The 1912 Crocker-Langley San Francisco Directory lists the New Bell Theatre at 3259 Mission. The erroneous address 298 Mission apparently originated with the trade publication that published the photo above, according to Bill Counter’s page for the New Bell Theatre at the San Francisco Theatres blog.
Bill’s page also displays a 1914 Sanborn map showing the theater at 3261 Mission. The building apparently occupied both lots, and was double listed in some directories as the New Bell at 3259 and the New Theatre at 3261. It was first listed in 1911 as the Electric theatre at 3261. The New Bell was last listed in 1916, and neither address is listed as a movie theater in the 1917 or 1920 directories, but the Electric reappears at 3261 in the 1924 Directory.
The old Bell theatre that this house replaced was across the street and a block up at 3366 Mission. It was in operation by 1909 and last listed in the 1911 directory.
The September 18, 1926 issue of The Billboard said that the Hershey Park Theatre had closed its vaudeville season on September 13, and would resume operation on Decoration Day (now Memorial Day) which in 1927 would have been Monday, May 30. At this time the house was still open air, and the item noted that the 1926 season had been successful despite much rain. The indoor Hershey Park Theatre was built in the 1930s and demolished in 1966.
The November 27, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World had an item about this house: “VINTON, IA. - The Palace is the name of a new moving picture theater opened here by M. Ford of Cedar Rapids.”
Attempting to find anything about architect W. F. Brown I have concluded that the 1917 MPW item about the house got his middle initial wrong. One of the best known 20th century architects of Cedar Rapids was William Jay Brown, and it must have been he who designed the Vinton Palace. He designed at least four other movie houses in Iowa.
The November 27, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World ran this item: “ADEL, IA. - The opera house here is now being conducted by Carl Hodsen, as a first-class moving picture theater.”
Here is news about the Olympic Theatre from the September 23, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World: “Weirton’s Olympic Reopened. Weirton, W. Va. -The Olympic theater, Weirton, W. V., which was damaged by fire on July 13 to the extent of $1,500, has been reopened after undergoing extensive repairs. The house presents an even more pleasing appearance than before the fire, as much new and attractive equipment has been installed. High-class feature pictures are shown afternoon and evening. C. H. Miller is owner and manager of the Olympic.”
A notice of the opening of Arthur A. Weiland’s eponymous house at Oakland appeared in the January 17, 1936 issue of The Film Daily. The item noted that Weiland also owned a house named for himself at Wilkinson, Pennsylvania.
The January 17, 1936 Film Daily said that Weirton exhibitor N. G. Anas, of Weir-Cove Enterprises, Inc., had acquired the Strand Theatre in Holiday’s Cove and the house was undergoing extensive remodeling in preparation for reopening. A Strand Theatre was listed at Holiday’s Cove in the 1927 FDY. The 1929 edition listed it with 250 seats, so it either moved or was expanded at some point, perhaps in this project for Mr. Anas.
The 1914 Sanborn map of Ely shows only a hospital building at the corner of Camp Street and 2nd Avenue, and it’s the wrong size and shape to have been an auditorium. No building on the map is labeled Opera House, but Google’s AI overview of the Temperance Building, which an August 9, 2024 article in The Ely Echo said became the Opera House, says that it was called the Finnish Opera House for a while. The Sanborn map doesn’t show a Finnish Opera House, but it does show a Finlander’s Hall, at what was then 21 E. Camp Street, corner of 1st Avenue. I think that must be the place, as the building is the right size and shape to fit the description of the Opera House.
The modern address of the now-expanded building is 43 E. Camp Street, and it was long occupied by the Ely Bowling Center, Lounge and Arcade (the original builders of the Temperance Building would surely be scandalized at that Lounge) but the Internet reports that the place has been permanently closed (probably due to the coronavirus pandemic.)
The October, 1914 Sanborn map of Ely shows “Motion Pictures” in a building at 15 E. Chapman Street. That had to have been the Elco, as the map shows no other movie theaters. The building has been demolished.
The January 1, 1949 issue of Boxoffice had an item about the renovations underway at the Lyric Theatre in Fitchburg, which was slated to reopen February 22 as the Saxon Theatre. The project involved complete redecoration and refurbishment, with new equipment, new seats, draperies and carpeting, plus new lounges and restrooms.
Warner’s Embassy Theatre in New Britain had recently had a new box office installed and the lobby had been redecorated, according to Boxoffice of January 1, 1949.
In early February, 1952, the Park Theatre suffered a major fire which began with an explosion so powerful that it threw the popcorn machine into the street. The March 1 Boxofficeitem about the event said that the house had been built in 1937 by H. B. and Lowell Smoots, who operated the house until 1944. At the time of the fire the Park was operated by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Alexander. The Alexanders were still operating the rebuilt house in 1957, when they provided capsule movie reviews to Boxoffice as late as the August 31 issue that year.
I’m not sure that this building has been demolished. Google’s street view from the Main Street side shows a long building with a barrel vaulted roof characteristic of many auditoriums erected in the 1930s through 1950s. The entrance end of the building is covered with shingles and fake mansards, but I think that’s just an alteration, probably from the tacky 1970s, of the original building. Google street view
According to this Facebook post the Gay Theatre was in part of the building now occupied by Buck’s Jellico Hardware, 152 N. Main Street. There was recently a small museum featuring local history in the part of the building the theater was in, but it might be closed.
Jellico had an earlier theater, the Palace, listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD and in the 1929 FDY. The building is still standing at 286 N. Main, but is currently vacant. A later theater called the Capitol operated in the 1950s. It was in the 300 block of Main Street, across from the Post Office. I haven’t found out much about it, but it became a skating rink for a while. It has been demolished.
Oddly, the 1914-1915 AMPD lists two houses called the Lyric Theatre at Hazleton, this one at 14 E. Broad Street, and another at 34 E. Main Street, an address that doesn’t exist today. It probably didn’t exist then either.
The earliest mentions of the Lyric I’ve found in the trade journals is a pair of items from the April, 1909 issue of The Nickelodeon. The first: “Hazleton, Pa.—John Powell, manager of the Lyric theater, will conduct a picture theater in Seigfried.”
The second: “Hazleton, Pa.—The Lyric, a moving picture theater, has been purchased by Krapf Brothers.”
The August 7, 1931 issue of Film Daily had a brief item datelined Hazleton about the opening of the New Family Theatre, “…recently constructed here to replace the house destroyed last winter….” So far I’ve been unable to find out anything else about this event.
Though it doesn’t provide a theater name, this item from the January 8, 1916 issue of Motion Picture News must be about this house: “The newly erected theatre of Nichlas Ciotola, on East Diamond avenue, Hazleton’s newest moving picture house, opened its doors recently under the management of William Schallas.”
This item from the February 11, 1922 issue of Moving Picture World must be about the rebuilding of this theater: “Joseph Weber, a local candy manufacturer who is building a new theatre, the Grand Opera House in Hazleton, expects to open with pictures about the middle of February.”
A follow-up item in the March 11 MPW noted that the rebuilt house had reopened as the 1,500-seat Grand Theatre, and also attributed the design of the project to the firm of Hoffman-Henon.
The September 17, 1917 issue of Motography said that “[t]he Diamond Theater at Hazelton was destroyed by fire. Loss about $2,000.” The reported destruction was apparently somewhat exaggerated.
Apple Maps can’t find this address. It should be changed to 1111 4th Street. The building is still standing and occupied by a real estate office. The 250-seat Royal first appears in the FDY in 1936. In 1926 there was a 250-seat house called the Lincoln and a 600-seat Opera House. Only the Lincoln is listed in 1927 through 1929. Fulton is not listed in 1930, but in 1931 a 230-seat Pastime Theatre appears. It is listed through 1935, usually as closed. I suspect the Lincoln, Pastime and Royal were all the same house. The minor discrepancy in seating capacity could reflect a more accurate count by whoever was operating it as the Pastime.
The earliest mention of the Lincoln I’ve found in a trade journal was from 1924, but Google’s AI suggests it might have been built in 1915. This is plausible, as Fulton does not appear in the 1914-1915 AMPD. The 600-seat Opera House from 1926 was likely the 600-seat Fulton Opera House listed in the 1914 Gus Hill guide, but the 450-seat Fulton Theatre listed in the 1897 Cahn guide might have been a different house. The Cahn Guide says the 1897 house had a stage 40 feet between side walls, while the Hill guide lists a 52-foot wide stage for the 1914 house. The Opera House is listed again in the 1921 Cahn-Hill guide.
This item about the Parkside Theatre, then under construction, appeared in the February 14, 1914 issue of Moving Picture World: “The Lyons Investment Company, of Clinton, Ia., will open a new picture house on Main Street, under the name of the Parkside, in the middle of next March. The Lyons Investment Company offered a prize of $10 for the most suitable name, and it was suggested by a Mrs. W. F. Jackson who submitted the name of ‘Parkside.’”
The 1912 Crocker-Langley San Francisco Directory lists the New Bell Theatre at 3259 Mission. The erroneous address 298 Mission apparently originated with the trade publication that published the photo above, according to Bill Counter’s page for the New Bell Theatre at the San Francisco Theatres blog.
Bill’s page also displays a 1914 Sanborn map showing the theater at 3261 Mission. The building apparently occupied both lots, and was double listed in some directories as the New Bell at 3259 and the New Theatre at 3261. It was first listed in 1911 as the Electric theatre at 3261. The New Bell was last listed in 1916, and neither address is listed as a movie theater in the 1917 or 1920 directories, but the Electric reappears at 3261 in the 1924 Directory.
The old Bell theatre that this house replaced was across the street and a block up at 3366 Mission. It was in operation by 1909 and last listed in the 1911 directory.
The September 18, 1926 issue of The Billboard said that the Hershey Park Theatre had closed its vaudeville season on September 13, and would resume operation on Decoration Day (now Memorial Day) which in 1927 would have been Monday, May 30. At this time the house was still open air, and the item noted that the 1926 season had been successful despite much rain. The indoor Hershey Park Theatre was built in the 1930s and demolished in 1966.
The Olympic Theatre was an early work of noted Cedar Rapids architect William Jay Brown.
The November 27, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World had an item about this house: “VINTON, IA. - The Palace is the name of a new moving picture theater opened here by M. Ford of Cedar Rapids.”
Attempting to find anything about architect W. F. Brown I have concluded that the 1917 MPW item about the house got his middle initial wrong. One of the best known 20th century architects of Cedar Rapids was William Jay Brown, and it must have been he who designed the Vinton Palace. He designed at least four other movie houses in Iowa.
The November 27, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World ran this item: “ADEL, IA. - The opera house here is now being conducted by Carl Hodsen, as a first-class moving picture theater.”
Here is news about the Olympic Theatre from the September 23, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World: “Weirton’s Olympic Reopened. Weirton, W. Va. -The Olympic theater, Weirton, W. V., which was damaged by fire on July 13 to the extent of $1,500, has been reopened after undergoing extensive repairs. The house presents an even more pleasing appearance than before the fire, as much new and attractive equipment has been installed. High-class feature pictures are shown afternoon and evening. C. H. Miller is owner and manager of the Olympic.”
A notice of the opening of Arthur A. Weiland’s eponymous house at Oakland appeared in the January 17, 1936 issue of The Film Daily. The item noted that Weiland also owned a house named for himself at Wilkinson, Pennsylvania.
The January 17, 1936 Film Daily said that Weirton exhibitor N. G. Anas, of Weir-Cove Enterprises, Inc., had acquired the Strand Theatre in Holiday’s Cove and the house was undergoing extensive remodeling in preparation for reopening. A Strand Theatre was listed at Holiday’s Cove in the 1927 FDY. The 1929 edition listed it with 250 seats, so it either moved or was expanded at some point, perhaps in this project for Mr. Anas.
The 1914 Sanborn map of Ely shows only a hospital building at the corner of Camp Street and 2nd Avenue, and it’s the wrong size and shape to have been an auditorium. No building on the map is labeled Opera House, but Google’s AI overview of the Temperance Building, which an August 9, 2024 article in The Ely Echo said became the Opera House, says that it was called the Finnish Opera House for a while. The Sanborn map doesn’t show a Finnish Opera House, but it does show a Finlander’s Hall, at what was then 21 E. Camp Street, corner of 1st Avenue. I think that must be the place, as the building is the right size and shape to fit the description of the Opera House.
The modern address of the now-expanded building is 43 E. Camp Street, and it was long occupied by the Ely Bowling Center, Lounge and Arcade (the original builders of the Temperance Building would surely be scandalized at that Lounge) but the Internet reports that the place has been permanently closed (probably due to the coronavirus pandemic.)
The October, 1914 Sanborn map of Ely shows “Motion Pictures” in a building at 15 E. Chapman Street. That had to have been the Elco, as the map shows no other movie theaters. The building has been demolished.
The January 1, 1949 issue of Boxoffice had an item about the renovations underway at the Lyric Theatre in Fitchburg, which was slated to reopen February 22 as the Saxon Theatre. The project involved complete redecoration and refurbishment, with new equipment, new seats, draperies and carpeting, plus new lounges and restrooms.
Warner’s Embassy Theatre in New Britain had recently had a new box office installed and the lobby had been redecorated, according to Boxoffice of January 1, 1949.
Warner Brothers' Art Theatre in Springfield had recently gotten a new lobby and redecoration, according to an item in Boxoffice of January 1, 1949.
In early February, 1952, the Park Theatre suffered a major fire which began with an explosion so powerful that it threw the popcorn machine into the street. The March 1 Boxofficeitem about the event said that the house had been built in 1937 by H. B. and Lowell Smoots, who operated the house until 1944. At the time of the fire the Park was operated by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Alexander. The Alexanders were still operating the rebuilt house in 1957, when they provided capsule movie reviews to Boxoffice as late as the August 31 issue that year.
I’m not sure that this building has been demolished. Google’s street view from the Main Street side shows a long building with a barrel vaulted roof characteristic of many auditoriums erected in the 1930s through 1950s. The entrance end of the building is covered with shingles and fake mansards, but I think that’s just an alteration, probably from the tacky 1970s, of the original building. Google street view
According to this Facebook post the Gay Theatre was in part of the building now occupied by Buck’s Jellico Hardware, 152 N. Main Street. There was recently a small museum featuring local history in the part of the building the theater was in, but it might be closed.
Jellico had an earlier theater, the Palace, listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD and in the 1929 FDY. The building is still standing at 286 N. Main, but is currently vacant. A later theater called the Capitol operated in the 1950s. It was in the 300 block of Main Street, across from the Post Office. I haven’t found out much about it, but it became a skating rink for a while. It has been demolished.
An early photo of the Diamond Theatre appeared in A Souvenir History of Hazleton, published in 1914. Scan at Google Books
Multiple sources indicate that the Feeley Theatre was designed by architect Arland W. Johnson.
Oddly, the 1914-1915 AMPD lists two houses called the Lyric Theatre at Hazleton, this one at 14 E. Broad Street, and another at 34 E. Main Street, an address that doesn’t exist today. It probably didn’t exist then either.
The earliest mentions of the Lyric I’ve found in the trade journals is a pair of items from the April, 1909 issue of The Nickelodeon. The first: “Hazleton, Pa.—John Powell, manager of the Lyric theater, will conduct a picture theater in Seigfried.”
The second: “Hazleton, Pa.—The Lyric, a moving picture theater, has been purchased by Krapf Brothers.”
The August 7, 1931 issue of Film Daily had a brief item datelined Hazleton about the opening of the New Family Theatre, “…recently constructed here to replace the house destroyed last winter….” So far I’ve been unable to find out anything else about this event.
The Palace Theatre in Hazleton opened on March 8, 1909, according to the March 13 issue of The Billboard.
Though it doesn’t provide a theater name, this item from the January 8, 1916 issue of Motion Picture News must be about this house: “The newly erected theatre of Nichlas Ciotola, on East Diamond avenue, Hazleton’s newest moving picture house, opened its doors recently under the management of William Schallas.”
This item from the February 11, 1922 issue of Moving Picture World must be about the rebuilding of this theater: “Joseph Weber, a local candy manufacturer who is building a new theatre, the Grand Opera House in Hazleton, expects to open with pictures about the middle of February.”
A follow-up item in the March 11 MPW noted that the rebuilt house had reopened as the 1,500-seat Grand Theatre, and also attributed the design of the project to the firm of Hoffman-Henon.
The September 17, 1917 issue of Motography said that “[t]he Diamond Theater at Hazelton was destroyed by fire. Loss about $2,000.” The reported destruction was apparently somewhat exaggerated.
Apple Maps can’t find this address. It should be changed to 1111 4th Street. The building is still standing and occupied by a real estate office. The 250-seat Royal first appears in the FDY in 1936. In 1926 there was a 250-seat house called the Lincoln and a 600-seat Opera House. Only the Lincoln is listed in 1927 through 1929. Fulton is not listed in 1930, but in 1931 a 230-seat Pastime Theatre appears. It is listed through 1935, usually as closed. I suspect the Lincoln, Pastime and Royal were all the same house. The minor discrepancy in seating capacity could reflect a more accurate count by whoever was operating it as the Pastime.
The earliest mention of the Lincoln I’ve found in a trade journal was from 1924, but Google’s AI suggests it might have been built in 1915. This is plausible, as Fulton does not appear in the 1914-1915 AMPD. The 600-seat Opera House from 1926 was likely the 600-seat Fulton Opera House listed in the 1914 Gus Hill guide, but the 450-seat Fulton Theatre listed in the 1897 Cahn guide might have been a different house. The Cahn Guide says the 1897 house had a stage 40 feet between side walls, while the Hill guide lists a 52-foot wide stage for the 1914 house. The Opera House is listed again in the 1921 Cahn-Hill guide.
This item about the Parkside Theatre, then under construction, appeared in the February 14, 1914 issue of Moving Picture World: “The Lyons Investment Company, of Clinton, Ia., will open a new picture house on Main Street, under the name of the Parkside, in the middle of next March. The Lyons Investment Company offered a prize of $10 for the most suitable name, and it was suggested by a Mrs. W. F. Jackson who submitted the name of ‘Parkside.’”