This opened Nov. 6, 1911 as the World. Owner and architect was J.M. Russell. Sometime in 1915, it was renamed the Empire. It may have closed in 1929, because the article this information came from says it ‘reopened’ in 1939 as the Lake. It closed in 1952 and became a store.
Much older than 1940. Appears on the Dec. 1914 Sanborn. Not on the 1909 map. Wide commercial block in yellow/orange brick. The stage tower is still up, but impossible to see from anything but the satellite view. Looks like the historical address was 108. Seems to be office space for the healthcare place at 112.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Nov 19, 2023 at 7:40 am
It’s crazy that such a tiny little town had so much going on. We may never be able to untangle it.
Since we know that the website history is complete nonsense, I wonder if the ‘dome shaped theater’ referenced isn’t actually someone being confused about what an airdome was?
The history on that website is wrong, or at least confusing. The 1933 map shows a vacant lot where the State is today. The Scenic/State is not dome shaped, and is still there. It was one block north. 1933 oddly seems to be the first year that a map was made, so I can’t say where the 1914 Scenic was.
Need to update the listing with the information provided. The building is still there. Until recently, the original entry was visible, but it has now been covered with insulation. I was within half a block of this, and didn’t take a picture. Gaaaah!
Note that the historical address would have been on 7th St, but this was renamed.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Nov 16, 2023 at 5:09 am
There was an earlier opera house on S Main, which disappears between 1911 and 1917. It was wooden, located above a store. I found the Dreamland. Still on the 1911 map, I just missed it.
Some dates, etc. are wrong. This has been demolished, along with all the other buildings on this block. Now a really ugly bank building and a gas station with a huge parking lot.
The 1911 map shows this ‘From Plans’, meaning it likely was not quite finished yet, although there was at least one business there. The 1917 map shows it as the Kennedy Opera House, showing movies as well. 200 seats seems ridiculously low for such a large building. Address was 116 W 5th. I’ve added a Sanborn view to show the layout.
It’s hard to tell. It certainly didn’t burn to the ground. There could have been a fire, and it even could have been fairly serious, but left the facade.
A bit garbled on the syntax, lots of switching tenses, etc. This has been demolished. The former municipal building, which is about as attractive as the rest of downtown (so not at all), was built in 1961, meaning this theater was demolished. Address approximately 329 N Main. The Legion now has their own building, which is a blah little box which could be from around 1970, or 1960, or… The 1917 map shows that city hall was a dinky little one story brick shack with a ‘public hall’ in the rear. I assume that’s where the theater operated.
I’m not sure where this opera house would have been. 700 is enormous for a town that was just under 800 in 1920. The only auditorium anywhere near that large would have been in the high school. The museum is in a dumpy modern thing south of where the railroad used to be. If there was anything downtown, I would have a picture of it, but most of town is pretty nondescript, and almost everything is one story.
I’ve added the Sanborn view. Note that the historical address was 207 Kansas (Ave?). At this point, they seem to be treating 209 (which today is 811, and part of the same facade) as a separate building. It’s possible it was remodeled while Mr. Dunlap was still involved.
This site has a long history, involving at least one other theater. The building is in decent shape today, and 809 is a screen printing place. I didn’t get a picture, and I’ll likely never be out that way again. The 1926 Sanborn shows the building shaped differently, but given that the name on the front is Dunlap, the current facade must date to 1924. It seems the retail space at 811 was extended later.
I think this was only the third Grand. The 1913 Grand and the Grand shown on the 1920 map are in the same place, but the 1920 version has expanded to replace a building to the south. This makes sense if the first Grand (and possibly the neighboring store) had burned. I see no evidence of a third at that location. This looks much newer than 1950, but maybe it was remodeled?
I’m not sure we have an accurate count of these. The Grand on the 1913 map and the Grand on the 1920 map are definitely different buildings, but they are in the same location, as you’d expect from reconstruction after a fire. I suggest that there were only these two, then replaced by the ugly box east of town as the third. I have added Sanborn views of both versions of this Grand. Note that the address was 107 when the theater was open.
The lumber company does maybe throw a wrench into the theory, as the several lumber yards on the 1916 map are all there on the 1907 map as well. The 1916 map does have an A.M. Clauson’s Elevator and Coal Yard, but it is well west of town at the railroad tracks, and it wouldn’t have made any sense for a theater to have been there.
This opened Nov. 6, 1911 as the World. Owner and architect was J.M. Russell. Sometime in 1915, it was renamed the Empire. It may have closed in 1929, because the article this information came from says it ‘reopened’ in 1939 as the Lake. It closed in 1952 and became a store.
Much older than 1940. Appears on the Dec. 1914 Sanborn. Not on the 1909 map. Wide commercial block in yellow/orange brick. The stage tower is still up, but impossible to see from anything but the satellite view. Looks like the historical address was 108. Seems to be office space for the healthcare place at 112.
It’s crazy that such a tiny little town had so much going on. We may never be able to untangle it.
Also, this theater is not located at an intersection. This seems to be a common mistake by this contributor. It’s located well north of 5th.
Since we know that the website history is complete nonsense, I wonder if the ‘dome shaped theater’ referenced isn’t actually someone being confused about what an airdome was?
Thanks for the research. Basically the website history is nonsense, and not to be trusted. This seems most likely to be the Scenic.
The history on that website is wrong, or at least confusing. The 1933 map shows a vacant lot where the State is today. The Scenic/State is not dome shaped, and is still there. It was one block north. 1933 oddly seems to be the first year that a map was made, so I can’t say where the 1914 Scenic was.
Need to update the listing with the information provided. The building is still there. Until recently, the original entry was visible, but it has now been covered with insulation. I was within half a block of this, and didn’t take a picture. Gaaaah!
Note that the historical address would have been on 7th St, but this was renamed.
There was an earlier opera house on S Main, which disappears between 1911 and 1917. It was wooden, located above a store. I found the Dreamland. Still on the 1911 map, I just missed it.
The photo can’t be the drive-in, it must be the other listing.
Some dates, etc. are wrong. This has been demolished, along with all the other buildings on this block. Now a really ugly bank building and a gas station with a huge parking lot.
The 1911 map shows this ‘From Plans’, meaning it likely was not quite finished yet, although there was at least one business there. The 1917 map shows it as the Kennedy Opera House, showing movies as well. 200 seats seems ridiculously low for such a large building. Address was 116 W 5th. I’ve added a Sanborn view to show the layout.
It’s hard to tell. It certainly didn’t burn to the ground. There could have been a fire, and it even could have been fairly serious, but left the facade.
A bit garbled on the syntax, lots of switching tenses, etc. This has been demolished. The former municipal building, which is about as attractive as the rest of downtown (so not at all), was built in 1961, meaning this theater was demolished. Address approximately 329 N Main. The Legion now has their own building, which is a blah little box which could be from around 1970, or 1960, or… The 1917 map shows that city hall was a dinky little one story brick shack with a ‘public hall’ in the rear. I assume that’s where the theater operated.
I’m not sure where this opera house would have been. 700 is enormous for a town that was just under 800 in 1920. The only auditorium anywhere near that large would have been in the high school. The museum is in a dumpy modern thing south of where the railroad used to be. If there was anything downtown, I would have a picture of it, but most of town is pretty nondescript, and almost everything is one story.
I’ve added the Sanborn view. Note that the historical address was 207 Kansas (Ave?). At this point, they seem to be treating 209 (which today is 811, and part of the same facade) as a separate building. It’s possible it was remodeled while Mr. Dunlap was still involved.
This site has a long history, involving at least one other theater. The building is in decent shape today, and 809 is a screen printing place. I didn’t get a picture, and I’ll likely never be out that way again. The 1926 Sanborn shows the building shaped differently, but given that the name on the front is Dunlap, the current facade must date to 1924. It seems the retail space at 811 was extended later.
Need to update this with address, status, etc.
Uselessly bad listing. Main St is all residential. I assume this was somewhere on Reed. Probably demolished.
Sounds likely.
Closed August of ‘22. Site is for sale under a deed restriction that prevents it reopening as a theater.
I think this was only the third Grand. The 1913 Grand and the Grand shown on the 1920 map are in the same place, but the 1920 version has expanded to replace a building to the south. This makes sense if the first Grand (and possibly the neighboring store) had burned. I see no evidence of a third at that location. This looks much newer than 1950, but maybe it was remodeled?
I’m not sure we have an accurate count of these. The Grand on the 1913 map and the Grand on the 1920 map are definitely different buildings, but they are in the same location, as you’d expect from reconstruction after a fire. I suggest that there were only these two, then replaced by the ugly box east of town as the third. I have added Sanborn views of both versions of this Grand. Note that the address was 107 when the theater was open.
The historical address was 129 5th St, at least until the 1940s
The lumber company does maybe throw a wrench into the theory, as the several lumber yards on the 1916 map are all there on the 1907 map as well. The 1916 map does have an A.M. Clauson’s Elevator and Coal Yard, but it is well west of town at the railroad tracks, and it wouldn’t have made any sense for a theater to have been there.