Since three of the corner lots have been demolished for parking, the theater was on the SE corner. You can see the Princess and post office in the background of the main photo.
Shame this building got such an awful, ugly remodel. Given its original appearance, I was surprised to see the August 1914 Sanborn still showing a fairly substantial Presbyterian church on the lot. The theater can’t have been constructed too many years later.
Address is wrong. The theater was at 209 W Prime. Although its neighbors have all been demolished, it is still in use as a lawnmower shop. It must have opened earlier than Chris thought, as it appears on the 1921 Sanborn.
Either the description or the address or both are wrong. The Majestic is shown on the 1921 Sanborn at 108 W Madison. It has long been demolished, judging by the busted pavement in front of the fire station that occupies part of the lot it was on. On the map, the Majestic is listed as having 500 seats. The map does not show the bay windows on the building in the photo, but none of the buildings either on the map or still existing which have two bays are on a corner.
Joe, I just found the picture in question on the St. Joseph Memory Lane page, and he says the smaller theater was demolished in 1926, which, if correct, puts those cars back in the correct era.
I think we should probably split the listings if we can confirm the name history. If the current building was never anything but the Civic, then it shouldn’t be listed as the Till/Artilla. Of course, it depends what exactly is meant by ‘destroyed’. It’s possible the original building was only gutted.
I think this theater must have been in the City Hall. I’m not sure if ‘City Hall’ was a function or name, since the stone at the top says ‘Spivey & Davis’ above ‘City Hall’. It may have been built as an oddly-named opera house. Construction date is 1883, and while the building bears the name of a funeral home, it appeared to be derelict as long ago as 2010.
F.G. Weary Jr. began leasing the theater from J.L. Farris (a local lawyer) in 1914, and bought it outright in 1921. The theater was first modernized in 1930 when the theater began showing talkies. In 1931 it was leased out to Dickenson Theaters, Inc., although the Weary family managed the theater all the way up to at least 1982. This information from the NRHP listing.
Boller Brothers were only responsible for the 1930s and 1940s remodels, which have been effectively destroyed by ‘restoration’. The original architects were Shepard and Farrar. The Boller modifications left the auditorium untouched, although they did remove a large fly tower, and the lobby was changed, although I suspect this again has been put back similar to its 1901 appearance.
The missing section collapsed in 1986, due to the trusses being cut during its prior conversion to a warehouse. There are bronze footprints in the sidewalk leading to the former entry in the center of the S Main side, as well as an inscription ‘Temple of Amusement’. The activities were intended not only for the townsfolk, but for the diversion of the large number of tourists who came to relax or take the cure in the various hotels and bathhouses.
The NRHP listing has some interesting pictures of the theater in the late ‘70s and early '80s. The only authentic historical detail on the exterior of the theater is the large central window, and the two round ones. The rest is a reproduction. The photos can be seen on the last pages of this document: https://dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/82003158.pdf
Street is wrong. The address is 102 W North Main (because of course having two Main Streets couldn’t be confusing). In the 2008 streetview, it looks like there is some sort of ornamentation on the building, but it now has a drab dryvit façade. It has been the Ray County 911 office for at least 10 years. Judging from the stone foundation and bricked-in windows on the side, the building is very old. It definitely appears on the 1909 Sanborn as a dry goods store, but it is likely that it is one half of an opera house, which appears as early as 1883.
The theater is still open, but the website has a lot of broken pages. The 1909 Sanborn calls it Daugherty’s Auditorium, and it’s unclear whether it was yet showing movies.
The Casino is on the 1913 Sanborn, exactly where Joe suggests. The theater is a large one story brick building that goes back more than half a block. There was just a narrow alley between it and the furniture store behind it (which is still there). The entire northern edge is a 2 story section of shops, which I believe was a separate building. It was an empty lot in 2008, and now there appears to be Section 8 housing there.
Since three of the corner lots have been demolished for parking, the theater was on the SE corner. You can see the Princess and post office in the background of the main photo.
Shame this building got such an awful, ugly remodel. Given its original appearance, I was surprised to see the August 1914 Sanborn still showing a fairly substantial Presbyterian church on the lot. The theater can’t have been constructed too many years later.
Building appears to be a thrift store.
Pretty shameful waste of the entire west side of the courthouse square. Better suited for sprawl on the highway.
Probably the 100 block of W Washington, and almost certainly demolished. There’s very little left of downtown.
Address is wrong. The theater was at 209 W Prime. Although its neighbors have all been demolished, it is still in use as a lawnmower shop. It must have opened earlier than Chris thought, as it appears on the 1921 Sanborn.
Either the description or the address or both are wrong. The Majestic is shown on the 1921 Sanborn at 108 W Madison. It has long been demolished, judging by the busted pavement in front of the fire station that occupies part of the lot it was on. On the map, the Majestic is listed as having 500 seats. The map does not show the bay windows on the building in the photo, but none of the buildings either on the map or still existing which have two bays are on a corner.
Joe, I just found the picture in question on the St. Joseph Memory Lane page, and he says the smaller theater was demolished in 1926, which, if correct, puts those cars back in the correct era.
I think the reopening fizzled. Last update on their FB page was in 2015.
Needs to have the address and description corrected. Theater wasn’t just in a neighborhood, it was in a mall, and East Hills is not the street name.
The photo of the smaller theater cannot be correct. It’s obviously a different building.
Street name is NOT East Penney, it’s ER Penney. That should help with mapping. The original name of the street was W McGaughy St.
I think we should probably split the listings if we can confirm the name history. If the current building was never anything but the Civic, then it shouldn’t be listed as the Till/Artilla. Of course, it depends what exactly is meant by ‘destroyed’. It’s possible the original building was only gutted.
Street name needs to be changed. On older maps, Davis is also labeled Main.
I think this theater must have been in the City Hall. I’m not sure if ‘City Hall’ was a function or name, since the stone at the top says ‘Spivey & Davis’ above ‘City Hall’. It may have been built as an oddly-named opera house. Construction date is 1883, and while the building bears the name of a funeral home, it appeared to be derelict as long ago as 2010.
F.G. Weary Jr. began leasing the theater from J.L. Farris (a local lawyer) in 1914, and bought it outright in 1921. The theater was first modernized in 1930 when the theater began showing talkies. In 1931 it was leased out to Dickenson Theaters, Inc., although the Weary family managed the theater all the way up to at least 1982. This information from the NRHP listing.
Boller Brothers were only responsible for the 1930s and 1940s remodels, which have been effectively destroyed by ‘restoration’. The original architects were Shepard and Farrar. The Boller modifications left the auditorium untouched, although they did remove a large fly tower, and the lobby was changed, although I suspect this again has been put back similar to its 1901 appearance.
If this was the first Farris, it may only have lasted a year or two. Farris bought the current Farris in 1910.
According to the state survey of historic structures, the theater was gone by 1917. The modifications to the building took place after a fire in 1956.
The missing section collapsed in 1986, due to the trusses being cut during its prior conversion to a warehouse. There are bronze footprints in the sidewalk leading to the former entry in the center of the S Main side, as well as an inscription ‘Temple of Amusement’. The activities were intended not only for the townsfolk, but for the diversion of the large number of tourists who came to relax or take the cure in the various hotels and bathhouses.
The NRHP listing has some interesting pictures of the theater in the late ‘70s and early '80s. The only authentic historical detail on the exterior of the theater is the large central window, and the two round ones. The rest is a reproduction. The photos can be seen on the last pages of this document: https://dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/82003158.pdf
Street is wrong. The address is 102 W North Main (because of course having two Main Streets couldn’t be confusing). In the 2008 streetview, it looks like there is some sort of ornamentation on the building, but it now has a drab dryvit façade. It has been the Ray County 911 office for at least 10 years. Judging from the stone foundation and bricked-in windows on the side, the building is very old. It definitely appears on the 1909 Sanborn as a dry goods store, but it is likely that it is one half of an opera house, which appears as early as 1883.
The theater is still open, but the website has a lot of broken pages. The 1909 Sanborn calls it Daugherty’s Auditorium, and it’s unclear whether it was yet showing movies.
Should be listed as demolished. Entire block now a hulking concrete playhouse and parking lots.
The Casino is on the 1913 Sanborn, exactly where Joe suggests. The theater is a large one story brick building that goes back more than half a block. There was just a narrow alley between it and the furniture store behind it (which is still there). The entire northern edge is a 2 story section of shops, which I believe was a separate building. It was an empty lot in 2008, and now there appears to be Section 8 housing there.