Rodgers Theatre
204-224 N. Broadway Street,
Poplar Bluff,
MO
63901
204-224 N. Broadway Street,
Poplar Bluff,
MO
63901
7 people
favorited this theater
The Rodgers Theatre was opened in 1949 and is a great example of late Art Moderne architecture.
It was built for I. W. Rodgers, who opened his first theater in Poplar Bluff in 1914, eventually acquiring almost all of the theaters in town.
The Rodgers had 1160 ‘Bodyform’ seats in its auditorium, a balcony, and a crying room, which had a soundproof glass window which allowed mothers to still view the movie.
Early ads for the Rodgers made much of the fact that it was air-conditioned and heated, and was hailed as the most modern theater between Saint Louis and Memphis when it opened.
Its front doors were made of solid walnut, and the circular shaped main lobby contained leather benches and a concession stand. Staircases led up to the balcony and down to the restrooms.
Also as part of the Rodgers Building, there was a dime store on the main floor and offices above the theater.
The Rodger’s marquee was illuminated by neon lighting, and contained a tower with the name of the theater in large red letters, as well as multicolored panels behind the tower.
The first film shown at the Rodgers was Red Canyon with George Brent and Ann Blyth. Close to 2000 people attended the opening day festivities, including the mayor of Pine Bluff, who cut the ribbon and purchased the first ticket.
In the ensuing years, the ticket booth was closed, and the theater was divided into two screens.
The theater was sold by the Rodgers family to the Kerasotes chain in 1966, which continued to operate the theater until it was closed in 1999, due to the chain’s opening a new multiplex theater nearby.
After closing the Rodgers, Kerasotes donated the theater to Butler County. Since 2007, the Rodgers Theatre has hosted ocassional live concerts with proceeds going to the theater’s ongoing restoration. County offices are now located in the former theater office space on the second floor.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 19 comments)
Here is another photo of the Rodgers Theater.
The Rodgers Theater is currently open! They just had a re-opening concert featuring Lily Tomlin (Sept 19th, 2008).
They are listed as a 501(3)C Non-Profit. I am so exciting and honored to be the webmaster. I remember going to the Rodgers as a teen! I will post a link to the site when it is running!
http://www.dddnews.com/story/1470309.html
http://www.dddnews.com/story/1458430.html
A nice November 2008 photo can be seen here.
I am happy to post that we have a site up for the Rodgers!
http://historicrodgers.org
If you would like to register for News & Events:
View link
A view from 1996 of the Rodgers here and here.
Picture from October 1985:
View link
Here are two 1985 photos:
Photo1
Photo2
I like the 1954 photo on the theater website, which was posted on 1/6/09.
Nice looking marquee.