_{History of the Ritz}

    The following information is credited to the book

    “Reverend H. T. Blythe and the Downtown He Founded”

    by Jonathan Abbott & Marcy Thompson

    Blytheville Centennial Edition, May 1991

    Published by Main Street Blytheville

    Made possible by Blytheville Unlimited 

     According to the Ritz Civic Center brochure, the exact date of the theater was unknown but the building has been traced back to 1902.  Known as one of the finest vaudeville theaters on the circuit, it was popular for vaudevillians because of its location between St. Louis and Memphis.  The current building, however, comprises the west half of the historic building constructed as 300/302 W. Main, dated circa 1910, plus the building at 304/306 W. Main, constructed circa 1915.  It is possible that the 302 W. Main section was constructed as early as 1902, but the main part of the theater on the 1913 Sanborn Map is shown as a vacant lot with absolutely nothing on it.  The theater appears on the 1921 Sanborn Map as the Gem Theater, the name under which it was originally constructed.  Thus the exact date of the main theater building is assumably somewhere between 1914 and 1920.  This does not preclude the fact that a vaudeville theater on the site could have been gone by the time the 1913 map was produced, leaving the vacant lot.

     In 1925, Mr. and Mrs. O. W. McCutchen came to Blytheville from Sikeston, Missouri, to assume operation of the Ritz Theater.  The Ritz succeeded the Gem Theater that had burned a year before.  A few months later, they acquired the lease on the Gem Theater, located at 125 W. Main, which had been started by Timmy Boyd for a short time after the old Gem burned.  Opportunity soon came to take over the Home Theater, later known as the Roxy Theater at 106/108 W. Main, then operated for Clyde Robinson.  The McCutchens added it to their group, giving them full control of all Blytheville theaters.

     In August 1931, The Ritz was practically razed by a fire resulting in damage estimated between $12,000 and $15,000.  Heaviest damage resulted from burning of the theater pipe organ, installed a number of years ago at a cost of $8,500.  The cooling system and sound system were totally destroyed.  All of the seats needed replacing.  Damage of the building proper was estimated at $4,000.  In October 1931 the Ritz reopened.  It was nearly doubled in capacity and equipment with the most modern fixtures, furniture, and picture and sound devices.  The owners invested $30,000 to make it the finest talking picture theater in any small city of the Mid-south.  The Ritz was one of the few theaters in the state actually constructed for talking pictures.  The seating capacity of 700 was nearly 300 greater than in the old theater and was to show the best and first-run pictures available.  U.S. Branson planned and supervised the reconstruction.

     A remodeling project began in March 1950 and was completed in February 1951.  Designed by U.S. Branson and constructed by Ben White and Sons, the Ritz Theater was completely remodeled at a cost of a quarter-million dollars.  Improvements included all new furnishings and equipment.  The new theater seated about 1,100 persons, while the old theater seated only 700 people.  The new theater took in space formerly occupied by Piggly Wiggly grocery store and Floyd A. White’s Shoes.  Steel underpinnings were put in the floor to reinforce the building.  Everything was fireproofed – from the drapes and carpeting to the roof and firewalls that adjoined the theater to the buildings on either side.  New fire exits from the building were installed.  The front of the building was of Minnesota marble.  A special smoking lounge was provided and cry rooms were available on both sides of the main floor seats.  The office section was new.  The building also contained a television lounge so patrons could be entertained while waiting for pictures to begin.  Indirect lighting and year round air conditioning were added.

     Building history for 302 W. Main:  1915, Robinson Drug Store; 1931 – 1950, Piggly Wiggly Grocery. Building history for 304/306 W. Main:  1921 – 1924, Gem Theater; 1924 – 1980, Ritz Theater; 1935, Floyd A. White, shoes; 1981 to date, Ritz Civic Center.

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