There is no such thing as S Market, and this has not been demolished. The building is obviously very old, and predates the theater by at least a decade. Correct address should be 102 E Market.
Note that the 1950 map shows a different address. Dubuque went through an absurd amount of street renaming/renumbering on the north side. The early address would have been 2181 Couler Ave, which became Central. It was originally at the corner with W Eagle Point Ave, which became 22nd St. Further out, 23rd (1891) became 27th (1909), and then 26th (1950). It makes it incredibly difficult to track buildings on the maps.
The original building seems to have existed before 1884. It had been expanded somewhat by 1891, and was a drug store prior to conversion. The auditorium appears to have been in a long single story addition to the rear. I’ve added a rather messy view from what appears to be a 1950 revision to the 1909 map. No idea why there is such a long gap in coverage.
Joe, I’ve added both the Crystal and Rivola. I agree the Majestic may well have been the opera house, but it’s unclear. There’s no mention of movies in any of the histories, but the old NRHP listing for the building says it was used as a theater until 1947. Could very well have been live theater only. I don’t see any other obvious choices on the 1913 map.
Located on the east side of the Wise Block, which was built between 1913 and 1920. 1920 map shows the theater, so it was at least open by that August if not earlier.
The Pythian Castle this theater is located in seems to be a remodel of an older building. The original structure was built between 1894 and 1899. The 1913 map is the first to show a hall on the 2nd floor, which may have been the K of P. By 1921, it had been extended in the rear to its current footprint.
The facade doesn’t really look like a building from the mid-30s (especially with its original, long gone crenelation), but it likely doesn’t date from the 1890s, either. I’d guess it may have been applied when the K of P moved in (if they weren’t always there, which is a bit unclear), perhaps around 1910.
By chance, I actually photographed this the weekend of the reopening. Was unable to make it, or not interested in the movie. I can’t remember.
The 1914 theater must have then been the Elite. Whether it became the Princess, I can’t say. There are two later maps, but they are not online, except perhaps on Iowa State’s website, which you need a login for.
Current use is an appliance dealer, and the sentence about the Castle should be removed as irrelevant and outdated. The first sentence is also incorrect, there was at least one other.
Dates are wrong. This theater first appears on the Feb. 1913 Sanborn. The building was an old commercial structure from before 1886. The 1905 map shows a clothing store there.
Between 1913 and 1921, it was nearly doubled in depth, and you can see a seam in the brick on the north wall where this was done. The addition included a lot of windows and a doorway, so it’s unlikely the auditorium was enlarged.
This may have been the theater at 702 S River Park Dr. It’s the only theater shown on the 1914 map, and it’s in the ground floor of a very old (1850s?) three-story stone commercial building, which seems to now be apartments, if the blurry mess on streetview is to be believed. It’s a very strange location, way off to one edge of downtown. The 1902 Sanborn shows it as the Wiest & Class general store.
The building was built in 1884, and was a dry goods store for many years. It’s shown as vacant on the 1913 map. It was apparently damaged when the old masonic lodge next door (then the restaurant) burned down sometime before 2015.
Found a postcard from 1956 or so (going by the last model of car), and this was still in good shape, and two stories. Most or all of the ground floor looks like it was a Rexall. 1960 was the peak census, and I think the downtown declined a lot after that.
There actually was a three story building just north of the Ritz. It also was constructed after the 1906 map, and on the 1914 map, the third floor is a ‘Hall’. Perhaps that was the new opera house? Odd that it was right across the street from an opera house shown on the 1906 map, and a hall on the 1914 map.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Aug 21, 2023 at 9:12 am
Note that this historic address was 40, but this block had been renumbered by 1918.
There is no such thing as S Market, and this has not been demolished. The building is obviously very old, and predates the theater by at least a decade. Correct address should be 102 E Market.
Still need to correct ‘Frisnia’ to Frisina in the description and AKA.
Quite obviously not the right building.
Note that the 1950 map shows a different address. Dubuque went through an absurd amount of street renaming/renumbering on the north side. The early address would have been 2181 Couler Ave, which became Central. It was originally at the corner with W Eagle Point Ave, which became 22nd St. Further out, 23rd (1891) became 27th (1909), and then 26th (1950). It makes it incredibly difficult to track buildings on the maps.
The original building seems to have existed before 1884. It had been expanded somewhat by 1891, and was a drug store prior to conversion. The auditorium appears to have been in a long single story addition to the rear. I’ve added a rather messy view from what appears to be a 1950 revision to the 1909 map. No idea why there is such a long gap in coverage.
Joe, I’ve added both the Crystal and Rivola. I agree the Majestic may well have been the opera house, but it’s unclear. There’s no mention of movies in any of the histories, but the old NRHP listing for the building says it was used as a theater until 1947. Could very well have been live theater only. I don’t see any other obvious choices on the 1913 map.
Located on the east side of the Wise Block, which was built between 1913 and 1920. 1920 map shows the theater, so it was at least open by that August if not earlier.
The Pythian Castle this theater is located in seems to be a remodel of an older building. The original structure was built between 1894 and 1899. The 1913 map is the first to show a hall on the 2nd floor, which may have been the K of P. By 1921, it had been extended in the rear to its current footprint.
The facade doesn’t really look like a building from the mid-30s (especially with its original, long gone crenelation), but it likely doesn’t date from the 1890s, either. I’d guess it may have been applied when the K of P moved in (if they weren’t always there, which is a bit unclear), perhaps around 1910.
By chance, I actually photographed this the weekend of the reopening. Was unable to make it, or not interested in the movie. I can’t remember.
The 1914 theater must have then been the Elite. Whether it became the Princess, I can’t say. There are two later maps, but they are not online, except perhaps on Iowa State’s website, which you need a login for.
It’s really frustrating. Even larger towns have one pass through on the US highway, and no side streets. Seems to be a pretty large area of NE Iowa.
Current use is an appliance dealer, and the sentence about the Castle should be removed as irrelevant and outdated. The first sentence is also incorrect, there was at least one other.
Dates are wrong. This theater first appears on the Feb. 1913 Sanborn. The building was an old commercial structure from before 1886. The 1905 map shows a clothing store there.
Between 1913 and 1921, it was nearly doubled in depth, and you can see a seam in the brick on the north wall where this was done. The addition included a lot of windows and a doorway, so it’s unlikely the auditorium was enlarged.
Quite obviously did not have a red brick facade, and the window trim is obviously light brick. Needs to be changed to demolished.
This may have been the theater at 702 S River Park Dr. It’s the only theater shown on the 1914 map, and it’s in the ground floor of a very old (1850s?) three-story stone commercial building, which seems to now be apartments, if the blurry mess on streetview is to be believed. It’s a very strange location, way off to one edge of downtown. The 1902 Sanborn shows it as the Wiest & Class general store.
Building is now a beauty salon. Streetview has very poor coverage, but if you look from Lawler north of the intersection, you can see it fairly well.
Cozy almost certainly wasn’t the opera house. It was open until 1918, but must never have showed movies.
I am pretty sure that it was. There is an opera house, and I’ve asked Ken for more information about that.
The building was built in 1884, and was a dry goods store for many years. It’s shown as vacant on the 1913 map. It was apparently damaged when the old masonic lodge next door (then the restaurant) burned down sometime before 2015.
The city demolished the sad remains in late November 2022. It apparently was damaged in the tornado of 1968.
Can’t believe I walked right past this and decided not to bother!
Probably accounts for a lot of the ugly buildings and empty lots, but the town was pretty sad when i was there in 2009.
Found a postcard from 1956 or so (going by the last model of car), and this was still in good shape, and two stories. Most or all of the ground floor looks like it was a Rexall. 1960 was the peak census, and I think the downtown declined a lot after that.
There actually was a three story building just north of the Ritz. It also was constructed after the 1906 map, and on the 1914 map, the third floor is a ‘Hall’. Perhaps that was the new opera house? Odd that it was right across the street from an opera house shown on the 1906 map, and a hall on the 1914 map.
Note that this historic address was 40, but this block had been renumbered by 1918.
Thanks for finding the name!