Rocket Cinema
226 19th Street,
Rock Island,
IL
61201
226 19th Street,
Rock Island,
IL
61201
3 people
favorited this theater
Opened as the Rocket Cinema in 1940, the single screen movie house was operated by Tri-State Theatres. All 800-seats were on a single level. Interior decorations were carried out by Hanns Teichert. It descended into discount status in the 1970’s and closed as the Capri Cinema at the end of the 1980’s.
A nightclub was later installed inside the Capri Cinema, but it too closed.
In spring of 2005, the theater, renamed the Brew and View II at the Rocket Cinema, reopened with, as the name implied, a “brew and view” format, which also featured live acts. This lasted until March 2006, and the building again became vacant. In the summer of 2010, it was taken over by a comedy club.
Contributed by
Mike Geater
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Recent comments (view all 26 comments)
This was the Rocket Cinema in 2005.
The Rocket Theatre was featured in an article by theater decorator Hanns Teichert in the March 2, 1940, issue of Boxoffice Magazine. The new Tri-States Theatres house was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm Wetherell & Harrison.
1982 Photo
This theater is being leased to ComedySportz, an improvisational comedy troupe: View link
Already a second run house in 1982.Next is closure.
We have started work this week bringing the theater up to code. The bathrooms that were located in the basement, are being moved to the first floor for handicapped accessibility. Even though some major changes have been made to the inside over the years, we are trying to reproduce the art deco streamline look to the best of our capabilities. The screen is still there, but the projectors are gone be will be replaced soon. The venue will be used for weekly live performances and future film festivals.
The old Rocket Theater has been renamed The Establishment Theater and opened this Thanksgiving weekend to three sold out shows. With a mix of improvisational comedy from ComedySportz and original films from local studios, tickets sales are exceeding expectations. After the original colors were back on the outside building and every light working on the marquee, the theater grabs your attention.
Pictures from the website.
View link
I remember the Rocket/Capri theater well. It was originally first-run, except for the Fort. You can see the old WHBF (TV and radio) tower behind it. Half a block south (to the viewer’s left) and catty-corner was the Fort Theater, which got most of the first-run movies. In the early to mid 70’s, the Capri became a budget theater: $1 matinees and I believe $2 evenings. Of course it was second-run by then. In the early 1980s it went to 99 cents anytime.
The Showcase Cinemas in nearby Milan, which opened in 1968 with 6 screens, eventually put all of the downtown theaters out of business. It went out of business itself in 2001.
Here’s a link to the 1940 trade article mentioned above by Joe Vogel: boxofficemagazine