Varsity Cinema
1207 25th Street,
Des Moines,
IA
50311
1207 25th Street,
Des Moines,
IA
50311
No one has favorited this theater yet
Related Websites
Varsity Cinema (Official)
Additional Info
Firms: Wetherell & Harrison
Functions: Movies (Classic), Movies (Independent), Movies (Revival)
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Previous Names: New Varsity Theatre, Varsity Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
515.650.3126
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Dec 30, 2008 — Varsity reaches 70
The New Varsity Theatre is a neighborhood theatre which has been in operation since December 25, 1938. It was a conversion of an existing two-story building and replaced an older Varsity Theatre which was located around the corner on University Avenue.
It showed independent films and is located close to Drake University. It was closed on December 30, 2018 with “Cinema Paradiso”. In June 2021 it was given landmark status and renovations began.
It was reopened as the Varsity Cinema with two screens on December 15, 2022 screening Gene Kelly in “Singing in the Rain”.
Contributed by
Bruce Nelson
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 12 comments)
swede; That advert would be for the ‘old’ Varsity Theatre, which was located around the corner on University Avenue. The owners of the ‘old’ Varsity Theatre, Elias Garbett and his son E.M. Garbett built the New Varsity Theatre.
Interesting. The older photo in their website’s history link looks like the “mystery” Varsity, that was posted on another CT Varsity page.
The mystery photo on that page had college students perched on a Varsity marquee to view a parade or something in tyhe
40's or50’s.Unfortunately I can’t recall what city or CT page the “rogue” Varsity was thought to be in.
It was in Minnesota somewhere. It was a photo from Life magazine that was probably miscaptioned.
Thanks. I didn’t realize it was you that originally posted the “mystery” Varsity photo. The photo is actually on both the Peoria IL & Milwaukee WI Varsity CT pages.
But the mystery is still unsolved though, sort of.
The consensus seems to be that it is the Milwaukee WI Varsity, now part of Marquette University.
Though there are no other or current pictures with which to compare it.
The other Life Magazine photo was of Racine WI. So it could have been Gen. MacArthur’s parades in WI that all pics were originally culled from.
You are correct that it was miscaptioned as being from Chicago IL.,
where there was never a Varsity.
It was not Evanston IL’s Varsity either.
Forgive me for the following.
But would never finding out, be known as the… Varsity Drag?
Thanks, you are correct. The only thing it remotely has in common is glass blocks. And plenty more in the mystery pic.
Bev Mahon owner of the Varsity passed away friday March 27th 2009. He had owned The Varsity since 1954. He also owned theatres in Pella Iowa,Sioux City Iowa and Omaha Nebraska until settling into The Varsity. A true showman that will be missed by all
Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ybca4mv
December 25th, 1938 grand opening ad in photo section.
Varsity has been given landmarks status and is undergoing a 3 million dollar renovation.
https://www.kcci.com/article/varsity-theater-snookies-malt-shop-sign-given-landmark-status/36880662