “Terror Ship. For its swan song, one last vaudeville show was staged there over two nights on February 24 and 25, 1961. A last minute preservation effort in March of 1961 failed and demolition began at month’s end.
After briefly being in one location, the Lyric Theatre had operated in the same location from February of 1910 to 1942. Owner Jack Pierce moved the Lyric to the new Time Theatre on May 30,1942 for its patriotic World War 2 themed grand opening show of Eleanor Powell in “Ship Ahoy” supported by a short, “Meet the Fleet” and a newsreel. Fast forward to 2022, the theatre was still showing first-run films where at its 80th Anniversary, it was showing “Top Gun: Maverick” on May 30, 2022.
The Theater at the Wakefield Memorial Building launched on April 5, 1923 with a live play, “The Glorious Girl.” The venue may be best remembered for a variety of community events. But for nearly 50 years, the venue was also very well known for commercial, first-run movie presentations through a variety of subleasing agreements over the years. In its silent era, the venue became known as the Memorial Community Theatre. In 1929/1930, the Wakefield Community Theatre installed sound to remain viable.
The Strand in downtown Wakefield would close as Alex L. “Pick” Picker Improved audio and projection at the Memorial Building which led to a grand re-opening under its new name as the Wakefield Theater on October 16, 1932. A 1948 makeover brought new seating to the venue. On October 15, 1954, the Wakefield celebrated its first use of its widescreen equipment to present CinemaScope titles beginning with “The Robe.”
Peter J. Napel ran the theatre from 1951 to 1970. He was not only instrumental in its transition to widescreen but was also a major factor in the building’s final attempt to remain viable. In 1965, the building received a major overhaul when an entry was added to the building’s left side with the interior space converted to a 21-unit hotel called the Wakefield Motor Lodge. The movie house was then renamed as the Wakefield Motor Lodge Theater. If each motel room had 50 guests in it per night, the small town theater could accommodate all of the guests as the balcony stayed in use until the theater’s discontinuation still having a capacity of 1,200. Most impressive for a town with fewer than 3,000 residents.
The WML Theatre may have closed for regular film screenings in 1978 as ads are discontinued at that time; although there were still live events at the venue for a brief time thereafter. Those events run under the Wakefield Theatre nameplate. The entire property then went into disuse and disrepair as attempts to revive the venue were dashed as the theater suffered a partial roof collapse. The City of Wakefield wrote for permission to raze the landmark which was approved for demolition in 2010 ending any glimmer of hope for a renovation.
Also known as Theater at Wakefield Memorial Building; Wakefield Community Theatre; and the Wakefield Motor Lodge Theatre.
Closed at the end of its lease on September 8, 1957 with “The Ten Commandments.” Had some events until being demolished in favor of a new-build grocery store in 1961.
J.B. Sparks moved the Star Theatre to new digs in 1912 - the second of the Star’s three locations. In 1919, he moved to the final location for the theatre.
Having reportedly launched the first four-screen theatre in the Cincinnati market here, National Amusement’s Showcase brand wanted to build the area’s first true megaplex. So it demolished the 25-year old, four - turned five - turned seven - make that nine-screen Frankensteined Showcase Cinemas Springdale venue and started over with an announced 20-screen project turned 18-screen opening with 10-screens prior to getting to 18 screens later venue. National Amusements also announced a 20-screen facility, the Deerfield 20, in 1996 that stalled out at 12 screens.
The Showcase Cinemas Springdale “10” opened on May 15, 1998. If you were hoping for a true megaplex, you had to wait seven months until they completed the other 8 screens. That’s when the theatre relaunched as the Showcase Cinemas Springdale 18 on December 11, 1998. When IMAX began to branch out its brand name to large screen auditoriums in megaplexes as a marketing advantage, the Springdale was on board in 2004. The venue relaunched under the banner of the Showcase Cinema de Lux Springdale 18 on November 5, 2004. The curious dropping of the “s” in Cinemas was a foreshadowing of National Cinemas mass exodus from the state of Ohio.
National’s Showcase had a dominant position around Ohio at the start of the megaplex era. But it left markets one by one until, by the 2020s, Showcase shockingly had just one location in the entire state. And, you guessed it, the Showcase Cinema (singular) de Lux Springdale 18 was the last Showcase standing between the East Coast and Ohio as the circuit concentrated on international locations. The SCdLS-18 churned forward with its sports bar, restaurant offerings, and expanded snack bar trying to remain viable for as long as possible.
The Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema Monroeville Mall I & II appears to have launched September 29, 1972 with “A New Leaf” and “Summer of ‘42.” By that time, however, the Jerry Lewis / Network Cinema concept was in free fall collapse with the company declaring bankruptcy and Jerry Lewis leaving the company not long after. The venue initially had two, identical 350-seat auditoriums with automation making the operation as simple as pushing a button (or so the franchisees thought). It was an outparcel complex not far from one of the Mall’s original anchors in Gimbel’s Department Store.
On January 10, 1973, the Lewis name was banished from the location - a trend across the nation as franchisee’s blood was boiling at the lack of service that was provided by the Lewis Circuit. The new name here was the Monroeville Mall Cinema I & II which it held and was acquired in January of 1973 by the fast-growing circuit, Cinemette Theatres Inc. In February, they began construction on two more auditoriums to make the facility a four-plex. The venue relaunched August 29, 1973 as the Cinemette East.
The Cinemette Corporation sold its 160 movie theaters in 1987 to Cinema World Inc. The Cinemette nameplate held until April of 1988 when it was renamed the Cinema World Monroeville. In April of 1994, Cinema World sold its 38 locations to Carmike Theatres including the Monroeville effective that May. The newly-renamed Carmike Monroeville 4 operated under that banner until closure. In November of 1998, Monroeville Mall announced a new outparcel location for Best Buy on the same spot as the 4-screener. Carmike closed the Monroeville 4 permanently on December 17, 1998. It was demolished shortly thereafter.
According the opening notice, Cinema 22 launched as an original tenant in the Monroe Plaza Shopping Center with a single auditorium that seated 800 and the architectural style they went for was “early Colonial.”
The Liberty Amusement Company launched the Liberty Theatre in an existing retail store in September of 1907. In 1911, the theatre was in new operators' hands as the renamed Alhambra Theatre. The Alhambra was wired for sound to remain viable.
The Harris Theatre Circuit took on the venue on September 24, 1933. It renamed the venue as the Harris Family Theatre on October 6, 1933. which closed permanently on May 2, 1948 with Barry Fitzgerald in “The Naked City.” It was retrofitted for a five and dime variety store.
The opening of the Triangle inaugurated the venue’s large Hillgren-Lane 3-Manual organ with a 21' 9" wide and 15' high screen - largest in the city. The opening film was “The Blooming Angel” on April 3, 1920. Under new operators in 1929, the venue became an African American movie theater with some live entertainment on its stage. It was billed as East Liberty’s only theatre for African American patrons. It played African American films created by Oscar Micheaux and distributed by Sack Amusements. The Triangle was equipped for sound to remain viable. It tried foreign films as its last policy. It closed June 12, 1958 with a double-feature of “Maddalena” and “Barefoot Savage.” In August of 1958 it was converted for other retail purposes.
The grand opening for William N. Lando’s Lando Theatre was on December 13, 1929 with “The Fox Follies.” It was part of the Theatre Owners Booking Association, or T.O.B.A. Unfortunately, T.O.B.A. - the vaudeville circuit for African American performers in the 1920s - went out of business just about a year later.
On September 11, 1931, the venue was renamed the Grand Theatre with a week-long engagement by Mamie Smith as one of the first bookings there. Hendel Theatreical Enterprises took on the venue after a major refresh as the Granada Theatre on February 5, 1934 with “The Son of Kong.” Handel had operated the Roosevelt Theatre across the street as well as the Center Square Theater. In 1937, the Granada moved two blocks away creating the famous, New Granada Theatre. The old location reverted to its recent past becoming Lando’s Grand Theatre (technically not Lando-Grand but who much cares?) as a Yiddish / Jewish theater.
In 1939, the venue became the Central Theatre with Lando subleasing the venue which had a short run as an African American live venue that failed within a year. Lando returned to the venue in the Fall of 1940 renaming it as the Lando Central Theatre returning with Yiddish / Jewish presentations. In 1943, perhaps under different operators, the venue became known as the Central Theatre closing in 1944.
The venue became the Church of God in Christ in 1944 followed by the Beck Gospel Temple in 1947 where the religious film screening of “Blow Gabriel” on December 10, 1948 appears to be the final screening at this location. The venue was retrofitted for retail purposes not long after. The building became a retail location before becoming damaged in 1968 following five days of vandalism, rioting and arson that took place in response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. The building was demolished just shy of its 40th anniversary in 1969.
Wade Hampton Renick, Jr. built the Drive-In Theatre in Hays in 1948. Technically, it opened and operated for a brief period as Drive-In Theatre. It then became known as the Hays Drive-In. It was twinned operating some 30 years, again, technically under the moniker of the Hays Twin Drive-In Theatre. The Hays Twin was torn down in 1982.
Sorry - the autocorrect got me on Payson’s last name.
Agreed with Joe Vogel’s comment that Merle F. Baker was the circuit owner of the venue and not the building’s architect. It is likely that the Tallmadge & Watson plans of 1921 were rejected as the trade press lists the architectural plans of the new Grand Theatre to Owen, Payton & Carswell out of Kansas City circa 1922 and into 1923. Then when the building opened, Owen, Payton and Carswell were credited in news and trade reports as the venue’s architects. Mr. Baker likely approved the plans but had little to do with the actual creation of those plans.
Mark Angell launched Orpheum Theatre primarily as a movie house in downtown Keokuk on August 11, 1911. The opening program feature Mary Pickford in “Science,” the Powers Picture western, “Nevada,” and Carl Alstrup in “The Son of the Executioner.” It appears to have closed permanently on June 23, 1917 with Wally Van in “Cutey’s Vacation.” Not sure where the guessy opening date of the “early 1920s” provided by user Chuck in the above synopsis originated.
The Hippodrome was a $20,000 venue built of stone in downtown Keokuk in 1912. It launched with motion pictures and vaudeville on August 29, 1912.
The venue opened May 18, 1999 with “The Phantom Menace.” It added two screens for its May 19, 1999 operation adding “October Sky” and “Life is Beautiful.” It would then get to its seven screen operation. It would close on November 7, 2018 due to a spreading wildfire. Though the building stood, it did not reopen.
The El Rey Theatre was closed permanently on January 26, 1963. The theater struggled with patronage and when teenaged vandals struck on January 26th, the theater was shuttered.
The opening film was “Puddin' Head” with Judy Canova.
The Tower Drive-In was announced in 1949 by Francis Hardwick. It’s grand opening was on April 9, 1950 with Loretta Young in “The Farmer’s Daughter.” It closed likely at the end of a 25-year lease playing Hispanic films. The final show appears to be September 9, 1984 with a double feature of Alicia Juarez in “La Cosecha de Mujeres” and David Zalzar in “Cruz de Olvido”.
The New Drive-In Theatre opened in November of 1952 by Jack McReynolds. He closed for the season just ten days later. It operated again as the New Drive-In Theatre in 1953 but was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kinsel Tucker who operated it as the Sunset Drive-In in 1954. Mrs. Tucker sold it in 1955 to the K. Lee Williams circuit which operated the town’s hardtop theater in downtown Wilburton. That change took place on May 19, 1955 with a new widescreen tower, stereo sound and a double-feature of “Outlaw Stallion” and “Prisoner of War.” The ozoner preferred to show CinemaScope titles.
That’s what is known and verifiable. I don’t have any idea what the paragraph above is referring to with tall pine trees, et al. The naming is correct with Wilburton Auto Theatre, formerly Sunset Drive-In. It just needs an also known as the New Drive-In and less about the trees and architecture.
The Auburn Theatre’s grand opening was on October 2, 1928 with William Haines in “Excess Baggage” following a pre-opening the night prior. The venue closed for movies on November 6, 1954 with a double-feature of “Four Guns to the Border” and “Terror Ship. For its swan song, one last vaudeville show was staged there over two nights on February 24 and 25, 1961. A last minute preservation effort in March of 1961 failed and demolition began at month’s end.
After briefly being in one location, the Lyric Theatre had operated in the same location from February of 1910 to 1942. Owner Jack Pierce moved the Lyric to the new Time Theatre on May 30,1942 for its patriotic World War 2 themed grand opening show of Eleanor Powell in “Ship Ahoy” supported by a short, “Meet the Fleet” and a newsreel. Fast forward to 2022, the theatre was still showing first-run films where at its 80th Anniversary, it was showing “Top Gun: Maverick” on May 30, 2022.
The Rex Theatre opened January 23, 1942 with Tom Keene in “Dynamite Canyon.”
Opening date was September 4, 1952.
The Theater at the Wakefield Memorial Building launched on April 5, 1923 with a live play, “The Glorious Girl.” The venue may be best remembered for a variety of community events. But for nearly 50 years, the venue was also very well known for commercial, first-run movie presentations through a variety of subleasing agreements over the years. In its silent era, the venue became known as the Memorial Community Theatre. In 1929/1930, the Wakefield Community Theatre installed sound to remain viable.
The Strand in downtown Wakefield would close as Alex L. “Pick” Picker Improved audio and projection at the Memorial Building which led to a grand re-opening under its new name as the Wakefield Theater on October 16, 1932. A 1948 makeover brought new seating to the venue. On October 15, 1954, the Wakefield celebrated its first use of its widescreen equipment to present CinemaScope titles beginning with “The Robe.”
Peter J. Napel ran the theatre from 1951 to 1970. He was not only instrumental in its transition to widescreen but was also a major factor in the building’s final attempt to remain viable. In 1965, the building received a major overhaul when an entry was added to the building’s left side with the interior space converted to a 21-unit hotel called the Wakefield Motor Lodge. The movie house was then renamed as the Wakefield Motor Lodge Theater. If each motel room had 50 guests in it per night, the small town theater could accommodate all of the guests as the balcony stayed in use until the theater’s discontinuation still having a capacity of 1,200. Most impressive for a town with fewer than 3,000 residents.
The WML Theatre may have closed for regular film screenings in 1978 as ads are discontinued at that time; although there were still live events at the venue for a brief time thereafter. Those events run under the Wakefield Theatre nameplate. The entire property then went into disuse and disrepair as attempts to revive the venue were dashed as the theater suffered a partial roof collapse. The City of Wakefield wrote for permission to raze the landmark which was approved for demolition in 2010 ending any glimmer of hope for a renovation.
Also known as Theater at Wakefield Memorial Building; Wakefield Community Theatre; and the Wakefield Motor Lodge Theatre.
Closed at the end of its lease on September 8, 1957 with “The Ten Commandments.” Had some events until being demolished in favor of a new-build grocery store in 1961.
J.B. Sparks moved the Star Theatre to new digs in 1912 - the second of the Star’s three locations. In 1919, he moved to the final location for the theatre.
Having reportedly launched the first four-screen theatre in the Cincinnati market here, National Amusement’s Showcase brand wanted to build the area’s first true megaplex. So it demolished the 25-year old, four - turned five - turned seven - make that nine-screen Frankensteined Showcase Cinemas Springdale venue and started over with an announced 20-screen project turned 18-screen opening with 10-screens prior to getting to 18 screens later venue. National Amusements also announced a 20-screen facility, the Deerfield 20, in 1996 that stalled out at 12 screens.
The Showcase Cinemas Springdale “10” opened on May 15, 1998. If you were hoping for a true megaplex, you had to wait seven months until they completed the other 8 screens. That’s when the theatre relaunched as the Showcase Cinemas Springdale 18 on December 11, 1998. When IMAX began to branch out its brand name to large screen auditoriums in megaplexes as a marketing advantage, the Springdale was on board in 2004. The venue relaunched under the banner of the Showcase Cinema de Lux Springdale 18 on November 5, 2004. The curious dropping of the “s” in Cinemas was a foreshadowing of National Cinemas mass exodus from the state of Ohio.
National’s Showcase had a dominant position around Ohio at the start of the megaplex era. But it left markets one by one until, by the 2020s, Showcase shockingly had just one location in the entire state. And, you guessed it, the Showcase Cinema (singular) de Lux Springdale 18 was the last Showcase standing between the East Coast and Ohio as the circuit concentrated on international locations. The SCdLS-18 churned forward with its sports bar, restaurant offerings, and expanded snack bar trying to remain viable for as long as possible.
The December 20, 1996 Grand Opening ad for the Showcase Cinemas Kings Island 12 is in photos.
The Wexford Starlite Drive-In closed at the end of its lease with “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” and “Young Einstein” on August 31, 1989.
The Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema Monroeville Mall I & II appears to have launched September 29, 1972 with “A New Leaf” and “Summer of ‘42.” By that time, however, the Jerry Lewis / Network Cinema concept was in free fall collapse with the company declaring bankruptcy and Jerry Lewis leaving the company not long after. The venue initially had two, identical 350-seat auditoriums with automation making the operation as simple as pushing a button (or so the franchisees thought). It was an outparcel complex not far from one of the Mall’s original anchors in Gimbel’s Department Store.
On January 10, 1973, the Lewis name was banished from the location - a trend across the nation as franchisee’s blood was boiling at the lack of service that was provided by the Lewis Circuit. The new name here was the Monroeville Mall Cinema I & II which it held and was acquired in January of 1973 by the fast-growing circuit, Cinemette Theatres Inc. In February, they began construction on two more auditoriums to make the facility a four-plex. The venue relaunched August 29, 1973 as the Cinemette East.
The Cinemette Corporation sold its 160 movie theaters in 1987 to Cinema World Inc. The Cinemette nameplate held until April of 1988 when it was renamed the Cinema World Monroeville. In April of 1994, Cinema World sold its 38 locations to Carmike Theatres including the Monroeville effective that May. The newly-renamed Carmike Monroeville 4 operated under that banner until closure. In November of 1998, Monroeville Mall announced a new outparcel location for Best Buy on the same spot as the 4-screener. Carmike closed the Monroeville 4 permanently on December 17, 1998. It was demolished shortly thereafter.
According the opening notice, Cinema 22 launched as an original tenant in the Monroe Plaza Shopping Center with a single auditorium that seated 800 and the architectural style they went for was “early Colonial.”
The Liberty Amusement Company launched the Liberty Theatre in an existing retail store in September of 1907. In 1911, the theatre was in new operators' hands as the renamed Alhambra Theatre. The Alhambra was wired for sound to remain viable.
The Harris Theatre Circuit took on the venue on September 24, 1933. It renamed the venue as the Harris Family Theatre on October 6, 1933. which closed permanently on May 2, 1948 with Barry Fitzgerald in “The Naked City.” It was retrofitted for a five and dime variety store.
The opening of the Triangle inaugurated the venue’s large Hillgren-Lane 3-Manual organ with a 21' 9" wide and 15' high screen - largest in the city. The opening film was “The Blooming Angel” on April 3, 1920. Under new operators in 1929, the venue became an African American movie theater with some live entertainment on its stage. It was billed as East Liberty’s only theatre for African American patrons. It played African American films created by Oscar Micheaux and distributed by Sack Amusements. The Triangle was equipped for sound to remain viable. It tried foreign films as its last policy. It closed June 12, 1958 with a double-feature of “Maddalena” and “Barefoot Savage.” In August of 1958 it was converted for other retail purposes.
The grand opening for William N. Lando’s Lando Theatre was on December 13, 1929 with “The Fox Follies.” It was part of the Theatre Owners Booking Association, or T.O.B.A. Unfortunately, T.O.B.A. - the vaudeville circuit for African American performers in the 1920s - went out of business just about a year later.
On September 11, 1931, the venue was renamed the Grand Theatre with a week-long engagement by Mamie Smith as one of the first bookings there. Hendel Theatreical Enterprises took on the venue after a major refresh as the Granada Theatre on February 5, 1934 with “The Son of Kong.” Handel had operated the Roosevelt Theatre across the street as well as the Center Square Theater. In 1937, the Granada moved two blocks away creating the famous, New Granada Theatre. The old location reverted to its recent past becoming Lando’s Grand Theatre (technically not Lando-Grand but who much cares?) as a Yiddish / Jewish theater.
In 1939, the venue became the Central Theatre with Lando subleasing the venue which had a short run as an African American live venue that failed within a year. Lando returned to the venue in the Fall of 1940 renaming it as the Lando Central Theatre returning with Yiddish / Jewish presentations. In 1943, perhaps under different operators, the venue became known as the Central Theatre closing in 1944.
The venue became the Church of God in Christ in 1944 followed by the Beck Gospel Temple in 1947 where the religious film screening of “Blow Gabriel” on December 10, 1948 appears to be the final screening at this location. The venue was retrofitted for retail purposes not long after. The building became a retail location before becoming damaged in 1968 following five days of vandalism, rioting and arson that took place in response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. The building was demolished just shy of its 40th anniversary in 1969.