The Cort Theatre first opened its doors as the New Theatre for only its first ten days of operation because of the theater not having a name yet. It first opened on July 29, 1922 with Hoot Gibson in “Trimmed” and Ernest Truex in “Little, But Oh My!”, and was renamed the Cort Theatre after a theater-naming contest on August 8, 1922.
The Decatur Drive-In opened its gates on June 10, 1950 with a one-day showing of Randolph Scott in “Canadian Pacific” (unknown if extras added). Some original installations include a 60ft screen tower with a 40x50ft screen, RCA sound, RCA in-car speakers, and Simplex projection with high-powered lamps. It was first co-owned by Carl Gatteschall.
The Big Rapids Drive-In became national headlines on the early morning hours of October 12, 1964 when unexpected auto fumes, related to carbon monoxide, killed seven people across Northern Michigan, including an entire family of five from 90 miles away in St. Charles, Michigan.
The other two non-family victims, identified as a young Western Michigan couple from both Sears and Hersey, were found at the traces of the Big Rapids Drive-In. Manager James Chipman told officers from the Reed City Police Department that he discovered the bodies in their vehicle while it was still running at 1:02 AM ET that morning. Chipman did shut off their vehicle but arouse the pair before calling the police. He attempted to revive them with a resuscitator but failed. They were pronounced dead after arrival at the Big Rapids Community Hospital.
Its very strange that its grand opening attraction doesn’t display its first attraction, but does say that it comes along with an unnamed cartoon and a newsreel.
The Sunset Drive-In most likely opened during the week of June 30, 1955, but its grand opening date and advertisement wasn’t found at all. The Sunset Drive-In was briefly renamed the Beattyville Drive-In at the start of the 1981 season, and closed later that same year.
Closed as a full-time movie theater on June 23, 1957 with John Wayne in “The Wings Of Eagles” (unknown if extras added). The Lee Theatre did reopen as a special events theater a short time later and does screen a very few amount of movies at rare occasions.
Archives confirmed that the Pickwick Theatre opened in May 1937, and the silent era theaters, including the Theatorium and the Community Theatre, was most likely located elsewhere in Syracuse. Newspaper articles from March 1937 and beforehand confirmed that it only displays showtimes for the Fairy Theatre in Nappanee.
The February 2, 1946 fire destroyed not just the Pickwick Theatre, but it also destroyed at least one-fourth of the city’s downtown district. The fire was first reported by a bartender at approximately 1:00 AM that morning, right at the same time he closed his lounge for the night, stating that he smelled something burning. Officer C.J. Kline was called and both attempted to search for the fire.
Neither of them can detect any fire, but it wasn’t until 4:40 AM ET when resident Joel Wilt detected smoke in his apartment and phoned in the fire department. Kline went in a run first to the telephone office and then back to the station to get his unnamed-modeled truck. Another resident named Marshall Stine ran about a half-block to the same office to sound. Kline brought the pumper to the front of the lounge where an effort was first made to stop the blaze with the small hose. Then the fire rapids towards the Pickwick Theatre despite a little dying. The Pickwick Theatre was “thought to be saved” but flames went down through the roof and through one door. The Syracuse-Wawasee Journal plant was the last of the main buildings to be caught on fire, and it was not until nearly two hours after the fire was discovered that the roof of that section was caight into flames. However, since there was no-built-up second story over the office, the fire was quickly dismantled.
The town’s electric light and power furnished by the Northern Indiana Public Service company was also knocked out for several hours. Alongside Syracuse’s, fire departments from Warsaw, Goshen, North Webster, Elkhart Township, New Paris, Milford, and Leesburg joined in the fighting. City of Elkhart’s Engine 2 was also called but he was called off shortly around 10:00 AM that morning.
The massive inferno destroyed the Pickwick Theatre, the lounge, a six-lane bowling alley, the Fletcher Marsh art gallery, a sandwich shop, and the Syracuse-Wawasee Journal plant, and several homes and apartments to residents, including some from Chicago. The Wilt apartment was luxurious and nothing in the building was completely saved. The entirety of his clothes, jewelry, and household furnishings were lost as well as his wife’s diamond-studded wrist watch and two valuable diamond rings. The total estimate of loss was worth $500,000, with $150,000 for Wilt’s apartment, $45,000 for the Pickwick Theatre, $35,000 for the art gallery, and $12,000 each for the Journal plant and the bowling alley. The Pickwick Theatre’s building was saved, but the front and the lobby was completely destroyed.
After a full-year of a rebuilt, the Pickwick Theatre reopened its doors on February 12, 1947 with Elizabeth Taylor in “Courage Of Lassie” along with the Tom And Jerry cartoon “Quiet Please!” and the Pete Smith Specialty “Guest Pests”.
Opened with Charlton Heston in “The Wreck Of The Mary Deare” and Marshall Thompson in “First Man Into Space” (unknown if extras added). It was first owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jack Stoelting and managed by Leon Vance.
Greenville also had a short-lived Pastime Theatre. The Pastime opened during either the final week of March 1911 or the first week of April 1911 and it probably closed several years later.
Opened with Barbara Stanwyck in “Red Salute” along with a few unnamed short subjects. The Rives originally housed 830 seats and was named after original owners Rives S. Brown and Bernard Depkin Jr.
Opened on August 6, 1930 with Janet Gaynor in “High Society Blues” along with a concert by the city’s high school band before showing. Otherwise, unknown if extras added.
The Mazda Theatre opened its doors on July 2, 1924 with Pola Negri in “The Spanish Dancer” (unknown if extras added).
As of 1924 in color, the original marquee contains a 30ft tower sign, with each letter in the word being 3ft across and a total of 336 lamps went into the sign and marquee in total together with the canopy. Along those contain 20 blue lights for the border, 16 green lights for the word “New”, and 150 red lights for the word “Mazda”. The canopy contains 55 lights and the entire of its lights can be seen as far as several miles. The exterior of the two-story building featured buff-colored brick, and there are two stores that were used for business. And lastly, the original projection is a Powers Type E. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of information about its auditorium rather than its orchestra pit.
The Pine-Aire opened its gates during the 1955 season, although I cannot find its grand opening date. Its name came from a theater-naming contest that occurred in June of that same year. It was still open in the 1980s.
The Bay Theatre opened its doors on February 12, 1946 with Fred MacMurray in “Pardon My Past” along with a few unnamed short subjects, and on its grand opening day, a special showing of Arthur Huey of Leelanau Schools screening his colored home movies on “Sugar Loaf and his Winter Activities” was presented before its first showing.
As of 2025, the Bay Theatre shows a mix of first-run films, classic films, independent films, and foreign films.
The Bay Drive-In opened its gates on July 16, 1959 with Aldo Ray in “The Naked And The Dead” and Walt Disney’s “White Wilderness” (unknown if extras added), and was first owned by the husband-and-wife team of Mr. and Mrs. Norman VanWormer.
Opened on June 27, 1924, still open in the mid-1960s.
The Cort Theatre first opened its doors as the New Theatre for only its first ten days of operation because of the theater not having a name yet. It first opened on July 29, 1922 with Hoot Gibson in “Trimmed” and Ernest Truex in “Little, But Oh My!”, and was renamed the Cort Theatre after a theater-naming contest on August 8, 1922.
1922 newspaper articles confirmed that it could either be the Crystal Theatre or the Mecca Theatre, both operated into that year.
The Decatur Drive-In opened its gates on June 10, 1950 with a one-day showing of Randolph Scott in “Canadian Pacific” (unknown if extras added). Some original installations include a 60ft screen tower with a 40x50ft screen, RCA sound, RCA in-car speakers, and Simplex projection with high-powered lamps. It was first co-owned by Carl Gatteschall.
Opened as early as 1919, still open in 1982.
The Big Rapids Drive-In became national headlines on the early morning hours of October 12, 1964 when unexpected auto fumes, related to carbon monoxide, killed seven people across Northern Michigan, including an entire family of five from 90 miles away in St. Charles, Michigan.
The other two non-family victims, identified as a young Western Michigan couple from both Sears and Hersey, were found at the traces of the Big Rapids Drive-In. Manager James Chipman told officers from the Reed City Police Department that he discovered the bodies in their vehicle while it was still running at 1:02 AM ET that morning. Chipman did shut off their vehicle but arouse the pair before calling the police. He attempted to revive them with a resuscitator but failed. They were pronounced dead after arrival at the Big Rapids Community Hospital.
Opened with John Wayne in “Tall In The Saddle” and Lum and Abner in “Goin' To Town” (unknown if extras added).
Opened with Humphrey Bogart in “The African Queen” (unknown if extras added).
Opened with Veronica Lake in “Miss Susie Slagle’s” along with the Merrie Melodies cartoon “Quentin Quail” and Paramount News.
Its very strange that its grand opening attraction doesn’t display its first attraction, but does say that it comes along with an unnamed cartoon and a newsreel.
The Sunset Drive-In most likely opened during the week of June 30, 1955, but its grand opening date and advertisement wasn’t found at all. The Sunset Drive-In was briefly renamed the Beattyville Drive-In at the start of the 1981 season, and closed later that same year.
Closed as a full-time movie theater on June 23, 1957 with John Wayne in “The Wings Of Eagles” (unknown if extras added). The Lee Theatre did reopen as a special events theater a short time later and does screen a very few amount of movies at rare occasions.
Archives confirmed that the Pickwick Theatre opened in May 1937, and the silent era theaters, including the Theatorium and the Community Theatre, was most likely located elsewhere in Syracuse. Newspaper articles from March 1937 and beforehand confirmed that it only displays showtimes for the Fairy Theatre in Nappanee.
The February 2, 1946 fire destroyed not just the Pickwick Theatre, but it also destroyed at least one-fourth of the city’s downtown district. The fire was first reported by a bartender at approximately 1:00 AM that morning, right at the same time he closed his lounge for the night, stating that he smelled something burning. Officer C.J. Kline was called and both attempted to search for the fire.
Neither of them can detect any fire, but it wasn’t until 4:40 AM ET when resident Joel Wilt detected smoke in his apartment and phoned in the fire department. Kline went in a run first to the telephone office and then back to the station to get his unnamed-modeled truck. Another resident named Marshall Stine ran about a half-block to the same office to sound. Kline brought the pumper to the front of the lounge where an effort was first made to stop the blaze with the small hose. Then the fire rapids towards the Pickwick Theatre despite a little dying. The Pickwick Theatre was “thought to be saved” but flames went down through the roof and through one door. The Syracuse-Wawasee Journal plant was the last of the main buildings to be caught on fire, and it was not until nearly two hours after the fire was discovered that the roof of that section was caight into flames. However, since there was no-built-up second story over the office, the fire was quickly dismantled.
The town’s electric light and power furnished by the Northern Indiana Public Service company was also knocked out for several hours. Alongside Syracuse’s, fire departments from Warsaw, Goshen, North Webster, Elkhart Township, New Paris, Milford, and Leesburg joined in the fighting. City of Elkhart’s Engine 2 was also called but he was called off shortly around 10:00 AM that morning.
The massive inferno destroyed the Pickwick Theatre, the lounge, a six-lane bowling alley, the Fletcher Marsh art gallery, a sandwich shop, and the Syracuse-Wawasee Journal plant, and several homes and apartments to residents, including some from Chicago. The Wilt apartment was luxurious and nothing in the building was completely saved. The entirety of his clothes, jewelry, and household furnishings were lost as well as his wife’s diamond-studded wrist watch and two valuable diamond rings. The total estimate of loss was worth $500,000, with $150,000 for Wilt’s apartment, $45,000 for the Pickwick Theatre, $35,000 for the art gallery, and $12,000 each for the Journal plant and the bowling alley. The Pickwick Theatre’s building was saved, but the front and the lobby was completely destroyed.
After a full-year of a rebuilt, the Pickwick Theatre reopened its doors on February 12, 1947 with Elizabeth Taylor in “Courage Of Lassie” along with the Tom And Jerry cartoon “Quiet Please!” and the Pete Smith Specialty “Guest Pests”.
Opened with Charlton Heston in “The Wreck Of The Mary Deare” and Marshall Thompson in “First Man Into Space” (unknown if extras added). It was first owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jack Stoelting and managed by Leon Vance.
Opened on October 3, 1935.
Greenville also had a short-lived Pastime Theatre. The Pastime opened during either the final week of March 1911 or the first week of April 1911 and it probably closed several years later.
Opened with Barbara Stanwyck in “Red Salute” along with a few unnamed short subjects. The Rives originally housed 830 seats and was named after original owners Rives S. Brown and Bernard Depkin Jr.
Opened on April 15, 1948 with “Tarzan And The Huntress” (unknown if extras added).
Opened on August 6, 1930 with Janet Gaynor in “High Society Blues” along with a concert by the city’s high school band before showing. Otherwise, unknown if extras added.
The Mazda Theatre opened its doors on July 2, 1924 with Pola Negri in “The Spanish Dancer” (unknown if extras added).
As of 1924 in color, the original marquee contains a 30ft tower sign, with each letter in the word being 3ft across and a total of 336 lamps went into the sign and marquee in total together with the canopy. Along those contain 20 blue lights for the border, 16 green lights for the word “New”, and 150 red lights for the word “Mazda”. The canopy contains 55 lights and the entire of its lights can be seen as far as several miles. The exterior of the two-story building featured buff-colored brick, and there are two stores that were used for business. And lastly, the original projection is a Powers Type E. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of information about its auditorium rather than its orchestra pit.
The Pine-Aire opened its gates during the 1955 season, although I cannot find its grand opening date. Its name came from a theater-naming contest that occurred in June of that same year. It was still open in the 1980s.
Actual opening date is July 3, 1948.
Opened on Thanksgiving Day 1934, and closed in mid-1958.
The Bay Theatre opened its doors on February 12, 1946 with Fred MacMurray in “Pardon My Past” along with a few unnamed short subjects, and on its grand opening day, a special showing of Arthur Huey of Leelanau Schools screening his colored home movies on “Sugar Loaf and his Winter Activities” was presented before its first showing.
The Bay Drive-In opened its gates on July 16, 1959 with Aldo Ray in “The Naked And The Dead” and Walt Disney’s “White Wilderness” (unknown if extras added), and was first owned by the husband-and-wife team of Mr. and Mrs. Norman VanWormer.