Majestic Theatre
Cedar Rapids,
IA
1 person
favorited this theater
The Majestic Theater opened in 1908. The manager was Victor Hugo (real name Victor Klassens). The auditorium was added to an existing building which housed the lobby. The theater was designed by Rapp and Rapp.
The auditorium seated 1400 originally. It was the premier vaudeville house in town. In 1914 the roof collapsed over the stage house, demolishing the proscenium and opera boxes. The theater was rebuilt and the theater reopened, Four new brass light fixtures lit the proscenium with its' new mural.
In 1921 the theater added movies, but vaudeville was still the main event. Special acts, such Sousa and His Band were often booked for one night engagements. When this happened the regular stage show would move to the Isis theater for the night. When the Iowa Theatre opened, the Orpheum vaudeville shows moved to the new theater. When the Capitol (Paramount) opened, the management at the Majestic reorganized and brought in various theatre groups to run the theater as a legitimate house.
When the Trousdale Players left in March of 1929 the theater closed. The owners tried different formats, but by 1930 the theater had closed, a victim of the depression, the death of vaudeville, competition from the new theaters, and the lack of air conditioning – which forced them to close during the summers. In 1934 the theater burned in a suspicious blaze (the owner was bankrupt and heavily in debt).
More info on Cedar Rapids theatres at www.jeffkorns.com
Contributed by
Jeff Korns
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 14 comments)
Ken MC do you have any more information on this theatre?
The Majestic Theatre in Cedar Rapids opened on September 28, 1908. The theatre was indeed designed by Rapp & Rapp.
An article from the May 2, 1908 edition of the Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette states the following…“The theater was designed by Messrs. C.W. and Geo. L. Rapp, who make a specialty of theater architecture, and who have charge of remodeling and the construction of new theaters for the Western Vaudeville Managers association. They are among the best theater architects in the country.”
The theatre roof over the stage collapsed on July 6, 1915 when one of the stay rods which helped support the truss dircectly above the stage snapped. The theatre was repaired and opened again on October 28, 1915.
Besides the Majestic/Shubert/LaSalle Bank Theatre in Chicago this is the earliest known Rapp and Rapp. However from the article it appears there must be more for them to be known as “among the best theater architects in the country.”
A Wurlitzer theater organ opus 1192 style “E” was installed in the Majestic Theater on 10/31/1925.
All this information on this theatre and no one can come upwith an address.
The lobby entrance was on the corner of A Avenue and 3rd street. The auditorium was on the corner of A Avenue and 2nd street.
Jeff, what happened to your web site, I tried to find it the other day and it don’t exist anymore.
I took down my web site. I’m looking at either putting my info on the website for the local ATOS chapter or starting a blog.
Former vaudeville orchestra member Joe Stoddard recalled the night 6,000 gallons of water flooded the orchestra pit at the Majestic Theatre on Third Street NE. Stoddard said the flood occurred when a canvas tank used in a vaudeville diving act collapsed on the stage. Stoddard, who played in the pit orchestra at the Strand and Majestic Theatres in the early days of vaudeville and silent movies, said he earned $45 a week as a drummer in an eight-piece band. Stoddard recalled playing for such vaudeville greats as Buster Keaton, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, George Burns and Gracie Allen. The Majestic was Cedar Rapids premiere vaudeville house in the 1920s until it fell on hard times during the Depression. The theater eventually went bankrupt and was destroyed by a suspicious fire in 1934.
Stoddard said theater goers in Cedar Rapids had a reputation among theatrical folks as being the coldest audience in the Midwest. At one point a sign was reportedly posted backstage in the New York City MajesticTheatre which read, “You think you’re good? Try playing Cedar Rapids!” Reinforcing that reputation was a sign posted backstage at the Cedar Rapids Majestic reading: “Don’t send out your laundry until we’ve seen your act!”
Aug. 30, 1923: Harry Houdini brought his magic act to the Majestic Theatre as part of the theatre ’s vaudeville line up. At the time of his appearance, the magician had been holding audiences spellbound for over a quarter of a century. Four thousand pounds of baggage and equipment for tricks accompanied Houdini. Houdini’s spellbinding performance included his famous India needle trick. In this novel act, the magician swallowed four packages of needles and several yards of silk thread. He then proceeded to pull the thread and needles from his mouth with each needle threaded. Houdini also performed his death-defying Chinese water torture trick. In the stunt, the magician is bound and chained by his ankles then suspended upside down in a clear glass aquarium filled with water. He then races against time to free himself from his ropes and shackles. Gazette August 26, 1998
129 3rd St NE – address from 1918 City Directory