Under Niles' ownership, this was part of a small circuit called the Eastern Iowa Theater Co. It was based here, and in 1931 it included theaters in Cascade, Dyersville, Oelwein (2), and Wyoming.
This was gutted sometime after May of 2018, and it looks like the work was finally showing some results by the summer of 2024. All of the 1950s paneling is gone, as is the marquee. The facade has been cleaned, but the window replacements are really cheap and awful, and the little stained glass window on the second floor is gone.
She might have been talking about the building on S Depot St that has the HR Block in it, or the building on S Davis St that has a real estate office in it. Either way, it’s clear the original contributor supplied a spurious address, and this was never on Main at all. Sounds like the status needs to be changed to demolished. The theater first appears in the 1939 listings, and is still listed in the 1957 directory.
This theater was still open in September 1913, as it appears on the Sanborn map. It may have been renamed the Orpheum, which is the only theater listed in the 1914-15 directory. It probably closed when the Garden opened.
The historical address was on Beckett, but the street name was changed by 1921. The 1914-15 directory also lists an Electric, but I do not see anything on the September 1913 map, so I have no idea where it was.
The 1940 Mars was a renaming of the Pastime, which likely had been the Palace. The June 1948 map shows that location as Movies (Vacant). It seems there was a period without any theater.
Has been an archery store since at least 2012. The furniture store sign is still up, and looks like it was probably the theater sign. I didn’t take any pictures of the building (just a few of the sign), but it’s in decent shape. The entry has a cheap remodel, and used to have an ugly shingle awning. When that was removed recently, it exposed the old theater marquee, which appears to have been crudely sawed off to fit the awning.
The address is wrong. 400 is a vacant lot a block away. This building is 501. The dates here are very vague, but the 1948 map shows this building as a store with an attached lumber warehouse that is now gone. The 1949 listings have the Mars.
The comment about the other Electric is now missing, so I don’t know who had what information, but there was no 100 block of W 6th until the bridge was built sometime after 1962. The area where the street is now was mostly industrial.
Almost all of the pictures are of the wrong theater. Elmorovivo posted one of a snowy day with the Iowa in the background. That is the correct building. All of the others are wrong.
This was a remodel of a very old building, which was constructed sometime between 1885 and 1892. Originally it was not very deep, and had a central staircase. Between 1900 and 1906 it was extended in the rear all the way to the alley. Both 1906 and 1910 maps show a harness shop here. The 1918 map shows the then Family alone on this section of the block. I think there was a fire that destroyed a large 4 story office building on the corner (the Russell-Lamson Block), as well as possibly an old wooden hotel that was on the other side of the theater. It’s clear from the one photo that at least the front portion of the older building survived.
Was a grocery in 1906, operating as a movie theater by December, 1910, closed by 1918. It was listed in the 1914-15 directory. This building had a name, but some yokel chiseled it off years ago.
Not sure when this was demolished, but it’s still on the 1962 map, marked as vacant. Waterloo has a terrible downtown that’s mostly surface lots or ugly ‘modern’ buildings one to a block. A grim hotel occupies most of this block across from a parking deck with empty grass around it.
I am now wondering if this wasn’t built by the same person who owned the bowling alley. The 1895 map shows the space between the neighboring buildings occupied by a ‘Shooting Gallery’ under a ‘Canvass [sic] Tent’. Possibly the culmination of some long-dead entrepreneur’s entertainment empire?
This theater is shown on the October 1913 Sanborn. It was constructed sometime after 1902, replacing a bowling alley shown on that map (a small wooden thing labeled ‘cheap structure’).
There was an earlier theater, the M.P. It is listed in 1914-15, but nothing is listed in 1926. Annoyingly, there are no Sanborn maps for this town, so I have no idea where it was.
Looked very shabby in 2010, when it was the Uptown Supper Club. Must have been a forerunner to Spanky’s. At that point, the facade was some sort of cinderblock, or possibly painted over glazed brick. I think there must have been a storm/tornado at some point, because nearly all of downtown on this side of the street is now gone. Only this end of the block and two buildings at the other end are left.
The building may possibly have been older, but the theater does not appear in any directories until 1929. The building seems to have been built sometime between 1901 and 1910 as a furniture store. It was very deep, and had a hall on the 2nd floor, with a very deep balcony at the rear. The 1929 guide lists it with 1,000 seats, while the 1937 guide lists it as 800.
Under Niles' ownership, this was part of a small circuit called the Eastern Iowa Theater Co. It was based here, and in 1931 it included theaters in Cascade, Dyersville, Oelwein (2), and Wyoming.
This was gutted sometime after May of 2018, and it looks like the work was finally showing some results by the summer of 2024. All of the 1950s paneling is gone, as is the marquee. The facade has been cleaned, but the window replacements are really cheap and awful, and the little stained glass window on the second floor is gone.
She might have been talking about the building on S Depot St that has the HR Block in it, or the building on S Davis St that has a real estate office in it. Either way, it’s clear the original contributor supplied a spurious address, and this was never on Main at all. Sounds like the status needs to be changed to demolished. The theater first appears in the 1939 listings, and is still listed in the 1957 directory.
This theater was still open in September 1913, as it appears on the Sanborn map. It may have been renamed the Orpheum, which is the only theater listed in the 1914-15 directory. It probably closed when the Garden opened.
I have added a fairly poor picture I took late on a winter afternoon.
The historical address was on Beckett, but the street name was changed by 1921. The 1914-15 directory also lists an Electric, but I do not see anything on the September 1913 map, so I have no idea where it was.
The 1940 Mars was a renaming of the Pastime, which likely had been the Palace. The June 1948 map shows that location as Movies (Vacant). It seems there was a period without any theater.
Has been an archery store since at least 2012. The furniture store sign is still up, and looks like it was probably the theater sign. I didn’t take any pictures of the building (just a few of the sign), but it’s in decent shape. The entry has a cheap remodel, and used to have an ugly shingle awning. When that was removed recently, it exposed the old theater marquee, which appears to have been crudely sawed off to fit the awning.
The address is wrong. 400 is a vacant lot a block away. This building is 501. The dates here are very vague, but the 1948 map shows this building as a store with an attached lumber warehouse that is now gone. The 1949 listings have the Mars.
This was replaced by a bank in 1957, but this whole block, along with several others, was destroyed sometime after 1962 to run a freeway through town.
I’ve added an old picture of mine, and a Sanborn view.
There is also no Electric listed in 1914-15.
The comment about the other Electric is now missing, so I don’t know who had what information, but there was no 100 block of W 6th until the bridge was built sometime after 1962. The area where the street is now was mostly industrial.
Almost all of the pictures are of the wrong theater. Elmorovivo posted one of a snowy day with the Iowa in the background. That is the correct building. All of the others are wrong.
This was a remodel of a very old building, which was constructed sometime between 1885 and 1892. Originally it was not very deep, and had a central staircase. Between 1900 and 1906 it was extended in the rear all the way to the alley. Both 1906 and 1910 maps show a harness shop here. The 1918 map shows the then Family alone on this section of the block. I think there was a fire that destroyed a large 4 story office building on the corner (the Russell-Lamson Block), as well as possibly an old wooden hotel that was on the other side of the theater. It’s clear from the one photo that at least the front portion of the older building survived.
This must be from 1914.
Was a grocery in 1906, operating as a movie theater by December, 1910, closed by 1918. It was listed in the 1914-15 directory. This building had a name, but some yokel chiseled it off years ago.
Not sure when this was demolished, but it’s still on the 1962 map, marked as vacant. Waterloo has a terrible downtown that’s mostly surface lots or ugly ‘modern’ buildings one to a block. A grim hotel occupies most of this block across from a parking deck with empty grass around it.
I am now wondering if this wasn’t built by the same person who owned the bowling alley. The 1895 map shows the space between the neighboring buildings occupied by a ‘Shooting Gallery’ under a ‘Canvass [sic] Tent’. Possibly the culmination of some long-dead entrepreneur’s entertainment empire?
Not on the later 1913 map. Could have been anywhere, including the opera house. Address almost certainly on 2nd St.
This theater is shown on the October 1913 Sanborn. It was constructed sometime after 1902, replacing a bowling alley shown on that map (a small wooden thing labeled ‘cheap structure’).
There was an earlier theater, the M.P. It is listed in 1914-15, but nothing is listed in 1926. Annoyingly, there are no Sanborn maps for this town, so I have no idea where it was.
There is no Main St in Gladbrook, so the map marker is up in Lincoln. This was likely somewhere on 2nd St.
Looked very shabby in 2010, when it was the Uptown Supper Club. Must have been a forerunner to Spanky’s. At that point, the facade was some sort of cinderblock, or possibly painted over glazed brick. I think there must have been a storm/tornado at some point, because nearly all of downtown on this side of the street is now gone. Only this end of the block and two buildings at the other end are left.
Website is dead and should be removed. This is now a county school district building.
The building may possibly have been older, but the theater does not appear in any directories until 1929. The building seems to have been built sometime between 1901 and 1910 as a furniture store. It was very deep, and had a hall on the 2nd floor, with a very deep balcony at the rear. The 1929 guide lists it with 1,000 seats, while the 1937 guide lists it as 800.
The 1925 directory lists this as being operated by the Hostettler Amusement Co.