Fine Arts Theater
11119 Johnson Drive,
Shawnee,
KS
66203
11119 Johnson Drive,
Shawnee,
KS
66203
1 person
favorited this theater
This theater was designed by the Boller Brothers firm of Kansas City and was built by Marion Summerour, third mayor of Shawnee. It opened on Labor Day in 1927 as the Mission Theater.
In the 1940’s under Dickinson Theatres, the name was changed to the Aztec Theater. The Aztec Theater operated under this name into the 1970’s, when it was purchsed by the Pflumm family and the named was changed to Fine Arts Theater. It was closed for renovations in 1974, but never reopened. After closing it was used as bank storage.
By 2005, the theater was being renovated by the Fine Arts Group to replace their previous Fine Arts Theater (now the Dickinson Top Two) a few miles away in Mission, KS. However, the Fine Arts Theatre has still not opened and its current status is not known.
Contributed by
Clay Jarratt, Diana Gruver
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
According to a March 10, 2005 Kansas City Star article this theatre is scheduled to open in late summer or early fall.
The article’s main subject was two other theatres owned by the fine arts group; Rio (Overland Park, KS) and Granada (Kansas City, KS) which were added to the National Register of Historic Places in February 2005.
Here is a recent photo of the Fine Arts.
Clay- What listing had the Mission or Aztec designed or remodelled by the Bowler Bros ? We would certainly like to verify this as the owner of the theatre.
It was listed on http://members.aol.com/screenviews/theatres.html with the following info:
Name: Mission
Additional Names: Aztec (1940s)/Fine Arts (after current renovation)
Location: 11119 Johnson Dr., Shawnee, KS
Opened: 1927
Ownership: Dickinson (1940s)/Fine Arts Theatre Group
Current Status: Closed as movie house in 1975, then used for bank storage. Currently under renovation to replace the Fine Arts Theatre.
Other Info: Built by Marion Summerour, the third mayor of Shawnee. Designed by Boller Bros. architects.
Looking back I do not see it on a list I have of Boller theatres so I can’t guarantee where the owner of that site got their info. I would love to see this theatre open, it is just blocks from my home.
If the theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a architectural survey was done to verify the architect, engineering firm, and even construction company. If the listing information includes the Bollers as architect of record, then they designed it.
This is a more recent photo of the Fine Arts Theater.
i’m really interested in buying this place and reopening it!… does anybody know the asking price?!
I’m told that this marquee came from the Plaza Theatre in Abilene, KS before it was destroyed. They sure look alike:
View link
My photo from July 2010 of the Fine Arts marquee:
http://agilitynut.com/10/9/finearts2.jpg