West Theatre
903 W. Douglas Avenue,
Wichita,
KS
67213
903 W. Douglas Avenue,
Wichita,
KS
67213
No one has favorited this theater yet
Showing 7 comments
Long gone. Demolished.
R.R. Gunby and C.L. Hannon opened the West Theater on August 22, 1924 with Dorothy Mackaill in “Mighty Lak-A-Rose” supported by Gilbert Holmes in “Hello Pardner.” They operated on a five year lease from building owner and local real estate person, Fred Farmer. O.F. Sullivan took on the venue, likely on a 25-year leasing agreement with Farmer, closing it throughout May of 1928 to reverse the seating and give the house a needed refresh. That refresh was, in the eyes of a local critic, “as pretty as a little red wagon.” A year later, in June of 1929, Sullivan equipped the theater for sound for the venue to remain viable.
Sullivan and his wife would acquire other local theaters under his Sullivan Independent Theatres Circuit nameplate. Sullivan downgraded the West to a third-tier discount house with all seats just a quarter in its final stage of operation. Sullivan closed the West Theatre (nicknamed “The Little Dreamhouse”) on December 13, 1953 with “Texas Stampede” with Charles Starrett and Dick Sands in “Phantom From Space” supported by a cartoon and a newsreel. The space had been a retail location prior to becoming a theater and transitioned back to retail location following its nearly 30-year run as a theater.
The West Theatre building was built in 1922 for Fred Farmer, and was designed by a well-known local architect, U. G. Charles. The project was noted in the July 15, 1922 issue of The American Contractor. Although designed as a theater, in early 1924 the building was occupied by a business called the West Side Racket Store. The April 29, 1924 issue of the Wichita Beacon said that B. R. Gundy, of Oklahoma, had leased the building from Farmer and would open it as a movie house called the West Theatre in July.
The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum posted a photo of the West Theatre
O.F. Sullivan opened the West Theater in 1925. He also built the Civic Theater, 81 Drive-In Theater, 54 Drive-In Theater and the Crest Theater. Sullivan also owned the Crawford and Palace Theaters.
Now in the old West Theater building is a cycle parts store and TJ’s Burger House.
This fun link mentions the West, along with many other classic Kansas theatres –
View link