Iao Theatre
68 N. Market Street,
Wailuku,
HI
96793
68 N. Market Street,
Wailuku,
HI
96793
1 person
favorited this theater
Opened in 1928, and built in Spanish Mission style, this theater was once the main entertainment venue of the city of Wailuku, on Maui. Besides screening movies, it featured live stage acts, and such stars as Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra made appearances at the ‘Iao. In 1953, the theater hosted the Hawaiian premiere of “From Here to Eternity”.
By the early 1980’s, however, the theater was in decline, and after it closed, was seriously threatened with demolition. However, it was saved, and in 1995-96, underwent a million dollar-plus renovation.
It is now home to the Maui Onstage live theater group, which has ever since been struggling to continue the ‘Iao’s restoration and to just keep it remaining in operation.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 17 comments)
LM I totally agree, things that are being posted and new theatres that are being added (duplicates) I was chastised for in the past but it seems those things don’t matter any longer. Seems like the site is going down hill more and more day by day. That is really a shame, as the value to people interested in the theatres are the ones that it hits the hardest. I have alomost totally lost interest in the site.
This is a photo of the Iao Theater and here is another.
Added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1995
Iao Theater (added 1995 – Building – #94001622)
68 N. Market St., Wailuku
Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Walsh, Edward
Architectural Style: Mission/Spanish Revival
Area of Significance: Architecture, Social History
Period of Significance: 1925-1949
Owner: Local Gov’t
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Theater
Current Function: Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Theater
Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/35zgd6
Here is a website.
At rental info, the website has 3 photos including auditorium facing stage.
This is another photo of the Iao Theater.
I’d like to correct the comment above that the
Iao was "patterned after the Princess Theatre in Honolulu." There is actually no similarity between the two apart from the fact that both were "stadium style" houses. I spent a great deal of time in the Princess in the '60s with the organ (which we removed just shortly before the theatre was demolished in 1969 and reinstalled in the Hawaii Theatre two blocks away) and also wrote a history of the Princess. The theatre that WAS patterned after the Princess is the PALACE in Hilo, which in fact was designed by the two surviving architects of the Princess, Davis and Fishbourne. It is nearly identical in plan and very similar in decor, only on a much smaller scale. (The Princess was the 2nd largest theatre in Hawaii at 1650 seats.) There were actually five theatres in Wailuku at one time, and many more on the rest of the island in the 20s and 30s. TheIao is the only one left; it’s great that it survived!Aloha Iao Theatre fans,
The historic Iao will celebrate its' 80th anniversary this March, 2009. I will update you all on the events planned for the grand dame of Maui…
Stephanie Ohigashi
PS. Please tell David…thanks.
1985 photo of the ‘Iao Theatre.
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1986 photo of the ‘Iao Theatre.
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