AMUSE U 253 N. Main
 

The Amuse U opened around 1908  .   Closed  c. 1910   .  Seats

The AMUSE U, a Nickelodeon, is listed in the 1909 and 1910 Memphis Directories.  Angelso Barrasso is listed as the Proprietor of Amuse U Theatre in the 1910 Directory.  (He was also proprietor of Amuse U Soft Drinks at 123 S. 4th).  The opening date of 1908 is confirmed by the 1908 Billboard article below.

The Amuse U name is used again in 1933 for 1 year at 2424 Chelsea.

There may have been another theatre named simply "Amuse"
 
       

       

Billboard 1908
 

From Billboard 1907:  "...  Within the past twelve months the moving picture business has become quite a factor in the way of amusements in Memphis.  The first house of this sort to be opened in the city was the Theatorium, under the management of Mr. Dinstuhl, and in a short time no less than twenty of these theatres were scattered about the city.  By the introduction of singing and vaudeville acts with their moving pictures, the city imposed a license on these places of $400 per year, payable in advance.  The action put several smaller shows out of business, but those who remained included The Theatorium, The Amuse, Dixie,  Ruby, and The Odeon - all doing good business"
 
 
 
   

Historic Memphis Website
   

Credits
 

The Historic-Memphis website does not intentionally post copyrighted photos and material without permission or credit.  On occasion a "non-credited" photo might possibly be posted because we were unable to find a name to give credit.  Because of the nature of our non-commercial, non-profit, educational website, we strongly believe that these photos would be considered "Fair Use.  We have certainly made no monetary gain, although those using this website for historic or Genealogy research have certainly profited.  If by chance, we have posted your copyrighted photo, please contact us, and we'll remove it immediately, or we'll add your credit if that's your choice.  In the past, we have found that many photographers volunteer to have their works included on these pages and we'll  also do that if you contact us with a photo that fits a particular page. 

 

The "Historic-Memphis" website would like to acknowledge and thank the following for their contributions which helped make this website possible:  Memphis Public Library, Memphis University Library, Memphis Law Library, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis Press Scimitar, Shelby County Register of Deeds, Memphis City Schools, Memphis Business Men's Club, Memphis Chamber of Commerce, Memphis City Park Commission, Memphis Film Commission, Carnival Memphis, Memphis Historical Railroad Page, Memphis Heritage Inc, Beale Street Historic District, Cobblestone Historic District, Memphis Historic Districts, Vance Lauderdale Family Archives, Tennessee State Archives, Library of Congress, Kemmons Wilson Family, Richard S. Brashier, Lee Askew, George Whitworth, Woody Savage and many individuals whose assistance is acknowledged on the pages of their contributions.  Special thanks to Memphis Realtor, Joe Spake, for giving us carte blanche access to his outstanding collection of contemporary Memphis photos.

We do not have high definition  copies of the photos on these pages.  If anyone wishes to secure high definition photos,  you'll have to contact the photographer  or the collector.  (To avoid any possibility of contributing to SPAM, we do not maintain a file of email addresses for anyone who contacts us).