Melvin Theatre
2912 Chippewa Street,
St. Louis,
MO
63118
2912 Chippewa Street,
St. Louis,
MO
63118
2 people
favorited this theater
The Melvin Theatre opened in 1914 and seated 481. It opened as an independent theatre and only had two owners. One of the more successful of the neighborhood theatres located in the Dutch Town area of south St. Louis. Just a block away from the Yale Theatre on Minnesota and within walking distance from the much larger Melba Theatre on South Grand. Ben Miller bought the theatre in 1972 and it was gutted and remodeled, replacing the screen, the sound system, the seats and a new concession stand, but kept the old box office with the rolls of tickets. Even until its closing on October 18, 1992 with John Ritter in “Stay Tuned”, the box office was in the inside lobby and the tickets were on large rolls hung above the cashier. The marquee had no current attraction lettering on it just simply said Melvin Theatre on all three sides.
The auditorium had two aisles with the larger seating section running down the middle and about four seats on the side aisles. The rest rooms were located on the second floor above the lobby of the theatre.
The Hope Community Workshop Center owns the building, and as well as use as a church, regular concerts of live Christian music were held. The building is in great shape, the facade is restored and still has the marquee, recently painted.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 30 comments)
Kyle : where in So Cal?
Bill (and anyone else),
I am a part of a group that has recently taken responsibility for the development and use of The Melvin Theater building.
Our preliminary plans are to utilize the building as a community based and resourced center, including auditorium space, classroom space and possible business incubation space.
I would love to connect with anyone who has historical information or experience with the building.
I can be reached at also
Hi David, I haven’t seen the theatre in over 35 years. we were family owned and operated from 1972 – 1978. What would you like to know?
I can be reached at
I recall going to see NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET on a double bill with NIGHT OF THE COMET when I moved to St.Louis in 1984. It was super cold outside and I kept looking up to the roof thinking the tile was going to fall down on me. But I enjoyed the show and thought about this theater when I heard the director of NIGHTMARE had passed away.
Theater should be listed as closed. Black garbage bags covering the doors, so I couldn’t see in. Still in fantastic shape. I don’t know why anyone thought the sign was freshly painted. Thankfully, it’s been untouched since it was installed.
It is for sale now…
My family and I used to go to the Melvin Theater every Sunday. They used to have 2 for $1.00 movies there in the early 1980s. The women’s restroom was down stairs and the men’s was upstairs next to the projector room. We went there for years and it has an essential part of my childhood memories. I would love to own the building and bring back the movies as it used to be.
Joseph Halleman built the Melvin Theater for $20,000 opening in 1914. It was one of the city’s most enduring neighborhood venue operating for almost 80 years. It converted to sound to remain viable. It closed permanently on October 18, 1992 with John Ritter in “Stay Tuned.” The theater’s contents including seating and projection were auctioned off in 1993. It was used as an outreach center in 1994 and turned to a house of worship in 2017.