It seems that the Star closed in 1915, when the owner went into the tire sales business. No mention of the Rialto until 1929. It’s unclear what happened in the interim. The building was quite old, going back at least to the mid-1870s. It seems to have been a saloon before the Star opened.
Added a Sanborn view. Theater building can be seen at the far right of the lead picture here: https://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php/URBAN_RENEWAL
Site is now beneath the depressingly awful arena which ate the entire block, save the Majestic.
There were two Dreamlands, the second became the Palace. From 1909 to 1915, the Dreamland was at 530 Main. This was the southern half of an old brick two-story commercial building constructed sometime before 1884. Starting in 1916, the Dreamland moved to 506 Main, a three-story stone fronted brick commercial building on the corner with 5th St, likewise constructed before 1884. The Sanborn map from February 1909 shows 530 as a store, and 506 as a saloon.
Both buildings remain on the 1950 map, but the entire block has been destroyed for a cheap and depressing box containing offices. This listing should be split. As it is, the address used was never the Palace.
This theater cannot have been built in 1908, as the February 1909 Sanborn still shows the older buildings. If it didn’t open until September 1909, a 1908 construction date doesn’t make much sense.
SethG
commented about
Cinema Xon
Sep 26, 2023 at 7:51 am
Still listed in the 1985-1993 directories. The building dates to around 1870, and this portion is now a business phone/internet service.
There is no such thing as S Market, and this has not been demolished. The building is obviously very old, and predates the theater by at least a decade. Correct address should be 102 E Market.
Note that the 1950 map shows a different address. Dubuque went through an absurd amount of street renaming/renumbering on the north side. The early address would have been 2181 Couler Ave, which became Central. It was originally at the corner with W Eagle Point Ave, which became 22nd St. Further out, 23rd (1891) became 27th (1909), and then 26th (1950). It makes it incredibly difficult to track buildings on the maps.
The original building seems to have existed before 1884. It had been expanded somewhat by 1891, and was a drug store prior to conversion. The auditorium appears to have been in a long single story addition to the rear. I’ve added a rather messy view from what appears to be a 1950 revision to the 1909 map. No idea why there is such a long gap in coverage.
Joe, I’ve added both the Crystal and Rivola. I agree the Majestic may well have been the opera house, but it’s unclear. There’s no mention of movies in any of the histories, but the old NRHP listing for the building says it was used as a theater until 1947. Could very well have been live theater only. I don’t see any other obvious choices on the 1913 map.
Located on the east side of the Wise Block, which was built between 1913 and 1920. 1920 map shows the theater, so it was at least open by that August if not earlier.
The Pythian Castle this theater is located in seems to be a remodel of an older building. The original structure was built between 1894 and 1899. The 1913 map is the first to show a hall on the 2nd floor, which may have been the K of P. By 1921, it had been extended in the rear to its current footprint.
The facade doesn’t really look like a building from the mid-30s (especially with its original, long gone crenelation), but it likely doesn’t date from the 1890s, either. I’d guess it may have been applied when the K of P moved in (if they weren’t always there, which is a bit unclear), perhaps around 1910.
By chance, I actually photographed this the weekend of the reopening. Was unable to make it, or not interested in the movie. I can’t remember.
The 1914 theater must have then been the Elite. Whether it became the Princess, I can’t say. There are two later maps, but they are not online, except perhaps on Iowa State’s website, which you need a login for.
Current use is an appliance dealer, and the sentence about the Castle should be removed as irrelevant and outdated. The first sentence is also incorrect, there was at least one other.
Dates are wrong. This theater first appears on the Feb. 1913 Sanborn. The building was an old commercial structure from before 1886. The 1905 map shows a clothing store there.
Between 1913 and 1921, it was nearly doubled in depth, and you can see a seam in the brick on the north wall where this was done. The addition included a lot of windows and a doorway, so it’s unlikely the auditorium was enlarged.
This may have been the theater at 702 S River Park Dr. It’s the only theater shown on the 1914 map, and it’s in the ground floor of a very old (1850s?) three-story stone commercial building, which seems to now be apartments, if the blurry mess on streetview is to be believed. It’s a very strange location, way off to one edge of downtown. The 1902 Sanborn shows it as the Wiest & Class general store.
The building was built in 1884, and was a dry goods store for many years. It’s shown as vacant on the 1913 map. It was apparently damaged when the old masonic lodge next door (then the restaurant) burned down sometime before 2015.
It seems that the Star closed in 1915, when the owner went into the tire sales business. No mention of the Rialto until 1929. It’s unclear what happened in the interim. The building was quite old, going back at least to the mid-1870s. It seems to have been a saloon before the Star opened.
Added a Sanborn view. Theater building can be seen at the far right of the lead picture here: https://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php/URBAN_RENEWAL
Site is now beneath the depressingly awful arena which ate the entire block, save the Majestic.
There were two Dreamlands, the second became the Palace. From 1909 to 1915, the Dreamland was at 530 Main. This was the southern half of an old brick two-story commercial building constructed sometime before 1884. Starting in 1916, the Dreamland moved to 506 Main, a three-story stone fronted brick commercial building on the corner with 5th St, likewise constructed before 1884. The Sanborn map from February 1909 shows 530 as a store, and 506 as a saloon.
Both buildings remain on the 1950 map, but the entire block has been destroyed for a cheap and depressing box containing offices. This listing should be split. As it is, the address used was never the Palace.
Address is wrong. It should be 978. The building dated to the mid-1890s, and had been home to various department stores prior to the remodel.
This theater cannot have been built in 1908, as the February 1909 Sanborn still shows the older buildings. If it didn’t open until September 1909, a 1908 construction date doesn’t make much sense.
Still listed in the 1985-1993 directories. The building dates to around 1870, and this portion is now a business phone/internet service.
There is no such thing as S Market, and this has not been demolished. The building is obviously very old, and predates the theater by at least a decade. Correct address should be 102 E Market.
Still need to correct ‘Frisnia’ to Frisina in the description and AKA.
Quite obviously not the right building.
Note that the 1950 map shows a different address. Dubuque went through an absurd amount of street renaming/renumbering on the north side. The early address would have been 2181 Couler Ave, which became Central. It was originally at the corner with W Eagle Point Ave, which became 22nd St. Further out, 23rd (1891) became 27th (1909), and then 26th (1950). It makes it incredibly difficult to track buildings on the maps.
The original building seems to have existed before 1884. It had been expanded somewhat by 1891, and was a drug store prior to conversion. The auditorium appears to have been in a long single story addition to the rear. I’ve added a rather messy view from what appears to be a 1950 revision to the 1909 map. No idea why there is such a long gap in coverage.
Joe, I’ve added both the Crystal and Rivola. I agree the Majestic may well have been the opera house, but it’s unclear. There’s no mention of movies in any of the histories, but the old NRHP listing for the building says it was used as a theater until 1947. Could very well have been live theater only. I don’t see any other obvious choices on the 1913 map.
Located on the east side of the Wise Block, which was built between 1913 and 1920. 1920 map shows the theater, so it was at least open by that August if not earlier.
The Pythian Castle this theater is located in seems to be a remodel of an older building. The original structure was built between 1894 and 1899. The 1913 map is the first to show a hall on the 2nd floor, which may have been the K of P. By 1921, it had been extended in the rear to its current footprint.
The facade doesn’t really look like a building from the mid-30s (especially with its original, long gone crenelation), but it likely doesn’t date from the 1890s, either. I’d guess it may have been applied when the K of P moved in (if they weren’t always there, which is a bit unclear), perhaps around 1910.
By chance, I actually photographed this the weekend of the reopening. Was unable to make it, or not interested in the movie. I can’t remember.
The 1914 theater must have then been the Elite. Whether it became the Princess, I can’t say. There are two later maps, but they are not online, except perhaps on Iowa State’s website, which you need a login for.
It’s really frustrating. Even larger towns have one pass through on the US highway, and no side streets. Seems to be a pretty large area of NE Iowa.
Current use is an appliance dealer, and the sentence about the Castle should be removed as irrelevant and outdated. The first sentence is also incorrect, there was at least one other.
Dates are wrong. This theater first appears on the Feb. 1913 Sanborn. The building was an old commercial structure from before 1886. The 1905 map shows a clothing store there.
Between 1913 and 1921, it was nearly doubled in depth, and you can see a seam in the brick on the north wall where this was done. The addition included a lot of windows and a doorway, so it’s unlikely the auditorium was enlarged.
Quite obviously did not have a red brick facade, and the window trim is obviously light brick. Needs to be changed to demolished.
This may have been the theater at 702 S River Park Dr. It’s the only theater shown on the 1914 map, and it’s in the ground floor of a very old (1850s?) three-story stone commercial building, which seems to now be apartments, if the blurry mess on streetview is to be believed. It’s a very strange location, way off to one edge of downtown. The 1902 Sanborn shows it as the Wiest & Class general store.
Building is now a beauty salon. Streetview has very poor coverage, but if you look from Lawler north of the intersection, you can see it fairly well.
Cozy almost certainly wasn’t the opera house. It was open until 1918, but must never have showed movies.
I am pretty sure that it was. There is an opera house, and I’ve asked Ken for more information about that.
The building was built in 1884, and was a dry goods store for many years. It’s shown as vacant on the 1913 map. It was apparently damaged when the old masonic lodge next door (then the restaurant) burned down sometime before 2015.
The city demolished the sad remains in late November 2022. It apparently was damaged in the tornado of 1968.