Isis Theater

The Isis Theater was representative of a unique component of Kansas City’s past: the neighborhood theater. Opened in August of 1918 at the southwest corner of 31st and Troost, the Isis was considered to be the finest suburban theater in the city. The Isis' owners were attuned to the needs of their customers and attention was most readily apparent in the building itself. The entrance was one of the most spacious in Kansas City, and was outfitted in dÎcor consistent with the outside of the building and the auditorium itself.

The owners of the Isis have an unrecognized but important role in the history of animation. In the early 1920s, they employed Carl Stalling as an organist and Walt Disney as an illustrator of commercial slides for the theater. Eventually, the two men worked together on a series of small song films and this partnership took them to Hollywood, where they continued their collaboration for a short time before each branched out on his own: Stalling to Warner Brothers, where he became a composer for the studio’s famed cartoons; Disney went on to make history as head of his own production company.

The Isis did have its share of bad luck, however. Three fires in 1928, 1939 and 1954 caused considerable damage, but the Isis continued on showing first-run movies until 1968. Dwindling audiences resulted in a switch to adult films, which lasted through 1970. By that time the surrounding neighborhood was in decline, and the theater was frequently subject to robberies. On March 15, 1970, disgruntled youths rioted, breaking theater and store windows and engaging police in violent attacks. The Isis announced its closing less than two months later. While businesses continued to occupy the rest of the Wirthman Building, the theater remained vacant. The structure was finally razed in early 1997.

Recent comments (view all 24 comments)

Chuck1231 on April 6, 2009 at 12:37 pm

1984 photo of he Isis Theatre.
View link

lostmemory on May 30, 2009 at 12:58 pm

This is another 1984 photo.

kencmcintyre on July 20, 2009 at 7:49 pm

Here is a 1945 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ltqvkq

lostmemory on July 20, 2009 at 8:02 pm

And what would the source be for that photo?

Chuck1231 on July 21, 2009 at 12:38 am

The photo also says grand opening, was that the opening of the Hollywood Premiere, it surely wasn’t the Grand Opening of the Theatre. If the photo source was listed maybe that could be checked out.

lostmemory on July 21, 2009 at 4:15 am

Good luck finding the source for the photo. It does look familiar to me.

Chuck1231 on July 21, 2009 at 7:30 am

Like the Willis Wood photo it looks like the photo from kclibrary series.

ladymjw on August 22, 2010 at 11:19 pm

KCK all your links are not working.

Joe Vogel on January 19, 2013 at 2:44 pm

Here is some linkrot repair for the Kansas City Public Library images:

1918 photo, showing the original two-story Wirthman Building.

1937 photo, showing the five-story Wirthman Building.

A 1928 photo showing what the library presumes is the lobby of the Isis.

Another 1928 photo showing the theater by night.

A 1940 photo, with an inexplicable “Grand Opening Friday October 6” displayed on the marquee (perhaps the theater had been closed for a while for renovations.)

dougsparling on June 8, 2013 at 6:19 am

The article says there was a fire in 1939, so I’m guessing it was closed for a while and reopened in 1940.