Actually, The Opening Year Is Wrong. The St. Albans Drive-In Began Constructing In 1948. The Correct Grand Opening Day Came A Year Ahead, As The Theater Opened Its Gates For The First Time On July 8, 1949 With A Double Feature, Errol Flynn In “Silver River” And Leo Gorcey In “Angels Alley”, Along With A Few Other Selected Short Subjects.
The Champlain Theatre Opened On September 1, 1917 With Fatty Arbuckle In “The Butcher Boy” Along With 2 Matinees And 2 Evening Performances.
The Capacity Of The Theater During It’s Early Days Is Over 1,000. The Decorating Was Done By H. L. And H. J. Chadwick Of St. Albans. It Was Rebuilt From Bullard’s Hall And The Left Side Of The Lobby Contains A Roomy Office With A Main Ticket Window. The Projectors Were Both Simplex Machines With Individual Electric Motors. There Are Stairways On Either Side Leading Up To The Balcony And The Lighting Fixtures Were Hanged From Steel Ceiling And From Side Walls. The Ventilating System Were Used For Electric Suction Fans. The Front Contains A Big White Entrance Doors Of Glass With Facade Is Cement With Red Bricking Above. Entering The Lobby Contains A Red Cement Floor With 2 Ticket Windows. One In The Left And The Other In The Right. Mirrored Doors Leading Into The Auditorium And Color Designing. The Floor Slopes Gradually To The Orchestra Pit. The Walls Are Shades Of Brown And Gold With Attractive Border Designs In Dark, Harmonizing Colors. The Woodwork Was Done In Dead Finish Mahogany Stain And White Enamel Making A Desirable Contrast. The White Screen Is Framed With A Foliage Scene And Woodwork Of The Proscenium Arch In White With Panels Of Green. In Case Of An Emergency, Each Side Contains An Exit.
Swantonians (E. T. Bradley, Dr. F. N. Hard, Capt. H. M. Bell) And One St. Albanian (Charles E. Schoff) Have Furnished And Made The Theater. Owned By The City’s Amusement Company, under the President Schoff, Vice Presidents Haff, And Clerk And Treasurer Bradley. The Contractor Of The Theater Is C. K. Prouty.
Sound Was Installed In Early 1930, And CinemaScope Was Installed In 1954.
This Theater Was Notable For Running A Civil Defense Film On March 2, 1964 Sponsoring By A Nearby Church.
A Little Interesting Note On The Seat Manufacturing The Theater Put: The International Seat Corporation Traveled A Total Of 542 Miles From Their Headquarters In Union City, Indiana To Russellville, Alabama To Install The Amount Of Seats They’ve Placed Before The Lyric Opened To The Public.
An Another Chain, Muscle Shoals Theatres (Who Owned Florence’s Princess And Majestic, The Ritz Theatres In Sheffield And Athens, And The Strand In Tuscumbia), Also Extends Their Congratulations For Their Opening. But Their Main Ownership Remains Their Hartselle Chain Since It’s Opening.
On September 16, 1973, The Beckley Police Department And The West Virginia State Police Responded To The Crab Orchard Drive-In Due To The Showing Of X-Rated Films And Was Inappropriate In The Area To Show Explicit Films To The Public.
While showing the film “Love Feast”, Larry W. Warden of Crab Orchard, the projectionist and son of the owner of the Crab Orchard Drive-In and produced a warrant for the confiscation of the film and was arrested. Eugene Warden was also named on the warrant issued by Magistrate Joe Rodriguez And Obtained By Cpl. A. C. Bartlett of the West Virginia State Police. Eugene, the owner, was not at the theater at the time. According to the warrant, the film was taken as “a whole, appealed to the prurient interest in inappropriate material and portrayed explicit conduct in a patently offensive way in violation of Section #6066 of the West Virginia Code.” During and right after the film showed around the midnight hours to 1:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Cpl. Bartlett and Troopers R. E. Estepp and B. A. Vaughian stationed themselves at the entrance of the theater to determine if juveniles, 17 or younger, had ALSO been viewing the film. The X-Rated film was shown following 2 other features, with one being an R film with the latter rating permitted viewing by juveniles only accompanied by an adult, like what the MPAA demonstrated before each show. The film “Love Machine” which was scheduled originally the following weekend was confiscated and replied that it was “bad enough” according to Bartlett himself. Police intended to give a private showing of the film and trailer to a grand jury convened on that day.
The value of the confiscated film was estimated between $500-$1,000 according to a younger Ward. The theater at the time was expecting a major raid because of the announced crackdown on explicit films by the Beckley Police Department and West Virginia State Police. The confiscated film was also viewed by officers days prior on the 14th. One employee, a female, of the COD-I who refused to be identified replied that “X-rated films were very popular with the public. The people in the area get calls all week long asking how good or how “hot” the latest feature will be”.
In the other note, the theater had been displaying both first-run R-films, explicit X-rated material, and others at random times since 1969 and 1970 but fallen down and turned the corner around for a short period of time during Christmas Week of 1970 when a documentary of Elvis and How The West Was Won began playing at the theater. Right after the stunting week, the theater turned back the corner and climbed back up with R and X films for at least another decade (except for some parts) but not sure yet because the closing date is not known.
Owned By Word Theatres, Who Also Operates Bridgeport’s Ritz, Scottsboro’s Ritz, Sylvania’s Sylvia, Jasper (TN)’s Fox, Scottsboro’s Tawasentha, Arab’s Ritz, And The Rainsville DI.
I Believe That This Opened In Late 1953 As Earliest. Rainsville Also Has A Twin Cinema Nearby Entitled Just Simply “Rainsville Twin Cinema” In Which I Can Only Find At Least A Few Early 1987 Showings
It Severely Confused Me. According To The Newspaper From 1943, It Reads That The Palm Is Actually A White-Peopled Theater According To An Article. I Do Not Know What The Foley Is, But It Didn’t Say It The Article But I Know It Actually Did Share Ownership With The Foley At One Point.
The Theater Didn’t Replace The Chief Auto Movies, It Actually Sat Next To It, Both Theaters Operated Close Together Until December 1988 When The Chief Auto Movies Died After A Windstorm.
I Will If I Can Find More Information On It, Which Will Be Later, Sometime Soon As Perhaps. The Loraine Used To Have A Former Theatre Name, But Confused Me On The Names. It Was Once Either The Dixie Or The Sanger. There Is A Cozy Theatre (1910’s) And A Hub Theatre (Opened In 1933) Too Which Will Be Published Sometime Soon, But I’ll Look Into The Deeper Pages As Soon As Possible. The Baldwin Though Had An Unknown Opening Date For Now, But I’ll Consider It In The 1930’s. Bay Minette Is Actually Very Hard On Finding Opening Dates Of Theatres And Closing Details.
After the nearby Loraine Theatre closed in the fall of 1930, the city had another spit-in-the-bucket idea to add another theatre to the city of Bay Minette. The answer was the Rex Theatre. Although I can’t find the grand opening ad for this, the Rex Theatre opened in the summer of 1932. The theater battled against an unknown-history Baldwin Theatre, also in Bay Minette, which was operated by the Peoples Theatres of Alabama, owned by Fred T. McLendon of McLendon Theatres who operated 2 other theaters nearby. Although with Fred being a popular geek into the business, McLendon Theatres however still had a probability to take its business into the Rex while working with the nearby Baldwin and 2 others which he took ownership in August 1944 just shortly before the theater went into remodeling. It took time until the Rex Theatre reopened under the McLendon Theatres chain on January 26, 1945 with the film “Show Business” along with a Donald Duck Cartoon and a Paramount Newsreel. While the Rex Theatre (with before-and-after CinemaScope that was installed in January 1955) continued successfully into the McLendon chain, the Baldwin Theatre died on films in parts of the 1940’s and most of the 1950’s, and was most likely that the Baldwin Theatre continued to demonstrate local special events.
For Only 8 Years, The Chief Cinema 4 That Opened In November 1980 Sat Next To The Chief Auto Movies, Until The Chief Auto Got Blown By A Windstorm In December 1988. The Cinema 4 Continued To Operate Until February 1998.
Yes, I Was Looking For That Same Story On The San Francisco Exclaimer But Caught Me Up In A Dumbfounding Date And Year That Caused The Page To Mistaken The Closing Date. They Will Fix The Closing Date as Soon As Possible.
Actually, The Opening Year Is Wrong. The St. Albans Drive-In Began Constructing In 1948. The Correct Grand Opening Day Came A Year Ahead, As The Theater Opened Its Gates For The First Time On July 8, 1949 With A Double Feature, Errol Flynn In “Silver River” And Leo Gorcey In “Angels Alley”, Along With A Few Other Selected Short Subjects.
The Champlain Theatre Opened On September 1, 1917 With Fatty Arbuckle In “The Butcher Boy” Along With 2 Matinees And 2 Evening Performances.
The Capacity Of The Theater During It’s Early Days Is Over 1,000. The Decorating Was Done By H. L. And H. J. Chadwick Of St. Albans. It Was Rebuilt From Bullard’s Hall And The Left Side Of The Lobby Contains A Roomy Office With A Main Ticket Window. The Projectors Were Both Simplex Machines With Individual Electric Motors. There Are Stairways On Either Side Leading Up To The Balcony And The Lighting Fixtures Were Hanged From Steel Ceiling And From Side Walls. The Ventilating System Were Used For Electric Suction Fans. The Front Contains A Big White Entrance Doors Of Glass With Facade Is Cement With Red Bricking Above. Entering The Lobby Contains A Red Cement Floor With 2 Ticket Windows. One In The Left And The Other In The Right. Mirrored Doors Leading Into The Auditorium And Color Designing. The Floor Slopes Gradually To The Orchestra Pit. The Walls Are Shades Of Brown And Gold With Attractive Border Designs In Dark, Harmonizing Colors. The Woodwork Was Done In Dead Finish Mahogany Stain And White Enamel Making A Desirable Contrast. The White Screen Is Framed With A Foliage Scene And Woodwork Of The Proscenium Arch In White With Panels Of Green. In Case Of An Emergency, Each Side Contains An Exit. Swantonians (E. T. Bradley, Dr. F. N. Hard, Capt. H. M. Bell) And One St. Albanian (Charles E. Schoff) Have Furnished And Made The Theater. Owned By The City’s Amusement Company, under the President Schoff, Vice Presidents Haff, And Clerk And Treasurer Bradley. The Contractor Of The Theater Is C. K. Prouty.
Sound Was Installed In Early 1930, And CinemaScope Was Installed In 1954.
This Theater Was Notable For Running A Civil Defense Film On March 2, 1964 Sponsoring By A Nearby Church.
It Actually Opened In 1929 As Earliest.
First Opened As The Hamly Theatre In Early 1920, Later Became The Royal Theatre On November 16, 1928.
Once Damaged By A Fire Caused By The Projection Booth On September 5, 1936.
Opened On March 29, 1956 With William Holden In “Love Is A Many Splendored Thing”.
The Nearby Franklin Theatre Closed Its Doors Exactly Days Before The Lyric Opened It’s Doors, Which Will Have It’s Page Soon.
The Rite-Aid Only Lasted For Like A Decade At Somehow, Maybe A Decade And A Half. So The Best Guess Here Is That It Closed By Or In The Early 1990’s.
It Looks Like That The Theater Has Been Closed Since The 90’s. That Rite-Aid Looks A Lot Older Than Usual To Me.
A Little Interesting Note On The Seat Manufacturing The Theater Put: The International Seat Corporation Traveled A Total Of 542 Miles From Their Headquarters In Union City, Indiana To Russellville, Alabama To Install The Amount Of Seats They’ve Placed Before The Lyric Opened To The Public.
An Another Chain, Muscle Shoals Theatres (Who Owned Florence’s Princess And Majestic, The Ritz Theatres In Sheffield And Athens, And The Strand In Tuscumbia), Also Extends Their Congratulations For Their Opening. But Their Main Ownership Remains Their Hartselle Chain Since It’s Opening.
On September 16, 1973, The Beckley Police Department And The West Virginia State Police Responded To The Crab Orchard Drive-In Due To The Showing Of X-Rated Films And Was Inappropriate In The Area To Show Explicit Films To The Public.
While showing the film “Love Feast”, Larry W. Warden of Crab Orchard, the projectionist and son of the owner of the Crab Orchard Drive-In and produced a warrant for the confiscation of the film and was arrested. Eugene Warden was also named on the warrant issued by Magistrate Joe Rodriguez And Obtained By Cpl. A. C. Bartlett of the West Virginia State Police. Eugene, the owner, was not at the theater at the time. According to the warrant, the film was taken as “a whole, appealed to the prurient interest in inappropriate material and portrayed explicit conduct in a patently offensive way in violation of Section #6066 of the West Virginia Code.” During and right after the film showed around the midnight hours to 1:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Cpl. Bartlett and Troopers R. E. Estepp and B. A. Vaughian stationed themselves at the entrance of the theater to determine if juveniles, 17 or younger, had ALSO been viewing the film. The X-Rated film was shown following 2 other features, with one being an R film with the latter rating permitted viewing by juveniles only accompanied by an adult, like what the MPAA demonstrated before each show. The film “Love Machine” which was scheduled originally the following weekend was confiscated and replied that it was “bad enough” according to Bartlett himself. Police intended to give a private showing of the film and trailer to a grand jury convened on that day.
The value of the confiscated film was estimated between $500-$1,000 according to a younger Ward. The theater at the time was expecting a major raid because of the announced crackdown on explicit films by the Beckley Police Department and West Virginia State Police. The confiscated film was also viewed by officers days prior on the 14th. One employee, a female, of the COD-I who refused to be identified replied that “X-rated films were very popular with the public. The people in the area get calls all week long asking how good or how “hot” the latest feature will be”.
In the other note, the theater had been displaying both first-run R-films, explicit X-rated material, and others at random times since 1969 and 1970 but fallen down and turned the corner around for a short period of time during Christmas Week of 1970 when a documentary of Elvis and How The West Was Won began playing at the theater. Right after the stunting week, the theater turned back the corner and climbed back up with R and X films for at least another decade (except for some parts) but not sure yet because the closing date is not known.
Owned By Word Theatres, Who Also Operates Bridgeport’s Ritz, Scottsboro’s Ritz, Sylvania’s Sylvia, Jasper (TN)’s Fox, Scottsboro’s Tawasentha, Arab’s Ritz, And The Rainsville DI.
I Believe That This Opened In Late 1953 As Earliest. Rainsville Also Has A Twin Cinema Nearby Entitled Just Simply “Rainsville Twin Cinema” In Which I Can Only Find At Least A Few Early 1987 Showings
Opened On September 2, 1946.
It Severely Confused Me. According To The Newspaper From 1943, It Reads That The Palm Is Actually A White-Peopled Theater According To An Article. I Do Not Know What The Foley Is, But It Didn’t Say It The Article But I Know It Actually Did Share Ownership With The Foley At One Point.
The Theater Didn’t Replace The Chief Auto Movies, It Actually Sat Next To It, Both Theaters Operated Close Together Until December 1988 When The Chief Auto Movies Died After A Windstorm.
I Will If I Can Find More Information On It, Which Will Be Later, Sometime Soon As Perhaps. The Loraine Used To Have A Former Theatre Name, But Confused Me On The Names. It Was Once Either The Dixie Or The Sanger. There Is A Cozy Theatre (1910’s) And A Hub Theatre (Opened In 1933) Too Which Will Be Published Sometime Soon, But I’ll Look Into The Deeper Pages As Soon As Possible. The Baldwin Though Had An Unknown Opening Date For Now, But I’ll Consider It In The 1930’s. Bay Minette Is Actually Very Hard On Finding Opening Dates Of Theatres And Closing Details.
Still In Operation In 1961.
Yes, A Line On That Page Reads That The 4 Theaters Closed Since “Thursday”, So It Marked The Day April 29, 1999.
Opened On October 23, 1946.
After the nearby Loraine Theatre closed in the fall of 1930, the city had another spit-in-the-bucket idea to add another theatre to the city of Bay Minette. The answer was the Rex Theatre. Although I can’t find the grand opening ad for this, the Rex Theatre opened in the summer of 1932. The theater battled against an unknown-history Baldwin Theatre, also in Bay Minette, which was operated by the Peoples Theatres of Alabama, owned by Fred T. McLendon of McLendon Theatres who operated 2 other theaters nearby. Although with Fred being a popular geek into the business, McLendon Theatres however still had a probability to take its business into the Rex while working with the nearby Baldwin and 2 others which he took ownership in August 1944 just shortly before the theater went into remodeling. It took time until the Rex Theatre reopened under the McLendon Theatres chain on January 26, 1945 with the film “Show Business” along with a Donald Duck Cartoon and a Paramount Newsreel. While the Rex Theatre (with before-and-after CinemaScope that was installed in January 1955) continued successfully into the McLendon chain, the Baldwin Theatre died on films in parts of the 1940’s and most of the 1950’s, and was most likely that the Baldwin Theatre continued to demonstrate local special events.
Opened On May 12, 1938 With “Man-Proof”.
For Only 8 Years, The Chief Cinema 4 That Opened In November 1980 Sat Next To The Chief Auto Movies, Until The Chief Auto Got Blown By A Windstorm In December 1988. The Cinema 4 Continued To Operate Until February 1998.
Yes, I Was Looking For That Same Story On The San Francisco Exclaimer But Caught Me Up In A Dumbfounding Date And Year That Caused The Page To Mistaken The Closing Date. They Will Fix The Closing Date as Soon As Possible.
Opened On June 30, 1989.