TheatreLinks

New listings compiled by Michael Moran

Spring-Summer, 2009

GREETINGS!

Thanks to a last minute infusion of links, we have an interesting mix this time around. In light of the tanking economy, it’s especially heartening to see so many cities and towns making the effort to preserve their cinematic past. You’ll also find some beautiful work by some very talented photographers.

Continue sending those links!

Michael Moran
michaelm6@ca.rr.com

MY TOP PICK!

Check out:

The Cinema Museum
http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk
Their work in their preservation of the minutia of cinema exhibition is nothing short of astonishing.

NEW U.S. THEATRE LINKS

Rialto Community Arts Center (Morrilton AR)
http://www.rialtoartscenter.com/index.html
After years of decay, the city of Morrilton acquired the Rialto in 1995. The Rialto Community Arts Center was formed in December of 1996 as a subsidiary of The Arts Council of Conway County. The Board of Directors agreed to begin renovation to return the Rialto to its former glory by reconverting the theatre into one open area with balcony and seating for 400.

Lark Theater (Larkspur CA)
http://www.larktheater.net
A Marin County theatre that for a time was a repertory cinema. It has recently reopened, screening independent films, old classics, documentaries, foreign films, and family-oriented special programs.

State Theatre (Red Bluff CA)
http://www.statetheatreredbluff.com/index.html
The State Theatre has reopened as a performing arts center. The current renovation includes the removal of walls that were added to create multiple screening rooms within the theater's original auditorium. As these walls have come down, the theatre's murals have become more prominent. The theater recently received a preservation award from the Art Deco Society of California.

Rialto Center For The Arts (Atlanta GA)
http://www.rialtocenter.org/
In 1962, the original Rialto was razed and a larger one with a seating capacity of 1,200 was constructed. Georgia State University acquired the property in 1991 and converted it into one of Atlanta's premiere concert venues.

James Adams Floating Theatre (Indian Head MD)
http://jamesadamsfloatingtheatre.org
The original James Adams Floating Theatre was lost to history when it was destroyed by fire in 1941 while being towed to Savannah, GA to be refitted. Chesapeake Bay Floating Theatre, Inc. is comprised of concerned citizens working to return this lost national treasure to serving coastal communities.

Alger Theater (Detroit MI)
http://www.algertheater.org
Opened in 1935, the Art Deco Alger Theater was originally built for the United Detroit Circuit. While its interior was modernized in the 1970s, its exterior was left relatively untouched. The Alger was forced to close in 1985 after a fire damaged much of the interior. In 1987, the theatre was purchased by The Friends of the Alger, whose goal is to return the theatre to its original appearance.

Detroit Opera House (Detroit MI)
http://www.michiganopera.org
The Detroit Opera House (Paramount/Broadway-Capitol/Grand Circus) was considered Detroit's first official movie palace. Its architect, C. Howard Crane, designed the Capitol in the style of the Italian Renaissance, and its facade, with its soaring Corinthian columns, loomed over Broadway like a royal palace. It was restored by the Michigan Opera Theater in 1989.

Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts (Detroit MI)
http://www.musichall.org/
Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts is a magnificent, fully restored 1928 historic theatre seating 1701 and holding four lounge areas. As the last remaining legitimate stage theatre, Music Hall is the only Detroit venue built for the primary purpose of presenting live performances.

Albemarle Opera House (Albemarle NC)
www.albemarleoperahouse.com
Located in the city of Albemarle, North Carolina, the Opera House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building, built in 1907 by the contractor Locke Anderson Moody, is currently owned by the descendants of the original owners, F.E. Starnes, D.F. Parker and J.C. Parker. The Opera House held performances from 1908 to 1913 then was converted to a movie theatre for the 1914 and 1915 seasons. After several seasons of disuse it became an annex to the undertaker's shop that was next door.

Goodwill Theatre (Johnson City NY)
http://www.goodwilltheatre.net
The theatre was built in 1920 and, in its early years, was largely used for minstrel shows, boxing matches, traveling shows and concerts. It was leased in 1928 and operated as a movie-house for thirty years closing in 1960. Now The Goodwill Theatre project will bring the former Village Municipal building and the former EJ Medical building back to life housing a multidisciplinary Arts Conservatory and 3 performance spaces, lobbies, rehearsal halls and classrooms.

Stone Opera House (Binghamton NY)
http://nyslandmarks.com/treasures/09jan.htm
The Stone Opera House opened on 11th October 1892 with "Fadette". It was designed by architects Sanford O. Lacey and E.H. Bartoo in what has been described as a Richardsonian Romanesque style. Seating is located on three levels, orchestra and horseshoe-shaped balconies. It became a full time movie theatre, known as the Riviera, in 1930 and closed in 1973.

Tarrytown Music Hall (Tarrytown NY)
http://www.tarrytownmusichall.org/index.html
The Tarrytown Music Hall, built in 1885 by chocolate manufacturer William Wallace, is listed on the National Register for Historic Places and is the oldest operating theater in Westchester. The Music Hall is a fully operating 843-seat theatre and is home to first class jazz, folk, blues and classical concerts, plays, musicals, operas, comedy, dance performances, and independent, foreign, classic, documentary and family oriented films.

Whiteside Theatre Foundation (Corvallis OR)
http://www.whitesidefriends.org/
The Whiteside Theatre Foundation supports a multi-purpose entertainment and events venue in the restored historic Whiteside Theatre that enhances economic vitality and cultural diversity of downtown Corvallis for the benefit of the entire community.

Devon Theater for the Performing Arts (Philadelphia PA)
http://www.devontheater.org/
This nearly 800 seat movie house was designed in late Streamline Moderne style by the firm of Thalheimer & Weitz. It opened in 1946.

Grand Theater (East Greenville PA)
http://www.thegrandtheater.org/
The Grand Theater opened October 4, 1924 and closed in March of 2004. In August 2004, there were new owners who set about to restore the theatre. The auditorium's original tin ceilings were reproduced, and the wood was restored. In the lobby, more tin was found behind the dropped ceiling. The theatre, now known as the Grand Theater again, has been restored to its 1924 appearance and reopened July 29, 2005.

Montgomery Theater (Souderton PA)
http://montgomerytheater.org/index.html
The structure that houses Montgomery Theater in Southeastern Pennsylvania was once the old Souderton firehouse. The main floor of the structure, the original engine room, was renovated into a new 122-seat theatre.

Fox Theatre (Columbia SC)
http://www.nickelodeon.org/fox.php
Opened as the State Theatre on July 2, 1936. The Fox is the last remaining theatre building in downtown Columbia. Recently purchased by the Columbia Film Society in hopes that it will become the Nickelodeon Theatre.

Egyptian Theatre (Ogden UT)
http://egyptiantheatrefoundation.org
Built in 1924, Peery's Egyptian Theatre was constructed to give the audience the feeling of sitting between two Egyptian buildings with a blue plaster ceiling which, in the early days, had projected dawns, sunsets and night sky images. The theatre has been restored to all of its original beauty. The site contains some nice historic photos.

Pulaski Theatre (Pulaski VA)
http://pulaskitheatre.org/index.html
The Pulaski Theatre closed to the public in 1991 and the property began to deteriorate and fall into disrepair. On February 11, 1992 the owners gave the building to the county. The Friends of the Theatre group was incorporated in 1993, and the effort to save the theatre and renovate the building began. Major renovation construction has been completed on the building and the theatre is nearing completion.

Wayne Theatre Project (Waynesboro VA)
http://www.waynetheatre.org/welcome.html
The latest information about the restoration of the Wayne Theatre in Waynesboro, Virginia, and the activities of the Wayne Theatre Alliance. Small photo gallery.

Fox Theatre (Centralia WA)
http://www.centraliafoxtheatre.com
This single screen theatre opened on September 5, 1930 and closed in 1998. In 2004 The Fox Theatre was sold to the non-profit group Opera Pacfica, which began the process of restoring the theater. It was occasionally used for movie screenings. It was bought back by the city of Centralia in 2007, and restoration work continues. Film performances began in early 2009.

Ritz Theater (Hinton WV)
www.ritzwv.com
The Ritz is an intimate theatre in a small town in southern West Virginia. The theatre has had several marquees over the years. They anticipate replacing the present marquee with something that resembles the original marquee in the first quarter of 2010 with a grand reopening at that time.

NEW INTERNATIONAL THEATRE LINKS

Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace (Cremorne NSW AUSTRALIA)
http://www.orpheum.com.au
The historic Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace is a six cinema complex located in Cremorne on Sydney's lower North Shore. The Orpheum opened in October, 1935 with seating for 1,700 people on two levels and offered a standard of comfort which was second-to-none, a tradition which continues to this day.

Grand Theatre (Blackpool ENGLAND)
http://www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk/information/6/266/Blackpool-Theatres
This page contains images of Blackpool theatres, past and present. These include box plans for the Opera House, Palace Theatre, Grand Theatre, Tower Aquatic & Variety Circus.

Wilton’s Music Hall (London ENGLAND)
http://www.wiltons.org.uk/
Wilton’s is the last surviving and oldest grand music hall in the world. For close to 30 years, starting in 1859, Wilton’s was alive with the magic of classical overtures, opera, choral, folk, dance, burlesque, circus acts, comedy and contemporary songs. Today is once again becoming a vital part of the East End community and an exciting and exotic venue for national and international audiences.

Garrick Theatre (Bonavista NL CANADA)
http://www.garricktheatre.ca/
The Garrick Theatre in Bonavista opened to the public on Christmas Day, 1945. The Garrick finally closed in 2000 and the theatre was donated to the Bonavista Historical Society in 2003. It is one of the oldest surviving theatres in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Theatres in Saint Petersburg (Saint Petersburg RUSSIA)
http://www.ostwest.com/en/russian-cities/stpetersburg/sightseeing/theatres/

NEW THEATRE-RELATED SITE LINKS

The American Widescreen Museum
http://www.widescreenmuseum.com
This Cyber Museum features extensive coverage of Cinerama, CinemaScope, Technirama, Panavision, Vistavision, Superscope, Todd-AO, Technicolor, Cinecolor, Kinemacolor and other motion picture photographic processes. It also features a great deal of historic material on the development of early motion picture sound systems of the variable area and variable density optical soundtracks, plus Vitaphone sound.

Built St. Louis
http://www.builtstlouis.net/ambassador-tw01.html
Some of the last photos of the magnificent St Louis Ambassador Theater. Part of a site paying “tribute” to the destruction of St Louis landmarks. See it all by clicking on the "More Ambassador Building," in red.

The Cinema Museum (London ENGLAND)
http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk
The content of The Cinema Museum ranges from items relating to film production to film exhibition and the experience of cinema going. It represents cinema's rich history from the earliest days to the present. Be sure to check out the Guided Tour Video.

Forgotten Theaters of America
http://reliques.online.fr/theaters/theaters00.html
Ruins are the visible symbols and landmarks of our societies and their changes, small pieces of history in suspension. The Forgotten Theaters of America project is both beautiful and heartbreaking. Click the “>” symbol on the left to advance the pictures.

Houston Deco
http://houstondeco.org
From The Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, the site is broken into 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Scroll down the page in each section to the “Theater” section.

Is This Houston?
http://isthishouston.com/2007/08/27/retro-theatres/
Photos of Houston theatres taken with a cell phone camera.

London Theatre Links
http://wwp.london-theater-uk.com/west-end-theatres/index.htm
A comprehensive collection of London theatres and their links.

Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation
www.lahtf.org
The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation (LAHTF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting, preserving, restoring and sustaining the operation of Southern California’s historic theatres. The LAHTF is chartered to address the complex challenges of theatre preservation - including ownership, management, programming, preservation advocacy.

Mercia Cinema Society
http://merciacinema.org
The Mercia Cinema Society was started by four people in Birmingham England in 1980. Since then, they have grown nation-wide and become an educational charity. Their declared purpose is to encourage, promote, and publish research on cinema building history (which includes theatres which have been used for film).

The Movies In Buffalo
http://buffaloah.com/h/movie/tc.html
Everything you could ever want to know about Buffalo NY movie palaces, movie theatres, movies that were shot in and around Buffalo, projection methods, inventions, etc. Dozens of links to every imaginable movie theater and related databases out there.

Movie Theater Photos of Don Bayles
http://www.cinemaphotogallery.com
Mostly photos of California and Illinois movie theaters. Click on “The Gallery” or “Theater Index” to view the theatre photos. Photos can also be purchased from this website.

Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum (Freemont CA)
http://www.nilesfilmmuseum.org/
The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum is a resource for all aspects of silent film making, from their planning and production to their presentation.

The Pennsylvania Downtown Center
http://padowntown.org/resources/theater_listing.asp
The Pennsylvania Downtown Center advances the sense of place, quality of life and economic vitality of Pennsylvania’s downtowns, traditional neighborhood business districts and nearby residential areas. Listings are color-coded to correspond to the six Department of Community and Economic Development Regions. Many contain direct links to existing Pennsylvania theatres.

Preferred Theater Seating
http://www.preferred-seating.com
Theater seating and stadium seats by Preferred Seating. Attractive and functional auditorium seating, multipurpose theatre chairs, bleachers, arena seating, church seating, bleacher seating, church chairs, lecture room seats and telescopic seating designs available.

Theatre Organ CDs (Chicago IL)
http://www.theatreorgancds.com/
TheatreOrganCDs strives to be the Internet’s finest source for the top theatre organ CDs available.

Theatre Royal Stratford East
www.stratfordeast.com
Theatre Royal Stratford East works to discover and develop new talent and new audiences.

CHANGES/UPDATES

Web addresses and/or descriptions may have changeg for the following sites. If you have personal bookmarks, you may need to update them.

Bama Theatre (Tuscaloosa AL)
http://www.tuscarts.org/bamatheatre.html
The Bama Theatre was converted to a performing arts center in 1976 and was completely renovated for live theatrical use. One of the last movie palaces built in the South, the building was an interesting mixture of the Beaux Arts, Art Deco, and Moderne styles popular during the period and the lavish "atmospheric" style of theatre architecture popular in the 1920's. Includes some virtual tours.

Big Time for a Dime
http://www.ncgenweb.us/conover/canova.htm
“The movie history of the Catawba Valley began in 1889 with the building of the Elliott Opera House in Hickory. Eventually, Don's research uncovered pioneer theatre owners of Colonial Theaters, and Kenneth Benfield Theaters, Inc. and others. This undertaking has involved several years of researching and interviews with those who proudly promoted and presented film entertainment to Western North Carolina movie-goers.”

Garden Theatre (Winter Garden FL)
http://www.gardentheatre.org
Constructed in 1935 in the Mediterranean Revival style, the interior of the theatre was modeled after a Spanish courtyard with “Romeo & Juliet” balconies, Spanish tile roof and a dark blue ceiling resplendent with “stars.” The Garden Theatre underwent several renovations until closing in 1963, falling victim to the popularity of television. Soon after, the interior was completely removed and the sloped floor was covered with cement to level the surface to be used by a farm supply store.

Additions and corrections to the listings are most welcome! Please send information to the TheatreLinks editor, Michael Moran, at michaelm6@ca.rr.com. Any technical problems or questions concerning this site or the links should be addressed to the Webmaster.

We invite any interested websites -- particularly those of individual theatres -- to link to this site. If you do so, please let us know.

Please note that the descriptive comments are written at the time each site is first reviewed and that subsequent changes to a site's content are often made. The comments are the personal opinion(s) of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Theatre Historical Society of America.

TOP | HOME