|
|
Original occupants may no longer exist |
|---|
PHOTOS I AM LOOKING FOR: BELT, SKYLARK & COWTOWN DRIVE-IN THEATERS |
|---|
Casino Theater was located in the Lake Contrary Park Grand Opening Sunday June 14,1914 Miss Myrtle Howard and her International Trio Worlds Great Society Dancers and Entertainers High Class Motion Pictures Afternoon and Night Admission: FREE--FREE--FREE |
|---|
 #1
 #2
 #3
 #4
 #5
Photo #1: 1925 photo of the Majestic Theater In 1925, there was an alley on the east side of the theater Note the telephone pole and all of the wires Photos #2 & #3: 1926 photos of the Electric Theater Evidently the Majestic was torn down and was replaced in 1926 Photo #4: looking east on edmond from 7th Street In the far background, you can see the original post office Photo #5: 1911 Map of Edmond & Charles between 7th & 8th Majestic Theater Grand Opening: Thurs Oct 13,1910 General Admission 10 c and Box Seats reserved 20 c High Class Motion Pictures Sullivan and Considine Vaudeville Doors Open 7:30 Last Date Open: Friday April 23, 1915 Last Movie: The Arrival of Major Janet & Buster Brown at Hicksville Electric Theater Grand Opening:Thurs September 23,1915 The Grand Opening show was Wilton Lackaye and Clara Kimball Young in TRILBY Admission was 10 cents Last date open: Saturday, October 28, 1961 Last shows played: Susan Travers in The Snake Woman Kieron Moore in Doctor Blood's Coffin The Electric & Missouri Theaters were owned by Durwood. What grand memories! As you came out of the show, you would smell the orange drink & hot dogs produced by Wakely's, a very small snack bar just west of the Electric. Wakely's was later torn down and replaced by the Victory Cafe Later, the LaFonda restaurant replaced the Victory Cafe Only a parking lot remains there now. Does anyone remember the shoe shop to the east of the Electric? How about the shoe shine stand on the sidewalk? I remember buying my first Buttercup Popcorn at the Electric Theater. A box of plain popcorn was 15 cents and the Buttercup was 25 cents. That was a lot of money for a kid back then who only got 50 cents to spend for snacks I remember coming to the Electric on Saturdays for cartoon/serial matinees. The 3 Stooges & cartoons all day long for 25 cents. Everyday they always had a newsreel, 3 stooges movie short, (or a serial like Rocket Man,Flash Gordan, etc) plus 2 full length B Class movies The vacant lot with the trees is where the Electric Theater once stood Photos #1 & #3 was donated by John Fulmer The Popcorn Girl photo donated by John Fulmer Wakely Advertisement donated by Terry McGinnis Some theater data donated by Terry Plumb |
|---|
 
Newspaper Advertisement: The Trail Theater was the only remaining old theater in full operation downtown showing movies until at least 2007, but it has now been closed down permanently.
It is located on North 9th Street, between Felix & FrancisAdults 65c Children 14c First movie shown: Fathers Little Dividend Starring Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett , Elizabeth Taylor Free flowers for the ladies Radio Broadcst announcing the Grand Opening Dedication by Mayor Stanley I Dale Exciting new features of design,safety,comfort and convenience Plan Now, Be A First Nighter Photo 3 shows the side exit which led to Mannings Grocery Store parking lot on the north side of the building People used to use Mannings Parking lot during Manning's store hours and this would cause problems The following information about the Trail Theater was located on the Internet, posted by Chuck1231 on Jul 13, 2005 at 4:48pm The Trail Theater is more than just a small town theater, it is a colorful part of the City It is a combination of art deco and modern architecture and has been a St. Joseph landmark since it opened in 1951 The neon sign with the colorful art deco lines extends across the front of the theater It is something to see at night The Trail is much smaller than most movie palaces but both it and the Missouri have the same color scheme for the front facade and feature some art deco in their designs The Trail has a partial glass block facade with chrome and a light, milk green glass front Glass blocks also edge the ticket booth which has neon lighting above below and behind it The lobby is lined with red English tile Beyond the doors to the auditorium the Jade green velvet seats are surrounded with yards and yards of velour cloth on the walls The stage curtain is lit by a rainbow of colors and is the same fabric as the walls The sidewalls give a sunburst effect from the special lighting The Trial opened its doors with the feature "Father's Little Dividend" starring Elizabeth Taylor and Spencer Tracey When it opened in 1951 it was considered on of the most modern theaters in St. Joseph The Trail was remodeled in 1960 and many of the special lighting effects were altered The red sidewalk was removed as well as the quarry tile but the beauty of the facade remained including the colorful neon When the Trial opened in 1951 it was owned by the Dickinson Theaters of Kansas City as they also owned the Plaza in Kansas City and also operated the Joe, King and Rialto Theaters in St. Joseph The Trail is scheduled to be sold 04/15/2011 to a local businessman. He plans on restoring the theater for multi-purpose use such as movies, plays, etc. Seating will be cut down and the screen will be saved for movies |
|---|
Grand Opening Sunday May 17,1908 1800 seats Admission 10c, A Few at 20c First movie shown: Virginia Goodwin in The Viper On The Hearth |
|---|
Opened on Wednesday, November 3, 1965 Showing John Wayne, Dean Martin and Jeremy Slate in The Sons Of Katie Elder Jeremy Slate appeared in person at the Fox Included was a movie of Eugene V Klein, President of National General Corporation, welcoming people to the new Theatre They had a search light outside pointing to the sky |
|---|
(605 North Belt Highway) Opened on Thursday, December 25, 1969
Adults $1.75, Students with AMC Cards $1.25, under 12 $.75 4 In 1 Fun Grand Opening 1. James Garner in Marlowe 2. Paul Newman and Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 3. Steve McQueen in The Reivers (Rated M) 4. This Is My Alaska (Rated G) |
|---|
 
 
The last shows were Elliott Gould and Candice Bergen In Getting Straight - Rated R The Missouri usually only had one A Class movie and a cartoon Some of the above photos show the remodeled Missouri Theater In 2011, the theater suffered some smoke damage from a fire in an adjacent building The Missouri Theater is now primarily an Arts Theater; dancing, singing, & misc acts George Carlin was the last act that I saw at the Missouri |
|---|
Photo donated by John Fulmer |
|---|
Last shows played at the Rialto was Pat Boone & Shirley Jones In April Love and Sal Mineo in Dino DEX THEATRE OPENED on Friday, December 31, 1965 Showing 3 movies - Jerry Lewis in Dont Give Up The Ship, Rock-A-Bye Baby and John Wayne in Donovans Reef The last date the Dex was open, Sunday May 10,1970 The last movies showing was Elvis Presley in Live a Little, Love a Little and Hank Williams in A Time To Sing CAMEO THEATER OPENED on Monday September 28, 1970 Live Telecast from the Eden Theatre stage in New York Oh Calcutta, a 2 Hour Broadway Musical Comedy For mature Audiences only,18 and over,must have prove of age Last date Cameo was open was Thursday July 1, 1971 Last shows was Hothouse + My Swedish Cousin, both X rated ASTRO THEATER OPENED on Friday July 2,1971 New Hours: 9am to Midnight Every Day The Most Adult Movies In St Joseph New Double Feature Every Friday Showing The Art of Marriage + Precious Jewels, both rated X Last X Rated movie was shown on Thursday December 16,1971 Movie shown that day was He and She - Rated X On Friday December 17, 1971 the Astro began showing non-X rated movies Astro Theatre last date open Thursday January 20,1972 Last showing was Doctor Zhivago - Rated GP On Thursday December 9,1971 the St Joseph Newspress front page headlines read: Trial Of Obscene Movie Charged Delayed Again Projectionist Clearance Wilson arrested on September 17,1971 Thanks goes to Terry Plumb for researching the above data The last movie I saw at the Rialto was RODAN in 1957 Since the last closing, it has been occupied by a tavern |
|---|
Last shows played: Jack Webb in Pete Kellys Blues Glen Ford in The Violent Men The Orpheum Theater was located on the northeast corner of 5th & Edmond. The original Townsend, Wyatt and Wall department store can be seen in the background. I only went there a couple times as a small child before they tore it down. It smelled of stale cigar smoke. Back then, people were allowed to smoke in the theaters |
|---|
Last shows played: Humphrey Bogart in The Caine Mutiny Alan Ladd in The Black Night In 1937 this was the Rivoli Theater. It was later known as the Uptown Theater and it was located at 2115 Frederick Avenue, it had 700 seats. It was built in 1941 and closed in 1955. Durwood Theaters owned it from 1951-1952 This is currently the home of Lehr Construction Company The last movie I saw here was Stalag 17 back in 1954 or 1955. When Lehr workers have the big door open in the summer, you can see parts of the old theater walls inside Rick Boyd recently took some interior photos while Lehr workers were in the building Thanks to Rick, we are able to see some of the old theater interior now The far right photo is a 1955 photo of David O Williams, the theater owner selling tickets in the box office. He did everything in the theater except rolling the film On the wall behind him is a poster announcing the weekly free drawing for everything from a turkey to a TV set |
|---|
Last date open: Sunday, May 10,1953 Last shows played: Stage to Tucson with Rod Cameron & Wayne Morris Home in San Antone with Roy Acuff + Bill Edwards |
|---|
Movie Shown: Song of Life Last date the Regal was open: Saturday, June 7, 1961 Last shows played: William Holden in The World of Suzie Wong Virgilio Teixeira in The Boy Who Stole A Million Regal Theater on St Joseph Avenue across from the Bottoms Up Bar & Grill They had the best candy selection in town |
|---|
Movie playing: William Farnum in Without Compromise Last date open: Monday, May 5, 1958 Last shows played: Audie Murphy In The Quiet American Pamela Duncan in Gun Battle at Monterey Hickory Theater was located on northeast corner of 11th & Hickory. |
|---|
Last date open: Saturday Feb 12,1955) Last shows played: Dragnet with Jack Webb Bait with Cleo Moore The Jo Theatre was located at 124 North 3rd Street (3rd and Francis Street) Admission in the 1950's was 25 cents for adults, 10 cents for kids I went there a couple times in the early 1950's and used to watch old time movies for 10 cents. They had a person playing a piano while the movie played |
|---|
Originally called the Olive Theater then in 1940 the name was changed to the Plaza Theater R.L."Bob" Dyson purchased the theater sometime in the mid to late 40's and ran the theater until it closed in the mid 1970's According to Bob's daughter Candace, there was a dance hall upstairs. Something that I never knew The theater was located at 1830 Olive Street. The building was sold to a church sometime around 1979. On Feb. 6, 1983, the building caught fire somehow and burned down The 2nd photo is a newspaper article about Josephine Hager, who was the cashier at the Plaza Theater for many years The theater had 432 seats and was one of my favorite theaters until it closed. After the fire, the building was razed and it is currently an empty lot. Many thanks to R. L. "Bob" Dyson and Candace Dyson for contributing the photos and information |
|---|
Belt Drive-In Grand Opening was on Thursday,April 8,1948 featuring "Smoky" starring Fred McMurry with news & shorts The first photo shows Highway 71 (Belt Highway) when it was still pretty much open country. The Belt Drive-in screen & lot and the Shangri-La Motel can be seen near the top of photo. The Belt Drive-in had a car capacity of 550 If you look at the photo closely, you can see that the Belt Drive-In used to sit on a tall mound. You had to drive up a steep driveway to enter the drive-in. When the drive-in sold, they did major dirt removal as the entire area is now fairly close to Belt Highway height. The back of the screen faced the Belt Highway. The Shangri-la Motel & resturant/lounge with fine dining and dancing, sat at the base of the hill. All traces of both are now long gone |
|---|
Skylark Drive-In Grand Opening was on Monday,July 25,1949 Adults .50 cents, Fireworks Display at dusk, Free Pony Rides, Bottle Warmers + Diaper Service The feature film was "South Of St Louis" staring Joel McCrea The first drive-in theater to be built in St. Joseph was the Belt Drive-In. It was built in the spring of 1948. It sat where the North Belt meets Oakland Avenue today The Skylark Drive-In was the second to be built. It was built in 1949 with a car capacity of 600. It was located across the Belt Highway from the Belt Bowl The Skylark was operated for many years by the Kibbles, followed by Chester & Harriet McGaughey until it's closing. The above photo is a 1973 photo and was donated by Michael McGaughey. It shows the entrance to the Skylark. According to the sign on the far left, Return to the Planet of the Apes was "coming soon". Note the costumes, they were promoting the current movie, "The Legend of Boggie Creek The Skylark concession stand burnt on July the 11th 1982. The last two movies shown was "Poltergeist" & "Clash of the Titans" It caught fire about 2 or 3 hrs before it was due to open that Sunday night The lot sat empty for many years before selling to Venture. Venture built a store on the south end of the property and remained in business for at least 10 years Heartland Hospital tore down the Venture store and built a huge office complex in it's place Hy-Vee, numerous stores, a bank and a strip mall now occupy the Northeast area |
|---|
Cowtown Drive-In grand opening was on Friday,May 30,1952 They had a fireworks display at dusk. The feature films were "The Nevadan" starring Randolph Scott and "The Big Wheel" staring Mickey Rooney and Thomas Mitchell The Cowtown Drive-In was located in St. Joseph. MO. on the highway that leads to Lake Contrary. It was open for 20 years, from 1952 until when it closed in 1972 It was a Mosquito Haven, there were so many mosquitos there that it was very miserable watching the movies. They gave each car a mosquito repellant that you lit and put on the car's dash. (it never worked for me) It was a very bad location to have an outdoor theater, not only because of the mosquitos but there were several packing houses and stock yards fairly close by It held 350 cars and was owned in 1956 by B. Miller Mid-American owned the drive-in from 1969 until 1972 |
|---|
Current location of the Pioneer building Known to be in operation September 12, 1920 |
|---|
Now an empty lot Known to be in operation September 12, 1920 |
|---|
Known to be in operation September 12, 1920 |
|---|
Known to be in operation September 12, 1920 |
|---|
Known to be in operation September 12, 1920 |
|---|
Known to be in operation September 12, 1920 |
|---|
Known to be in operation September 12, 1920 |
|---|
Known to be in operation September 12, 1924 |
|---|
Known to be in operation September 12, 1920 |
|---|
Known to be in operation September 12, 1920 |
|---|
|
|---|
 |
|---|
