Prosser’s Theatre first appears in the FDY in 1931. It had 200 seats. 200 continues to be the capacity listed in later editions. Johnsonville wasn’t listed in 1930, but in 1929 it had a 450-seat house called the Princess Theatre, which was also listed in 1926. So far I haven’t found any web pages but this one mentioning a Ritz Theatre either, not even CinemaTour, which lists only the New and Prosser’s.
I did find a color version of a post-fire photo from 1957 on a Johnsonville Facebook page. The marquee is leaning against the side wall of the ruined building, mostly obscured, but it does look like it has a large W on it, so the house might have been called the New Theatre throughout its history. I’ve uploaded it to the photo page.
Frazier Associates, the firm designing the renovations for the Staunton Performing Arts Center, has this web page with a description of the project and a brief slide show that includes renderings, a floor plan, and a couple of historic photographs.
A photo of the entrance, a floor plan and a cross section of the Reel Theatre appear on page 32 of the November, 1914 issue of The Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder (Google Books preview). The theater is discussed in the text on pages 33-34. The plan notes a seating capacity of 300.
An ad in the November, 1914 issue of The Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder noted that the Empress Theatre in Decatur had been designed by local architect Charles J. Aschauer.
The Rocky Horror Wiki lists Don Pancho’s Art Theatre as the eighth known house to launch a weekly midnight showing of that now-classic movie. Don Pancho’s run of The Rocky Horror Picture Show began in March, 1977. Let’s do the time warp again.
The correct address of the Park Theatre’s building is 511 S. Jefferson Street. Google currently says that the dessert shop that occupied the premises for some time, Delish on Jefferson, has been permanently closed. The upper floors of the building are occupied by the Knights of Pythias Lodge, but Google says that is also closed, though only temporarily.
Comparing current Google satellite view and historic aerial photos, going back to 1967 during the theater’s second period, the Current building occupies the same footprint as the historic structure, but it is now three stories tall. This was its original height, but after the 1960 fire it was rebuilt with only two stories. While the current top floor of the building was never part of the theater, I’m sure the shell of the old building is still there, however greatly altered by its conversion for office space.
This cinema has been permanently closed. Owners of the property have applied for a zoning change and a permit to convert the structure to apartments and retail space.
While the front building which housed the Colonial Theatre’s entrance is still standing, the auditorium section was entirely demolished in 1983. There are press photos of the event available on ebay from the Historic Images Company. The auditorium’s site is occupied by a fairly sensitively designed five story office and retail building which harmonizes well with the historic front structure but is clearly built of modern materials.
Boxoffice of March 8, 1965 said that the new theater in Winston-Salem’s Parkway Shopping Center, promoted by the Schneider-Merl interests, was being designed by the Charlotte, NC architectural firm Charles Morrison Grier & Associates.
The May 31, 1971 issue of Boxoffice had two brief articles about three projects planned by the rapidly expanding Schneider-Merl chain. They were twin houses at Boone and Durham, and a single-screener in Roanoke Rapids. All three projects were designed by Statesville architect Tom Hutchins. The groundbreaking for the Boone twin was scheduled for June 1.
A November 8, 1913 item in Moving Picture World said that construction had begun on Sylvester Poli’s new theater at Main and Gold streets in Hartford. The architect for the project was Ferdinand Von Beren of Brown & Von Beren, New Haven. Von Beren designed a number of early projects for Poli. It wasn’t until later that Poli began hiring Thomas Lamb. It’s possible that Lamb designed some later alterations for the Palace, but the original architect was Von Beren.
The Novelty Theatre at 809 Main Street was one of the two movie houses listed at Winfield in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. The rival Jewel Theatre was at 1007 Main Street, where the Fox Theatre would be built in 1950.
A press release from early 2022 says that part of the Fox Theatre’s site was occupied by an old movie house called the Zimm Theatre, which was demolished along with an adjacent building to make way for the Fox in 1950. The Zimm was owned by an Oscar Zimmerman by early 1921, but the address 1007 Main Street was listed as the location of the Jewel Theatre in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.
The Bijou Theatre at Mayville is mentioned in the April 1, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World. Given that the numbers 19 and 27 in the upper corners of the Delchar’s façade probably show the year of construction, it might be that the Bijou was a different house. It could of course be that the façade was simply new construction on an existing theater.
In either case, an unnamed movie theater at Mayville was mentioned in the May 1, 1910 issue of The Nickelodeon. This might have been a different house, as no theaters were listed for the town in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.
The February 5, 1921 issue of The Billboard had this notice about the Colonial Theatre in Reidsville:
“The Colonial Theater, Reidsville, N. C., owned and managed by Messrs, Womack and Miller, opened its season January 11 with the ‘Oh, Daddy’ Company. Charles F. King the manager of the Colonial.”
The Colonial had been renamed the Broadway by 1923, when it was mentioned in the March 10 issue of Moving Picture World. The Broadway must have been open as late as 1962, as the poster on display in the vintage photo of it is for the Elvis Presley movie released that year, “Kid Galahad”. It might be that it was the last movie shown at the house.
The earliest mention of the Fox Theatre I’ve been able to find in the trade journals is in the November 4, 1950 issue of Boxoffice. The house was then owned by Neal Robinson and Tom Barrow. As late as the November 1, 1947 issue of Motion Picture Herald, Neal Robinson and Tom Barrow were noted as owners of the Crestview Theatre in Crestview. So far I’ve been unable to discover if the Fox was a newly built replacement for Robinson and Barrow’s Crestview or if the house was merely renamed, perhaps after a remodeling.
The November 23, 1955 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor said that “Neal Robinson reported that because of the decline in attendance he will close the sub-run Eglin, Crestview, Fla., which he reopened only recently.” Robinson would continue to operate the Fox Theatre in Crestview, as well as three houses in other Florida towns.
Prosser’s Theatre first appears in the FDY in 1931. It had 200 seats. 200 continues to be the capacity listed in later editions. Johnsonville wasn’t listed in 1930, but in 1929 it had a 450-seat house called the Princess Theatre, which was also listed in 1926. So far I haven’t found any web pages but this one mentioning a Ritz Theatre either, not even CinemaTour, which lists only the New and Prosser’s.
I did find a color version of a post-fire photo from 1957 on a Johnsonville Facebook page. The marquee is leaning against the side wall of the ruined building, mostly obscured, but it does look like it has a large W on it, so the house might have been called the New Theatre throughout its history. I’ve uploaded it to the photo page.
A Prosser’s Theatre is listed in the 1938 FDY, but with only 200 seats.
Frazier Associates, the firm designing the renovations for the Staunton Performing Arts Center, has this web page with a description of the project and a brief slide show that includes renderings, a floor plan, and a couple of historic photographs.
The Bijou Theatre at Tioga is listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.
Architect Bill Murphy, firm Brookbank, Murphy & Shields.
The first names of the architects were Charles J. Aschauer and Arthur M. Waggoner.
A photo of the entrance, a floor plan and a cross section of the Reel Theatre appear on page 32 of the November, 1914 issue of The Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder (Google Books preview). The theater is discussed in the text on pages 33-34. The plan notes a seating capacity of 300.
An ad in the November, 1914 issue of The Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder noted that the Empress Theatre in Decatur had been designed by local architect Charles J. Aschauer.
The Rocky Horror Wiki lists Don Pancho’s Art Theatre as the eighth known house to launch a weekly midnight showing of that now-classic movie. Don Pancho’s run of The Rocky Horror Picture Show began in March, 1977. Let’s do the time warp again.
The correct address of the Park Theatre’s building is 511 S. Jefferson Street. Google currently says that the dessert shop that occupied the premises for some time, Delish on Jefferson, has been permanently closed. The upper floors of the building are occupied by the Knights of Pythias Lodge, but Google says that is also closed, though only temporarily.
Comparing current Google satellite view and historic aerial photos, going back to 1967 during the theater’s second period, the Current building occupies the same footprint as the historic structure, but it is now three stories tall. This was its original height, but after the 1960 fire it was rebuilt with only two stories. While the current top floor of the building was never part of the theater, I’m sure the shell of the old building is still there, however greatly altered by its conversion for office space.
This cinema has been permanently closed. Owners of the property have applied for a zoning change and a permit to convert the structure to apartments and retail space.
Thanks for the update, stereo3d. Here is a clickable link to the October 23, 1954 issue of Boxoffice.
Also we have the current address wrong. Google Street view shows 225 Market above the entrance.
While the front building which housed the Colonial Theatre’s entrance is still standing, the auditorium section was entirely demolished in 1983. There are press photos of the event available on ebay from the Historic Images Company. The auditorium’s site is occupied by a fairly sensitively designed five story office and retail building which harmonizes well with the historic front structure but is clearly built of modern materials.
Boxoffice of March 8, 1965 said that the new theater in Winston-Salem’s Parkway Shopping Center, promoted by the Schneider-Merl interests, was being designed by the Charlotte, NC architectural firm Charles Morrison Grier & Associates.
The May 31, 1971 issue of Boxoffice had two brief articles about three projects planned by the rapidly expanding Schneider-Merl chain. They were twin houses at Boone and Durham, and a single-screener in Roanoke Rapids. All three projects were designed by Statesville architect Tom Hutchins. The groundbreaking for the Boone twin was scheduled for June 1.
Hal: According to this web site, yes, the Village East, then known as the Gayety, did play the role of Minsky’s in that film.
A November 8, 1913 item in Moving Picture World said that construction had begun on Sylvester Poli’s new theater at Main and Gold streets in Hartford. The architect for the project was Ferdinand Von Beren of Brown & Von Beren, New Haven. Von Beren designed a number of early projects for Poli. It wasn’t until later that Poli began hiring Thomas Lamb. It’s possible that Lamb designed some later alterations for the Palace, but the original architect was Von Beren.
The Novelty Theatre at 809 Main Street was one of the two movie houses listed at Winfield in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. The rival Jewel Theatre was at 1007 Main Street, where the Fox Theatre would be built in 1950.
A press release from early 2022 says that part of the Fox Theatre’s site was occupied by an old movie house called the Zimm Theatre, which was demolished along with an adjacent building to make way for the Fox in 1950. The Zimm was owned by an Oscar Zimmerman by early 1921, but the address 1007 Main Street was listed as the location of the Jewel Theatre in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.
The Bijou Theatre at Mayville is mentioned in the April 1, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World. Given that the numbers 19 and 27 in the upper corners of the Delchar’s façade probably show the year of construction, it might be that the Bijou was a different house. It could of course be that the façade was simply new construction on an existing theater.
In either case, an unnamed movie theater at Mayville was mentioned in the May 1, 1910 issue of The Nickelodeon. This might have been a different house, as no theaters were listed for the town in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory.
The February 5, 1921 issue of The Billboard had this notice about the Colonial Theatre in Reidsville:
The Colonial had been renamed the Broadway by 1923, when it was mentioned in the March 10 issue of Moving Picture World. The Broadway must have been open as late as 1962, as the poster on display in the vintage photo of it is for the Elvis Presley movie released that year, “Kid Galahad”. It might be that it was the last movie shown at the house.The earliest mention of the Fox Theatre I’ve been able to find in the trade journals is in the November 4, 1950 issue of Boxoffice. The house was then owned by Neal Robinson and Tom Barrow. As late as the November 1, 1947 issue of Motion Picture Herald, Neal Robinson and Tom Barrow were noted as owners of the Crestview Theatre in Crestview. So far I’ve been unable to discover if the Fox was a newly built replacement for Robinson and Barrow’s Crestview or if the house was merely renamed, perhaps after a remodeling.
The November 23, 1955 issue of Motion Picture Exhibitor said that “Neal Robinson reported that because of the decline in attendance he will close the sub-run Eglin, Crestview, Fla., which he reopened only recently.” Robinson would continue to operate the Fox Theatre in Crestview, as well as three houses in other Florida towns.