Webster Theater
610 Second Street,
Webster City,
IA
50595
610 Second Street,
Webster City,
IA
50595
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The Webster Theater opened as the Orpheum Theater on November 29, 1909. It operated as a vaudeville theater until 1916 when the Orpheum Theater moved to a new building right next door named the E. H. Martin Building and began showing silent movies. In the 1920’s the Orpheum was remodeled and renamed the Granada Theater. The main floor seated 600 and the balcony held 150 patrons.
In the 1930’s the Granada was renamed the Webster Theater. Around 1988 Bob Fridley of Fridley Theatres purchased the Webster Theater. The Webster is open and was operated by Fridley Theatres until the mid-2000’s, when it was taken over by the BigTime Cinema chain.
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This was one of many Pioneer Theaters in Iowa in the early sixties. Pioneer was based in St. Louis Park, MN. The president was Harold Field. Other Iowa theaters in the chain at that time were the Atlantic and Corral in Atlantic, the Carroll and Caroll Drive-In in Carroll, the Arrow, American and Corral in Cherokee, the Clarinda and Clarinda Drive-In in Clarinda, the Center in Grundy Center, the Iowa in Jefferson, the Corral and Perry in Perry, the Sac Theater in Sac City, the Corral and Spencer in Spencer, the Corral and Vista in Storm Lake and the Corral and Webster in Webster.
A tiny glimpse of the Webster Theater can be seen in this photo. It looks like the original Orpheum Theatre building is still standing next door. They could put a second screen for the Webster in there and have a hundred-year-old theater, sort of. But then, even having a 93-year-old theater is pretty impressive these days.
1982 photo of the Webster Theatre
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1992 photo of the Webster Theatre.
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