SAN JOSE (Feb. 10)-Two bandits entered the California Theater here shortly before 1 o'clock today, held up the assistant business manager, Harold Flora, and escaped with the week-end’s receipts totaling several thousand dollars. It is believed that they concealed themselves overnight in the theater.
With Flora at the time of the hold-up was Helen Barr, cashier, and Charlotte McDonald, usher. All were commanded to lie face down on the floor. After taking the money the men continued to the rear exits, passing several ushers who thought they were electricians.
There should be a supermarket function, instead of being lumped into retail. Retail can be a tiny storefront, whereas supermarket implies at least a medium-sized building.
There was a story in the NYT on Christmas Day, 1921, about a robbery at the Elite Theater, 707 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn. I didn’t see any aka for this. It may be an easy question, but as I’m not from New York I’m curious as to the answer.
FOUR HOLD-UP MEN ROB THEATRE IN BROOKLYN; Owner of the Elite and Woman Cashier Forced to Hand Over $100 and $175 Watch.
Four men held up the owner and cashier of the Elite Theatre, at 707 Pitkin, Brooklyn, last Thursday night, it became known yesterday, and escaped…
HOLD UP THEATRE, LOBBY CROWDED; Thieves, Posing as Revenue Men, Enter Office, Tie Up Three and Escape With $2,200. TRIO TRICKS THE DOORMAN They Display Badges and He Escorts Them Into Bronx Movie, Where They Whip Out Pistols.
Three robbers escaped with $2,200 from the safe of the Luxor Theatre, a moving picture house at 208 East 170th Street, the Bronx, yesterday afternoon, after they had been led to the theatre office by a credulous doorman to whom they said thay were revenue men performing their duty.
BW, I wouldn’t hazard a guess as to the status of this building, but I did take a look at the photo on Google maps. 114 S. State is the Rainbow store, which is a separate building. 112 S. is the narrow white building with no windows. It looks like whatever was on the first floor has been boarded up.
You can take a look at it yourself, but you have to click a few times on the arrow to get over to 112.
An 18-year-old youth who told police he planned to don a felt windbreaker mask and rob the RKO Pantages Theater next Saturday night and a liquor store last night was arrested yesterday along with a would-be accomplice on suspicion of robbery. Police said the youths, both unemployed, had planned to rob a liquor store at 7315 Sunset Boulevard last night.
Marquee photo here. Address is listed as 1492 S. Cherry Lane. There’s supposed to be a Wal-Mart there now, so it shouldn’t be too hard to pin down the right address. http://www.drive-ins.com/theater/txtcher
MOVIE ROBBED OF $2,375; Queens Theatre Official Bound by 3 After Income Tax Ruse
Three hold-up men, two of them brandishing pistols, took $2,375 from Loew’s Valencia Theatre in Jamaica. Queens, yesterday and left the assistant manager, Henry Shamp of 212-08 Seventy-fifth Street, Bayside, Queens, tied up with twine on the floor of his office.
The NYT had the theater in the wrong borough in this July 1951 article:
2 BANDITS ROB THEATRE; Brooklyn Telegraph Office Also Held Up by Lone Raider
Two armed men held up the manager of the Palestine Theatre, 11 Clinton Street, Brooklyn, yesterday afternoon, bound and gagged him and got $377 from the office safe.
I was close to six feet tall when I was 14. While waiting for my grandmother’s bus to arrive at the station in Philly one day, I paid a dollar and saw a couple of adult films at a grind house on Market Street. Not parentally approved activity.
A would-be bandit’s flesh was willing last night but his spirit quailed before an unrelenting cashier at the Tivoli Theatre, Eighth Avenue and Fiftieth Street. He told his intended victim before he fled: “If you’ll forget about this, I will.”
This is an April 1951 photo of a St. Louis theater from Life Magazine. The theater is unidentified, but the marquee matches the photos of the Fox as seen above. http://tinyurl.com/5c9jwe
Here is part of an article from the Hartford Courant dated 9/12/64:
Theater Demolition Resumes After Collapse into Store
NEW BRITAIN (Special) — The job of removing huge wooden trusses 70 feet above the stage of the Embassy Theater while avoiding any further collapse of the weakened walls got under way at about 6 p.m. Friday.
This is part of a story from the LA Times, dated 9/8/43;
GENTLEMEN BANDITS GET $2100 IN THEATER HOLD-UP
Two gentlemanly bandits, who shook hands with their victim after robbing him of $2100, last night held up the Los Angeles Theater, 615 S. Broadway.
Two holdup men accosted manager Edward Clark as he was entering his office and while one simulated a gun in his pocket followed Clark into the room. There they forced him to open the safe and withdraw a cash box, from which they scooped $600 in silver and $1500 in bills.
Another envelope containing $1200 earmarked for returning war veterans was taken by the bandits and then returned. They shook hands with Clark, and left.
Here is a November 2008 article about re-use:
http://tinyurl.com/5q9zo9
It reminds me of the Grove in Los Angeles-a fake city. I prefer the real thing.
I didn’t know they kept track. No interest on my part, anyway.
It could have been a live theater or a motion picture theater. I posted here because this theater is also on Pitkin Avenue.
Here is part of an LA Times story, dated 2/11/30:
SAN JOSE (Feb. 10)-Two bandits entered the California Theater here shortly before 1 o'clock today, held up the assistant business manager, Harold Flora, and escaped with the week-end’s receipts totaling several thousand dollars. It is believed that they concealed themselves overnight in the theater.
With Flora at the time of the hold-up was Helen Barr, cashier, and Charlotte McDonald, usher. All were commanded to lie face down on the floor. After taking the money the men continued to the rear exits, passing several ushers who thought they were electricians.
There should be a supermarket function, instead of being lumped into retail. Retail can be a tiny storefront, whereas supermarket implies at least a medium-sized building.
There was a story in the NYT on Christmas Day, 1921, about a robbery at the Elite Theater, 707 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn. I didn’t see any aka for this. It may be an easy question, but as I’m not from New York I’m curious as to the answer.
FOUR HOLD-UP MEN ROB THEATRE IN BROOKLYN; Owner of the Elite and Woman Cashier Forced to Hand Over $100 and $175 Watch.
Four men held up the owner and cashier of the Elite Theatre, at 707 Pitkin, Brooklyn, last Thursday night, it became known yesterday, and escaped…
Now you made me feel bad, after my pitiful Google search, when you researched the building back to 1872. You should have warned me.
Here is a 2/21/28 story from the NYT:
HOLD UP THEATRE, LOBBY CROWDED; Thieves, Posing as Revenue Men, Enter Office, Tie Up Three and Escape With $2,200. TRIO TRICKS THE DOORMAN They Display Badges and He Escorts Them Into Bronx Movie, Where They Whip Out Pistols.
Three robbers escaped with $2,200 from the safe of the Luxor Theatre, a moving picture house at 208 East 170th Street, the Bronx, yesterday afternoon, after they had been led to the theatre office by a credulous doorman to whom they said thay were revenue men performing their duty.
Here is a photo of the supermarket:
http://tinyurl.com/5kyxfz
Crime in 1929:
http://tinyurl.com/59trg5
BW, I wouldn’t hazard a guess as to the status of this building, but I did take a look at the photo on Google maps. 114 S. State is the Rainbow store, which is a separate building. 112 S. is the narrow white building with no windows. It looks like whatever was on the first floor has been boarded up.
You can take a look at it yourself, but you have to click a few times on the arrow to get over to 112.
Here is part of an LA Times story, dated 1/21/53:
An 18-year-old youth who told police he planned to don a felt windbreaker mask and rob the RKO Pantages Theater next Saturday night and a liquor store last night was arrested yesterday along with a would-be accomplice on suspicion of robbery. Police said the youths, both unemployed, had planned to rob a liquor store at 7315 Sunset Boulevard last night.
Marquee photo here. Address is listed as 1492 S. Cherry Lane. There’s supposed to be a Wal-Mart there now, so it shouldn’t be too hard to pin down the right address.
http://www.drive-ins.com/theater/txtcher
From the NYT, dated 5/5/53:
MOVIE ROBBED OF $2,375; Queens Theatre Official Bound by 3 After Income Tax Ruse
Three hold-up men, two of them brandishing pistols, took $2,375 from Loew’s Valencia Theatre in Jamaica. Queens, yesterday and left the assistant manager, Henry Shamp of 212-08 Seventy-fifth Street, Bayside, Queens, tied up with twine on the floor of his office.
The NYT had the theater in the wrong borough in this July 1951 article:
2 BANDITS ROB THEATRE; Brooklyn Telegraph Office Also Held Up by Lone Raider
Two armed men held up the manager of the Palestine Theatre, 11 Clinton Street, Brooklyn, yesterday afternoon, bound and gagged him and got $377 from the office safe.
I was close to six feet tall when I was 14. While waiting for my grandmother’s bus to arrive at the station in Philly one day, I paid a dollar and saw a couple of adult films at a grind house on Market Street. Not parentally approved activity.
Weak-kneed thief, from the NYT on 9/3/59:
Hold-Up Try Is Foiled By Unyielding Cashier
A would-be bandit’s flesh was willing last night but his spirit quailed before an unrelenting cashier at the Tivoli Theatre, Eighth Avenue and Fiftieth Street. He told his intended victim before he fled: “If you’ll forget about this, I will.”
I don’t think it was summer vacation. They look kind of cold.
Here is a March 1950 photo from Life, again at the Academy Awards:
http://tinyurl.com/6g3jtz
This is an April 1951 photo of a St. Louis theater from Life Magazine. The theater is unidentified, but the marquee matches the photos of the Fox as seen above.
http://tinyurl.com/5c9jwe
Here is an April 1953 Life Magazine photo of Gene Mori, then owner of the Landis:
http://tinyurl.com/6b7aoy
Here is a 1942 Life photo. The lights were dimmed to save energy during the war:
http://tinyurl.com/57uzn8
Here is part of an article from the Hartford Courant dated 9/12/64:
Theater Demolition Resumes After Collapse into Store
NEW BRITAIN (Special) — The job of removing huge wooden trusses 70 feet above the stage of the Embassy Theater while avoiding any further collapse of the weakened walls got under way at about 6 p.m. Friday.
This is part of a story from the LA Times, dated 9/8/43;
GENTLEMEN BANDITS GET $2100 IN THEATER HOLD-UP
Two gentlemanly bandits, who shook hands with their victim after robbing him of $2100, last night held up the Los Angeles Theater, 615 S. Broadway.
Two holdup men accosted manager Edward Clark as he was entering his office and while one simulated a gun in his pocket followed Clark into the room. There they forced him to open the safe and withdraw a cash box, from which they scooped $600 in silver and $1500 in bills.
Another envelope containing $1200 earmarked for returning war veterans was taken by the bandits and then returned. They shook hands with Clark, and left.