SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Oct 19, 2023 at 5:33 am
I’ve added a photo of this theater. There is another building at 109? Riverview that obviously was a theater, and looks very old. That is the building pictured in the article. I didn’t mess with the paywall, but 118 S 2nd is just a cruddy little shed building which houses the newspaper. This whole part of Iowa has uselessly bad streetview coverage, which makes it a little harder to figure things out.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Oct 19, 2023 at 5:23 am
Main became Federal. 119 is sort of hard to pin down. On the 1913 map, there is no 119, and it would have been a house. On later maps, 119 is part of what used to be Harriman’s Opera Hall. That building burned in 1945-6. The 1913 and 1921 maps show that part as a pool hall, but it was certainly large enough to have served as a theater. The opera house itself reportedly closed when the Windsor opened.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Oct 18, 2023 at 7:42 pm
Yes, Federal was Main. It’s crazy how many names changed. Delaware used to be Michigan, all the numbered streets dropped by 4 or 5 at one point, and before Federal was Main, it was Commercial. Thanks for the ID.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Oct 18, 2023 at 7:39 pm
The Idle Hour was almost certainly elsewhere. The Kresge building is at 17 N Federal.
One of the few nice buildings to escape demolition for the stupid mall that ate half of downtown, and they still couldn’t keep it standing. Now a really ugly bank building. I’ve added a Sanborn view to show how the theater fit into the hotel.
This can’t have been built in 1908, since it’s not on the 1909 map. That corner’s just an empty lot, although the Lamb Lumber Co. had been there in 1901. Need to update the description.
This theater is much older. It must have closed briefly or changed names. The theater first appears on the April 1909 Sanborn. The building was constructed between 1892 and 1897, and the 1901 map shows the theater space as vacant, with a cigar factory on the 2nd floor. It appears from the photo that the southern half, containing the theater, was remodeled at some point. Likely demolished in the late ‘70s for Mason City’s idiotic project to obliterate 6 blocks of downtown for a cruddy mall and parking lot.
Building was the Zoller Block, built between 1892 and 1897. The ground floor was originally split in half, and the theater took over the northern half from a dry goods store. By 1915, the theater occupied the entire ground floor with two small storefronts at the corners. I’ve uploaded a view from the 1918 Sanborn to show the plan. The original address was 219, but between 1915 and 1918 it was changed to 119.
Possibly demolished? Hard to say with no address, but the east side of Main (which was all modest wooden buildings on the 1915 Sanborn, the only one available online) is all prefab sheds now.
Old address was 503 Cherry. This building is actually pretty old, built between 1895 and 1902 as a grocery, still a store of some sort on the 1935 map, which shows no theater in town.
There is a theater on the 1913 Sanborn at what I believe is 233 3rd St. Streetview has no coverage, but I’m 90% sure. Might be the same one. A 2020 photo shows that the second floor is derelict, and the ground floor is perhaps an office of some sort.
I really don’t know what to make of it. I was sure it hadn’t come from nowhere. The courthouse is at the corner of Central (then known as Clay) and E 7th. The front faces Central, but Court streets sometimes approach the courthouse at other angles. It’s just possible it was a colloquial reference to that part of Central or 7th. It was also sort of a marginal neighborhood, with lots of industry and hotels close to the railroad. Searching the map wasn’t useless, as I did turn up an airdome. I’ll add a listing for that.
It’s possible that there was an earlier Princess, but there is no such thing as Court St, and there never has been. There are a few ‘such-and-such Courts’, but I wonder if the existence of the prior Princess isn’t fictitious.
Directories list the Royal at 1397, which would be the same building. Maps all show it as 1395. The Royal was opened in 1909, sometime after the Sanborn map was issued in February. It is listed through 1913. The Liberty was likely a wartime renaming. It is listed 1918-1929, after which it became the Uptown. The building was an old two-story brick commercial building, almost certainly pre-1884 (the relevant page is missing from this map), but definitely constructed before 1891, and expanded to the rear by 1909. The 1909 map shows it as a vacant store. The building still existed in 1950, but this section of the block is now a parking lot.
It seems that the Star closed in 1915, when the owner went into the tire sales business. No mention of the Rialto until 1929. It’s unclear what happened in the interim. The building was quite old, going back at least to the mid-1870s. It seems to have been a saloon before the Star opened.
Added a Sanborn view. Theater building can be seen at the far right of the lead picture here: https://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php/URBAN_RENEWAL
Site is now beneath the depressingly awful arena which ate the entire block, save the Majestic.
There were two Dreamlands, the second became the Palace. From 1909 to 1915, the Dreamland was at 530 Main. This was the southern half of an old brick two-story commercial building constructed sometime before 1884. Starting in 1916, the Dreamland moved to 506 Main, a three-story stone fronted brick commercial building on the corner with 5th St, likewise constructed before 1884. The Sanborn map from February 1909 shows 530 as a store, and 506 as a saloon.
Both buildings remain on the 1950 map, but the entire block has been destroyed for a cheap and depressing box containing offices. This listing should be split. As it is, the address used was never the Palace.
This theater cannot have been built in 1908, as the February 1909 Sanborn still shows the older buildings. If it didn’t open until September 1909, a 1908 construction date doesn’t make much sense.
SethG
commented about
Cinema Xon
Sep 26, 2023 at 7:51 am
Still listed in the 1985-1993 directories. The building dates to around 1870, and this portion is now a business phone/internet service.
I’ve added a photo of this theater. There is another building at 109? Riverview that obviously was a theater, and looks very old. That is the building pictured in the article. I didn’t mess with the paywall, but 118 S 2nd is just a cruddy little shed building which houses the newspaper. This whole part of Iowa has uselessly bad streetview coverage, which makes it a little harder to figure things out.
Main became Federal. 119 is sort of hard to pin down. On the 1913 map, there is no 119, and it would have been a house. On later maps, 119 is part of what used to be Harriman’s Opera Hall. That building burned in 1945-6. The 1913 and 1921 maps show that part as a pool hall, but it was certainly large enough to have served as a theater. The opera house itself reportedly closed when the Windsor opened.
Yes, Federal was Main. It’s crazy how many names changed. Delaware used to be Michigan, all the numbered streets dropped by 4 or 5 at one point, and before Federal was Main, it was Commercial. Thanks for the ID.
The Idle Hour was almost certainly elsewhere. The Kresge building is at 17 N Federal.
The 1918 Sanborn calls this the Casino, so it wasn’t the Princess very long.
One of the few nice buildings to escape demolition for the stupid mall that ate half of downtown, and they still couldn’t keep it standing. Now a really ugly bank building. I’ve added a Sanborn view to show how the theater fit into the hotel.
This can’t have been built in 1908, since it’s not on the 1909 map. That corner’s just an empty lot, although the Lamb Lumber Co. had been there in 1901. Need to update the description.
Constructed sometime between 1909 and 1915.
This theater is much older. It must have closed briefly or changed names. The theater first appears on the April 1909 Sanborn. The building was constructed between 1892 and 1897, and the 1901 map shows the theater space as vacant, with a cigar factory on the 2nd floor. It appears from the photo that the southern half, containing the theater, was remodeled at some point. Likely demolished in the late ‘70s for Mason City’s idiotic project to obliterate 6 blocks of downtown for a cruddy mall and parking lot.
Building was the Zoller Block, built between 1892 and 1897. The ground floor was originally split in half, and the theater took over the northern half from a dry goods store. By 1915, the theater occupied the entire ground floor with two small storefronts at the corners. I’ve uploaded a view from the 1918 Sanborn to show the plan. The original address was 219, but between 1915 and 1918 it was changed to 119.
Needs to be changed to demolished. A stupid urban ‘renewal’ project destroyed about half of downtown and replaced it with a mall.
Still need to correct the status to demolished. A giant ugly mall and parking lot destroyed the entire south side of downtown.
Possibly demolished? Hard to say with no address, but the east side of Main (which was all modest wooden buildings on the 1915 Sanborn, the only one available online) is all prefab sheds now.
Old address was 503 Cherry. This building is actually pretty old, built between 1895 and 1902 as a grocery, still a store of some sort on the 1935 map, which shows no theater in town.
Building looks residential. Ugly remodel with lots of siding.
There is a theater on the 1913 Sanborn at what I believe is 233 3rd St. Streetview has no coverage, but I’m 90% sure. Might be the same one. A 2020 photo shows that the second floor is derelict, and the ground floor is perhaps an office of some sort.
I really don’t know what to make of it. I was sure it hadn’t come from nowhere. The courthouse is at the corner of Central (then known as Clay) and E 7th. The front faces Central, but Court streets sometimes approach the courthouse at other angles. It’s just possible it was a colloquial reference to that part of Central or 7th. It was also sort of a marginal neighborhood, with lots of industry and hotels close to the railroad. Searching the map wasn’t useless, as I did turn up an airdome. I’ll add a listing for that.
It’s possible that there was an earlier Princess, but there is no such thing as Court St, and there never has been. There are a few ‘such-and-such Courts’, but I wonder if the existence of the prior Princess isn’t fictitious.
Directories list the Royal at 1397, which would be the same building. Maps all show it as 1395. The Royal was opened in 1909, sometime after the Sanborn map was issued in February. It is listed through 1913. The Liberty was likely a wartime renaming. It is listed 1918-1929, after which it became the Uptown. The building was an old two-story brick commercial building, almost certainly pre-1884 (the relevant page is missing from this map), but definitely constructed before 1891, and expanded to the rear by 1909. The 1909 map shows it as a vacant store. The building still existed in 1950, but this section of the block is now a parking lot.
It seems that the Star closed in 1915, when the owner went into the tire sales business. No mention of the Rialto until 1929. It’s unclear what happened in the interim. The building was quite old, going back at least to the mid-1870s. It seems to have been a saloon before the Star opened.
Added a Sanborn view. Theater building can be seen at the far right of the lead picture here: https://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php/URBAN_RENEWAL
Site is now beneath the depressingly awful arena which ate the entire block, save the Majestic.
There were two Dreamlands, the second became the Palace. From 1909 to 1915, the Dreamland was at 530 Main. This was the southern half of an old brick two-story commercial building constructed sometime before 1884. Starting in 1916, the Dreamland moved to 506 Main, a three-story stone fronted brick commercial building on the corner with 5th St, likewise constructed before 1884. The Sanborn map from February 1909 shows 530 as a store, and 506 as a saloon.
Both buildings remain on the 1950 map, but the entire block has been destroyed for a cheap and depressing box containing offices. This listing should be split. As it is, the address used was never the Palace.
Address is wrong. It should be 978. The building dated to the mid-1890s, and had been home to various department stores prior to the remodel.
This theater cannot have been built in 1908, as the February 1909 Sanborn still shows the older buildings. If it didn’t open until September 1909, a 1908 construction date doesn’t make much sense.
Still listed in the 1985-1993 directories. The building dates to around 1870, and this portion is now a business phone/internet service.