Royal Theatre

C.B. Yost opened the $10,000, 448-seat Royal Theatre May 3, 1916, with Francis X. Bushman in “Pennington’s Choice”. Located in the former Colladay Hardware building (c. 1904), the plans were drawn up by W.E Hulse & Co., Architects. Already open were Mr. Yost’s Pearl Theatre and the Deluxe Theatre and Iris Theatre, owned by others. On October 18, 1916, the Hutchinson News touted a glowing report of the Royal Theatre, which had recently been published in Moving Picture World.

On November 6, 1919, the Hutchinson News reported the Royal Theatre was being purchased by Midland Theatre and Realty Co., of Kansas City MO., from W.C. Robertson. Mr. Robertson, the owner since 1918, would be retained as manager.

In 1926 a $10,000 (nearly $135,000 in 2017 dollars) organ was installed, which was the same cost of the original Royal Theatre in 1916. On November 12, 1928, the Royal Theatre gave Hutchinson its first Vitaphone picture, “State Street Sadie”, starring Myrna Loy and Conrad Nagel. It was said the picture was a big attraction at the Midland Theatre in Kansas City. Also installed in the Royal Theatre at the same time was the Movietone sound system.

In September 1929 all Hutchinson theatres came under the Fox Midwest Theatres banner. On March 24, 1934, the Hutchinson News reported the seats were removed and shipped to another Fox house in another state and the property would be commercialized.

On September 25, 1939, the building was gutted by fire and remodeling into a store began in October by Fox who had a 99-year lease.

According to the city of Hutchinson’s Historic Districts, the building underwent an alteration in 1960 and rehabilitation in 1988. The building, retaining its original footprint, has been home to Payton Optical since 1988.

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