Contributions of the group Movie Theaters & Drive Ins

Hippodrome

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Sat, 21 May 2022 06:25:47 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The Bristol Hippodrome was designed by the renowned Theatre architect, Frank Matcham for Oswald Stoll, and was second only in size and grandeur to his London Coliseum, also designed by Frank Matcham in 1904. It opened on the 16th of December 1912. The Theatre's main entrance was constructed on the site of the former Smith & Co Furnishers shop. The frontage has been rebuilt at some point, possibly when the Hippodrome operated as a cinema in the 1930s.

Green Cove Springs Clay Theatre (#0334)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 06:57:36 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Historic Clay Theater in Green Cover Springs. Per Cinematreasures, it opened in 1919 as the Palace Opera House, converted to movies in 1936, went through various remodelings of the interior, but has struggled to stay open since the 1990’s. Cinematreasures describes the architecture as ‘streamline moderne’, though to me it looks more similar to the earlier art deco.

cinematreasures.org/theaters/6821

(Part of a photo-essay series on personal history and race, with keyword FlaAla0518)

Jacksonville Reflections - San Marco (#0106)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 31 May 2018 00:01:00 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The San Marco Theatre, built in 1938 and in operation ever since. I was too young to appreciate the movies seen there, it was just a site for diversion and that rare thing of the 1950’s – air conditioning! My oldest brother would take us there for Saturday afternoon movies, though probably the real reason was to give mother some free time.

Oddly, even though many theaters in north Florida had segregated seating in the 1950’s, San Marco didn’t have anything that specifically separated out ‘colored’ (the term used in those days). Of course, the lack of such explicit division of seating may have been because the only blacks that came into San Marcos in those days were maids for local residents who either weren’t going to be going to the theater, or may have been explicitly denied access.

….

The theater is the center of the San Marco shopping area, an area that has stayed active for 80 years. Many decades ago it was a place where just about everyone from the surrounding residential areas went for a quick lunch, gas or tires for the car or bike repair, to buy shoes, for groceries, or for sundries at the drug store or 5-and-dime. The development of shopping malls killed off much of that and there were some periods in the past of multiple empty storefronts in San Marco. Now, though, the economy seems to be booming and the place is busy, though clearly with a more gentrified clientele in the specialty shops, coffee spots, and restaurants.

(Part of a photo-essay series on personal history and race with keyword FlaAla0518)

LA Roxie Theater (#0951)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Tue, 01 May 2018 07:42:55 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The Roxie Theater, one of the three contiguous theaters in the 500 block of Broadway. The Roxie is the newest of the three, opened in 1931 on the site of what was Quinn’s Superba Theatre. The theater closed in 1989 and the former lobby is currently used as retail space. As noted on the adjacent picture, the Roxie, Cameo, and Arcade are owned by one individual and there have been multiple redevelopment plans which would alter the space. The Roxie is the only art deco style theater among the theaters of Broadway. The source below has many pictures of the Roxie over the years.

Source: losangelestheatres.blogspot.com/2017/11/roxie-theatre.html

LA Broadway history (#0950)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Tue, 01 May 2018 07:42:49 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

When I took this picture, my focus was on one theater, the Roxie. At the time I was somewhat curious about the Cameo that was next door, but only when processing the photos did I notice the third, the Arcade – I’ll focus on the Roxie in the next photo. All three theaters were part of a much larger cluster of theaters that opened on Broadway in the early 1900’s when vaudeville and early cinema were booming parts of the increasing urbanization that accompanied industrialization.

The Cameo (the big pink billboard on top) opened in 1910 as Clune’s Broadway, in 1924 it was remodeled and opened as the Cameo. It closed as a theater in 1991 and all of the seats have been removed, though the 1910 décor is intact. It, along with the adjacent Arcade (below) and Roxie (next picture) are all now owned by the same person and there have been multiple plans to redevelop the area. The source listed below provides quite a bit of detail about the Cameo and links to discussions of the redevelopment plans.

The Arcade, only partially visible on the right side of the picture, opened in 1910 as the Pantages, a vaudeville theater. At some point it was renamed as Dalton’s Theatre, and was renamed the Arcade in 1928. The theatre closed in 1992 and has since been used as retail space; like the Cameo, the seats have been removed from the auditorium and the space used as storage, with the décor apparently remaining intact.

Sources:
Cameo: sites.google.com/site/downtownlosangelestheatres/cameo
Arcade: sites.google.com/site/downtownlosangelestheatres/arcade

Albuquerque, NM KiMo theater (# 0852)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 07:46:17 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

KiMo theater in Albuquerque. Built in 1927 in what is described as Art Deco-Pueblo Revival style, the decorative motifs around the theater are quite intricate. The name of the theater translates into “Mountain Lion” in a language spoken by the Pueblo people of the area. The theater became a public performance space after the city residents approved the city’s taking over of the space in the 1970’s.

See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KiMo_Theater

Willcox, AZ theater (# 0777)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 06:50:30 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Per the link to the theater company (see below) the theater was built in 1936 and opened in 1937 with “The Gorgeous Hussy” starring Joan Crawford! See: www.willcoxtheater.com/5history.shtml

Raton, NM El Raton theater (# 1111)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 08:42:23 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

El Raton theater in the center of downtown Raton. The theater opened in 1930 and is still in use as a movie theater. Designed at the time to be suggestive of a Medieval Spanish castle, the theater still stands out architecturally. Per photos on the source document (linked below), the marquee looks much as it did in 1936.

Source: npgallery.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/nrhp/text/06001250.pdf

Corning CA Rodgers Theatre (#1526)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 09:04:01 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Rodgers Theatre, in Corning, opened in 1935, Per the link below, it is being renovated for being a performing arts center with funding provided by a nearby casino. rollinghillscasino.com/rodgers-theatre

Astoria OR Liberty Theatre (#1259)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 05:17:32 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Liberty Theater opened in 1925, it was originally a movie theater but is being restored as a performance space. It is reported to be quite elegant inside, though I didn't go in.

El Centro historic theater (#0946)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 08:18:19 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Per the links below, this opened in 1931 as a United Artists theater,in 1952 was taken over by Fox and became the Crest Theater. The Crest closed in 1999, the space appears to still be used for performances. Unfortunately quite a bit of the art deco detail has disappeared.

pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/11823
cinematreasures.org/theaters/2168

El Centro historic theater (#0945)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 08:18:28 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Not particularly well-maintained, some of the art deco detail of the former United Artists theater.

Banning Fox theater (#0364)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 09:35:00 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Per Cinematreasures.org, the Fox theater opened as the single-screen Banning theater in 1928, later taken over by Fox theaters and converted to a triplex. The building was remodeled in 2009. It looks to be nicely preserved -- the tile work around the doors and ticket booth is interesting (see larger version of picture).

Helper UT Strand Theater (#0079)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 04:39:39 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The Strand theater in Helper, UT was built in 1922 and stopped showing movies in 1955. From there the information gets confusing -- the theater comes up in multiple websites with conflicting information. Note also the rusted sign on top of the building past it, which is for the Hillcreast Hotel. The Hillcrest is behind the Strand is now apartments.

Price UT Price theater (#0069)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 05:10:34 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Per cinematreasures (link below), the Price theater was built in 1938 and still is a single screen theater. Next to the Price is the former Star theater (see adjacent pictures) cinematreasures.org/theaters/13830

Price UT (#0068)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 05:09:52 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

It looked as if downtown Price was still a shopping and entertainment area. Here, an apparently active and traditional appearing JC Penny.

Lovell, WY Hyart theater (#0581)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 05:26:00 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Surprising theater architecture for a small rural town., the Hyart theater, in Lovell, WY. Based on the link below this appears to be the original design. The Hyart opened in 1950, stopped showing movies in 1992 but remained open as a performance space, and then returned to showing movies in 2004. The link has interesting photos of the theater and an article written in 1950 about its design. cinematreasures.org/theaters/14538

Lewiston MT Judith Theatre (#0431)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 07:11:50 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Judith Theatre in Lewiston, MT. Per cinematreasures.org, it was built in 1914 and has been in use continuously since. It was transformed into a twin in 2006-7. The name 'Judith' probably refers to the nearby Judith Mountain range. cinematreasures.org/theaters/8930

Cut Bank MT Glacier Cinema (#0321)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 06:17:58 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Per cinematreasures.org, the Glacier opened in 1939. Didn't find any detail on the architecture, the style is sort of streamline moderne, but the marquee is relatively recent.

Grangeville ID Blue Fox (#0150)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 27 Aug 2015 23:25:50 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The Blue Fox theater in Grangeville, ID, opened in 1930 and still owned/operated by the same family -- the name of the theater was determined by a contest. The marquee was added in 1940; the interior was rebuilt after a fire in 1942. www.bluefoxtheater.com