Motion Picture News (Mar - Apr 1926)

March 6, 1926 1077 New Theatre Plans Continue Lively Kansas Circuit Contemplated; New Houses Announced for San Diego and Chicago; Fox to Enter San Francisco THERE was no sign of abatement this week in announcement of plans for new theatre construction throughout the country, both from the circuit operators and from independent groups. Practically all parts of the country figured in these various announcements, and nearly all of the projected theatres will be of large seating capacity and elaborate appointment-:. Famous Players Canadian Corp., Ltd., has officially announced its decision to erect a large new theatre of the Capitol Theatre type in Saskatoon, Sask., the work of construction to start in the early spring. Famous Players already has the Daylight Theatre at Saskatoon, of which F. Miley is the manager. The corporation has large theatres at Begin a and Moose Jaw in the Province of Saskatchewan. This province is now bounding ahead as a result of bountiful crops. About thirty theatres will be included in a new chain circuit which is in the process of organization in Kansas City. The circuit is being established by a syndicate headed by Archie Josephson. The theatres will be yperated as combination houses, showing motion pictures and vaudeville. The syndicate already has under control the Gillham, Penn Valley and Lincoln Theatres of Kansas City, the Main Street in Lexington, Mo., and the Grand in Mexico, Mo. This week a 3-story building in Pittsburg, Kas., was placed under option to be rebuilt into a large theatre. Locations also have been selected in Trenton, Mo., and Clinton, Mo., with deals pending on many other theatres. The business will operate as the Josephson Amusement Company and the Josephson-Finklestein Circuit. These officers have been elected : Archie Josephson, president; Rube Finklestein, vice-president and general manager; Reuben Josephson, secretary and treasurer: Francis E. Ritter, auditor; Leonard Uhlman, general counselor; Moe Epstein, second vice-president; Herman S. Gould, director of publicity and presentations. Two more large first run theatres are planned for Western Missouri. In Springfield the steel work of a $400,000 house already has begun and the theatre is expected to be completed in September. The owner of the Salt Lake to Have New Film Exchange NEGOTIATIONS which will mean a $200,000 film exchange building in Salt Lake City to house all of the film distributors of the intermountain section, are about to be consummated, according to well-founded rumor. The deal has progressed to the extent that twelve of the big distributors have already signed leases in the building, which is expected to be ready for occupancy on June 1st. The plans of the building have been proposed by Woolley and Evans, architects, and bids have been called for. It will be a one-story structure in the vicinity of First South and Second East streets, and will be erected on a scale commensurate with the growing importance of film distribution in this area. 144-Ton Truss Placed in Paramount Building THE giant 144-ton steel truss, heaviest of the eight huge steel beams which will span the auditorium of the new Paramount Theatre building, being erected at 43rd and 44th streets and Broadway, New York, was hoisted into place last Monday. Police stopped traffic in 43rd and 44th streets while the derricks lifted the great truss to its place 115 feet above the street. house, to be built by out-of-town interests, has not been announced by Wingo & Wingo, Springfield attorneys representing the owner. The house will seat about 2,200, it is said, and show only the best first-run pictures. In Joplin, Mo., a site has been obtained by Monette, Mo., interests for the erection of a 2,500-seat theatre to cost $500,000. Work on the theatre will start March 1. George Tearney, Carl E. Meeks, C. J. O'Brien and M. E. Newman are among those interested in the recently formed M. T. & O. Corporation, which, it is reported, is contemplating building several large theatres in Chicago and vicinity, the first of which will probably be a house in McKinley Park. Walter Schroeder, local realty and hotel operator, has been named pi-esident of the newly formed New Capital Investment Co., which will built a theater costing: $1,000,000 at Madison, Wis. The Saxe enterprises will take over the house on a lease. Tentative plans for a new theatre for North American Theaters, Inc., were made known when a group, including Harry C. Arthur, Frank R. Wilson, and Howard P. Ingles stopped at Bakersfield, Calif., recently. Ascher Bros, chain of 15 theatres will be enlarged to 17 next month when the Highland and Colony open in Chicago. According to announcement from A. C. Blnmenthal, real estate operator of San Francisco, William Fox in conjunction with A. P. Giannini, president of the Capitol Company, a subsidiary of the Bancitaly Corporation, plans to erect a 5,000-seat theatre on Market Street, to be known as The Capitol. Fox also recently acquired a lease on a block of property across Market Street, which is separate from the theatre transaction. San Diego is to have two new theatres to cost $1,000,000, according to report. One is said to be a Sid Grauman house, at Second, Third and A Sts. The other house is to be sponsored by either the Junior Orpheum or Loew interests. The Jefferson Hotel Bldg., Syracuse, N. Y., has been sold to Marcus Loew for $1,600,000. The hotel will be demolished and a ten-story theatre building erected on the site. The N. Y. Times reports the visit of Herbert L. Stern, president of B. and K. to Mexico City for the purpose of extending his company's interests in that field. The Boro Hall theatre, Court St., Brooklyn, operated by Samuel Strassberg and Morris Goodman, has been sold to Albert Goldberg and Frank Koren, former operators m!' the New Atlantic Garden on the Bowery. The deal was consummated through Berk & Moross. For the past week there has been considerable talk and interest around Detroit concerning the rumor that Cohn Theatrical Enterprises would take over the C. H. Miles Circuit, until Lou Cohn stated that, this rumor was absolutely unfounded. Where the rumor started is unknown. Persistent reports are in circulation to the effect that negotiations are pending between the Stanley Company of America and the Wilmer & Vincent Theatre company for the purchase of the Wilmer & Vincent interests in a number of Pennsylvania picture theatres that are now owned jointly by the two companies. C. Floyd Hopkins, head of the Wilmer & Vincent interests in Harrisburg and Reading, Pa., said he had heard the report but that he had no information on the subject. Wilmer & Vincent operate six theatres in Harrisburg and three of these, the Victoria, the Grand and the Capital, arc partly owned by the Stanley Company. The Grand and the Capital are neighborhood theatres, and the Victoria is a large Market street theatre, in the business section of the city. Reports from Ohio indicate that AVilliam James, president of the M . P. T. O. of Ohio and head of the Ohio Theatres corporation, is negotiating for the purchase of a considerable number of houses throughout the state, both first and second run. James denied this week that he was acting as agent for any outside interests in the matter. Butterfields to Open New House in Michigan W. S. Butterfield's new Capitol Theatre at Owesso, Michigan, is rapidly Hearing completion, and will open its doors on Thursday, March fourth at seven P. M. Harry Easton, formerly manager of the Blackstone Theatre. South Bend. Indiana, is to be the manager. The house will play a combination policy of vaudeville and pictures. Vital of Canada Not Affected THE financial difficulties encountered in New York by Vital Exchanges, Inc., will have no direct effect upon Vital Exchanges of Canada, Limited, which is a separate organization, according to R. J. Romney, president and general manager of the Canadian company whose head office is at St. John, N. B. Canadian Vital has offices at four Canadian cities and the respective branch managers are as follows: St. John, R. J. Romney; Toronto, William Melody; Montreal, James A. Kirkpatrick, and Winnipeg, I. H. Allen. Canadian Vital recently announced the release of six James Oliver Curwood features, as well as various specials including "My Neighbor's Wife"; "The Red Kimono"; "1001 Arabian Nights" and others.