1916 Sanborn gives the capacity as 764, and notes that it offers ‘moving pictures & vaudeville’. February 1909 map shows the lot occupied by a wooden single-story opera house, which faces W 2nd St. The lot is empty on the 1900 map, so perhaps this ‘opera house’ was a temporary structure?
1916 Sanborn shows a capacity of 666, and notes that it offers ‘moving pictures & vaudeville’. The stone that bears the name also has a small note ‘Reed & Hutch’ with ‘W.H.H.’ below that. I assume Reed & Hutch were the builders or perhaps owners, and “W.H.H.‘ is either some acronym I can’t decipher, or the initials of the stonemason.
This theater appears on the December 1892 Sanborn, where it is labeled ‘not finished’. The name on this and subsequent maps up to 1916 is ‘Auditorium’. The theater occupied the second and third stories of a large brick building which had an iron front and a large wooden porch covering the two storefronts as well as the neighboring buildings to the east. The stage was deep and bowed out in the center, and the large balcony was U-shaped. Capacity must have been above 550 at this point.
This has been demolished. It was likely one of the two ugly, sheet metal covered buildings visible in the blurry 2008 street view, or it may have been what was replaced by the grocery store on the corner. Anyway, address must have been in the 100 block.
Building was constructed in 1916. It was still there in 2010. At that point it was completely derelict, and looked like it might have been used as a library. It seems to have collapsed or been demolished by late 2011. Address would have been in the upper 300s on the odd side of the street. It was the second building south of Washington.
Robert Boller was born in 1887, so he obviously wasn’t the architect of the opera house. He was the architect of either a 1923 remodel, or a 1923 replacement structure, which may have had a reduced capacity, given the information Chris originally had.
It was a play/opera, I believe. The man who wrote the music died in Chillicothe. There’s a zero milestone/memorial to him on the side of the drugstore on the square.
1914 Sanborn map shows a Hubble (which I think is a misspelling) theater located in the second floor of the storefronts from 806-814 Main. The stage was at the south end, and was clearly set up for live theater/vaudeville. Capacity is listed as 810. The building appears on the 1886 Sanborn as Hubbel’s Opera House. It’s possible this was later replaced by a purpose-built cinema. In any case, that entire section of the block was destroyed for a ‘50/'60s bank and parking.
According to the 1916 Sanborn map, there was a theater at 505. In the picture with the wrecked cars, I think that would be the far left building. If we can find a name, we sort of have a picture.
Just to avoid confusion, this is likely taken from the Ritz. The fantastic Victorian buildings in the rear are now a parking lot for a huge, ugly bank.
Good research. Now we need to correct the listing to remove the reference to the silversmith, which is defunct anyway, change the status to open (community theater), and add the webpage:
I’ll add a picture. It’s not on the corner. That building was a bank. It’s the next building down, which is the same style, but a separate structure. The Arbelia AKA should be removed, since that was a completely different building. If the Arbelia showed movies, we should add that as a separate listing.
The AMPD listing for the Chautauqua refers to an annual event held at a park. I suppose movies might have been shown, but it wasn’t a theater. Unfortunately, the Sanborn choices are 1905, which is far too early for theaters (although the opera house is shown), and 1921, by which time only one building is listed as a theater. If the Arbelia is listed in 1914-15, then the Duchess and Gem cannot be the name of the theater that replaced it. Star is a definite possibility, the style of the buildings suggests they were built right around World War I. If Courter owned the Star, it makes sense that he later renamed it for himself. If he had a ready-made theater, it makes no sense to convert a bus barn. 435 seats seems really low for such a cavernous building, but not for a narrow one-story theater with a tiny balcony.
It seems that the 211 N Main is an error, and that the Courter was the S Main structure. That corner was home to the Arbelia Opera House, which burned around 1910, and was then replaced by the bank and theater. That theater would have been in operation for at least 10 years before the supposed conversion of the old bus barn.
There is a potential ID issue here. The 1921 Sanborn map identifies the current home of the Gallatin Theater League as ‘moving pictures’. It’s quite obvious that this building was purpose built as a theater. I can’t find a street address, but it’s likely either 103 or 105 S Main. It’s the second building from the corner. Chuck often has errors in his listings, and it’s entirely possible that 211 N Main was never a theater. It seems at least likely that by the ‘60s, the purpose-built theater was the Courter. I have pictures of both buildings, and am happy to add them, but only if we’re sure both were theaters.
Building appeared between the 1898 and 1905 Sanborn maps. On the latter, it is labeled ‘J.W. McClaskey Bus & Transfer’ [moving]. It’s vacant on the 1921 map. By the 2013 streetview, it is rather grim-looking housing.
Map marker is in the wrong place. 14 is in the middle of the block across from the courthouse. It’s a large red brick single story building with two storefronts. The building is on the 1909 Sanborn, but not the 1900 (there was probably a fire). The section that would have been 14 is a bar. There is another theater on the 1916 Sanborn map. It’s the second building south of 3rd on Main, now a garage. On that map, the Gem is listed as dry goods and shoes.
1916 Sanborn gives the capacity as 764, and notes that it offers ‘moving pictures & vaudeville’. February 1909 map shows the lot occupied by a wooden single-story opera house, which faces W 2nd St. The lot is empty on the 1900 map, so perhaps this ‘opera house’ was a temporary structure?
1916 Sanborn shows a capacity of 666, and notes that it offers ‘moving pictures & vaudeville’. The stone that bears the name also has a small note ‘Reed & Hutch’ with ‘W.H.H.’ below that. I assume Reed & Hutch were the builders or perhaps owners, and “W.H.H.‘ is either some acronym I can’t decipher, or the initials of the stonemason.
The Odd Fellows hall was built in 1912 by E.Y. Davis & Son. Probably had an ‘opera house’ from the beginning. Building is currently a residence.
This theater appears on the December 1892 Sanborn, where it is labeled ‘not finished’. The name on this and subsequent maps up to 1916 is ‘Auditorium’. The theater occupied the second and third stories of a large brick building which had an iron front and a large wooden porch covering the two storefronts as well as the neighboring buildings to the east. The stage was deep and bowed out in the center, and the large balcony was U-shaped. Capacity must have been above 550 at this point.
This has been demolished. It was likely one of the two ugly, sheet metal covered buildings visible in the blurry 2008 street view, or it may have been what was replaced by the grocery store on the corner. Anyway, address must have been in the 100 block.
Building was constructed in 1916. It was still there in 2010. At that point it was completely derelict, and looked like it might have been used as a library. It seems to have collapsed or been demolished by late 2011. Address would have been in the upper 300s on the odd side of the street. It was the second building south of Washington.
Robert Boller was born in 1887, so he obviously wasn’t the architect of the opera house. He was the architect of either a 1923 remodel, or a 1923 replacement structure, which may have had a reduced capacity, given the information Chris originally had.
It was a play/opera, I believe. The man who wrote the music died in Chillicothe. There’s a zero milestone/memorial to him on the side of the drugstore on the square.
Used to go here for ‘Rocky Horror’. Feel so stupid for never having taken any pictures.
Confusingly, the 1906 Cahn-Hill Theatrical Guide is quite certain that the name is Hubbell’s Opera House, managed by W.W. Hubbell.
1914 Sanborn map shows a Hubble (which I think is a misspelling) theater located in the second floor of the storefronts from 806-814 Main. The stage was at the south end, and was clearly set up for live theater/vaudeville. Capacity is listed as 810. The building appears on the 1886 Sanborn as Hubbel’s Opera House. It’s possible this was later replaced by a purpose-built cinema. In any case, that entire section of the block was destroyed for a ‘50/'60s bank and parking.
The building is obviously quite old. Was this a 1990’s conversion?
According to the 1916 Sanborn map, there was a theater at 505. In the picture with the wrecked cars, I think that would be the far left building. If we can find a name, we sort of have a picture.
Just to avoid confusion, this is likely taken from the Ritz. The fantastic Victorian buildings in the rear are now a parking lot for a huge, ugly bank.
Just an empty dirt lot. What a stupid waste.
If this is still around, it might be the building in the middle of the block, which is a bakery on the 2013 streetview.
Address is wrong. The theater is at 121 N Polk. It’s now a bar.
Good research. Now we need to correct the listing to remove the reference to the silversmith, which is defunct anyway, change the status to open (community theater), and add the webpage:
https://gallatintheaterlea.wixsite.com/gtl-inc?fbclid=IwAR26MPeOl1Z59KvwMS6Yl6nWfDEsHBirZFi3M-VbNZy0K6tywNhNeOvQDss
I’ll add a picture. It’s not on the corner. That building was a bank. It’s the next building down, which is the same style, but a separate structure. The Arbelia AKA should be removed, since that was a completely different building. If the Arbelia showed movies, we should add that as a separate listing.
The AMPD listing for the Chautauqua refers to an annual event held at a park. I suppose movies might have been shown, but it wasn’t a theater. Unfortunately, the Sanborn choices are 1905, which is far too early for theaters (although the opera house is shown), and 1921, by which time only one building is listed as a theater. If the Arbelia is listed in 1914-15, then the Duchess and Gem cannot be the name of the theater that replaced it. Star is a definite possibility, the style of the buildings suggests they were built right around World War I. If Courter owned the Star, it makes sense that he later renamed it for himself. If he had a ready-made theater, it makes no sense to convert a bus barn. 435 seats seems really low for such a cavernous building, but not for a narrow one-story theater with a tiny balcony.
It seems that the 211 N Main is an error, and that the Courter was the S Main structure. That corner was home to the Arbelia Opera House, which burned around 1910, and was then replaced by the bank and theater. That theater would have been in operation for at least 10 years before the supposed conversion of the old bus barn.
There is a potential ID issue here. The 1921 Sanborn map identifies the current home of the Gallatin Theater League as ‘moving pictures’. It’s quite obvious that this building was purpose built as a theater. I can’t find a street address, but it’s likely either 103 or 105 S Main. It’s the second building from the corner. Chuck often has errors in his listings, and it’s entirely possible that 211 N Main was never a theater. It seems at least likely that by the ‘60s, the purpose-built theater was the Courter. I have pictures of both buildings, and am happy to add them, but only if we’re sure both were theaters.
Building appeared between the 1898 and 1905 Sanborn maps. On the latter, it is labeled ‘J.W. McClaskey Bus & Transfer’ [moving]. It’s vacant on the 1921 map. By the 2013 streetview, it is rather grim-looking housing.
Map marker is in the wrong place. 14 is in the middle of the block across from the courthouse. It’s a large red brick single story building with two storefronts. The building is on the 1909 Sanborn, but not the 1900 (there was probably a fire). The section that would have been 14 is a bar. There is another theater on the 1916 Sanborn map. It’s the second building south of 3rd on Main, now a garage. On that map, the Gem is listed as dry goods and shoes.
Went ahead and added the picture. Hopefully someone will confirm.
Added a picture from 2012. 2018 streetview shows this still basically derelict.