When Dayton Went to the Movies

McCook (1941-Present)

1267 North Keowee Street

Dayton’s "Newest, most beautiful theater", the McCook, opened on July 10, 1941. The design and construction of the building was by the F. & Y. Building Services who, less than two months later, would also help finish the Davue Theater on Salem Avenue. The theater’s policy was to offer four complete changes each week, with a single feature and selected short subjects.

The public was invited to inspect the theater for themselves, so that they could view the "soft, indirect lighting and modulated color combination" for themselves. Patrons who elected to attend the theater’s grand opening sat in air-conditioned comfort while watching Joan Crawford and Melvyn Douglas in the movie A Woman’s Face.

The theater was purchased by Pearl and Herman Hunt in 1950. In March 1958 the 900 seat theater was cut back to 700 with the installation of Todd-AO projection equipment. The Todd-AO process presented films in 65 mm size, almost twice the size of standard motion picture film at the time. The process’ six-channel sound system guaranteed that the sound surrounded you regardless of where you sat in the audience.

The Todd screen ranged from an inch off the stage floor to within an inch of the theater’s ceiling and presented a picture 24 feet high by 48 feet wide. Around the World in 80 Days opened at the McCook theater April 5, 1958. The picture proved to be so popular that seats to the shows had to be reserved.

In 1961 Dayton’s only super-size screen got even bigger. In March 1961 McCook theater installed a 60 feet wide by 20 feet high wall-to-wall giant, curved screen for the showing of Cinemiracle pictures. The Cinemiracle process eliminated, through the use of mirrors, the one flaw in the Cinerama process, the annoying vertical lines that marked the joining of the three pictures shown by the trio of projectors. Cinemiracle also used a seven hi-fi system ‘wrap-around’ process the virtually surrounded the audience with sound.

The opening presentation of the new process was a large affair that included searchlights and scuba-divers. On March 14 the premiere of the movie Windjammer was attended by seventy-five government and civic leaders from nearby communities.

As the years went by the number of patrons to the theater slowly began to drop. In 1974 the theater was sold. The new owners began featuring quality sub-run films with admissions scaled at $1 for adults and 50 cents for children. This was the first time a Dayton theater had attempted a lower admission policy on a full-time basis.

But in 1978, after weeks of averaging 20 patrons an evening in its 700 seats, the decision was made to begin showing adult films. Business immediately increased three fold.

Unexpectedly, the switch to adult films proved to bring positive results to the surrounding neighborhood, and helped bring business to the shopping center where it was located.

"Actually it’s improved the quality of the clientele" stated Richard Crawford, who owned a barber shop directly across the street from the McCook at the time of the change-over. "You used to see kids hanging around the theater all the time and sometimes there would be problems. But now you see expensive cars and older gentleman going into the theater and there haven’t been any problems."

Though the McCook is still open it is no longer a theater. Multi-channel television screens have taken the place of the old projectors. McCook has been remodeled and repainted several times over the last few years, making it one of the best kept buildings in the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, this might not last. As was mentioned before in the Alhambra section, Dayton Mayor Mike Turner announced that he would like to see an ordinance passed that would limit where adult-oriented businesses could operate in the city. This ordinance would require businesses like the McCook to be located at least 500 feet from homes, churches and other certain businesses. If passed, the law may require the McCook to relocate away from neighborhoods and commercial districts if it is to remain in business. What effect that might have on the area is difficult to predict, but it’s more than likely that the McCook would never reopen as a mainstream movie house.

Mecca (1914-53)

1217 West Third Street

The Mecca was the newest and largest motion picture theater in Dayton when it opened on August 26, 1914. Real estate dealer Julius Leopold chose Gustave A. Niehus to design the 500 seat theater.

The days when an empty storeroom could be converted into a theater were past by the time the Mecca was built. The theater represented an outlay of $30,000. The front of the building was 40 feet wide and 167 feet long. The theater had eight exit doors that led out to Third Street, as well as nearly that many leading out to the side and rear of the building. Fear of fire was constant and it was emphasized many times over by Leopold that the Mecca had been constructed of fire-proof materials in strict accordance with the Ohio state building codes. Even the projection booth was lined with a heavy sheet steel covering and was ventilated through the roof by a fireproof shaft so that if a fire would start due to the nitrate film the audience would be protected. Of course, nothing was stated as to what might have happened to the projectionist...

The architectural design was reminiscent of the Renaissance period, with two large castle like towers on each side of the entrance. Each tower sported an electrical marquee with the word MECCA spelled out in large letters. The auditorium and interior of the building was decorated in white and green, with ivory white ceilings, tan colored walls and Spanish leather wainscot. The stage area was fully equipped to look as if a play was about to be put on. Movies were shown on the screen in a black velvet shadow box, which was specially constructed from over 150 feet of a special velvet.

The front row of seats sat back twenty-three feet from the screen so that patrons forced to sit in the front row could see the entire projected picture in comfort.

Music was provided by a specially constructed hand-played Seeburg Orchestra piano, a new feature in the Dayton area at the time. In the main lobby a large, brightly lit sphere pendant hung from the ceiling to guide the patrons to their seats, helped along the way by thirty small ornamental lamps and several shaded side wall brackets. The Mecca was just as well illuminated outside, the light furnished by two boulevard style lampposts, of the kind used to light the city downtown.

Leopold promised to show nothing but high-class, moral photo-plays. The latest in silent films produced by Mutual Films, Shubert and & Brady Features and Keystone were shown in the beginning. However, by the late 1930’s, until it closed in 1953, the theater seems to have shown mostly second run and third run motion pictures. By the end some of the movies were being shown two years or more after they were first released. Still, the promise to show good movies was mostly kept over the years, even if the films were a bit old by the time they reached Mecca’s silver-screen.

The site where the Mecca once stood is now an empty lot.

Muse-us (1914-31)

Regal (1941-60)

1314 Germantown Street

James Kennedy, sensing the possibilities of Edgemont as a paying picture show neighborhood, put up the attractive 300 seat Muse-Us on Germantown Street in 1914. According to one source, the theater was something else in those days. The theater’s marquee, alongside Meyer drug store’s, (which depicted a unicorn that pounded a drought in a fiery mortar while flicking out a forked tongue), made the neighborhood a miniature white way.

The owner of the Muse-Us was big on people becoming involved in their community. He was a big believer that the right to vote was a privilege that shouldn’t be ignored. To encourage his patrons to vote in the 1924 election he began to exhibit slides bearing the phrase "Don’t be a peace-time slacker, vote in the election Tuesday".

One of the movie stars that helped keep patrons coming to the theaters during the silent movie era was Clara Bow. Known as the "It" girl, she is still considered by many to be the sexiest woman ever to appear on film. She was sexy off-camera, too, once playing in a nude football game with a squad from the University of southern California (one of her teammates was Marion Morrison, who later became John Wayne). Clara was once offered a $500,000 bonus by Paramount if she could keep free from scandal for the entire year. She didn’t succeed.

In spite of (or, perhaps, because of) her reputation, Clara was determined to be the top box-office draw of 1928 and 1929. During that time she had three full-time secretaries answering over 30,000 fan letters a month. Unfortunately, Clara Bow’s popularity did not survive for very long after the introduction of talking pictures.

And neither did the Muse-Us. Rewiring the theater for sound proved too expensive, and it eventually closed its doors in 1931.

For ten years the Muse-Us was in a sad state of faded glory, having turned into a second hand clothing store. But, in the spring of 1941 the theater was again revived and reopened as the Regal.

The theater changed movies three times a week and had a double feature policy, showing sub-run and B movies. Action and adventure seemed to play well there, as did westerns when they became popular in the 1950’s.

The Regal, like so many smaller neighborhood theaters in those days, depended mostly on word of mouth to draw in its patrons. Advertising by the theater in the local newspapers was almost non-existent until the late 1950’s.

The theater closed for good in 1960. By 1962 the building was being used as a place of worship by the First Church of Redemption. The site is now a part of Route 35.

NCR Hall of Industrial Education (1912-32)

NCR Schoolhouse (1932-38)

NCR Auditorium (1938-77)

1350 South Main Street

The NCR Hall of Industrial Education was built in 1912 and included the facilities to show motion pictures and illustrated glass slides. An addition was added in 1913, which included the distinctive 30-foot columns in front. A third addition in 1922 expanded the seating capacity to 2,274. The structure was renamed the NCR Auditorium in 1938 when NCR night classes began being held in another building.

Although the NCR Auditorium was not a cinema theater in the strictest sense of the word, thousands of Daytonians spent many a Saturday morning there watching movies. In the 1920’s John H. Patterson began the tradition of these ‘children’s meetings’. The meetings usually consisted of motion pictures and other forms of entertainment.

"When I was a kid (in the late 1940’s), that was our Saturday mornings." says Bill West. "They’d have Bob Kline, or as we used to call him, ‘Uncle Bob’, play the organ. They would put up the lyrics to songs and they’d bounce the ball above the words and you’d sing along with the bouncing ball. They would then show cartoons and movies, all for free."

Another tradition was the annual Christmas party held the Saturday morning before Christmas. "On Christmas they’d give you a silver dollar and a bag of hardtack candy. Of course, kids abused the privilege, they’d get back in line, so NCR eventually cut back on the silver dollars. When our kids were growing up in the sixties, NCR still had the meetings. By then it had gotten so busy that they had to hold four sessions. And you had to have a ticket to get in. NCR had 22,000 people at the time so there were a lot of employees and a lot of kids."

The auditorium was also a hub of activity for NCR employees. Noontime movies, newsreels and comedies were shown for years. Two full length feature movies were shown each week, one starting on Monday, the second on Wednesday.

By the 1970’s, usage of the Auditorium had declined. Repeated attempts were made by NCR to find someone to take over the building, even offering to donate it to various community organizations. But the cost of repairs and maintenance wasn’t something that anyone wanted to take on.

"The decision to raze the NCR Auditorium was a difficult one," the company said in an announcement. "The auditorium has long been part of the South Dayton scene and in its time served both the company and the community well."

The building was razed in 1980.

Palace (1927-68)

1125 W. Fifth

On Christmas Day in 1927 the Palace opened to an overflowing crowd of theater-goers. Patrons were greeted by Clifford Smith playing music on the new $25,000 Wurlitzer organ that had been installed. The ceiling and dome of the main auditorium was decorated with clouds and shooting stars that glowed in the electric lighting. Iron gates and expensive drapes reminded one visitor of "the days when kings and queens built their stately castles high upon the cliffs."

The theater had a seating capacity of 1300 in the main section and 500 in the balcony, making the show house one of the largest in the Midwest at the time. In back of the forty foot stage were individual dressing rooms with shower baths and other facilities for the actors that would appear under the theater’s spotlights. The new building, which also had an attached ballroom that could hold 1000 people, represented an outlay of over half a million dollars and stock was sold to patrons who were anxious to become owners of "The Pride of the West Side".

Built by the Dayton West Side Amusement Corporation, the Palace was planned as an "amusement center" for the black population of Dayton, who, at that time, were barred from downtown theaters. Dr. Lloyd H. Cox was responsible for the original idea, saying that he believed that the project would fill a great want in that section of the city.

A vaudeville circuit called the T.O.B.A. was hired to provide entertainment. T.O.B.A., which stood for Theatre Owners Booking Association, was also nicknamed Toby, or Tough On Black Actors, by its all black cast of performers, because it paid so little money.

For those performers with top billing, though, the association paid very well. Bessie Smith was a headliner, as were Butterbeans and Susie, Wilbur Seatland and his clarinet, S. H. Dudley and his mule, Hamtree Harrington, Sweet Mama Stringbean, and operatic soprano Fannie Wise to name just a few. Unfortunately, the Depression meant the death of the organization and the loss of many great actors who had to leave the business and find work elsewhere.

Around 1937 the building came to be owned by the Franklin Building and Loan Association. They, in turn, sold the theater in 1941 to the Palace Amusement Co., a Columbus group headed by Ethel Miles, for $74,000. The theater was completely remodeled with 1,100 seats, new carpet and the installation of air conditioning.

Up to this point, most of the movies had been either action or western films. The new owners expanded on the themes of the movies being shown,adding more romance and adventure films. The bill also included the usual serial chapter and bonus cartoons.

RMC Co. bought property from Palace Amusement in 1965. In May 1968 the theater was reported by a local newspaper as being in bad shape and in need of improvements. Patrons to the theater complained that the food was stale and Kool-Aid was being served instead of soft drinks. The theater closed later that year.

In 1972 the building was nicknamed the Ghetto Palace and was in use for a short time as a 20 bed dormitory for the homeless. Since that time it has remained empty.

The old building still exists, as does the marquee, although both are in need of major repair. The street and sidewalk in front of the building have been closed off, probably to prevent anyone from being hurt by the pieces that are falling from the crumbling structure. Another piece of Dayton’s history is slowly turning to dust. Fortunately, the city is learning. Hopes have been raised that perhaps the building might become part of a plan to renovate the area. Perhaps, in a few years, music will once again be heard in the historical, and irreplaceable, old Palace theater.

People’s (1915-28)

Atlas (1930-31)

Mills (1932-38)

Park (1939-57)

1808-10 West Third Street

In 1915 George Oxrider opened the People’s theater with hardly a whisper in the newspapers. Being so far from downtown, it wasn’t considered newsworthy. But that didn’t matter to Oxrider. The very thing that made the theater not worth mentioning was also its greatest strength. Only a few years before a new plat of houses had been built in the area. Called Westwood, the new neighborhood provided a lot of patrons.

In 1925 Oxrider sold the theater to J. Bernard Mills. Mills kept the theater for a couple of years then sold out to Everett Bennett and Oscar Stout, Mills using the profit from the sale to buy into the Mecca theater located a few blocks down the same street. Stout was out of the picture a year later, with Bennett carrying on alone.

The People’s theater thrived. So well, in fact, that Bennett decided to build a more modern theater in 1928, probably in order to compete with the new Classic and Palace theaters that had opened on West Fifth Street the year before. A new location was chosen at 1929 West Third Street and before long the "New" People’s theater was complete. (See People’s- 1929 West Third Street)

After sitting vacant for about a year, the old theater building was leased to J. LaTigue, who reopened it as the Atlas theater in 1930. LaTigue couldn’t compete and closed the theater a year later. When it came up for sale again in 1932, it was bought by J. Bernard’s wife, Iva, who named the theater Mills. Under her guidance the theater began to prosper, in spite of the fact that it was still showing silent films in 1936.

The theater stayed in the Mills family until it was sold to the Semelroth Theatre Circuit in 1939. Renamed the Park, the theater thrived on a double-billing movie policy of diverse subjects that ranged from romance to horror, although the second billing seemed to have a western "B" movie type of theme until the theater closed.

As happened with many theaters, both in Dayton and the rest of the country, patronage began to drop off at the Park in the 1950’s. Lack of attendance finally forced the theater to close in 1957.

People’s (1928-57)

1929-31 West Third Street

People’s Theater, having been successful for over a decade at their location at 1810 West Third Street, decided to build a more modern theater in 1928. A location was chosen across the street from Roosevelt High School and before long the "New" People’s Theater was complete.

The new theater had a seating capacity of 742, more than double that of its former location. In addition to the theater, the building also housed three other stores, one of which was occupied by Schaffer’s Drug Store.

The walls of the auditorium were finished in imitation Travatine, with Craftex borders, while the ceiling was paneled in imitation stone. Around the proscenium arch and at various points on the border were flowered festoons in a red and blue motif. Ten light fixtures reflected indirect lighting, while a large foyer was separated by glass partitions so that incoming and outgoing crowds would not disturb those watching the picture.

Although "talking" pictures were on the rise in 1928, the theater was not equipped for sound at first. Allowances were made in the projection room, however, just in case "talkies" caught on.

For the Grand Opening on November 21, 1928, "Hink" and "Dink", a famous WLW radio duo, appeared in a singing program called "Burnt Corkers". The program combined minstrels, comedy and quartet singing. The motion picture selected for the evening was Warming Up, which was advertised as a great football film starring Richard Dix.

Determined to be as competitive as possible, motion pictures were changed daily, except for Wednesday when the Tuesday movie was held over.

Peoples eventually installed sound equipment and went on to become one of the more successful theaters outside of Dayton’s downtown area during the 1930’s-1950’s. Like the Classic Theater, however, People’s began to lose business due to a combination of competition from television and the building of Interstate Highway 75, which cut off the area from downtown. The theater closed its doors in 1957.

The site where Peoples was located is now an empty lot.

Riverdale (1927-37)

Dale (1937-59)

1937 North Main Street

In 1927 the Dayton Federation Co., who was responsible for building the Federation theater the year before, built a complex in the Santa Clara District on North Main Street. One part of the structure contained a theater, named The Riverdale, which was leased by Mr. and Mrs. Philip Semelroth.

The building also housed several other storerooms, as well as eight apartments upstairs. Hopefully, the rent was cheap, for the tenants there couldn’t have had a moment of silence. Downstairs, the Page Organ in the theater, used to entertain patrons during the silent films, had to compete against the sound of an eight lane bowling alley and six table pool hall that was also located in the building.

The Riverdale Theater opened to rave reviews on December 11, 1927. As was common at the time, a well decorated stage with curtains was built so that the motion picture would look as if it were more like a play than a movie. The 1000 seat theater was usually filled, especially on the weekends. To make sure this continued the Semelroths were constantly updating their motion picture equipment. In 1929 the Riverdale was among the first suburban theaters in Dayton to offer their patrons talking pictures.

In 1948 the Dale was completely remodeled and reopened in December. The front of the theater was reconstructed of structural glass. New glass lobby doors were added, the lobby and rest rooms were redecorated. Snack bars were beginning to show up in the theaters, and the Dale was no exception. A candy and soft drink bar was built into the foyer. The shape of the auditorium had also been changed from rectangular to oval so that the enlarged screen could be seen from every seat in the house. Kroachler push-back model seats were installed, which eliminated the necessity of standing when someone wanted to pass.

The Dale theater building was purchased by Harry Feldman, of Feldman Realty, in March 1958. Within a year the theater was closed. In 1960 the old auditorium and rear lobby were razed to make way for a parking lot. The front lobby of the theater was retained and converted into a store room.

The building still exists and is in fine shape. The old lobby is now in use by Graffiti Graphics.

Salem (1928-53)

New Salem (1953-65)

521 Salem Avenue

The Salem Theater opened with very little fanfare in 1928. James M. Curl was hired by Salem Theater, Inc. to manage the theater, a job he proudly held for over 25 years.

In 1946 Curl was elected as president to the newly formed Dayton Theater Owners Association. Under his guidance local theaters approved a program that included the showing of movie shorts on the importance of traffic safety. The project, sponsored by the Dayton Automobile Club, was believed to be the first concerted action of its kind in any city in the country.

In 1953 plans were made to close the theater in December in order to redecorate the interior and add a snack bar. Unfortunately, the Salem found itself closing for good when leasing negotiations failed between the theater operators and the property owners.

The following year the theater was leased by Stravos T. Vradelis. After closing for a short while for remodeling, he reopened the theater under the name of the New Salem on July 2, 1954. The theater now offered air-conditioning, new seats and decorations and was equipped with a new wide screen for showing CinemaScope films.

Part of the reason the old theater had been in a run down condition when it closed was due to vandalism, which could sometimes run as much as $3000 a year in repairs. As part of an effort to try and alleviate this problem, Vradelis started out by studying the history of the theater, since it was something new to him, and wrote to motion picture executives all over the country. Before long he developed a program that reduced vandalism in his theater to less than $50 a year. To achieve this he did such things as give short lectures to the children urging them not to put their feet on the backs of chairs, slash the seats or mark up the walls of the theater. In return he rewarded them by running special shows on Saturday mornings, added a special matinee on Wednesdays during the summer, and gave them a free Christmas show every year. This plan worked so well that Vradelis received attention from both the Colonel White school and the Independent Theater Owners of Ohio.

Even though the theater was still somewhat successful, the doors to the New Salem were closed in November 1963. Vradelis, 69 years old, decided to give up the theater, saying that he wanted to rest up a bit. The last offering of the theater was Stop, You’re Killing Me.

In January 1964 the theater was leased by H & K Enterprises. The New Salem became the eighth theater in the H & K chain. Unfortunately, the theater was closed in June 1965.

The building was bought by Jacob Fisher of Cincinnati who hoped to turn the building into one-floor office space for one or more tenants. As plans for this renovation were being made, Reverend Auburn F. Haggard, who preached from the Congregational church near Piqua, signed a lease for the theater. On July 15, 1965 the New Salem was once again open, the billing being family pictures such as Mary Poppins, mixed with CinemaScope films like Von Ryan’s Express. First and second run films were mixed with sub run and CinemaScope films.

The theater would close its doors for the final time by the end of 1965. It was converted by Vic Cassano into the Tyrolean Village, a restaurant that also included Mom Donisi’s delicatessen, which featured imported foods. The sloping floor of the old theater was filled in with 500 cubic yards of sand, gravel and concrete to level it. The former projection booth was converted into "Juliet’s Balcony", which provided an eating area for ninety patrons. The remains of the auditorium were also converted into several dining areas, with such names as the "Marco Polo", "Villa Capri", "Continentale" and "Caeser’s Penthouse". Although the Tyrolean Village is now long gone as well, the building still exists. Neighborhood businesses are beginning to invest money in the area around Salem and Grand Avenues again. With a little luck, the old structure may yet be converted back into the beautiful lady it once was.

Sigma (1923-64)

Little Playhouse (1964-65)

Sigma (1965-66)

Cinevu (1966-69)

Todd Art (1969-92)

924 Brown Street

The Sigma was first owned by Robert J. Hirsch, who lived above the theater. In 1926 the theater was purchased by Philip Semelroth, who also owned the Wayne Theater at the time.

By 1961 the theater was purchased by John Holokan, who went on to form a partnership with John C. Keyes called H & K Enterprises. In 1964 H & K Enterprises invested $10,000 and completely remodelled the theater, installing new projection equipment, seats, carpeting, interior decorations and rest rooms.

Renamed the Little Playhouse, the theater offered popular "classics" of former years, such as South Pacific and their grand opening show, Brigadoon.

The decision to open that type of theater was based on an experience of Keye’s later father, W. A. Keyes, who had remodeled the old downtown Apollo theater back in 1937 and renamed it the Little Playhouse. His father’s theater ran successfully on former hits until 1941 when the owner of the Main Street property acquired a tenant and changed the theater into a storeroom.

In 1965 Keyes decided to pull out and return ownership of the theater to Holokan.

"We took it over a year ago and spent $10,000 fixing up the theater for old classics and art type films." Keyes stated, "but the fans proved all they want is sex and sensationalism". The theater was again called the Sigma.

On August 3, 1966, the theater opened under the name of Cinevu. Managed by Charlie McCartney, the theater opened with an unusual screen developed by John Harvey. Called the Ultra HarveyScope, it was the first commercial application of a technique he spent three years in developing. The curved screen was 40’ wide and 12’ high, more than twice the size of the theater’s former screen The major advantage of the new development was that, with minor modification of a conventional lens, it gave the small screen operator a picture similar to Cinerama.

"The curve literally draws the viewer into the action and gives the picture depth." stated Harvey. "All of this can be gained with conventional films."

The Cinevu theater then became the Todd Art Theater in 1969. The new manager was Emerson Newman, formerly connected with the Ohio Follies on S. Jefferson St. Local newspapers stated that residents near the Todd Art feared that the theater might turn to this form of entertainment. It wasn’t long before this fear became real. Although Todd Art began with a policy of showing foreign double features on a sub-run basis, it wasn’t long before they turned to showing adult movies.

The Todd Art may not have closed its doors until 1992, but its days as a movie theater were all but over when it became a burlesque house on January 15, 1974. Todd Art abandoned its skinflick policy for real skin. A Grade B movie would be shown, then a comedian would go into his routine. After the one-liners were over, the real reason to be there would appear. Bumps and grinds for the afternoon would be performed by three or four women, the last one usually the feature attraction. The first week this dubious award was held by a woman by the name of Amber Mist.

A local newspaper columnist wrote that the Todd brought back nostalgic thoughts of the old Mayfair theater saying that compared to what the Todd had to show, the Mayfair wasn’t so bad after all.

The location where the theater once stood is now an empty field.

V Theatre (1942-49)

Art Theatre (1949-Present)

1924 Wayne Avenue

The V Theatre opened without much fanfare on May 8, 1942. Trouble was, people were still talking about the new Drive-In Theatre that had opened on Valley Street just the week before. Still, the theater seemed to be somewhat of a hit in the neighborhood, especially through World War II. But as television became more common in the homes, attendance to the theater seemed to wain. The V closed on Valentine’s Day in 1949, with a last showing of Red River starring John Wayne.

On April Fool’s Day, 1949, the theater was reopened as the Art Theatre, under operation of Distinctive Theaters Corporation. The new operators stated that the theater would present Daytonians with "The Premieres of unusual motion pictures of International prestige". Art’s Grand opening feature was Shoe-Shine, an Italian film with sub-titles. The story the film tells is a grim one about two boys who buy a horse from money they make on the Rome black market. The black-market dealings land them in prison where most of the action takes place. This was not your typical John Wayne movie.

Still, the Art was tastefully decorated and offered an intimate atmosphere (it sat 466), that went well with the type of films it was showing. Other films offered that summer included Orson Welles MacBeth, and French films such as The Raven and The Room Upstairs.

On October 13, 1963, the Dayton Film Society opened its 1963-64 season with a showing of the 1926 film Don Juan with John Barrymore. This film was notable for being the first silent film released with Vitaphone music and sound effects. An old Vitaphone was brought to the theater and synchronized to the action on the film. The program also included several sound shorts. Other films presented that year included Orson Wells’ The Magnificent Ambersons, and Fellini’s The White Sheik.

By the end of the 1950’s some of the films being shown were considered by Dayton prosecutors as belonging in the "soft porn"category. In 1959 a manager was arrested for showing a French movie called The Lovers, but his conviction was overturned on appeal. The theater finally crossed over from low-budget, racy foreign films into hard adult-oriented films in 1972.

The Art Theatre is still open and has expanded to two screens. It is the only adult theater still left in Dayton to offer snacks from a concession stand.

The future of the Art is uncertain, however. Plans are being made to pass a law that would require adult theaters to be located at least 500 feet from homes, churches and other certain businesses. If passed, the Art theater may be required to relocate in order to remain open. If this happens, it is unlikely that the Art would reopen as a mainstream theater, especially due to the two multiplex theaters in Huber Heights. More likely, the theater will join the list of movie houses that have disappeared from the city’s landscape.

Wayne Theatre (1914-57)

613 Wayne Avenue

On January 21, 1914, Dayton’s newest motion picture house, the Wayne Theater, was opened by C. Fred Malin, who leased the location from George Richter. Located not far from the Market House that sat on Wayne Avenue, the dark red brick building, with buff pressed brick trimming, was christened "The Theater Beautiful".

Although the box-shaped exterior of the Wayne was not as impressive as the new Columbia theater that had been completed only the month before, no expense was spared on the interior. Designed by Oliver J. Ritzert, the entrance to the auditorium was through a lobby and corridor that were embellished with classic Grecian decorations. Inside the color scheme was green and gold with plastic relief effects. Side walls were done in silk green color, which complimented the cream colored ceiling. Handsome brass inverted lights softly reflected off a gold fiber motion picture screen of the most modern design. To the left and right of the screen was a space reserved for singers. Green velvet curtains were used to conceal the performers from view until showtime, when they would part to reveal the singers standing against a yellow velvet background. The orchestra pit in front of the stage contained a seven piece Wurlitzer organ that would provide music during the silent films being shown.

Although primarily built to show motion pictures, live acts were also on the bill from time to time. Song novelties were introduced during opening week, which included a ragtime soloist, operatic soprano and baritone ballad singer.

By the 1920’s Wayne theater was under the care of the Semelroth Theatre Circuit. Under their guidance the theater prospered for over thirty years. The Wayne usually offered a double feature bill, mixing movies with lots of action and adventure with comedy and westerns.

In 1934 the Dayton Council of Better Pictures was formed. Membership included women from the Y.W.C.A., Dayton Women’s Club, local school teachers and church organizations.

Every first-run motion picture that appeared in the city was viewed by a review committee, which sent out two women to visit the theaters. The women involved in watching the films were alternated each week. Reviewers paid their own admission and refused any offer of free passes from theater managers. Afterwards, the women would write a review of what they thought of the film.

These would be passed on to the committee, who in turn would make several hundred mimeograph copies for distribution to schools, book stores, church groups and similar places where parents were likely to meet. Any family could also ask that a copy be sent directly to them.

"At present, the council’s main efforts are to educate parents to the need of demanding better films for children and youths." said Mrs. H. A. Ralph, council chairman, during an interview in 1934. "And to encourage theater managers, especially those in outlying, neighborhood districts, to have family night programs, appealing to all ages."

Among the chief complaints of the committee was that some films showed "too much drinking", or involved a plot not suited for children. Although the organization claimed that they were receiving calls from parents in reference to current-run movies, local newspapers did not give space to the reviews. The Dayton Council of Better Pictures eventually folded.

Although the Wayne remained popular up through the 1940’s the movie industry was slowly changing. Television, highways and home air-conditioning all played a role in the slow decline of patronage to theaters in the 1950’s, and the Wayne was no exception. The theater closed its doors in 1957.

In 1966 Winters National Bank acquired 175 feet of frontage on Wayne Avenue and demolished fourteen buildings, some 80 to 100 years old. This included the old Wayne theater structure. A new branch office was erected to replace the bank’s market office at Wayne Avenue and Richard Street which was to be razed to make way for Route 35. The site of the old theater is now a parking area.

Wesda (1947-53)

5201 West Third Street

Although plans were made for the Wesda to open its doors in 1946 this was delayed for several months due to the shortage of building materials. Supplies were low due to unprecedented growth in the housing industry. After WWII, people began cashing in the savings bonds they had bought during the war. This extra money was used to buy items that had been unavailable during the war, which included cars and houses. People started settling in the suburbs at an astounding rate. Backed by the support of the Veterans Administration and Farmers Home Administration mortgages, home ownership increased almost 50 percent from the end of the war to 1950. Over one million acres of farmland were being plowed under every year to make more room for homes. This increase of demand for building materials led to several local theaters, like the Wesda and the Dabel, being unable to open as scheduled due to delays in construction.

The Wesda’s grand opening finally took place on January 30, 1947. The feature film was Three Little Girls in Blue, starring George Montgomery. Gene Monbeck and his quintet were also hired to play. The proceeds from the opening night were given to the Infantile Paralysis Fund.

Over the years the Wesda maintained a double billing policy of mostly second run features. Although the movies offered included films like The Return of Monte Cristo and Broken Arrow, the main pictures usually dealt with mystery and suspense.

Unfortunately, the theater ran into trouble in the early 1950’s. After only six years the Wesda closed its doors for good in 1953.

The original building still exists and seems to be in good shape. An extension near the top of the structure seems to indicate where the old projection booth probably was at one time. If you squint just a little, it doesn’t take much imagination to travel back to a time just after WWII when colorful posters beckoned patrons to come in and enjoy an afternoon of movies and popcorn.

Westown (1970-72)

Roxy (1973-75)

4361 West Third Street

When the Westown Theater opened on September 10, 1970, at 4200 West Third Street, it marked the beginning of an experiment. It was the first theater that the Walter Reade Organization, a motion picture firm out of New York, had opened in a black community.

Originally to be called the Cinedome, the name settled on was Westown, after the name of the shopping center where it was located. Investors in the theater were in hopes that the new movie house would be a plus for the Westown shopping center.

"We think it will be a real shot in the arm for the center." stated John R. Paul, general manger of Dayton shopping centers at the time. Paul, whose firm owned the theater, stated that it was the only one of its kind in the area.

The theater was roofed with a golden colored geodesic dome. Inside, the struts of the construction were covered with stucco to accentuate the geometric pattern. Total cost of the 500 seat theater was estimated at $375,000.

Walter Reade Jr., president and chairman of the Reade Organization, believed that the theater had every chance of bringing in an income of $250,000 a year.

"If this theater prospers as we expect, we will invest in similar ventures." Reade said.

Although the Reade Organization promised to bring in good films, this proved more difficult than they thought. When attendance was not as large as anticipated, the motion picture companies were not inclined to show their first run movies there, which hurt attendance even more, causing a vicious circle that doomed the theater to close six months later.

"Our losses were drastic." said a spokesman for the Reade Organization. "Some nights we played to three or four persons."

Fortunately, Thomas Pozin Enterprises saw the Westown as a springboard for their organization to enter the Midwest area, and reopened the theater on May 28, 1971. A new policy of $1 admission for adults and 50 cents for children was initiated. But the same problem of lack of attendance plagued the new owners as well, the theater grossing as little as $13 some nights. It closed for the second time in less than a year, on July 13, 1971.

Less than a month later, Westown’s doors reopened under a lease agreement with Time Theater, Inc., of Cleveland. The neighborhood was surprised to see that the first double billing was Sex USA and Women, Women, Women, both X-rated movies.

Public reaction was mixed. Lelia Francis, who once operated Francis Realty, was not in favor of the change in venue.

"I just don’t like this kind of film." Francis stated. "When it’s for 21 or over, then you know what’s happening. Besides, people know enough, we don’t need screen demonstration."

Leonard Skale, owner of the Meat ‘N Place at the time, disagreed.

"I think it’s okay." he commented. "These theaters have always been in white communities. We need one in the black community. And it’s evidently what people want."

Evidently, X-rated movies were not what the people wanted. By October 1971 lack of attendance darkened the theater’s marquee once again.

After being closed for eight months, the Westown received a new lease on life when Joe Vance, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, reopened the theater on June 22, 1972. The theater concentrated on family-type movies and black-oriented films. Vance claimed not to be discouraged by the failure of his predecessors.

Perhaps he should have been. It wasn’t long before the theater sat empty once again.

The Westown sat empty for over a year before reopening on July 7, 1973. Renamed the Roxy, the movie house was leased by James Burt, the same man who had successfully taken over the management of the Victoria and Loew’s theaters in downtown Dayton.

"We’re aiming to make the theater more responsive to the people in the area." Burt stated. "There are currently many outstanding black films being shown in drive-ins around the Dayton area, but at no indoor theaters."

Opening with The Mack, the Roxy seemed to finally on the road to success under Burt’s management. He spent several thousand dollars remodeling the theater, and began running first run black-oriented films and second-run attractions. Unfortunately, for both the theater and the community, the Roxy closed for the final time on April 3, 1975.

"It had been making money over a period of time," Burt stated, "but it started losing steadily during the last months before I decided to close it." He explained that as an independent theater owner it was difficult for him to compete against the major exhibitors for the better attractions.

The theater reopened as a community center the following June. The building was razed several years ago, the area where it stood is again a part of the Westown Shopping Center’s parking lot.

World (1914-18)

Rialto (1919-25)

New Villa (1926-27)

Minnie H. Freese (1927-28)

Willow Theater (1928-29)

Bijou (1929?)

St. Paul (1938-57) & (1961-62)

House of Fright (1962-63)

New Paris (1963-64)

St. Paul (1964-65)

Corner Richard and St. Paul Streets

Not much can be found on the opening of the World Theater in 1914. At that time motion picture theaters rarely advertised, especially those located outside of the downtown area. Luckily, Dayton resident A. J. Espy was able to shed some light on the old theater.

"My father (Alfred) operated the World Theater" stated Espy, "and I can remember, when an epic Western was going to be shown, he would dress up in a Indian costume and rent a horse and parade through the streets with me in the saddle with him. All the neighborhood kids would gather around to get free passes to the show."

Over the next half century the theater would change its name no less then ten times, a record that still stands in the Dayton area. When it became the Rialto in 1919, the theater was operated by Paul M. Banker. After a short stint of being closed, the theater then became the New Villa sometime around 1926.

In 1927 Minnie Freese bought the property, but after only a year sold it to Semelroth Theaters who renamed it Willow Theater. In 1929 the theater again closed, probably due to the fact that talking pictures had begun playing in the downtown theaters and the Willow was not equipped to show those type of films.

According to an article published in a local Dayton newspaper in 1936 the theater again reopened as the Bijou Theater. The article claimed that at one time the Bijou was the most commanding of all theaters during the silent film days. Except for this report, I have been unable to find any other source that listed the theater under that name. If it was open under this name it was probably for a very short period of time. Sound equipment was never installed in the theater until 1938, making it unlikely that the Bijou would have been able to compete for more than a year under those circumstances.

The theater received a new lease on life in 1938, when it again reopened, this time taking the name of the street where it was located, St. Paul.

"The St. Paul was a dinky theater." claims Bill Hinders, who remembers watching movies there as a kid in the 1940’s and 1950’s. "Looking back, I bet you were lucky to fit seventy people in there. The theater didn’t even have a concession stand. All they had was a popcorn machine with a dome over it. You’d put a dime in and it would make a roaring sound. You’d have to hold your bag under where the popcorn came out to catch it."

Although the movie palace seemed to hold its own for a while, patronage began to slip in the 1950’s and the theater closed in 1957.

Later that same year the building became a place of worship, becoming known as the Evangelistic Temple.

In 1961 the building was leased by John Holokan, who opened it as the St. Paul theater.

"People will start coming back to the movies if you give them good, entertaining pictures at a price they can afford", said Holokan. "Many good pictures have gone by the wayside because they didn’t do business and this led Hollywood into the mistaken idea that the public wanted sex and crime and sensationalism.

"Now we are getting good family pictures again and I’m sure the people will welcome them and start going to the movies again."

Holokan began showing a combination of first run and "classic" movies, one week showing The Absent-Minded Professor followed by Gone With the Wind and Ben Hur. He also began holding special Saturday matinees for the kids.

The theater again changed names a few years later, opening as the House of Fright on November 2, 1962. The theater began showing only horror movies like Frankenstein, Dracula, and Leech Woman.

The new billing did not last for long. On March 15, 1963, when the theater opened as the New Paris, it began showing adult films. The Grand opening offered the movie Love and Birth. "See a baby born right before your eyes!" claimed their ad in the newspaper.

H & K Enterprises assumed operation of the New Paris on May 31, 1963. Under their direction the theater began offering reruns of all-time classic movies.

When the partnership of H& K Enterprises broke up a year later, the movie house was once again known as the St. Paul Theater. Monster movies like Godzilla vs The Thing and Monolith Monster were standard fare until the theater closed in 1965. The old movie house is now gone, one of the many buildings torn down during the construction of Route 35.

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