Orpheum Theatre, later to become The Cinema & would close as a theatre on November 3, 2011. The Orpheum Theater on 4th Ave was the only place in #HuntingtonWV, at one time where blacks could see a movie, & had to sit in the balcony even if the ground floor was empty, according to Sylvia Ridgeway, a lifelong resident, and driving force behind the NAACP in W.Va., first becoming the president of the Huntington chapter and then serving dual roles as the local president and leader at the state level.
As movie audiences dwindled, a number of theaters subdivided their big auditoriums into small mini theaters. Employing that strategy, the Hymans divided the Orpheum’s auditorium into four small theaters and renamed it the Cinema Theatre. Its audiences continued to shrink, and the theater closed in 2011. Today the former movie house is used by Redemption Church.
(Greater Huntington Theater Corp. operated it as one time, per a former employee.)
Additional history credit “Back In The Day” in #HuntingtonWV, courtesy David Smith.
The Abbott Theater was built in 1938 & cost $1,700 on a lot purchased by W.E. Neal, West End Realty Co. Named for Darwin E. Abbott, who came here in 1873, self-taught photographer, who opened a photo studio & later a picture frame plant in Central City that was one of the city’s largest employers. He passed in 1942. Its heyday was in the 1930’s/40’s. Later showing second releases, double features, and shorts. It showed its last movie in 1951. The next year, W.E. Neal and his wife Susan leased the theater to Community Players Inc. They staged lots of shows, but in the early 1990s, it was in need of too many repairs, & the board of directors closed the final curtain. A fire caused it to be razed in Dec. 1994.
Additional history, photos (in gallery) and description credit David Isaacs.
1927 view of The Strand theater and neighboring buildings in the 1000 block of 4th Avenue. It had only been open for about a year at the time of this photo and during the early 1930s the theater became the Roxy theater. This part of 4th Avenue was still mostly residential a dozen years before the photo was taken. Around the turn of the century, businesses started replacing the old houses along the street. Starting at 10th Street (and out of view in this photo) The Day & Night Bank was built in 1903, Elks Club 1909, and Orpheum Theater in the early 1910s. The Roxy experienced a fire August 25, 1952, but the building was repaired and remained in use for over 10 more years.
Additional history credit Mt.Healthy Historical Society Facebook page.
“Peter Blum built the theater and opened it for silent movies in 1914 or 1915. His sister Bertha played piano to accompany the silent films. Later, Peter’s son Joe took over the operation. This theater was the center of Mt Healthy entertainment, which was not only a hub for the townspeople but for the surrounding farming communities, for many years. Joe chose to show only wholesome family appropriate movies, what we might call G-rated today. When movies veered away from this into more worldly content, with elements of sex and violence, Joe chose to shut down the theater. This was sometime in the 1970s or 1980s, we estimate. What followed was an auction house, and then years of neglect with the building falling into disrepair. The Port Authority has determined that the building is of sufficient historical significance that it has invested funds to stabilize the building, so it will stand against the weather without further deterioration, until a new use can be found for it.”
Overview photo & description credit Lisa Dumas.
“My stepdad Don Gorman, when he worked at the Motor-Vu theater. The German Shepherd was the guard dog for the ticket booth. Lebanon, Oregon abt. 1954”
The July 15, 1950 fire started in the old Princess Theatre next door to the State Theatre, and spread to it destroying both as well as another building to the left of the State.
The old Princess is where the Bill Gilberts mentioned above was living at the time of the fire.
The original “old Princess Theatre” mentioned was next door to the State Theatre.
I found a photo of the original Princess, but it is from circa 1915-1920.
In it you can see the vacant lot that the State Theatre was later built on, and the buildings next door in the 1950 fire photo I posted.
So the original Princess Theatre needs it’s own page.
Not to be confused with the other Princess Theatre from 1943 already listed.
Additional history, July 1950 photo and description added credit Larry Wiles.
(Princess Theatre was next door to State Theatre the way I am reading it…)
“July 1950 the State Theater on the right in the pictures. The old Princess Theater (Bill Gilbert’s) would be just out of the picture to the right but burned to the ground. Notice the men on the roof of the building down the street. They are using a bucket brigade to pour water on the roofs of those buildings, on the end of the block on that side was a Cities Services gas station. In the bottom picture in the center you can just make out part of the band stand that sat on the lot next to the alley.”
Here is a link to the circa 1937 photo that shows the Roxy on the right. It is an enlargeable image via the Pomona Public Library.
Henry Fonda in “Slim” is on the marquee.
Click image to zoom once on link.
Additional history and image added credit Retro Quad Cities.
“On May 24, 1950, it was announced that a drive in would be constructed during the summer on 10th Street in Silvis. Note the architect’s sketch showing it as the Rustic Drive-In. It would hold 700 cars and cost $100,000.”
Link with additional history.
https://theclio.com/entry/87439
Additional history credit David Smith.
Orpheum Theatre, later to become The Cinema & would close as a theatre on November 3, 2011. The Orpheum Theater on 4th Ave was the only place in #HuntingtonWV, at one time where blacks could see a movie, & had to sit in the balcony even if the ground floor was empty, according to Sylvia Ridgeway, a lifelong resident, and driving force behind the NAACP in W.Va., first becoming the president of the Huntington chapter and then serving dual roles as the local president and leader at the state level.
As movie audiences dwindled, a number of theaters subdivided their big auditoriums into small mini theaters. Employing that strategy, the Hymans divided the Orpheum’s auditorium into four small theaters and renamed it the Cinema Theatre. Its audiences continued to shrink, and the theater closed in 2011. Today the former movie house is used by Redemption Church.
(Greater Huntington Theater Corp. operated it as one time, per a former employee.)
Additional history credit “Back In The Day” in #HuntingtonWV, courtesy David Smith.
The Abbott Theater was built in 1938 & cost $1,700 on a lot purchased by W.E. Neal, West End Realty Co. Named for Darwin E. Abbott, who came here in 1873, self-taught photographer, who opened a photo studio & later a picture frame plant in Central City that was one of the city’s largest employers. He passed in 1942. Its heyday was in the 1930’s/40’s. Later showing second releases, double features, and shorts. It showed its last movie in 1951. The next year, W.E. Neal and his wife Susan leased the theater to Community Players Inc. They staged lots of shows, but in the early 1990s, it was in need of too many repairs, & the board of directors closed the final curtain. A fire caused it to be razed in Dec. 1994.
Additional history, photos (in gallery) and description credit David Isaacs.
1927 view of The Strand theater and neighboring buildings in the 1000 block of 4th Avenue. It had only been open for about a year at the time of this photo and during the early 1930s the theater became the Roxy theater. This part of 4th Avenue was still mostly residential a dozen years before the photo was taken. Around the turn of the century, businesses started replacing the old houses along the street. Starting at 10th Street (and out of view in this photo) The Day & Night Bank was built in 1903, Elks Club 1909, and Orpheum Theater in the early 1910s. The Roxy experienced a fire August 25, 1952, but the building was repaired and remained in use for over 10 more years.
Older article about Huntington drive-ins.
https://www.huntingtonquarterly.com/articles/issue41/yesterday.html?fbclid=IwAR06CAPn3Oq-e2EgTywRienYl7GmF3O9axx7-lv9Klxv1h6kFZtlq3Hh3_k
Link with 28 photos of the Redmoor Event Center.
https://cincinnatirefined.com/arts-design/the-redmoor-mt-lookout-cincinnati-event-venue-3187-linwood-ave?fbclid=IwAR1hEuNtBhbjVdZu9ef9NN7MSzRBiK3f8k24WuBYOrq6yfUgSZ-o5xoT12c#photo-1
Additional history credit Mt.Healthy Historical Society Facebook page.
“Peter Blum built the theater and opened it for silent movies in 1914 or 1915. His sister Bertha played piano to accompany the silent films. Later, Peter’s son Joe took over the operation. This theater was the center of Mt Healthy entertainment, which was not only a hub for the townspeople but for the surrounding farming communities, for many years. Joe chose to show only wholesome family appropriate movies, what we might call G-rated today. When movies veered away from this into more worldly content, with elements of sex and violence, Joe chose to shut down the theater. This was sometime in the 1970s or 1980s, we estimate. What followed was an auction house, and then years of neglect with the building falling into disrepair. The Port Authority has determined that the building is of sufficient historical significance that it has invested funds to stabilize the building, so it will stand against the weather without further deterioration, until a new use can be found for it.”
2018 article about possible redevelopment.
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2018/02/19/former-hollywood-theatre-college-hill-sold-neighborhood-group-redevelopment/337177002/?fbclid=IwAR1ipN1EbLyJbh-XujGQtuE5sDdcfc-Va8EQQr38XDx2P0Zc5yNK1uC7iIo
Utopia Film Festival is held at the Greenbelt. Website and Facebook page with photos.
https://www.utopiafilmfestival.org/?fbclid=IwAR1b8wbpJbz_0dOXL6ISAQvCQMfSjUgYLdHQVXvcxtrocuceIVQxoBG4er8
https://www.facebook.com/Utopia-Film-Festival-1980565558855098
2019 article.
https://cincinnatirefined.com/arts-design/the-esquire-theater-historic-preservation-wendys-fast-food-ludlow-avenue-cinema-history-cincinnati?fbclid=IwAR3iu-nehwZVuW5go7UyDHJ3nnPPHJynBZAn8D1bw9yG1X8sQLYX8u79tSI
1951 photo from the collection of Ken Berry in the Etsy auction link below. “The Wild One” on the Memri Drive-In marquee.
https://www.etsy.com/StorchsPlace/listing/1200272991/huge-ken-berry-memorabilia-collection?utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1647969997173&fbclid=IwAR0E6jzOPyQR1reczg4YGafLihzv1wtmklO5haK_lO6Az77LS5G3UAV-sok
Overview photo & description credit Lisa Dumas. “My stepdad Don Gorman, when he worked at the Motor-Vu theater. The German Shepherd was the guard dog for the ticket booth. Lebanon, Oregon abt. 1954”
Alamy link with an April 1941 photo.
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-new-york-times-square-in-1941-27464846.html?irclickid=zyzV67R9LxyITpwwqaxcW0ATUkGTcxWKE1xOzI0&irgwc=1&utm_source=77643&utm_campaign=Shop%20Royalty%20Free%20at%20Alamy&utm_medium=impact
Alamy link with a 1948 photo.
https://www.alamy.com/125th-street-8th-ave-apollo-theatre-harlem-1948-manhattan-new-york-image500974.html?irclickid=zyzV67R9LxyITpwwqaxcW0ATUkGTc0zqE1xOzI0&irgwc=1&utm_source=77643&utm_campaign=Shop%20Royalty%20Free%20at%20Alamy&utm_medium=impact
Photo credit Newsday.
The July 15, 1950 fire started in the old Princess Theatre next door to the State Theatre, and spread to it destroying both as well as another building to the left of the State. The old Princess is where the Bill Gilberts mentioned above was living at the time of the fire.
The original “old Princess Theatre” mentioned was next door to the State Theatre. I found a photo of the original Princess, but it is from circa 1915-1920. In it you can see the vacant lot that the State Theatre was later built on, and the buildings next door in the 1950 fire photo I posted. So the original Princess Theatre needs it’s own page. Not to be confused with the other Princess Theatre from 1943 already listed.
Additional history, July 1950 photo and description added credit Larry Wiles. (Princess Theatre was next door to State Theatre the way I am reading it…)
“July 1950 the State Theater on the right in the pictures. The old Princess Theater (Bill Gilbert’s) would be just out of the picture to the right but burned to the ground. Notice the men on the roof of the building down the street. They are using a bucket brigade to pour water on the roofs of those buildings, on the end of the block on that side was a Cities Services gas station. In the bottom picture in the center you can just make out part of the band stand that sat on the lot next to the alley.”
1921 photo from the FIU Libraires.
http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/MM00005652/00001?fbclid=IwAR2zRWuoAysgMj_7ypQjQkm1b4YQpBk2VOc7avKj6yz0xF_0_yVYZgSlc8w
Here is a link to the circa 1937 photo that shows the Roxy on the right. It is an enlargeable image via the Pomona Public Library. Henry Fonda in “Slim” is on the marquee. Click image to zoom once on link.
https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt087014n0/?brand=oac4&fbclid=IwAR37g3CGeSpmfjGvqFLgFuR7EaI6tfItM2IVBeAXb6M8RT2rrxPQpf89OF0
`90s photo as Jeremiah Deliverance Temple via Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/37640374@N04/4189106070/in/photostream/
Mid `50s marquee photo on Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/37640374@N04/20143946654/in/photostream/
Image and additional history added credit Retro Quad Cities.
“May 24, 1950 was the grand opening of the 18 hole miniature golf course at the Memri Drive In in Milan.”
Additional history and image added credit Retro Quad Cities.
“On May 24, 1950, it was announced that a drive in would be constructed during the summer on 10th Street in Silvis.
Note the architect’s sketch showing it as the Rustic Drive-In.
It would hold 700 cars and cost $100,000.”
Just to clarify, the above buildings were across from the Uray Theatre, but have promotional posters for it in it’s windows.