Panama City in Bay County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Idle Hour Theater
1914
Photographed by Brandon D Cross
1. Idle Hour Theater Marker
Inscription.
Idle Hour Theater. This building housed the first "photo play theater" to open successfully in the Downtown. The 30 foot by 100 foot building was constructed on steel lath with stuccoed exterior. The owner and manager, J. Arthur Smith, had opera chairs installed that would seat 375. The building had a balcony and an independent lighting plant. Admission was 5-10 cents for silent movies that were enhanced with a live pianist and a singer. The theater was often used for various charities by churches and schools. It closed in 1923 and was reoccupied by Chavers Furniture Store until 1926, when a fire gutted the building. Schneider's, a women's clothing store, may have occupied it briefly. It was then occupied by the Golden Rule Department Store whose owner changed the name in 1931 to Lillian Kilpatrick's Smart Shoppe.
This building housed the first "photo play theater" to open successfully in the Downtown. The 30 foot by 100 foot building was constructed on steel lath with stuccoed exterior. The owner and manager, J. Arthur Smith, had opera chairs installed that would seat 375. The building had a balcony and an independent lighting plant. Admission was 5-10 cents for silent movies that were enhanced with a live pianist and a singer. The theater was often used for various charities by churches and schools. It closed in 1923 and was reoccupied by Chavers Furniture Store until 1926, when a fire gutted the building. Schneider's, a women's clothing store, may have occupied it briefly. It was then occupied by the Golden Rule Department Store whose owner changed the name in 1931 to Lillian Kilpatrick's Smart Shoppe.
Location. 30° 9.289′ N, 85° 39.638′ W. Marker is in Panama City, Florida, in Bay County. It is on Harrison Avenue south of East 4th Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 300 Harrison Ave, Panama City FL 32401, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Florida Panhandle. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 22, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 21, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 328 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on April 21, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
