The Majestic theater advertised a variety of programming. Also, the theater began to use taglines such as “It’s Different” in its advertisements (1).
As a promotion, the Majestic theater gave away free passes “to every Saturday matinee” for students in Douglas County who averaged “85% or over” in their monthly studies (2). That’s a lot of opportunities for free tickets! It is likely that the theater was trying to draw in more of a crowd, since children would often have to be accompanied by their parents, and the price of admission was higher for adults.
George Maple, owner of the Majestic in 1915, decided to play the “Fox program’s” reels for only 10 cents, because he felt audiences would not pay the full dollar (3). The article implies that this seven-reel program played in larger cities, where a one-dollar admission did not deter viewers.
In February of 1921, films were outlawed on Sunday for all theaters in the Roseburg area. This article shares C. F. Hills’ (who at the time was the manager for the Majestic and the Antlers theatres) opinion that if his theater should have to close on Sundays then all other theaters that might open in the future should also be subject to the law to maintain fair competition. Other than that he resisted coming out on either side of the issue. "I am willing to do what the public desires," Mr. Hill stated..."In my business I am guided by what the public wants and I am willing at all times to accede to the public's wishes. If it is the desire of the public that the theatres be closed, then I am perfectly willing to shut the doors of my playhouses on Sunday. If it is the desire of the public that they remain open then I am willing to continue Sunday shows" (4).
It wasn’t until April of 1922 that Manager Hill rescheduled movies for his theaters to show on Sundays.
The owners of the Antlers theater took control of the Majestic theater in June 1919. They called themselves the Globe Company (5). The Globe Theatre Company, which owned many of the theaters in Roseburg during this time, tried to standardize the prices for the Majestic theater. In 1919 at the Majestic, adult tickets cost 22 cents, child tickets cost 10 cents, and box seats cost 25 cents. In contrast, tickets at the Antlers theater were 25 cents for an adult ticket.
The Majestic theater was refurbished by Ray Smith through the management of the Globe Theatres Company. The walls were to be painted with “typical Oregon scenes, in beautiful colorings”. The refurbishing of the Majestic theater also promised to have a “large new moving picture screen [so] all possibility of injuring the eyes is avoided”.
Lawrence A. Goux (formally of New York) took over the Majestic and the Antlers theaters in 1923 (6). In 1927, ownership of the Majestic and several other theaters in Roseburg and the southern Oregon region were purchased and consolidated into a chain under the ownership of George A. Hunt Amusement Company (7).
During the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, the Majestic ran an advertisement with a message from the Oregon State Board of Health, that theaters would "exclude all persons sneezing and coughing."
The Majestic, along with several other theaters in Roseburg, closed for a time in 1927 to help contain an outbreak of "infantile paralysis" (likely polio) (8). It re-opened on Christmas Day of that year, but seems to have stopped operating sometime in early 1928. No more ads for movies appeared after the new year, and in November a small news item ran in the local newspaper that the building had been vacated. The Rose theater opened in the same space in 1931.
This is a photo of the Majestic theater taken in 2017 in Roseburg, Oregon. Even though the theater's name was eventually changed to the Rose in the 1931, the sign still stands in the city of Roseburg.
