Theater Ownership

— by Karen Reinoehl —

The Ownership of the Jefferson Theater

The city of Fort Wayne, Indiana possesses a rich theater history; while many theaters, including the Jefferson Theater are only a memory, evidence of the grandeur still exists today within the Embassy Theater. TheJefferson Theater shares a unique history with the Embassy Theater. The theaters were located in relatively close proximity to one another with the Jefferson located at 116 W. Jefferson Boulevard (as noted on the Cinema Treasures Website), and the Embassy situated across the street at 125 W. Jefferson Boulevard ( as listed on the website of the Fort Wayne Embassy Theater).  The ownership of both theaters  is especially relevant to the focus of this study.  Mr. Quimby was a local businessman who owned the Jefferson Theater.  The Embassy, originally known as the Emboyd, was also a theater owned by Clyde Quimby.

An examination of the ownership of the Jefferson Theater is necessary to gain insight into aspects of the theater as a business. In addition, an analysis of the Jefferson’s ownership will put into perspective the contributions that the business and the individual(s) made to the socio-economic facets of Fort Wayne, Indiana. This study will consider how changes in the theater’s ownership likely contributed to the transformation experienced at the Jefferson. The theater’s ownership is important to the overall study of the Jefferson to develop an understanding of the business operations of the theater.  Tracing the ownership of the theater will show whether a correlation to the events that transpired at the Jefferson Theater exists. This review will also examine the causal factors surrounding the closing of the Jefferson Theater. The socio-economic demographics of Fort Wayne and Allen County may have contributed to the theater’s initial success and eventual demise. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the history of the Jefferson Theater, these questions may reveal reasons why the theater was demolished while the neighboring Embassy Theater survived. An analysis of these aspects of the theater’s history will allow conclusions regarding how the decisions and direction provided by the ownership and management of the Jefferson played an important role in the operation, success, and eventual demise of the theater.

The city of Fort Wayne experienced tremendous growth during the period between 1870 and 1900, as the population swelled from approximately 17,000 to 45,000 residents according to a report published in the Fort Wayne News Sentinel (Burns, 1978, July 22). This growth undoubtedly contributed to the development of theater palaces and eventually movie houses.  The Jefferson theater was one of many theaters that was built and became an integral part of theater and film history in Fort Wayne.

According to the City of Fort Wayne website on the history page, “The first railroad locomotive in Fort Wayne was delivered by canal boat in 1854. Tracks were laid quickly, and the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railroad, later the Pennsylvania Railroad, developed the first line on the south side of town…” The railroad likely contributed to the success of the movie houses in Fort Wayne as film stock, entertainers, and other notable individuals associated with the film industry could have been transported directly to the city. Fort Wayne became known as the “Altoona of the West” because of its key position in the great Pennsylvania Railroad…In 1880, the canal right-of-way was purchased by the Nickel Plate Railroad whose elevated tracks trace the canal route through the north edge of downtown” According to the Digital Sanborn Fire Maps, the railroad tracks were located only a few blocks from the Jefferson. 

The origin of the Jefferson Theatre was recalled by the Fort Wayne News Sentinel (1947, August 5) regarding an article published by the Fort Wayne Daily News, dated Friday, Oct. 25, 1912… “Another big new theater for Fort Wayne was presaged for the immediate future in the filing of incorporation papers at Indianapolis today b the Jefferson Co., of this city, which gives its capital stock at $25,000. The incorporators are A. L. Randall, Sprague Green and Austin W. Stults, of this city, and the theater, which will be a high-grade moving picture house will be built on the property recently acquired by Mr. Randall on the north side of the street. It is expected that the theater will be in operation by the 15th of December.”

 The opening of the Jefferson Theater, noted Vendrely (1998), was heralded in a book published in 1913 promoting Fort Wayne remarked that the Jefferson Theatre was noted to be not only the largest theater that existed in Indiana at the time., but also the safest theater for film audiences.  This claim may have enticed audiences, which would have contributed to the economics of the theater from the increased ticket sale revenue.  The fact that the building was designed with safety in mind demonstrates concern for the patrons and local community as well.  Based upon the information located for this study, it is difficult to claim that Quimby was involved with the design and structure of the building.  Although, the superior quality of the building may have enticed Quimby as he was searching locations.  When the Jefferson Theater opened with a seating capacity of 1,128, it consistently was known to show high-class film pictures (Vendrely, 1998).  The reputation of the Jefferson was largely most likely due to Clyde Quimby, owner of the Jefferson Theater.

Ownership of the Jefferson Theater was discussed in a book by Beatty & Robb, which was published 2006. In addition to their discussion on Clyde Quimby, they printed a tribute to Harvey G. Cocks, who served as the General Manager of the Jefferson beginning in 1937.  Cocks’ involvement in the theater is important because according to Hodges (1912), aspects of the business from sales to understanding what the audience wants, are aspects of managing a movie house that are critical to the overall success of the theater.  Sources by Ankenbruck provide especially relevant information connecting personal and business aspects of Mr. Quimby and the Jefferson Theater.  For example he informs readers that “Quimby’s wife, the former Helen Kinkade, was a piano player for the old silent movies in the Jefferson Theatre” (Ankenbruck, 1975).

Quimby settled in Fort Wayne after the First World War and, according to an article published by the Fort Wayne News Sentinel (1994, August 29) possessed insight concerning film and radio with the public.  Ankenbruck (1975) notes that Clyde Quimby was the owner of the major theaters in Fort Wayne including.  Hawfield also supports that Quimby’s chain included the Emboyd (later renamed the Embassy), the Jefferson, the Palace, and the Paramount.  The Cinema Treasures website indicates that the Place Theater opened in 1915, the Emboyd in 1928 and the Paramount in 1930.  A logical conclusion supports that Quimby’s entrepreneurship may have started with the Jefferson Theater, then expanded to include these additional theaters.

Operating a chain of theaters is indicative of successful business practices. “History is constructed backwards from the present-tracing the evolutionary chain of events and great individuals that recede from today to the nineteeth century and beyond” (Allen & Gomery, 1985, p. 111).  Clyde Quimby may be considered from the auteur theory. From the perspective of a savvy business owner, Quimby was considered “Fort Wayne’s biggest early movie mogul” (Vendrely, 1998). In order to be successful as an exhibitor in the film industry, theater owners needed to be savvy business individuals. Sprague (1937) supports this idea as he suggests that “an exhibitor has to be a good businessman because it costs money to run a picture theater”.  Being successful often involved ownership several theaters. Although Waller (2005) suggests “the smal-town independent theater-not the chain-operated venue-could best provide personalized service, reach out to local audiences, boost Main Street businesses, and assume the mantle of civic responsibilities.”  Even though Quimby operated several theaters in Fort Wayne, the sources of documentation that were considered regarding these theaters suggest thata Quimby was able to manage his businesses from a local perspective.  Quimby demonstrated his skills as a successful entrepreneur, through his management of four prominant theaters in Fort Wayne, including the ornate Embody, the Palace, and the Jefferson.

Hodges (1912) offered advice to persons interested in theater ownership; the location of the theater and the rent charge are the most important things to consider for prospective business persons. As previously mentioned the Fort  Wayne News Sentinel (1947, August 5) article which was originally published by the Fort Wayne Daily News, dated Friday, Oct. 25, 1912 mentions the initial investors however, documentation that revealed whether Quimby purchased or merely rented the building could not be located. The original investors likely selected a prime location for the theater in the Fort Wayne area based upon the layout of the city streets as shown in the Sanborn Fire Maps. Furthermore, Hodges (1912, p.8) suggests “the best place to locate a Motion Picture house is, of course, on a street with plenty of traffic, or just around the corner from a busy thoroughfare”.

Competition was another aspect that theater owners in Fort Wayne needed to consider.  The city of Fort Wayne was home to several theaters. According to Cinema Treasures website at the time the Jefferson opened in 1912 there were only a few buildings established as movie houses; although, by the mid 1930’s there were at least 11 theaters in downtown Fort Wayne.

“The thirties brought hard times that were eventually alleviated in the wartime economy of the forties. Theater, vaudeville, radio and television shrunk the world and Fort Wayne became known for its diversified  industry” (McCaffery, 2010). In fact, “when movie houses were single-screen structures, the peak years were the early 1930’s, when city directories listed 21 motion picture theaters in town” (Vendrely, 1998). Because “people had less money to travel, so local music, theater, and other diversions prospered” (Ankenbruck, 1980).  Waller (2005) remarks that “a host of evidence from the trade press demonstrates that certain qualities associated with the small-town independent theater-humanization, individuality, personalized service, responsiveness to audience tastes, and civic involvement-were tonted in the early 1930’s as time-tested business strategies, fully applicable to chain theaters.

Memories of the Jefferson Theater were recounted during an interview published in Roto Magazine, with Norris Smitley, who began his career as a projectionist in 1916 at the Jefferson (1978). This source offers insight into the Jefferson from the personal account of Smithley, which is especially valuable. Several sources, including Ankenbruck, Cinema Treasures, and Beatty and Robb, document the fate of the Jefferson after Quimby’s death. The Jefferson was apparently sold to the Alliance Theater Corporation, according to Cinema Tresures. 

Cavendish (1990) reports that “after 1950 the moving finger of television spelled the end of the cinema’s reign”. Todd (2008) also acknowledges that “socioeconomic factors and the advent of television contributed to the decline and demise of many movie houses”. This is evident based upon the number of theater closing in Fort Wayne during the early to mid-1950’s, according to the Cinema Treasures website. “The graph began to rise again in the later 1970’s but the revival came too late…to many of them had been torn down or spoiled by conversion into multiscreen boxes” (Cavendish, 1990).

After Clyde Quimby’s death in 1935 his wife Helen assumed maintained ownership and responsibility for the business functions of the theater chain (Vendrely, 1998) In 1937 Cocks accepted the position as the General Manager of the Quimby chain of theaters (Ankenbruck, 1975). In 1952 the Jefferson along with the Embassy Theater was sold to the Alliance Theatre Corporation by Quimby Enterprises (Beatty & Robb, 2006). Similarly, the Cinema Treasures website contains a posted comment suggesting that the Jefferson was sold to the Alliance Amusement Co.

After the Alliance Amusement Corporation assumed ownership of the theater, Sprague Green was named the new manager of the Jefferson, assuming his new responsibility after he retired from the Lyric Theater, noted the Fort Wayne News Sentinel (1947, August 5).   A renovation of the theater took place in 1965 by the Alliance Amusement corporation, which included a larger movie screen, new curtains and upholstery; although, the number of seats was reduced (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, 1965, June, 23).

In an effort to attract moviegoers to the only remaining downtown theater, the Jefferson Theater began showing foreign films in 1970 according to a report published in the Fort Wayne  News Sentinel (1970, October 26). Apparently the Jefferson was caught in the midst of financial trouble when the Cinecom chain failed to pay the property tax, according to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (1973, February 10). The theater was closed and the property was going to be available at the tax sale for delinquent property tax sale; although, the owners of the land opted to pay the back taxes, which totaled $9,217.00 in order to regain possession of the property, as published in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (1973, December 10).

Cinemas, remarked Cavendish (1990), “are probably the most vulnerable of all our heritage of buildings to commercial pressures, sometimes of the most witless kind.”   Theater patrons for a while patronized theaters regardless of the comfort and elegance of the structure; however, Hodges (1912, p.6) suggests that eventually audiences demanded newer, state of the art facilities. In 1978, the Jefferson Theater succumbed to a wrecking ball with a picture of the demolition published in the Fort Wayne News Sentinel (1978, October 2).  The ownership of the theater may have determined that further investment would not be profitable.  It is also reasonable to conclude that the landowners who paid the back taxes on the property did not have interest in the theater industry.  As previously mentioned, in the 1970’s public interest in theater houses was renewed.  The fate of the Jefferson may been related to the decline in audience interest.

The Jefferson Theater was a successfully managed movie house, has represented a piece of theater history in the Fort Wayne community for more than sixty years. The theater managed to weather the Great Depression and remain competitive among other local theaters, including the grand Embassy Theater. It is plausible that Clyde Quimby’s business expertise enabled him to strategically manage several successful theaters in Fort Wayne. After the Quimby’s sold the Jefferson, considerably less information is available about the theater. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the Quimby’s connection to the community was correlated to the Jefferson’s early success. It is difficult however, to conclude if the demise of the theater resulted from the Jefferson’s changes in ownership, the declining interest by movie audiences to patronize single screen theaters, or the expansion of businesses outside of the downtown area.

References

Allen, R., & Gomery, D. (1985). Film history: Theory and practice. New York: NY. McGraw-Hill.

Ankenbruck, J. (1975). Twentieth century history of fort wayne. Fort Wayne, IN: Twentieth Century Historical Fort  Wayne Inc.

Ankenbruck, J. (1980). The fort wayne story: A pictorial history. Woodland Hills, CA: Windsor Publications, Inc.

Beatty, J. & Robb, P. (2006). History of fort wayne & allen county, Indiana 1700-2005. (Ed.).  Evansville, IN: M.T.  Publishing Co.

Burns, S. (1978, July 22). Cityscapes. Fort Wayne News Sentinel.

Cavendish, R. (1990). Cinema theater association. History Today, 40, 8.

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (1973, December 10). Paying tax will reopen city theater.

Fort Wayne News Sentinel. (1947, August 5). Daily news, in 1912, hailed opening of jefferson theater.

Fort Wayne News Sentinel (1970, October 26). Jefferson theater now for foreign films.

Hawfield, M. (1994, August 29). Understanding the past: Theatrical variety part of  history. The Fort Wayne News Sentinel.

Hodges, J. F. (1912). Opening and operating a motion picture theater, how it’s done successfully. New York: Scenario Pub. Co

http://cinematreasures.org/

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/17981/

http://sanborn.umi.com.ezproxy.lib.ipfw.edu/

http://www.fwembassytheatre.org/contactus.htm

McCaffery, L. (2010). Community Net. http://www.ft-wayne.in.us/home/history.html

Roto Magazine. (1978, April 1). The last picture show the end: The last picture show at the  jefferson. The Fort Wayne News Sentinel.

Sprague, J. (1937). Small-town movie theater. Saturday Evening Post, 210, 7, 61-64.

Todd, D. (2008, May 8). Distinguished dowager. The Fort Wayne News Sentinel.

Vendrely, N. (1998, November 24). City had movie screens all over town. The Fort Wayne  Journal Gazette.

Waller, G. (2005). Imagining and promoting the small-town theater. Cinema Journal, 44, 3, 3-19.