Town Theatre
310 First Avenue,
Cedar Rapids,
IA
52401
310 First Avenue,
Cedar Rapids,
IA
52401
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The Town Theatre was a one level movies-only theatre opened in 1907 as the Delphi Theatre. It’s stated purpose was to show “educational photoplays”. In the 1910s, the theatre was renamed the Crystal Theatre. By the early 1920s it was known as the Rialto.
While the theatre was known as the Rialto it gained a not-so-flattering nickname, “the Rat-Hole”. The hotels that surrounded the theatre used to empty their trash in the alley, the rats would run through the theatre as they moved between the hotels!
In 1948, the theatre changed hands and became the Town Theatre. While it operated as the Town, it showed primarily adult films (grade Z exploitation films of the 1950s) during the week and kiddy matinees on the weekends.
Nobody mourned the theatre when it was torn down in the late 1950s as part of urban renewal.
More pictures and info can be found at www.jeffkorns.com
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jeff korns
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
In 1955 the Town Theater had 665 seats. The address given is 310 First Avenue.
The lobby for the US Cellular Center arena stands about where the theater stood. It was across the street from the Iowa theater and the Columbia theater and next door to the Grand (Lyric) theater located in the Grand hotel building. Both the Grand and Columbia were short lived converted store front theaters. Interestingly enough, larger entertainment venues replaced all three theaters.
The Town and Grand were replaced by the arena and the Columbia by the Iowa theater building.
This theatre need the address added to the header, I come up with the same address that LM did on Nov. 21, 2008.
I found the address of 310 1st Ave. NE.52401