Part IV: Other Circuits
Even while the Syndicate and the Shuberts did battle, they were still not the only circuits around the country. Throughout this entire period, all over America, smaller, more or less independent circuits continued to operate. These ranged in size from just a handful of theaters to hundreds of theaters. Nevertheless, although the theaters in these circuits were independently owned and managed, they still often looked to the two major operations to supply attractions for their theaters. Thus both the Syndicate and the Shuberts ran a circuit of circuits.
One of the largest of these circuits was the Cahn and Grant New England Chain of Theatres. In 1907, they listed 119 theaters in their circuit, although in another advertisement they claimed to represent 148 “of the Principal Theatres” in New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Either way, they had so many theaters that in Cahn’s 1906 edition, they earned their own separate index listing of illustrations of many of their theaters.
The Inter-Mountain Theatrical Circuit managed more than 100 theaters throughout the west. They had 34 in Utah, 15 in Nevada, 15 in Arizona, 12 in Wyoming, 14 in Idaho, 9 in Colorado, 5 in Nebraska, 2 in South Dakota, and one each in Texas and California. Attractions for all these theaters were supplied by the Shuberts, working through their circuit.
The Sommers Circuit ran eleven theaters on the south side of Lake Michigan. It included the Powers Theatre in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as well as the Bell Opera House in Benton Harbor, and the Beckwith Memorial Theatre in Dowagiac. In Indiana the circuit included the Auditorium and the Oliver Opera House in South Bend; the Gennett Theatre in Richmond, the Indiana Theatre and the Grand Theatre in Marion, the Jefferson Theatre in Goshen, and the Bucklen Theatre in Elkhart. All were booked through the Syndicate partners, or Stair & Havlin and Julius Cahn, or Harry Sommers directly.
The New Crawford Circuit managed 51 theaters in Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas and one in Louisiana. There was the simply named “Iowa and Illinois Circuit of Theatres” that managed theaters in 36 towns in those two states. This was a substantial increase from the nine towns they listed in 1898.
Henry’s Official Western Theatrical Guide for 1907-1908 was very similar to Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guides. ​One of the features in Henry’s Guide was a list of “Some Out-of-the Way Routes That Mean Money for Small Shows.” He identified seven circuits, all out west, that "might be of interest to tour promoters."
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There was the Marshfield Circuit, described as “A circuit that is worthy of consideration from the fact that it is isolated and seldom visited.... It embraces four prosperous towns, one of which, Marshfield, being good for a week. There are steamer connections from San Francisco, . . . There are also two boats leaving Portland.... Fare in either direction is $10.00.”
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The Wagon Circuit “can be played by small companies and picture shows to advantage. They are given in routine after leaving the main line.” The South San Joaquin Valley Route was a tour for small companies going down the Valley one way and returning without a double that could be booked as follows: Newman, Los Banos, Lemoore, Hanford, Visalia, Porterville, Dinuba, Reedly, Sanger, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Modesto, Stockton. And the North San Joaquin Valley Route was “[a]n advantageous route from San Francisco to the San Joaquin Valley.” Not even Henry found all of these towns to be worthy of listings in his book. Not mentioned at all were the towns of Newman, Los Banos, or Reedly. Leemore had a population of 1,200, while its theater, the Manning Opera House, had a seating capacity of 500. Other towns were similar sized, while some were larger.
The Kite Circuit was “A very remunerative and inexpensive trip out of Los Angeles [that] covers the following cities: Pasadena, Pomona, San Bernardino, Redlands, Riverside, Santa Ana, with a double to San Diego if necessary. The above circuit is under the control of Harry C. Wyatt.”