Arkansas Amusement Corporation Papers, 1928-1973

Arkansas Amusement Corporation Papers, 1928-1973 UALR.MS.0113

UALR.MS.0113

UALR Center for Arkansas History and Culture
401 President Clinton Avenue
Little Rock, AR, 72201
archives@ualr.edu

Arrangement

Scope and Contents Note

This collection contains the business records of the Arkansas Amusement Corporation, a company that managed movie theaters in Little Rock. These documents include reports on income, expenditures, and personnel, as well as on general activities, the bulk of which covers the period of the Great Depression, World War II, and post-war years.

Arranged according to function:

Boxes 1-10: These boxes are chiefly composed of reports on income generated by ticket sales and snack concessions. Reports include daily box office statements, weekly concession sales, hourly attendance, and ticket books (consignments to local groups).

Boxes 11-24: Materials in this group deal chiefly with expenditures. Reports include check registers, payroll, film rental payments, cooperative advertising, printing invoices, utility expenditures, charitable donations, managers fund, and petty cash.

Boxes 25-42: These boxes contain reports that balance the theatres' income and expenditures and record the resulting profit margins. Included in this group are comparative profit statements and theater managers' weekly reports.

Boxes 43-45: Removed from collection.

Boxes 46-48: This group records general activities not directly related to finances or personnel. Materials include calendars of bookings in Robb and Rowley (and in competitors') theaters, passes posted, doorman's daily records, mailing lists, and corporate newsletters.

Historical Note

H. B. Robb and Eduardo Rowley formed the Arkansas Amusement Corporation in partnership with Paramount Studios in 1927. The corporation contended with heavy competition, outdated buildings, a history of negative profits, and a "blue law" that closed Arkansas theaters on Sundays. Rowley was instrumental in the blue law's repeal, and the corporation grew quickly under his management.

By 1933, Arkansas Amusement owned four theatres in Little Rock: the Arkansas, the Capitol, the Pulaski, and the Royal. The corporation later added the Heights, the Lee, the New, the Park, the Prospect, and the Roxy. The Asher, the Pines, the Razorback, and the Riverside drive-in theaters were also held by the corporation. In the 1940s, the Arkansas Amusement Corporation became a subsidiary of Robb and Rowley United Theatres. By 1951, the company's name had changed to Rowley United Theatres, and United Artists Theatres had absorbed the company by 1972.

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is available for viewing at the Arkansas Studies Institute.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17-U.S. Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The person using this material is liable for any infringement.

Copyright for correspondence in the collections belongs to those correspondents or their beneficiaries. Persons wanting to re-use those materials are advised to obtain permission from copyright holders.

Administrative Information

Citation Notes

Bibliographic citation:

Arkansas Amusement Corporation Papers, UALR.MS.0113. UALR Center for Arkansas History and Culture, Arkansas Studies Institute, Little Rock.

Footnote or Endnote info:

Description of item, box number, file number, Arkansas Amusement Corporation Papers, UALR.MS.0113.