Howard Theater
113 E. 5th Avenue,
Arkansas City,
KS
67005
113 E. 5th Avenue,
Arkansas City,
KS
67005
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Rex Theatre, New Howard Theater
Nearby Theaters
This theater opened by 1920 as the Rex Theatre. The April 1912 map shows a prior airdome still on this site. The theater does not appear in the 1914-15 AMPD, but it appears on the 1920 map as a one story brick building with a fly tower at the rear. Initially listed with 800 seats, it appears to have become the New Howard Theater in 1930, making the transition to sound with Western Electric. It disappears from listings in 1932, and reopened in either 1938 or 1939 with 601 seats, dropping the ‘New’ from the name.
The theater was listed in 1946 with 500 seats, and in 1952 with 550. It closed sometime after 1960. Long ago demolished, the site is a parking lot.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
from the Arkansas City traveler newspaper where i grew up.
the Howard theater was built in 1912 by E.H Howard and Roy Burford.
there was only one Howard Theater.
mike gilstrap
The caption under the pic is a little “Off”. I lived in Arkansas City until 1960 and the Howard Theatre was still in business then.
Kenneth Box
The photo is not one of the Howard Theater, rather the old Midland Hotel building, which is next door east of where the Howard sat. The Howard Theater was “deconstructed” about 40 years ago. :(
A lot of incorrect information - I have rewritten the listing, and added a Sanborn view.
A 1915 opening is near certain for Roy Burford’s Rex. The house is mentioned in this item from the November 27, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World: “Roy Burford’s Arkansas City Theater. Roy Burford came ‘out of the west’ to the ‘east’ of Kansas a year ago, and is assisting in the reconstruction of the moving picture business in Arkansas City, Kan. Mr. Burford counts nine years in connection with the industry, and his present property, the Rex, is a fit monument to his accomplishments. This is a beautiful theater seating 650-and its seats are often fully occupied.”
Thanks. This originally said 1912, which I was sure was wrong.
I suspect that this item I more recently ran across, from the April 4, 1914 MPW, is also about the Rex/Howard Theatre, given the builder’s name: “EDITOR BUILDING THEATER.
“A $10,000 theater is being built in Arkansas City., Kan., by Richard C. Howard, the editor of the Arkansas City Daily Traveler, published in that city. When completed the house will be leased for five years by H. Hill, who will install moving pictures.”
It might be that Howard’s deal with Mr. Hill fell through, and the house didn’t open until Mr. Burford appeared, or perhaps the theater was completed and opened as early as mid-1914, but Mr. Hill departed after operating it only a short time, leaving Howard free to lease the house to Burford. So far I’ve found no clues in the trade journals.