I wrote a comment yesterday on this photo, not sure why it was deleted. But I got very curious about the above picture and did some research and believe I have some answers.
I went online and looked through various Whitney Point historic postcards; they all made clear that the main business district of Whitney Point was brick (after a fire in 1897) and that this photo was not among them. But an e-Bay listing for this particular postcard also contained the legend “Rogers House” and that gave me the clue.
The picture is of an old hotel called Rogers House that used to stand on Main Street near the railroad station on the west end of town. It is listed in a business directory from 1872 and was still standing in 1898. I found one other postcard on the ‘net that had more detail (it appeared to be older than the one you uploaded) which confirmed the building’s identity. “Rogers House” is what is faintly written on the sign visible at the front of the photo.
Now, why the legend says “The Movies” is really a mystery. It seems unlikely a movie theatre was put into a 19th century inn, though there is a poster out front (the one on which the number “27” is visible) that could be a placard holder for a movie, and which is not present on the older postcard photo. (More plausibly it could also be a railroad schedule)
One other possibility is the “movies” refers to the building shown BEHIND the Rogers House, which is not in the older postcard and is thus newer. I remember from research done in the ‘70s that there were actually two theatres in Whitney Point, one open and closed in the '20s that may have been called “The Hippodrome” and another that may have been open simultaneously with the other one and which closed no later than 1961 called The Point Theatre. I was told that the latter was on Main Street, possibly in one of the demolished brick buildings next to the old Reporter building, but old postcards suggest that is unlikely. Could it be the theatre (one of them, anyway) was next to the old Rogers house and away from the main business district? Or was it actually in the hotel? The other postcard shows there is a wing extending back from the hotel, but converting a 19th century hotel to a nickelodeon must have been a daunting task.
I did a lot of research on movie theatres in upstate New York in the ‘70s. The information I had on Whitney Point was sketchy, and the following comes from memory. But my recollection was there were actually TWO theatres in Whitney Point, one that was active in the 1930s-50s (that I believe was called “The Point Theatre”) and a second one that was around in the mid '20s (that if I remember correctly may have been called “The Hippodrome”). My father bought the newspaper in Whitney Point in 1960, and the theatre was defunct by then. I was never able to exactly pinpoint where either of these theatres were, though the later one was said to be somewhere on Main Street. The picture above furthers the mystery, since it’s unclear just what we’re looking at, but if it shows a theatre, it is probably the earlier of the two, but the location and the legend “The Movies” are both mysterious. Nearly all of Whitney Point’s Main Street is brick. The type of buildings and construction more closely resemble those of nearby Lisle. The frame building looks more like an hotel/tavern than a theatre.
Further information gleaned after I posted this: this postcard, older than the one above (note the absence of marquee and sign), shows that the buildings at 202-204 State were part of the original armory/theatre building complex (perhaps the hotel was housed here):
A friend who has been inside the building and knows the owner verifies that it was used in later years as a parking garage and, allegedly, a brothel (possibly, again, in the hotel part of the building). He states the garage ramping is still in place in the back of the building. No word on if any of the theatre remains, though one would assume it probably was in the part of the building later used by the parking garage.
This pdf of a Jan. 1951 issue of the Press and Sun-Bulletin implies that the theatre was demolished in 1950 and made into a parking lot for Hamlin’s. (See Hamlin’s ad in upper right hand corner)
Bull’s eye. The little triangle area in the aerial photo with the spot inside it corresponds exactly to my mid ‘70s memory of there being a marquee sign there, and looking at googlemaps it also corresponds exactly to where Wendy’s (1251 Upper Front Street) is. I remember they put the Wendy’s sign right where the old marquee sign had been.
Looks like the drive-in itself is now Wolfe Park. Interesting! Worth a visit sometime.
Correction to the above: 23 EAST Main Street, not West. And looking at it again from a different angle on google maps, I’m pretty sure this was the extensively remodeled building I was told once housed the theatre.
I did a lot of research on central New York theatres in the late ‘70s. I was a kid then, so I can’t vouch for this information, but I will tell you what I remember about this theatre:
I was told then that the theatre building was still standing, but had been “gutted” and completely remodeled so that it had little resemblance to its former self. I had the building pointed out to me. I don’t remember my source but one of the people I was talking to at the time had worked for the Smalley chain in a management capacity, so that might have been the person.
Looking at google maps, the building that most closely reflects that recollection is the one housing Preferred Mutual at 23 West Main Street, which has been further remodeled since that time (though it didn’t look much like a theatre then, either).
I did find an article in the Evening Sun (with photos) about the remodeling/partial demolition of the building, that did seem to back up the source’s contention. If I recall correctly, this took place in 1957.
A/B'ing the google maps photo to the one in the Boxoffice article above, the two do match to some degree, assuming a top half-floor was added to the front awning. Both buildings are segmented in thirds in the front and the dimenstions (minus the top half-floor seem about the same). The building is deep enough to have been a theatre building.
I should have added, in answer to the above question, that the theatre is above the library, on the 2nd and 3rd floors. The website below indicates that the Town Hall Theatre, as it has been called since its last reopening, is again being renovated in preparation for its 100th anniversary in 2010.
This theatre was reopened around 1980 for live stage performances; my mother performed “The Madwoman of Chaillot” there in 1982. I do not know if it’s still in operation or not, but it was the last I knew.
This theatre is unusual in my experience in that it is/was wider than it is long.
I remember seeing this abandoned movie house in the ‘70s and was always intrigued by the spooky and unusual architecture. An old postcard I found from the 1890s revealed the reason: it apparently was originally a church, and then remodeled to be an opera house. I’m surprised it was still going as late as 1970; it looked long abandoned by the late '70s.
I did a lot of research on movie theatres in Binghamton back in the ‘70s, mostly looking through old business directories. I recall that the history of the Lyric was the most mysterious of almost any of them. As you say, it was active for many years, but there were quite a few gaps in the record; it would be listed in business directories for several years, and then not for a few years, then again for several years. I don’t recall the actual span of time but I remember it started very early on. Moreover, the street address listed in the business directories changed a few times (above and beyond the renumbering that took place at some point), which was weird.
I think the entrance was actually where Wendy’s is now. The reason I say this is that in the ‘70s, just before they built Wendy’s, there was still a triangular entry marquee sign next to the road. It was not lettered, so it could have been for something else, but it looked like a drive-in entrance sign. When they built the Wendy’s the sign was removed.
The theatre did NOT close in 1973, contrary to all reports on the ‘net. It closed in 1978. I myself attended movies there in '78 and '76 (my entire class went there for a bicentennial showing of the previously-released film “1976.”) and remember it closing. It was a magnificent theatre, already well in decline but something to behold.
I did extensive research on theatres in Binghamton in the late ‘70s; the Ritz opened in 1910, not the '20s. At the time it closed it was the oldest operating theatre in town (although very few people were aware of this). The last time I was in it (1989) there was a leak in the roof and a visible stain on the ceiling from it.
I wrote a comment yesterday on this photo, not sure why it was deleted. But I got very curious about the above picture and did some research and believe I have some answers.
I went online and looked through various Whitney Point historic postcards; they all made clear that the main business district of Whitney Point was brick (after a fire in 1897) and that this photo was not among them. But an e-Bay listing for this particular postcard also contained the legend “Rogers House” and that gave me the clue.
The picture is of an old hotel called Rogers House that used to stand on Main Street near the railroad station on the west end of town. It is listed in a business directory from 1872 and was still standing in 1898. I found one other postcard on the ‘net that had more detail (it appeared to be older than the one you uploaded) which confirmed the building’s identity. “Rogers House” is what is faintly written on the sign visible at the front of the photo.
Now, why the legend says “The Movies” is really a mystery. It seems unlikely a movie theatre was put into a 19th century inn, though there is a poster out front (the one on which the number “27” is visible) that could be a placard holder for a movie, and which is not present on the older postcard photo. (More plausibly it could also be a railroad schedule)
One other possibility is the “movies” refers to the building shown BEHIND the Rogers House, which is not in the older postcard and is thus newer. I remember from research done in the ‘70s that there were actually two theatres in Whitney Point, one open and closed in the '20s that may have been called “The Hippodrome” and another that may have been open simultaneously with the other one and which closed no later than 1961 called The Point Theatre. I was told that the latter was on Main Street, possibly in one of the demolished brick buildings next to the old Reporter building, but old postcards suggest that is unlikely. Could it be the theatre (one of them, anyway) was next to the old Rogers house and away from the main business district? Or was it actually in the hotel? The other postcard shows there is a wing extending back from the hotel, but converting a 19th century hotel to a nickelodeon must have been a daunting task.
I will keep digging.
Answer to the above query:
I did a lot of research on movie theatres in upstate New York in the ‘70s. The information I had on Whitney Point was sketchy, and the following comes from memory. But my recollection was there were actually TWO theatres in Whitney Point, one that was active in the 1930s-50s (that I believe was called “The Point Theatre”) and a second one that was around in the mid '20s (that if I remember correctly may have been called “The Hippodrome”). My father bought the newspaper in Whitney Point in 1960, and the theatre was defunct by then. I was never able to exactly pinpoint where either of these theatres were, though the later one was said to be somewhere on Main Street. The picture above furthers the mystery, since it’s unclear just what we’re looking at, but if it shows a theatre, it is probably the earlier of the two, but the location and the legend “The Movies” are both mysterious. Nearly all of Whitney Point’s Main Street is brick. The type of buildings and construction more closely resemble those of nearby Lisle. The frame building looks more like an hotel/tavern than a theatre.
Further information gleaned after I posted this: this postcard, older than the one above (note the absence of marquee and sign), shows that the buildings at 202-204 State were part of the original armory/theatre building complex (perhaps the hotel was housed here):
http://www.cardcow.com/images/set413/card00894_fr.jpg
A friend who has been inside the building and knows the owner verifies that it was used in later years as a parking garage and, allegedly, a brothel (possibly, again, in the hotel part of the building). He states the garage ramping is still in place in the back of the building. No word on if any of the theatre remains, though one would assume it probably was in the part of the building later used by the parking garage.
Opened in 1993, per a recent newspaper article about the theatre getting a grant to convert to digital.
This pdf of a Jan. 1951 issue of the Press and Sun-Bulletin implies that the theatre was demolished in 1950 and made into a parking lot for Hamlin’s. (See Hamlin’s ad in upper right hand corner)
http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper4/Binghamton%20NY%20Press%20Grayscale/Binghamton%20NY%20Press%20Grayscale%201951.pdf/Binghamton%20NY%20Press%20Grayscale%201951%20-%200046.pdf
More information here and here: http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2011/08/marathon_everyones_favorite_sm.html
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMEQGZ_Marathon_Theater_Opera_House_Marathon_NY
Everyone surprisingly blase about having an opera house sitting above the public library. It’s apparently still at least partially intact.
Pretty sure I remember this theatre being open at least into the early ‘70s.
Bull’s eye. The little triangle area in the aerial photo with the spot inside it corresponds exactly to my mid ‘70s memory of there being a marquee sign there, and looking at googlemaps it also corresponds exactly to where Wendy’s (1251 Upper Front Street) is. I remember they put the Wendy’s sign right where the old marquee sign had been.
Looks like the drive-in itself is now Wolfe Park. Interesting! Worth a visit sometime.
Correction to the above: 23 EAST Main Street, not West. And looking at it again from a different angle on google maps, I’m pretty sure this was the extensively remodeled building I was told once housed the theatre.
I did a lot of research on central New York theatres in the late ‘70s. I was a kid then, so I can’t vouch for this information, but I will tell you what I remember about this theatre:
I was told then that the theatre building was still standing, but had been “gutted” and completely remodeled so that it had little resemblance to its former self. I had the building pointed out to me. I don’t remember my source but one of the people I was talking to at the time had worked for the Smalley chain in a management capacity, so that might have been the person.
Looking at google maps, the building that most closely reflects that recollection is the one housing Preferred Mutual at 23 West Main Street, which has been further remodeled since that time (though it didn’t look much like a theatre then, either).
I did find an article in the Evening Sun (with photos) about the remodeling/partial demolition of the building, that did seem to back up the source’s contention. If I recall correctly, this took place in 1957.
A/B'ing the google maps photo to the one in the Boxoffice article above, the two do match to some degree, assuming a top half-floor was added to the front awning. Both buildings are segmented in thirds in the front and the dimenstions (minus the top half-floor seem about the same). The building is deep enough to have been a theatre building.
As per my post above, IIRC my research in the late ‘70s, using business directories at the Broome Library, showed the Ritz in operation from 1910 on.
I should have added, in answer to the above question, that the theatre is above the library, on the 2nd and 3rd floors. The website below indicates that the Town Hall Theatre, as it has been called since its last reopening, is again being renovated in preparation for its 100th anniversary in 2010.
http://www.terrariums.net/jerichoarts/history.html
I believe a little bit of the facade of this theatre is still left, clinging to the wall of the Music Workshop.
This theatre was reopened around 1980 for live stage performances; my mother performed “The Madwoman of Chaillot” there in 1982. I do not know if it’s still in operation or not, but it was the last I knew.
This theatre is unusual in my experience in that it is/was wider than it is long.
There is a building in Marathon that has “Library Theatre” inscribed on it. The building appears to be pretty old.
I remember seeing this abandoned movie house in the ‘70s and was always intrigued by the spooky and unusual architecture. An old postcard I found from the 1890s revealed the reason: it apparently was originally a church, and then remodeled to be an opera house. I’m surprised it was still going as late as 1970; it looked long abandoned by the late '70s.
I was also unable to find any photos of this theatre, or any locals who actually remembered it.
I did a lot of research on movie theatres in Binghamton back in the ‘70s, mostly looking through old business directories. I recall that the history of the Lyric was the most mysterious of almost any of them. As you say, it was active for many years, but there were quite a few gaps in the record; it would be listed in business directories for several years, and then not for a few years, then again for several years. I don’t recall the actual span of time but I remember it started very early on. Moreover, the street address listed in the business directories changed a few times (above and beyond the renumbering that took place at some point), which was weird.
I think the entrance was actually where Wendy’s is now. The reason I say this is that in the ‘70s, just before they built Wendy’s, there was still a triangular entry marquee sign next to the road. It was not lettered, so it could have been for something else, but it looked like a drive-in entrance sign. When they built the Wendy’s the sign was removed.
According to my research in the late ‘70s, the Art Theatre originally opened (under another name I believe) in 1911.
The theatre did NOT close in 1973, contrary to all reports on the ‘net. It closed in 1978. I myself attended movies there in '78 and '76 (my entire class went there for a bicentennial showing of the previously-released film “1976.”) and remember it closing. It was a magnificent theatre, already well in decline but something to behold.
I did extensive research on theatres in Binghamton in the late ‘70s; the Ritz opened in 1910, not the '20s. At the time it closed it was the oldest operating theatre in town (although very few people were aware of this). The last time I was in it (1989) there was a leak in the roof and a visible stain on the ceiling from it.