The City of High Point built a City Hall building that contained a large theater with an entry on Wrenn Street. It was built for live presentations in 1923. And the City also owned the 107 N. Main Street property here and leased that theatre to Alfred B. “A.B.” Huff’s High Point Amusements, Co., as well. The Capitol Theatre opened in November of 1923 on a four year leasing agreement. Under a new leasing agreement, the venue had became the Rialto Theatre on November 19, 1927.
The Rialto’s name was changed on April 2, 1930 to the Paramount Theatre with “Tanned Legs” supported by “His Operation.”
Over a the American Theatre, it had moved away from live stage plays one year to live Keith vaudeville the next before settling on motion pictures. When Publix-Saenger took on Huff’s High Point Amusement operations on February 11, 1928 including here at the Rialto and the American - both of which would receive sound systems. Publix had also received the Broadhurst, the Broadway (formerly the Point Theatre in 1915), and the Orpheum (a live vaudeville house that it would shutter).
At the onset of the Depression, the Publix folks cut the Broadway loose first (though it was wired for sound by next operator, Wag Theatres) but would re-acquire it in the reorganized Paramount-Kincey group. The Orpheum was vacated and demolished later in the 1930s. Here, at the Rialto, Western Electric sound presentations began on October 21, 1929 with “The Man and the Moment.” The Rialto’s name was changed on April 2, 1930 to the Paramount Theatre with “Tanned Legs” supported by “His Operation.”
Soon, Publix decided to elevate the Paramount nameplate to the “A” house changing the American to the Paramount Theatre namesake. The Paramount reverted to its previous moniker in the Rialto Theatre. (The American Theatre nameplate was discontinued.) The Rialto benefitted from High Point’s growth in the 1930s going from 15,000 folks when the theatre opened to around 35,000 people by the mid 1930s.
The Rialto scuffled after the War surviving into the TV age. It went out of business on September 8, 1962 with “High Noon” and “Ivanhoe” supported by two cartoons. The Rialto was altered for Tobias Apparel retail store just weeks later with its marquee and face removed in October of 1962 and, beginning in December of 1962, its interior ending any further theatrical hopes. The Paramount would continue another eight years before closing and being demolished.
The City of High Point built a City Hall building that contained a large theater with ancity entry on Wrenn Street. It was built for live presentations in 1923 and was designed to be a municipal auditorium. The concept was that High Point was trying to show that it was more than just a textile and furniture manufacturing city and a strong arts presence was one of its tactics. Harry K. Barton was the architect of the building that had a large sized 1,200 seat auditorium at opening. Barton cleverly moved the theater from an initial draft of 1,600 to 1,200 likely to save costs but 1,600 seats would have been nearly impossible to fill.
The City decided that the theatre should be leased to commercial interests beginning with a bid process. (It would have been ambitious for a town of 15,000 to program such a large municipal auditorium.) After its first season, a naming contest led to the theater being called the American Theatre in 1924 and operated by Alfred B. “A.B.” Huff’s High Point Amusement Co. All operators from that day forward forced theatre operators to go to the city for leasing renewals and pricing updates.
The City of High Point also owned the 107 N. Main Street property and leased that theatre to Huff, as well. Its opening date began not long after the opening of the theater in the City Hall structure. The Capitol Theatre opened in November of 1923 on a four year leasing agreement. At the end of that lease, the venue was renamed as the Rialto Theatre on its fourth year of operation beginning on November 19, 1927.
Meanwhile, the American Theatre pinballed from live stage plays one year to live Keith vaudeville the next before settling on motion pictures. Publix-Saenger took on the High Point Amusement operations on February 11, 1928 including here at the American and the Rialto - both of which would receive sound systems. It was a business plan that Publix had run around the country to basically get theaters converted to sound which wasn’t cheap (and then, of course, declare bankruptcy). Publix received the Broadhurst, the Broadway (formerly the Point Theatre in 1915), the Orpheum (a live vaudeville house that it would shutter), the Rialto and here at the American Theatre.
High Point was hit hard initially by the Depression as most factory towns were. Publix cut the Broadway loose first (though it was wired for sound by next operator, Wag Theatres) but would re-acquire it in the reorganized Paramount-Kincey group. (The Broadway’s name would be changed to the Carolina Theatre in 1933.) The Orpheum was vacated quickly and later was demolished. Over at the Rialto, it began Western Electric sound presentations on October 21, 1929 with “The Man and the Moment.” The Rialto’s name was changed on April 2, 1930 to the parent company’s nameplate of the Paramount Theatre with “Tanned Legs” supported by “His Operation.”
Within a year, the Circuit decided to move the parent company Paramount Pictures Inc. name to the “A” house changing the American to the Paramount Theatre with the City’s blessing. The short-lived Paramount reverted to its previous moniker of the Rialto Theatre. In the Fall of 1933, under the Paramount Wilbey-Kincey Theater / North Carolina Theatres nameplate following Publix’s bankruptcy strategy, the Paramount venue received a $50,000 facelift to be more in line with 1930’s movie palaces. By 1934, exhibitors had returned to the Southern Furniture Exposition Building, filling all available space and showing a dramatic turnaround. The City was at 15,000 residents when the theatre was built nnow stood at 35,000 in 1935.
In 1940, the Paramount was granted a lease extension by the City of High Point. A post-War refresh took seat count down just under 1,000. Change was on the horizon with television and industry reshaping. Paramount-Kincey’s parent company, Paramount Pictures, Inc., entered into a consent decree to exit the exhibition space. Hugh Smart’s Key Theatres took on the venue following the Paramount decree and got a long-term lease extension from the City in 1956 that allowed Key to remodel the venue extensively - likely for the last time. That remodeling included the transition to widescreen technology to present CinemaScope films. On December 17, 1969, Key Theatres sold the Paramount Theatre to Martin Theatres of Georgia Circuit.
In April of 1970, Martin announced the creation of a suburban luxury venue, the Martin Twin. That would be the death knell for the Paramount Theatre as Martin announced that the Twin would replace the almost 50-year old venue. Movie theaters dotted the outskirts of High Point ending the movie palace era downtown. The Paramount Theatre closed permanently on November 19, 1970 with the film, “Soldier Blue.” The Martin Twin opened the next day.
The City of High Point put out a bid process for the next operator of the theatre just as it had done in 1923. But times had changed and there was no operator to be found and just one bidder who wanted to demolish the venue. The City had architectural plans drawn up to save the space but the costs exceeded $300,000. Thus, the venue was demolished in its 50th year of existence beginning in late June of 1973.
Virtually nothing from the Paramount Theatre was deemed worthy of salvaging. Well documented in its demolition, photos show the seats and interior design viewable - not only from inside the theatre - but from the street as the demolition process proceeded.
The Point Theatre opened April 7, 1915 with Edna Payne in “Saved by a Telephone.” It was housed in the 1891-built Commercial National Bank Building. New Manager J.W. Prevo took over the venue in October of 1915 changing its name to the Broadway. It closed in 1928 failing to wire for sound.
Reitzel Wagner took on the venue in early 1930 hiring architect Fred B. Klein to reimagine the space for sound films. The New Broadway Theatre launched as a sub-run discount venue on June 4, 1930 after a $22,000 refresh including equipment with “Sweetie.” In 1931, it became Wag’s Broadway Theatre.“ Wagner sold out to Paramount Wilbey-Kincey Theater which renamed it as the Carolina Theatre.
The Carolina closed breifly on January 31, 1949 with its final refresh calling for a glass and steel streamline moderne front. It scuffled trying to find programming to match its new exterior going from discount to first-run and back to discount. It closed June 15, 1952 with “Half Breed.” Its interior was gutted becoming home to a retail store in 1953.
Mrs. Minnie Broadhurst had the Broadhurst Theater’s Aug. 31, 1925 launch with “Don Q” and at the $10,000 Geneva Pipe Organ was organist Herma Stanley Quinn formerly of the Quinn Theatre in Chicago. Architect Fred B. Klein was among those in the audience that night. The Broadhurst converted to sound to remain viable. It reached the end of its 30-year leasing period on May 31, 1954 with “Salome” its final feature.
Became the Towne Twin on November 24, 1977 with “Starship Invasions” and “Oh, God!” Closed permanently on August 22, 1985 with “Weird Science” and “Volunteers.” Was gutted and retrofitted as a restaurant.
Opened with 562 seats in Theatre 1 and 338 in Theatre 2 or 900 at launch. Dreadful news on September 4, 1995 when it closed at the end of its 25 year leasing agreement with “Congo” and a split screen of “Batman Forever” and “Judge Dredd” playing at deep discount, 99 cent sub-run pricing.
The Trans-Lux Inflight Ciné operated from opening April 29, 1970 to its puddle jumping excursion into X-Rated fare in 1972 and 1973 and its red-eye flight where it crash landed on January 31, 1976 with “Airport ‘75” always under the Inflight and not the Westchester namesake.
A new flight crew based in Greensboro boarded operating as the Royal Ciné Theatre II beginning on February 6, 1976. And they went executive class with adult unrated films advertised as XXX titles beginning with “Miss September” and “Fringe Benefits” on a subleasing agreement.
Open noon to midnight offering the most non-stop options on a grind policy, that flight package was a hit running from 1976 to January 12, 1982 ending with “Spank Me Daddy” and “Tamara.” But the adventure wasn’t without turbulence as protests were not uncommon.
The next flight crew embarked on a discount fare policy as the Westchester Cinema with “The Soggy Bottom Gang” and “The Nights the Lights Went Out in Georgia” on April 28, 1982. The venue operated with the Southgate in Thomasville on a joint operating agreement in discount cinema. The Southgate disembarked in 1988 and the Westchester flew into the sunset in 1990.
The Kleeburg Airline Circuit claimed the runway relaunching the Westchester on May 3, 1991 as a discount house before closing permanently.
The reboot ad with widescreen projection on November 12, 1954 as the grand opening of the Crescent Drive-In is in photos with “Hell and High Water” playing on the new tower.
Opened on November 21, 1979, the Capri Triple opens with Apocalypse Now, Fiddler on the Roof and The Prize Fighter. The venue had 556 total seats at launch - Audi 1 had 300 and Audis 2 & 3 had 178 each.
The Havana Theatre was a streamline moderne movie house in downtown Havana, Illinois that lasted nine years before being suffering a major fire. It was retrofitted and reopened as the Kaye Theater with the theatre running for 20 years.
During the Depression and movie theater’s expensive conversion to sound, Havana lost its silent-era Castle Theatre as a movie house. It was unable to make the transition to sound and continued with sporadic live events as the Havana Theatre in the early 1930s before closing permanently.
Kerasotes Brothers Circuit likely inherited the closed Havana Theatre along with its operation of the Lawford Theatre. Kerasotes leased a building in 1936 and made a quick conversion combining the two-floor retail building into a single floor, streamline moderne movie theater. The “new” Havana Theatre opened on Christmas Day 1936 with “Adventure in Manhattan” with Jean Arthur and Joel McRae. It operated through World War II with a Kroger food store as its neighbor.
That more or less ended on November 3, 1945 when, at a 2p kids matinee, fire spread from the alley to the theater’s roof prompting Manager Edward Walker to move the kids and the film print to the nearby Lawford Theatre where the matinee took place. The theater was rebuilt pretty much entirely in a two month period reopening as the Kaye Theatre on January 18, 1946. The streamline moderne venue used the same cream porcelain used in other George and Louis Kerasotes movie houses. It also housed an internal concession stand and its seats were recushioned.
When Kerasotes was converting venues to widescreen for CinemaScope presentations, the Kaye appears to have been left out while the Lawford and the two-year old Havana Drive-In were transitioned. The Kaye appears to have closed in 1955 at the end of its 20-year leasing period.
Architect Aaron T. Simmons of George Howell Harris & Associates had two very different sets of plans for the New Castle. The first was more pertaining to a Castle and the second set of plans much more like the high rise it became.
The previous Castle Theatre didn’t quite make it to the January 24, 1916 opening. It had been deemed unsafe operating to the end of March of 1915 and razed in April of 1915. It has its own Cinema Treasures page. Organist Harry Wilson, who played the Hammers pipe organ at the previous Castle, was rehired as the organist at the launch of the new Castle. He made factory visits and helped design the custom pipe organ installed at the New Castle.
AA and WJ Gillingham built the Castle Theatre in a converted roller skating rink. Bathed in velvet red, it launched with 748 seats including six boxes. It began with “fashionable” vaudeville including short films on the Kinetograph. To distinguish from the Grand Opera House, it centered on films.
In 1910, the venue was remodeled including a $5,000 pipe organ by Hinners Organ Company of nearby Pekin, Illinois. Harry Wilson was the organist. But the Castle only netted a short-term lease of six years expiring in 1916. With the lease coming due, a proposal by the Knights of Pythias would have created a new Castle in much the same way nearby Seebrook, Illinois created its new Castle Hall. A prime lot at Washington Street near Prairie would house the multipurpose building.
The Castle Theatre programming did not make it to the New Castle, however. A city inspection in March 1915 ended the Castle’s reign early as the building was thought to be quite unsafe. It closed following the March 27, 1915 showings of “The Open Drawbridge,” “The Quality of Mercy,” and “The Millinery Man” supported by Harry Wilson at the pipe organ playing “Bum Diddle De Dum Bum That’s It” as the final organ number. The Castle was soon razed by Jeff Coit. Manager Lyons moved all the shows to the Chatterton Theatre.
As for the Knights of Pythias, they would find a new location for their proposal and the Castle proceeded as a new theater with the multipurpose building elements finding new occupants. Architect Aaron T. Simmons of George Howell Harris & Associates altered the original plans of the high rise.
The Chatterton Theatre programming was to be moved to the New Castle upon completion according to ads and articles. That arrangement actually ended in November - two months prior to the New Castle’s debut as the Chatterton returned to live programming. That six story structure’s with the former Castle’s film programming launched on January 24, 1916. Organist Harry Wilson would spend time helping to create the new pipe organ designed for the new Castle which he would play at that opening.
Local dentist Dr. Lawford G. Pullen and two business partners raised $15,000 to build the 600-seat Pullen Opera House in 1914. It launched under that name on April 5, 1915 with live programming. The Pullen would show live productions and, on “dark days,” it would present motion pictures. The Opera House was competing mainly against the Castle Theatre - one of three nickelodeons in Havana, Illinois' early cinema days.
Pullen was no dummy as the movies brought in serious coin while live presentations were harder to book and challenging to market. So a month later, Pullen changed the Opera House to a Theater concentrating on film with some vaudeville. Its name became the Lawford Theatre. A $3,500 pipe organ was installed in 1918 to improve presentations. The theatre converted to sound to remain viable.
Kerasotes Brothers Circuit built another theater in downtown Havana - the Havana - in 1936 while having taken on the Lawford. In 1939, the venue was given a new air conditioning system and improved sound system. The brothers also gave the Lawford a major revamp changing its face and losing some of the Oriental styled interior to a more streamline moderne feel. Kerasotes converted the Lawford to widescreen projection to present CinemaScope titles in the 1950s.
Kerasotes left in 1982 closing after an amazing 67-year run. The theater was relit closing in 1990. It reopened four more times with a combination of films and live events. The Lawford Theatre closed permanently in 2019. On August 4, 2024, its roof collapsed causing significant damage and leading to its condemnation. It is very, very closed.
Jacksonville Mayor Howard A. Prather was at the Beach Drive-in on June 24, 1950 at its opening with “South of St. Louis.” It appears to have closed with “Pillow Talk” on December 6, 1959. The City wanted the property in early 1960 for municipal projects and Fred H. Kent of Kent Theatres didn’t want to sell. Reports suggest that the city used eminent domain to acquire the property.
The Lincoln Theatre appears to have opened December 31, 1911. Buddy Austin took on the venue on October 20, 1919 with Dorothy Philips in “Destiny” and a naming contest. The winning name was the Austin Theatre.
The Gem Studio and Nickelodeon was opened by George W. Meyers in 1907. It became the Gem Theater in 1909 and was operated by Meyers until he sold in on September 1, 1911 to Noah Stivers. Ira Thorpe took on the venue on January 1, 1913. C.M. Jacobs took on the venue on August 14, 1914 renaming it as the Dreamland Theatre.
In March 1915, Jacobs sold the contents of the Dreamland to Wyatt Halcom who took the equipment to the Weldon Opera House to convert it to a theater. A new and final operator came in opening there on April 29, 1915 as the Majestic Theatre by Charles E. Twadell. It was reported in December of 1915 that Mr. Twadell had “skipped town” leaving unpaid people and bills.
The building was boarded up for three months. Finally, it was gutted in March of 1916 and converted to a pool hall.
The Star Theatre was on 215 East Main Street apparently opening in 1910 as a silent movie house. The venue’s movies wound down in the mid 1920s stopping before sound but hosting live events into 1931. A.E. Pierce took on the venue wiring it for sound November 28, 1931 as the New Star Theatre with “Ten Cents a Dance.”
The New Star closed in 1932 and was reopened by R.C. Wheeler on May 10,1933 with “Red Dust.” It was used for sporadic live events and trade screening in 1934 to 1935 when it appears to have discontinued operations. When the Clintonia was closed for its remodeling in July of 1936, its equipment was stored at the Star indicating that McCollum Theatre Circuit simply bought out the venue. It became a feed store in 1940 and a grocery store after the War. It appears to still be standing as of the 2020s.
The New K Theater opened here in its new location on December 26, 1916. A.B. McCollum took on the venue in the 1920s and the theatre stayed silent as the K Theater until 1931. McCollum installed sound in 1931 changing the venue to the Kaye Theatre. In September of 1951, the venue got a streamline moderne makeover shown in photos.
Closed as the Clinton Drive-In in 1982. Reopened by Tom Gates in 1989 and closed in 1990 as the Clinton Drive-In. Mike Harroun reopened the venue as the Clinton Drive-In for the 1992 season on July 10th with “Field of Dreams” closing after the 1993 season and then moved the screen to his Harvest Moon Drive-In in Gibson City.
Last season - 1977
The City of High Point built a City Hall building that contained a large theater with an entry on Wrenn Street. It was built for live presentations in 1923. And the City also owned the 107 N. Main Street property here and leased that theatre to Alfred B. “A.B.” Huff’s High Point Amusements, Co., as well. The Capitol Theatre opened in November of 1923 on a four year leasing agreement. Under a new leasing agreement, the venue had became the Rialto Theatre on November 19, 1927.
The Rialto’s name was changed on April 2, 1930 to the Paramount Theatre with “Tanned Legs” supported by “His Operation.” Over a the American Theatre, it had moved away from live stage plays one year to live Keith vaudeville the next before settling on motion pictures. When Publix-Saenger took on Huff’s High Point Amusement operations on February 11, 1928 including here at the Rialto and the American - both of which would receive sound systems. Publix had also received the Broadhurst, the Broadway (formerly the Point Theatre in 1915), and the Orpheum (a live vaudeville house that it would shutter).
At the onset of the Depression, the Publix folks cut the Broadway loose first (though it was wired for sound by next operator, Wag Theatres) but would re-acquire it in the reorganized Paramount-Kincey group. The Orpheum was vacated and demolished later in the 1930s. Here, at the Rialto, Western Electric sound presentations began on October 21, 1929 with “The Man and the Moment.” The Rialto’s name was changed on April 2, 1930 to the Paramount Theatre with “Tanned Legs” supported by “His Operation.”
Soon, Publix decided to elevate the Paramount nameplate to the “A” house changing the American to the Paramount Theatre namesake. The Paramount reverted to its previous moniker in the Rialto Theatre. (The American Theatre nameplate was discontinued.) The Rialto benefitted from High Point’s growth in the 1930s going from 15,000 folks when the theatre opened to around 35,000 people by the mid 1930s.
The Rialto scuffled after the War surviving into the TV age. It went out of business on September 8, 1962 with “High Noon” and “Ivanhoe” supported by two cartoons. The Rialto was altered for Tobias Apparel retail store just weeks later with its marquee and face removed in October of 1962 and, beginning in December of 1962, its interior ending any further theatrical hopes. The Paramount would continue another eight years before closing and being demolished.
The City of High Point built a City Hall building that contained a large theater with ancity entry on Wrenn Street. It was built for live presentations in 1923 and was designed to be a municipal auditorium. The concept was that High Point was trying to show that it was more than just a textile and furniture manufacturing city and a strong arts presence was one of its tactics. Harry K. Barton was the architect of the building that had a large sized 1,200 seat auditorium at opening. Barton cleverly moved the theater from an initial draft of 1,600 to 1,200 likely to save costs but 1,600 seats would have been nearly impossible to fill.
The City decided that the theatre should be leased to commercial interests beginning with a bid process. (It would have been ambitious for a town of 15,000 to program such a large municipal auditorium.) After its first season, a naming contest led to the theater being called the American Theatre in 1924 and operated by Alfred B. “A.B.” Huff’s High Point Amusement Co. All operators from that day forward forced theatre operators to go to the city for leasing renewals and pricing updates.
The City of High Point also owned the 107 N. Main Street property and leased that theatre to Huff, as well. Its opening date began not long after the opening of the theater in the City Hall structure. The Capitol Theatre opened in November of 1923 on a four year leasing agreement. At the end of that lease, the venue was renamed as the Rialto Theatre on its fourth year of operation beginning on November 19, 1927.
Meanwhile, the American Theatre pinballed from live stage plays one year to live Keith vaudeville the next before settling on motion pictures. Publix-Saenger took on the High Point Amusement operations on February 11, 1928 including here at the American and the Rialto - both of which would receive sound systems. It was a business plan that Publix had run around the country to basically get theaters converted to sound which wasn’t cheap (and then, of course, declare bankruptcy). Publix received the Broadhurst, the Broadway (formerly the Point Theatre in 1915), the Orpheum (a live vaudeville house that it would shutter), the Rialto and here at the American Theatre.
High Point was hit hard initially by the Depression as most factory towns were. Publix cut the Broadway loose first (though it was wired for sound by next operator, Wag Theatres) but would re-acquire it in the reorganized Paramount-Kincey group. (The Broadway’s name would be changed to the Carolina Theatre in 1933.) The Orpheum was vacated quickly and later was demolished. Over at the Rialto, it began Western Electric sound presentations on October 21, 1929 with “The Man and the Moment.” The Rialto’s name was changed on April 2, 1930 to the parent company’s nameplate of the Paramount Theatre with “Tanned Legs” supported by “His Operation.”
Within a year, the Circuit decided to move the parent company Paramount Pictures Inc. name to the “A” house changing the American to the Paramount Theatre with the City’s blessing. The short-lived Paramount reverted to its previous moniker of the Rialto Theatre. In the Fall of 1933, under the Paramount Wilbey-Kincey Theater / North Carolina Theatres nameplate following Publix’s bankruptcy strategy, the Paramount venue received a $50,000 facelift to be more in line with 1930’s movie palaces. By 1934, exhibitors had returned to the Southern Furniture Exposition Building, filling all available space and showing a dramatic turnaround. The City was at 15,000 residents when the theatre was built nnow stood at 35,000 in 1935.
In 1940, the Paramount was granted a lease extension by the City of High Point. A post-War refresh took seat count down just under 1,000. Change was on the horizon with television and industry reshaping. Paramount-Kincey’s parent company, Paramount Pictures, Inc., entered into a consent decree to exit the exhibition space. Hugh Smart’s Key Theatres took on the venue following the Paramount decree and got a long-term lease extension from the City in 1956 that allowed Key to remodel the venue extensively - likely for the last time. That remodeling included the transition to widescreen technology to present CinemaScope films. On December 17, 1969, Key Theatres sold the Paramount Theatre to Martin Theatres of Georgia Circuit.
In April of 1970, Martin announced the creation of a suburban luxury venue, the Martin Twin. That would be the death knell for the Paramount Theatre as Martin announced that the Twin would replace the almost 50-year old venue. Movie theaters dotted the outskirts of High Point ending the movie palace era downtown. The Paramount Theatre closed permanently on November 19, 1970 with the film, “Soldier Blue.” The Martin Twin opened the next day.
The City of High Point put out a bid process for the next operator of the theatre just as it had done in 1923. But times had changed and there was no operator to be found and just one bidder who wanted to demolish the venue. The City had architectural plans drawn up to save the space but the costs exceeded $300,000. Thus, the venue was demolished in its 50th year of existence beginning in late June of 1973.
Virtually nothing from the Paramount Theatre was deemed worthy of salvaging. Well documented in its demolition, photos show the seats and interior design viewable - not only from inside the theatre - but from the street as the demolition process proceeded.
The Point Theatre opened April 7, 1915 with Edna Payne in “Saved by a Telephone.” It was housed in the 1891-built Commercial National Bank Building. New Manager J.W. Prevo took over the venue in October of 1915 changing its name to the Broadway. It closed in 1928 failing to wire for sound.
Reitzel Wagner took on the venue in early 1930 hiring architect Fred B. Klein to reimagine the space for sound films. The New Broadway Theatre launched as a sub-run discount venue on June 4, 1930 after a $22,000 refresh including equipment with “Sweetie.” In 1931, it became Wag’s Broadway Theatre.“ Wagner sold out to Paramount Wilbey-Kincey Theater which renamed it as the Carolina Theatre.
The Carolina closed breifly on January 31, 1949 with its final refresh calling for a glass and steel streamline moderne front. It scuffled trying to find programming to match its new exterior going from discount to first-run and back to discount. It closed June 15, 1952 with “Half Breed.” Its interior was gutted becoming home to a retail store in 1953.
Mrs. Minnie Broadhurst had the Broadhurst Theater’s Aug. 31, 1925 launch with “Don Q” and at the $10,000 Geneva Pipe Organ was organist Herma Stanley Quinn formerly of the Quinn Theatre in Chicago. Architect Fred B. Klein was among those in the audience that night. The Broadhurst converted to sound to remain viable. It reached the end of its 30-year leasing period on May 31, 1954 with “Salome” its final feature.
Became the Towne Twin on November 24, 1977 with “Starship Invasions” and “Oh, God!” Closed permanently on August 22, 1985 with “Weird Science” and “Volunteers.” Was gutted and retrofitted as a restaurant.
Cap - 291 seats
Opened with 562 seats in Theatre 1 and 338 in Theatre 2 or 900 at launch. Dreadful news on September 4, 1995 when it closed at the end of its 25 year leasing agreement with “Congo” and a split screen of “Batman Forever” and “Judge Dredd” playing at deep discount, 99 cent sub-run pricing.
The Trans-Lux Inflight Ciné operated from opening April 29, 1970 to its puddle jumping excursion into X-Rated fare in 1972 and 1973 and its red-eye flight where it crash landed on January 31, 1976 with “Airport ‘75” always under the Inflight and not the Westchester namesake.
A new flight crew based in Greensboro boarded operating as the Royal Ciné Theatre II beginning on February 6, 1976. And they went executive class with adult unrated films advertised as XXX titles beginning with “Miss September” and “Fringe Benefits” on a subleasing agreement.
Open noon to midnight offering the most non-stop options on a grind policy, that flight package was a hit running from 1976 to January 12, 1982 ending with “Spank Me Daddy” and “Tamara.” But the adventure wasn’t without turbulence as protests were not uncommon.
The next flight crew embarked on a discount fare policy as the Westchester Cinema with “The Soggy Bottom Gang” and “The Nights the Lights Went Out in Georgia” on April 28, 1982. The venue operated with the Southgate in Thomasville on a joint operating agreement in discount cinema. The Southgate disembarked in 1988 and the Westchester flew into the sunset in 1990.
The Kleeburg Airline Circuit claimed the runway relaunching the Westchester on May 3, 1991 as a discount house before closing permanently.
Closed January 22, 2026
Plitt closed after the Nov. 2, 1980 showing of “Halloween”
The reboot ad with widescreen projection on November 12, 1954 as the grand opening of the Crescent Drive-In is in photos with “Hell and High Water” playing on the new tower.
Opened on November 21, 1979, the Capri Triple opens with Apocalypse Now, Fiddler on the Roof and The Prize Fighter. The venue had 556 total seats at launch - Audi 1 had 300 and Audis 2 & 3 had 178 each.
The Havana Theatre was a streamline moderne movie house in downtown Havana, Illinois that lasted nine years before being suffering a major fire. It was retrofitted and reopened as the Kaye Theater with the theatre running for 20 years.
During the Depression and movie theater’s expensive conversion to sound, Havana lost its silent-era Castle Theatre as a movie house. It was unable to make the transition to sound and continued with sporadic live events as the Havana Theatre in the early 1930s before closing permanently.
Kerasotes Brothers Circuit likely inherited the closed Havana Theatre along with its operation of the Lawford Theatre. Kerasotes leased a building in 1936 and made a quick conversion combining the two-floor retail building into a single floor, streamline moderne movie theater. The “new” Havana Theatre opened on Christmas Day 1936 with “Adventure in Manhattan” with Jean Arthur and Joel McRae. It operated through World War II with a Kroger food store as its neighbor.
That more or less ended on November 3, 1945 when, at a 2p kids matinee, fire spread from the alley to the theater’s roof prompting Manager Edward Walker to move the kids and the film print to the nearby Lawford Theatre where the matinee took place. The theater was rebuilt pretty much entirely in a two month period reopening as the Kaye Theatre on January 18, 1946. The streamline moderne venue used the same cream porcelain used in other George and Louis Kerasotes movie houses. It also housed an internal concession stand and its seats were recushioned.
When Kerasotes was converting venues to widescreen for CinemaScope presentations, the Kaye appears to have been left out while the Lawford and the two-year old Havana Drive-In were transitioned. The Kaye appears to have closed in 1955 at the end of its 20-year leasing period.
Architect Aaron T. Simmons of George Howell Harris & Associates had two very different sets of plans for the New Castle. The first was more pertaining to a Castle and the second set of plans much more like the high rise it became.
The previous Castle Theatre didn’t quite make it to the January 24, 1916 opening. It had been deemed unsafe operating to the end of March of 1915 and razed in April of 1915. It has its own Cinema Treasures page. Organist Harry Wilson, who played the Hammers pipe organ at the previous Castle, was rehired as the organist at the launch of the new Castle. He made factory visits and helped design the custom pipe organ installed at the New Castle.
AA and WJ Gillingham built the Castle Theatre in a converted roller skating rink. Bathed in velvet red, it launched with 748 seats including six boxes. It began with “fashionable” vaudeville including short films on the Kinetograph. To distinguish from the Grand Opera House, it centered on films.
In 1910, the venue was remodeled including a $5,000 pipe organ by Hinners Organ Company of nearby Pekin, Illinois. Harry Wilson was the organist. But the Castle only netted a short-term lease of six years expiring in 1916. With the lease coming due, a proposal by the Knights of Pythias would have created a new Castle in much the same way nearby Seebrook, Illinois created its new Castle Hall. A prime lot at Washington Street near Prairie would house the multipurpose building.
The Castle Theatre programming did not make it to the New Castle, however. A city inspection in March 1915 ended the Castle’s reign early as the building was thought to be quite unsafe. It closed following the March 27, 1915 showings of “The Open Drawbridge,” “The Quality of Mercy,” and “The Millinery Man” supported by Harry Wilson at the pipe organ playing “Bum Diddle De Dum Bum That’s It” as the final organ number. The Castle was soon razed by Jeff Coit. Manager Lyons moved all the shows to the Chatterton Theatre.
As for the Knights of Pythias, they would find a new location for their proposal and the Castle proceeded as a new theater with the multipurpose building elements finding new occupants. Architect Aaron T. Simmons of George Howell Harris & Associates altered the original plans of the high rise.
The Chatterton Theatre programming was to be moved to the New Castle upon completion according to ads and articles. That arrangement actually ended in November - two months prior to the New Castle’s debut as the Chatterton returned to live programming. That six story structure’s with the former Castle’s film programming launched on January 24, 1916. Organist Harry Wilson would spend time helping to create the new pipe organ designed for the new Castle which he would play at that opening.
Northwest Ohio-based Legacy Theatres LLC will take over the venue in 2026.
Local dentist Dr. Lawford G. Pullen and two business partners raised $15,000 to build the 600-seat Pullen Opera House in 1914. It launched under that name on April 5, 1915 with live programming. The Pullen would show live productions and, on “dark days,” it would present motion pictures. The Opera House was competing mainly against the Castle Theatre - one of three nickelodeons in Havana, Illinois' early cinema days.
Pullen was no dummy as the movies brought in serious coin while live presentations were harder to book and challenging to market. So a month later, Pullen changed the Opera House to a Theater concentrating on film with some vaudeville. Its name became the Lawford Theatre. A $3,500 pipe organ was installed in 1918 to improve presentations. The theatre converted to sound to remain viable.
Kerasotes Brothers Circuit built another theater in downtown Havana - the Havana - in 1936 while having taken on the Lawford. In 1939, the venue was given a new air conditioning system and improved sound system. The brothers also gave the Lawford a major revamp changing its face and losing some of the Oriental styled interior to a more streamline moderne feel. Kerasotes converted the Lawford to widescreen projection to present CinemaScope titles in the 1950s.
Kerasotes left in 1982 closing after an amazing 67-year run. The theater was relit closing in 1990. It reopened four more times with a combination of films and live events. The Lawford Theatre closed permanently in 2019. On August 4, 2024, its roof collapsed causing significant damage and leading to its condemnation. It is very, very closed.
Jacksonville Mayor Howard A. Prather was at the Beach Drive-in on June 24, 1950 at its opening with “South of St. Louis.” It appears to have closed with “Pillow Talk” on December 6, 1959. The City wanted the property in early 1960 for municipal projects and Fred H. Kent of Kent Theatres didn’t want to sell. Reports suggest that the city used eminent domain to acquire the property.
The Lincoln Theatre appears to have opened December 31, 1911. Buddy Austin took on the venue on October 20, 1919 with Dorothy Philips in “Destiny” and a naming contest. The winning name was the Austin Theatre.
The Gem Studio and Nickelodeon was opened by George W. Meyers in 1907. It became the Gem Theater in 1909 and was operated by Meyers until he sold in on September 1, 1911 to Noah Stivers. Ira Thorpe took on the venue on January 1, 1913. C.M. Jacobs took on the venue on August 14, 1914 renaming it as the Dreamland Theatre.
In March 1915, Jacobs sold the contents of the Dreamland to Wyatt Halcom who took the equipment to the Weldon Opera House to convert it to a theater. A new and final operator came in opening there on April 29, 1915 as the Majestic Theatre by Charles E. Twadell. It was reported in December of 1915 that Mr. Twadell had “skipped town” leaving unpaid people and bills.
The building was boarded up for three months. Finally, it was gutted in March of 1916 and converted to a pool hall.
The Star Theatre was on 215 East Main Street apparently opening in 1910 as a silent movie house. The venue’s movies wound down in the mid 1920s stopping before sound but hosting live events into 1931. A.E. Pierce took on the venue wiring it for sound November 28, 1931 as the New Star Theatre with “Ten Cents a Dance.”
The New Star closed in 1932 and was reopened by R.C. Wheeler on May 10,1933 with “Red Dust.” It was used for sporadic live events and trade screening in 1934 to 1935 when it appears to have discontinued operations. When the Clintonia was closed for its remodeling in July of 1936, its equipment was stored at the Star indicating that McCollum Theatre Circuit simply bought out the venue. It became a feed store in 1940 and a grocery store after the War. It appears to still be standing as of the 2020s.
The New K Theater opened here in its new location on December 26, 1916. A.B. McCollum took on the venue in the 1920s and the theatre stayed silent as the K Theater until 1931. McCollum installed sound in 1931 changing the venue to the Kaye Theatre. In September of 1951, the venue got a streamline moderne makeover shown in photos.
Closed as the Clinton Drive-In in 1982. Reopened by Tom Gates in 1989 and closed in 1990 as the Clinton Drive-In. Mike Harroun reopened the venue as the Clinton Drive-In for the 1992 season on July 10th with “Field of Dreams” closing after the 1993 season and then moved the screen to his Harvest Moon Drive-In in Gibson City.
August 15, 2008 grand opening ad in photos.