Gem Theatre
1662 Washington Avenue,
Alton,
IL
62002
1662 Washington Avenue,
Alton,
IL
62002
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The Gem opened in 1913 as the Ouatoga Theatre. The name change was done sometime between 1921 and 1924. It was a small storefront theatre that presented motion pictures until 1945. The building then housed various retail stores from 1948 through 1972. It later became a Chinese restaurant. The building has since been torn down.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
The two blocks between 1650 and 1672 Washington are occupied by a Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy, respectively. No trace of any theater building from the teens. Status should be closed/demolished.
Actually the CVS Pharmacy is at 2422 College Ave at the beginning of the 1700 block of Washington, The Walgreens parking lot is located where the theatre once stood but at the street not set back that far.
The Gem was torn down in July 1997, according to this article in the Alton Telegraph at that time:
http://tinyurl.com/mrgx4e
http://tinyurl.com/nmkuaa
I have to find a magnifying glass to read that.
What I don’t understand is not just linking directly to the newspaper.
Newspaper articles are distorted enough, but putting in a private photo account and then linking to the photo account makes it that much more difficult to read.