This is Temple Theatre #2. Temple Theatre #1 was a 400-seat auditorium constructed in 1901 and was carved out of a space adjoining the Masonic Temple. Around 1908 it worked some film into the live stage events but he Grand Theatre in Kane did most of the film business in the silent era with the Star Theatre also coming on board. And the Temple didn’t shift to film-centric presentation until December of 1915 with the signing of a exclusive contract with Triangle Films. That proved to be a great move. The theatre’s last showing was “The Circus” with a huge crowd on February 23, 1924. A huge fire broke out the next day and — with temperatures around 10 below zero – the fire department couldn’t prevent the Temple from burning to the ground along with the Masonic Temple and three other neighboring businesses.
The new Temple Theatre was constructed on the site remaining in place into the 21st Century. The 1,000 plus seater launched June 8, 1925 opening with “Sally.” The theatre was closed for a major revamp in 1936 when the owners also purchased the building which had held the closed Chase Street Theatre converting it to the Kane Theatre. And the Temple continued to the video era as a theatre.
The Family Theatre on Chase Street launched in this location showing movies in the latter part of the first decade of the 1900s and is where the film of the Titanic sinking played. But the theatre didn’t pay its taxes and the theatre was converted to a garage. The space was then converted back to a theatre called the Chase Street Theatre opening March 1, 1928 with the Vitaphone “Don Juan.” A George Kilgen & Son Wonder Organ was also there at the opening. The theatre closed eight years later and was purchased by a non-profit organization which converted the theatre to the Rainbow Room playing live concerts. That folded quickly.
The operators of the Temple Theatre — the Kane Theatre Company — purchased the former Chase Street Theatre in 1936. They renamed it the Kane Theatre launching December 3, 1936. It looks as if the owners didn’t renew their 20-year lease as films cease in 1956. For a short time, sermons are heard there. Then the space becomes the Teen Club where Gene Vincent appears live. And when that left the building, there’s very little action other than an auction and another sale.
In November of 2015, the Dallas Landmark Commission voted to initiate the landmark designation process and the long-vacant property was under contract with a potential buyer. So there’s hope for the Forest.
The original Grand Theatre burned in December 1924 and the re-opening is usually seen as an entirely new structure though in the same spot with the same owner launching in 1925. The theatre went with a Spanish exterior with Power’s projectors. It was said to be a 1,000 seat theatre at opening with 600 downstairs and 400 int he balcony. C.L. Hackworth operated the original and “new” Grand, the Jefferson which specialized in westerns and the, then, lightly used and older Elk’s Opera House in Hunstville. Jack A. Marshall was the manager of the new Grand and Lee Erwin was an early organist.
The $450,000 Great Neck Playhouse was launched by Irving Lesser in 1925 with organist Billy Lent at the Wurlitzer. In just its first year, the playhouse tried out 29 different out of town runs. Ring Lardner and Charlie Chaplin had inaugural season tickets. For the tryout world premier of “The Play’s The Thing” by Franz Molnar on October 21, 1926. guests at the Playhouse included George Cohan, Eddie Cantor, the Marx Brothers, and Irving Berlin. Other supporters included W.C. Fields and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
In 1927, Katherine Hepburn would be fired from her first live stage leading role while at the Playhouse, an event she long recounted. Other stars on the stage in its formative days were James Cagney, Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, Clark Gable, Ruth Gordon, Helen Hayes, Katharine Hepburn, Leslie Howard and Barbara Stanwyck. Though films were mixed into the Great neck Playhouse menu, United Artists took on the theatre in the 1930s to change the business model to film-centric purposes.
Grant Smith built the Vine Theatre in 1915 and it was the first theater in the city to be built for motion pictures competing then against the Grand Theatre. In 1916, it was sold to Fred J. Harris. William T. Buxton next purchased the theater in 1917. It had a grand re-opening to announce Paramount movie contracts among others in October of 1917.
The Avalon architect was F & Y Building Service and opened 1940 costing just $27,000 to build. It closed in 1970 following what is very likely the end of a 30-year lease. Indian Red was the color of choice with the newly-created 1.5-width love seats throughout the auditorium by International Seats, primary color of the patterned carpeting, wall treatments with squares in Indian Red and Gold, and draperies all in Indian Red. First film was the box office dud, “The Blue Bird” with Shirley Temple on the Brenkert projectors. But patrons were always cool as true air conditioning existed from opening day to closing.
Before this was the Dallas, it was the Amuse-U. And it was likely the Lyric prior to the Amuse-U. But for sure on July 11, 1939, Mrs. Mark Attwood sold the Amuse-U Theatre to Lee Williams Theatres Corp. Circuit of Oklahoma City. R. B. Hardy took over with an extensive remodeling and renaming of the theatre relaunching in October of 1939 as the Dallas Theatre. A picture of the Dallas and its reboot are in photos.
Architected by F & Y Building Services, the Keyser’s Grand Opening was September 25, 1939 with the film, “In Name Only.“ Following the April 11, 1977 advertisement and showing of “The Shaggy D.A.” no more ads appear for the Keyser likely spelling the end of the line.
This is Temple Theatre #2. Temple Theatre #1 was a 400-seat auditorium constructed in 1901 and was carved out of a space adjoining the Masonic Temple. Around 1908 it worked some film into the live stage events but he Grand Theatre in Kane did most of the film business in the silent era with the Star Theatre also coming on board. And the Temple didn’t shift to film-centric presentation until December of 1915 with the signing of a exclusive contract with Triangle Films. That proved to be a great move. The theatre’s last showing was “The Circus” with a huge crowd on February 23, 1924. A huge fire broke out the next day and — with temperatures around 10 below zero – the fire department couldn’t prevent the Temple from burning to the ground along with the Masonic Temple and three other neighboring businesses.
The new Temple Theatre was constructed on the site remaining in place into the 21st Century. The 1,000 plus seater launched June 8, 1925 opening with “Sally.” The theatre was closed for a major revamp in 1936 when the owners also purchased the building which had held the closed Chase Street Theatre converting it to the Kane Theatre. And the Temple continued to the video era as a theatre.
The Family Theatre on Chase Street launched in this location showing movies in the latter part of the first decade of the 1900s and is where the film of the Titanic sinking played. But the theatre didn’t pay its taxes and the theatre was converted to a garage. The space was then converted back to a theatre called the Chase Street Theatre opening March 1, 1928 with the Vitaphone “Don Juan.” A George Kilgen & Son Wonder Organ was also there at the opening. The theatre closed eight years later and was purchased by a non-profit organization which converted the theatre to the Rainbow Room playing live concerts. That folded quickly.
The operators of the Temple Theatre — the Kane Theatre Company — purchased the former Chase Street Theatre in 1936. They renamed it the Kane Theatre launching December 3, 1936. It looks as if the owners didn’t renew their 20-year lease as films cease in 1956. For a short time, sermons are heard there. Then the space becomes the Teen Club where Gene Vincent appears live. And when that left the building, there’s very little action other than an auction and another sale.
Architected by William E. Lehman.
June 6, 1925.
The Ohio Theatre #2 opened early in 1925 after a July 1924 tornado destroyed Ohio Theatre #1.
In November of 2015, the Dallas Landmark Commission voted to initiate the landmark designation process and the long-vacant property was under contract with a potential buyer. So there’s hope for the Forest.
Architected by Roy Benjamin, J.M. Davis opened the theatre while still running the Iris Theatre. Two 6B Powers projectors were in the booth.
Atmospheric Spanish architecture with Robert Morgan organ were all part of La Jolla’s “theatre beautiful,” the Granada’s marketing tag-line.
The original Grand Theatre burned in December 1924 and the re-opening is usually seen as an entirely new structure though in the same spot with the same owner launching in 1925. The theatre went with a Spanish exterior with Power’s projectors. It was said to be a 1,000 seat theatre at opening with 600 downstairs and 400 int he balcony. C.L. Hackworth operated the original and “new” Grand, the Jefferson which specialized in westerns and the, then, lightly used and older Elk’s Opera House in Hunstville. Jack A. Marshall was the manager of the new Grand and Lee Erwin was an early organist.
The $450,000 Great Neck Playhouse was launched by Irving Lesser in 1925 with organist Billy Lent at the Wurlitzer. In just its first year, the playhouse tried out 29 different out of town runs. Ring Lardner and Charlie Chaplin had inaugural season tickets. For the tryout world premier of “The Play’s The Thing” by Franz Molnar on October 21, 1926. guests at the Playhouse included George Cohan, Eddie Cantor, the Marx Brothers, and Irving Berlin. Other supporters included W.C. Fields and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
In 1927, Katherine Hepburn would be fired from her first live stage leading role while at the Playhouse, an event she long recounted. Other stars on the stage in its formative days were James Cagney, Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, Clark Gable, Ruth Gordon, Helen Hayes, Katharine Hepburn, Leslie Howard and Barbara Stanwyck. Though films were mixed into the Great neck Playhouse menu, United Artists took on the theatre in the 1930s to change the business model to film-centric purposes.
Grant Smith built the Vine Theatre in 1915 and it was the first theater in the city to be built for motion pictures competing then against the Grand Theatre. In 1916, it was sold to Fred J. Harris. William T. Buxton next purchased the theater in 1917. It had a grand re-opening to announce Paramount movie contracts among others in October of 1917.
Closed in a mercy killing as the mall teetered on complete grey zone dead mall.
Picture taken in June of 1927
Architected by Douglas Hall with Landish Studios of Rutherford, NJ providing draperies, stage furnishing, rigging, and scenary to the Cove.
Architected by C. Howard Crane for the James Amusement Circuit.
Spanish Platueresque style of the exterior of the original seen in photos.
And in a mercy killing has closed again in 2015…
Opened by the Squire-Queens Circuit in 1940 in a 20,000 square foot plot, the 600-seat theatre had a fantastic 75-year run.
The Avalon architect was F & Y Building Service and opened 1940 costing just $27,000 to build. It closed in 1970 following what is very likely the end of a 30-year lease. Indian Red was the color of choice with the newly-created 1.5-width love seats throughout the auditorium by International Seats, primary color of the patterned carpeting, wall treatments with squares in Indian Red and Gold, and draperies all in Indian Red. First film was the box office dud, “The Blue Bird” with Shirley Temple on the Brenkert projectors. But patrons were always cool as true air conditioning existed from opening day to closing.
And that’s asbestos-backed linoleum which was being promoted as a new must have innovation for projection rooms.
Before this was the Dallas, it was the Amuse-U. And it was likely the Lyric prior to the Amuse-U. But for sure on July 11, 1939, Mrs. Mark Attwood sold the Amuse-U Theatre to Lee Williams Theatres Corp. Circuit of Oklahoma City. R. B. Hardy took over with an extensive remodeling and renaming of the theatre relaunching in October of 1939 as the Dallas Theatre. A picture of the Dallas and its reboot are in photos.
Architected by F & Y Building Services, the Keyser’s Grand Opening was September 25, 1939 with the film, “In Name Only.“ Following the April 11, 1977 advertisement and showing of “The Shaggy D.A.” no more ads appear for the Keyser likely spelling the end of the line.
Pettigrew and Worley architectural sketch of the 1939 redesign and deco-themes in photos.
Conceptualized as the Broward Theatre (architectural sketching by Roy A. Benjamin in photos), the theatre launched August 1, 1939.
E.R. Mead