I’m excited to announce that I’ll be hosting a photography workshop at the Fox West Theatre in Trinidad, Colorado, on October 21, 2023. Here’s a bit about the theater –
The Fox Theatre in Trinidad, Colorado, made its grand debut on March 16, 1908, showcasing the stage play “The Bondman.” Over the years, it served as a versatile venue for a variety of performances, including stage shows, vaudeville acts, opera, and silent films. It closed in 2013, making it one of the longest running single screen theaters in the country.
I spent around 8 hours photographing the place, and it wasn’t enough. There’s just too much to see.
View from the upper balcony of the Sorg Opera House.
Another new addition is the Sorg Opera House in Middletown, Ohio on September 30, 2023. This workshop was originally going to happen before the pandemic, and I’m happy it’s finally taking place.
It originally opened in the 1890s. The Sorg began showing early forms of motion pictures in 1901 and switched to films full time in the late 1920s. It is currently owned by the SORG (Sorg Opera Revitalization Group), who have performed much needed renovations on parts of the theater.
Finally, by popular demand – there will be another workshop at the Paramount Theatre in Springfield, MA on July 29, 2023. It’s one of my favorite workshop locations, and I’m glad it’s back in the rotation.
This was originally posted on After the Final Curtain’s Patreon in February 2022. For expanded early posts, as well as video walkthroughs and other exclusive content, you can become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/afterthefinalcurtain
View of the auditorium from the orchestra level.
The Union Theatre in Attleboro, MA originally opened in 1918 as a vaudeville and silent movie theater. It was operated by B & Q Associates and had 1,101 seats. Because of the decline in vaudeville, and the rise of the modern talking motion picture, the Union underwent a remodel in 1927 to give it the ability to show “talkies.”
A close up of the theater’s logo on the fire curtain.
Another remodel happened in May 1939 when air conditioning was added to the theater. The Union was divided into multiple screens in 1986 so that it could show multiple movies at a time. It was renamed the Roxy Theatre, then the Attleboro Cinema before returning to the Union Theater. It closed as a movie theater in the 1990s.
The lobby was modernized when the theater was twinned.
During the early 2000s, the Triboro Youth Theatre rented the Union and performed Broadway musicals. They removed the wall dividing the lower level into two screens and removed the drywall covering the original stage. Musicals held at the theater during this time include Peter Pan, Jesus Christ, Superstar and South Pacific. However, this was short-lived as the theater was not up to code, and they released the Triboro Youth Theatre from their rental agreement.
View of the auditorium from the stage.
In September 2015, thieves broke into the theater, stole the sound amplifiers from the projectors and some lenses. The owner of the theater used the marquee to ask for its return. It read “Wanted: Stolen Projector Equipment Returned” for several months after the theft. The theater remains closed.
This was originally posted on After the Final Curtain’s Patreon in November 2022. For expanded early posts, as well as video walkthroughs and other exclusive content, you can become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/afterthefinalcurtain
View of the auditorium from the center of the balcony.
Built at a cost of $250,000 ($4.1 million when adjusted for inflation) The Boyd Theatre in Bethlehem, PA originally opened on September 1, 1921 as the Kurtz Theatre. It was designed by E. C Horn Sons of New York City for Charles and John Kurtz, in the streamline moderne architectural style. The 1,626 seat theater originally featured vaudeville and silent films as part of the Shubert Advance Vaudeville circuit.
The original lobby was destroyed by a fire in December 1966.
Opening night featured a performance from a seven-piece orchestra, a minstrel show, two vaudeville acts, the silent film “The Great Moment” starring Gloria Swanson, and the theater organist playing the Estey pipe organ. Less than two months after opening, on October 24, 1921, the theater discontinued vaudeville, and began only showing silent films. The first film shown after this change was “Way Down East” starring Lillian Gish. In October 1922, the Broadway Players, a comedic opera company, began holding performances at the theater. In 1924, E.C. Horn Sons sued the Kurtz Brothers for non-payment of fees for their part in constructing the theater. They were awarded $21,000, or $364,000 with inflation, later that year.
The exterior of the theater was replaced after the fire in 1966.
The Kurtz closed in July 1924 and the following month the building was purchased by the Wilmer & Vincent theater circuit and reopened as the Colonial Theatre. It was named after the Colonial Theatre in Allentown, PA, which they also owned. In 1925, the interior of the theater was remodeled to the plans of William H. Lee, who also designed the Boyd Theatre in Philadelphia, PA and the Drake Theatre in Oil City, PA.
In 1934, the building was purchased by A.R. Boyd Enterprises of Philadelphia, and renamed the Boyd Theatre. A.R. Boyd Enterprises also operated the Boyd Theaters in Philadelphia, Allentown and Easton, PA. On December 27, 1966, a fire broke out at the theater. The fire destroyed much of the Boyd’s lobby and some of the retail spaces in the front of the building. Bethlehem’s building inspector condemned the remains of the lobby, and it had to be completely rebuilt, which kept the theater from reopening until early 1968.
View of the auditorium from the side of the balcony.
The Boyd was sold to a local family in 1970, and they continued to operate it as a single screen theater. However, the balcony was closed more often than not. A new Dolby Digital Surround sound system was installed in 1999 and was used for the first time during a showing of “Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace.”
View of the auditorium from the stage.
The Boyd was damaged by heavy rainstorms in May 2011, and the owners announced it would be closed for the rest of the year while repairs were made. Unfortunately, the theater continued to deteriorate, never reopened, and was eventually sold. In February 2019, it was announced that the Boyd would be demolished and replaced by a 13 story apartment building. The theater was sold again in early 2021 to DLP Real Estate Capital and Monocacy General Contracting, and the replacement building was changed to six stories at a cost of $50 million.
Demolition began in February 2022, and was completed by early May. The “Boyd Theatre” sign was removed prior to the demolition and is planned to be incorporated into one of the new buildings’ courtyards. The new building is scheduled to be completed by 2023.
View from the middle balcony of the Emery Theatre.
I’ve got two new photo workshop locations for 2023. The first is the Emery Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 24, 2023, and the second is the Imperial Theatre in Cincinnati on June 25, 2023. I’ve got a few more new locations in the works, but I don’t expect those to happen before the fall.
Here’s the current workshop line up:
Franklin Park Theatre
Location: Boston, MA
Date/Time:
April 16, 2023
The Theatre: The Franklin Park Theatre opened on December 8, 1914 in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was designed by Boston architectural firm Funk and Wilcox, who also designed the nearby Strand Theatre. It was turned into a church in 1963.
The Theatre: The Paramount Theater (also known as the Julia Sanderson Theater and The Hippodrome) opened in 1926. Built at a cost of $1 million (13 million when adjusted for inflation), it was the most ornate theater in western Massachusetts. The Paramount closed after being used as a nightclub for a few years. It is currently scheduled to undergo a renovation and reopen as a performing arts center.
View from the side of the balcony at the Emery Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio
Emery Theatre
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Date/Time: June 24, 2023
The Theatre: Built as part of the Ohio Mechanics Institute, the Emery Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio opened on January 6, 1912 as the Emery Auditorium. It was one of four “acoustically perfect” concert halls whose design was inspired by the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, IL. The other three were the Orchestra Hall, also in Chicago, Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Orchestra Hall in Detroit, MI. It was recently sold for $8.55 million to local developers who intend to restore the building. The restoration costs are estimated at around $30 million and will take about three years to complete.
The Theatre:The Imperial is a 700 seat theater that opened in 1913. it closed in the 70s and was used as a mattress store for until the late 2000s. The current owner is looking to restore and reopen it.
The Theatre: The Strand Theatre opened on November 11, 1918, in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was designed by Boston architectural firm Funk and Wilcox, who also designed the nearby Franklin Park Theatre. It is currently used for live events, and has air conditioning, which makes it a perfect theater for workshop in August.
The Elmora Theatre opened on February 15, 1927 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. It was called “The Theatre Beautiful” in early advertisements and was primarily a live playhouse when it opened. The Kirkham Players, a local acting company, performed in most of the plays shown at the Elmora. However, on June 11, 1928, a little over a year after they began, J. Ellis Kirkham, the managing director of the Kirkham Players, resigned because of a difference of opinion on managerial policy. Kirkham’s resignation led to a much less popular group taking over the Elmora, and by 1929 it had closed.
Looking back from the stage.
On April 1st 1929, Werba and Taylor of New York City reopened the Elmora. The first play shown at the newly christened Werba’s Elmora was “The Trial of Mary Dugan.” By 1941, the Elmora had switched to showing motion pictures, and continued to do so until it closed. Bob Jaspan, an Elizabeth City Councilman, had purchased the theater in 1986. Jaspan purchased the building to move his hardware store there, but was convinced to keep the theater open by his constituents. He ran two-for-one specials, reduced ticket prices and held monthly screenings for senior citizens, but ultimately could not compete with nearby multiplexes.
Jaspan closed the theater in 1996. After it closed, Jaspan had the long hallway style lobby split up into retail spaces, and rented out the auditorium to the Evangelistic Hispanic Church. Jaspan sold the theater a few years later. The auditorium became a secondhand furniture showroom in 2007, but that didn’t last long because of the deteriorating state of the building.
Material from for this post was taken from the first three chapters of my book, Kings Theatre; The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Brooklyn’s Wonder Theater. If you’d like to buy a copy, they are available on Amazon, and on my website. You can find the first three parts at the following links:
Rumors circulated Loews was interested in selling the Kings in November 1976. Marty Markowitz, then president of the Flatbush Tenants Council, confirmed that the building was up for sale. According to Markowitz, “I know that the building is up for sale. I don’t know if it has been sold yet, but I know that the Loews Corporation would like to sell it.” Markowitz said, “We would like to bring live entertainment to the theater – Broadway-type shows and concerts so that there could be a sort of renaissance on Flatbush Avenue. We mentioned it to the Loews people, but they aren’t interested.” Chet Arnow, the vice president in charge of advertising and publicity for Loews, denied that the Kings was up for sale, but added, “Sure the Kings is up for sale. Every one of our theaters is always up for sale if the price is right. If we don’t get the right price, we’ll continue operating the Kings as usual.” Brunner also denied the rumors and stated that people have been talking about the Kings closing for 20 years. Despite their denials, less than six months later, the marquee read, “Closed: Will Reopen Soon.”
Soon after the theater closed, two churches asked about buying the theater and converting it into a place of worship. There was precedent for this; Loew’s 175th, one of the Kings’ sister theaters, had been purchased by the United Christian Evangelistic Association in 1969 and converted into a church. Another former Loew’s Wonder Theater, the Valencia, closed around the same time as the Kings and was turned into a church two years later when Loew’s donated the building to the Tabernacle of Prayer for All People.
During the Loew’s Valencia theater’s early years, clouds were projected across the ceiling, giving the illusion of sitting under the stars at night.
Less than a month after closing, the Kings Theater was sold to the Kings Royalty Production Corporation (KRPC) for $718,385, or $2,782,520 when adjusted for inflation. The KRPC was formed for the specific purpose of purchasing and running the theater. Robert Smerling and David Fellman, the owners of KRPC, also owned the American Theatre Management Corporation (ATMC), which had several theaters in the tri-state area. “Loew’s” was removed from the marquee, and it reopened in early June 1977 as simply the Kings Theatre. The first film shown was Day of the Animals, a horror movie starring Leslie Nielsen. KRPC contracted with major movie companies, including Warner Brothers and Paramount, to turn the Kings into a first-run movie theater.
On July 13, 1977, lightning struck a substation near Buchanan, NY and began a chain of events that caused the New York metropolitan area to lose power for around 25 hours. Looting began soon after the power went out. It was especially bad in the Bronx, Harlem, Queens, and Central Brooklyn. Eighty stores in Flatbush were hit, with 49 of them on Flatbush Avenue. The already low attendance and the destruction and looting during the blackout caused many people to stay away from the hardest hit neighborhoods.
One of the first films shown at the newly reopened theater was the follow up to the 1973 hit, The Exorcist. KRPC was banking on Exorcist II: The Heretic being as big a hit as the first one. Unfortunately, this film was considered by many to be one of the worst films ever made, and it languished at the box office. The Kings showed the “Exorcist II: The Heretic” for almost a month before switching to another film. By that point, the damage was done, and the KRPC could not meet expenses to keep the theater open. On Monday, August 29, 1977, the Kings closed again, just six weeks after it had reopened. The last film shown was “Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth.”
Laurence Lehr, a representative employed by both KRPC and ATMC, claimed that the company closed the theater because it was cheaper to let the bank have it. “When you get monthly electric bills over $7,800 …, how do you expect to do business? You can’t do business in this city. The costs of labor, security, and everything else are ridiculous.” They tried to keep the costs down by rarely using the large chandeliers in the lobby and only turning the marquee on around 9 PM each evening. According to Lehr, the company was aware of the costs of running a theater when they bought it, but was hoping they could turn it around.
This was originally posted on After the Final Curtain’s Patreon in January 2022. For expanded early posts, as well as video walkthroughs and other exclusive content, you can become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/afterthefinalcurtain
View of the auditorium from the side of the balcony.
The Casino Theatre originally opened as the Willis Theatre in late December 1923. It’s near 138th Street in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx, NY. The 2,166 seat theater was designed by architect Eugene De Rosa, who is known for many other New York Metropolitan Theatres such as The Apollo Theatre in Harlem, Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, and the St. George Theatre in Staten Island.
It was not a successful theater and closed and reopened many times throughout the 1920s, often with a change of format. It went from vaudeville to burlesque to motion pictures and even had a brief stint as a Broadway-style theater when a manager’s tryout for “A Woman of Destiny” was held at the theater in 1936.
The orchestra level was converted into a grocery store, and the stage area is used for storage.
The Willis was renovated and renamed the Casino in 1939 to coincide with the World’s Fair, which was being held at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, NY. It closed as a movie house for the last time in the 1960s. After a few years, a supermarket replaced the theater. However, it wasn’t demolished, at least not completely. Instead, the lobby and orchestra level of the auditorium were gutted and converted into the supermarket. The balcony is all that remains of the Casino today.
Storage lockers for films. Early film was made of nitrate, and it is very combustible, so it needed to be stored in lockers like the one pictured here.
Here are the dates and locations for the next four After the Final Curtain photo workshops. I’m very excited about the Strand Theatre, which is an active theater, so it’ll be nice and cool inside.
A long exposure of the Everett Square Theatre auditorium.
The projection booth at the Everett Square Theatre.
Everett Square Theatre
Location: Boston, MA
Date/Time:
July 16, 2022
The Theatre: The Everett Square Theatre opened in 1915 in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was designed by Boston architect Harry M. Ramsay for the Littlefield Trust, the original owner of the theater. For more information, visit: https://afterthefinalcurtain.net/2014/08/05/everett-square-theatre/
The Everett was an early movie house and is perfect if you’ve never been on a workshop before. I keep the groups small here, and we tend to experiment with lighting as seen in the first photo of the theater posted above.
Strand Theatre
Location: Boston, MA
Date/Time:
August 21, 2022
The Theatre: The Strand Theatre opened on November 11, 1918, in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was designed by Boston architectural firm Funk and Wilcox, who also designed the nearby Franklin Park Theatre. It is currently used for live events.
The Strand is an active theater with decay. This workshop was originally planned for January 2022, but was delayed because of Vincent van Gogh (seriously.) The afternoon session is already almost sold out.
Auditorium of the “Grant” Theatre.
Grant Theatre
Location: South of Boston, MA
Date/Time:
September 17, 2022
The Theatre: The Grant opened in the early 1900s as a vaudeville theater, and was eventually divided into 2 separate theaters. It’s been closed for several years with no plans to reopen it.
***At the request of the owner the real name and location of this theater will be disclosed only to workshop attendees***
Franklin Park Theatre
Location: Boston, MA
Date/Time:
October 15, 2022
The Theatre: The Franklin Park Theatre opened on December 8, 1914 in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was designed by Boston architectural firm Funk and Wilcox, who also designed the nearby Strand Theatre. It was turned into a church in 1963.
The Franklin Park is one of my favorite workshop locations. Where else can you get a theater and a church all in one? (That’s a rhetorical question. Please don’t answer.)
And that’s it for 2022 workshops. Maybe. I’m always working on new locations and I’ve got a new one that may happen in late fall. Followers of my Patreon will know about it before anyone else. If there are some locations I’ve done in the past that you’d like another workshop at – let me know.
The Orpheum Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri opened on September 3, 1917. The Southern Real Estate and Financial Company hired G. Albert Lansberg to design the building. Lansberg designed many theaters for the San Francisco-based Orpheum Theatre Circuit. The 2,300-seat Beaux arts theater cost $500,000 ($9.6 million with inflation) to build. Unlike many other theaters, the Orpheum did not have a formal opening with special guests and speeches. Opening day was a straight vaudeville ticket with two strongmen, a contortionist, two comedians, and a singer.
The lobby of the Orpheum.
Many famous vaudeville acts performed at the Orpheum over the years, including Sophie Tucker,Eddie Foy, Fannie Ward, and Lee Morse. Harry Houdini, the famous illusionist and escape artist, performed at the Orpheum for a week on three separate occasions: the first began on February 13, 1922; the second on January 14, 1923; and the last on December 22, 1923. When vaudeville declined in the late 1920s, the theater switched formats and became a playhouse. It opened on Christmas Day 1929 with a production of David Belasco’s The Bachelor Father.
Warner Bros took the Orpheum over in 1934 and changed formats again, this time to motion pictures. A new screen, projectors, and a W.W. Kimball 2 manual organ were installed in the theater. It reopened on September 15, 1934, with a showing of “British Agent” starring Kay Francis and Leslie Howard. Warner Bros operated the theater until 1941, when the theater closed. It reopened two years later, as the Loew’s Orpheum Theatre on January 28, 1943, with a war bond event and a screening of “The War Against Mrs. Hadley” starring Edward Arnold and Fay Bainter.
On February 28, 1960, Loew’s Theatres Inc. announced that they wanted to move their operations to the nearby American Theater (a playhouse) since they could not easily install a 70mm screen at the Orpheum because of its balconies. They could convert the American Theatre at a much lower cost. Both theaters were owned by Southern Real Estate and Financial Company, which were in favor of the switch. However, because of the ruling of the landmark antitrust case, United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., which said that movie studios could no longer own the theaters in which their films played; Loew’s needed the permission of the Department of Justice to sign a new lease; the Department of Justice signed in March 1960. After a $300,000 renovation, the Orpheum reopened as the American Theatre on October 10, 1960, with a performance of The Music Man.
Local entrepreneurs Steve and Michael Roberts purchased the theater for $1.5 million in 2003. It underwent a two-year renovation and upgrade before reopening on April 10, 2005, as the Roberts Orpheum Theater. The first musical act to perform at the reopened theater was the Backstreet Boys. In 2012, Steve and Michael Roberts went bankrupt and were forced to close the theater. Jubilee World Inc., a music-oriented Christian ministry, bought the theater in late 2016, intending to reopen it as a performing arts center. However, no reopening date has been announced.
The Kerlin Gallery, one of the Creative York galleries in York, PA is currently exhibiting 16 pieces of my work. They range from 30×20 prints on aluminum to smaller framed prints.
The exhibition runs from Thursday, January 27 to Thursday, February 17, 2022. The opening reception is Thursday, January 27 from 6 to 8pm.
I will be at Creative York on Thursday, February 17 at 5pm for the closing reception. Following this reception, I’ll be speaking at the nearby Capitol Theatre at 7pm.
After the Final Curtain 