Broadway Theatre
805 Broadway Avenue,
Cape Girardeau,
MO
63701
805 Broadway Avenue,
Cape Girardeau,
MO
63701
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One of four theatres that lined Broadway at one time in downtown Cape Girardeau. This Boller Brothers theatre was one of the more elegant that lined Broadway with the double towers on each side of the front with a large vertical sign. Elaborate plasterwork adorned the lobby and the auditorium. Detail work around the procenium with dark red velvet drapes over the stage.
Another of the small town movie palaces of a by-gone era. The Broadway opened in 1929 and closed in 1977.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
Who can I contact about buying?
Its current facade is certainly not much to look at. It seems to be in use as storage presently. Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ctid8225/
There’s a HUGE basement underneath the building that stretches from under the sidewalk all the way back to the rear. There are numerous dressing and storage rooms for when the threatre had live shows in the 1920s and 30s. There is also a small set of rooms above the enterance that were either offices or an apartment.
The balcony was abandoned in the 1970s and the chairs were removed shortly after from the upper level.
This theatre was opperating as a cinema until the spring of 1984. In 1986 it was occupied by a church. After about two years, the church either disolved, or moved to a new location. The church took generally good care of the buildig. While they occupied it, the orchestra pit was covered over with stairs leading up to the stage, and a plaster gargoile was removed from the crown of the proscenium arch. The interior was also painted a gleaming “ White”. The building remained vacant until about 1990, when it reopened as a dollar cinema. It closed after just six months and has sat deteriorating ever since; along with just about every other building on the street.
Here is an October 1960 article about the closing of the theater:
http://tinyurl.com/ycv6s7l
This opened on December 24th, 1921. Six-page ad section in the paper can be seen at View link
“BEDNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS” had a successful run in a theatre that played a lot of DISNEY Films.
Looks like it has a new roof.
This was one of two theatre in Cape that bore the name of Broadway. The original was a remodeled building that Maike Doyle of Toledo, who had managed the Lyric, opened at 535 Broadway.
I managed to get inside the Broadway 12/16/2011. I was blown away that it’s in relatively good shape. A guy is going to open a small shop in the lobby, but the owner implied that there may be something in the works for when the 18-month lease runs out.
Here are photos of the public areas. I’m posting photos of the backstage and basement areas the next day. http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/broadway/broadway-theater-wow/
The Esquire, across the street, is being renovated, too. I’d love to see those two properties restored. It would change the complexion of that whole area. http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/broadway/esquire-gets-new-life/