The NRHP listing says it opened Christmas Day on 1935, but given the film, that is likely wrong. It still has beautiful art deco light fixtures in the lobby and auditorium.
Looks like some of the history is wrong, too. This has not been demolished, and the correct address is 127 W Washington. The building is the Emil Jarl building, constructed in 1906-07 as a department store. The Lyric was here 1929-35. This building was remodeled into the Osceola, which operated until about 1970. All this information comes from the NRHP listing for downtown.
The one obvious conflict with this information is that the Lyric is the only theater listed in the 1914-15 directory. The listing makes reference to a skating rink being here in 1913 (probably upstairs), and a fire ruining the Jarl store in 1917. I think what may have happened is that the Majestic (which I’ve added a listing for) became the Lyric in 1913. That property became a hatchery in 1928, which makes a 1929 opening date at this address quite sensible.
This building today is in decent shape, with a fairly unattractive ground floor, and used as a clinic.
If the history is correct, the address has to be wrong. 103 is a large building from about 1900. There’s a history painted on the side, and it was never a theater. I’d suggest something like 107-113 which is an empty lot to the west of 103, although the scar on the side indicates a small one story building is missing directly next door. The fire department is at 135, and that building is definitely post 1956.
I am almost positive this was originally the Strand, and is located at 108 N Grand St. There is a theater under construction there on the 1913 Sanborn. The NRHP listing calls it the Grand, but I don’t see that name anywhere. The Strand is still listed in 1928, but seems to have closed in 1929.
The reason I believe it must have reopened is that there was a terrazzo entry, with a scar for an outdoor ticket booth. The style did not appear to match such an old building. The State is still listed as closed in 1947. I don’t think it lasted very long. It has been turned into office space.
When I was there in 2010, 108 was a State Farm office, which seems to be gone now. The agent saw me trying to get a shot of the terrazzo, which is partly covered by a cheap little plywood addition, and let me come upstairs, where the projection booth still existed. There were some Columbia Pictures mailing labels stuck to the wall. Sadly, my pictures did not come out. At that point, the front was under a hideous tacky shingle awning that disfigured that entire side of the square. It has now been removed, but it appears that the terrazzo was sadly destroyed by a sidewalk replacement project.
I do not believe the 1930 fire was nearly as devastating as described. The Pythian Building (which held the Lincoln), is the only thing missing from the 1950s picture. The building east of the alley was from the 1880s, and survived until at least 2013, although it is now a vacant lot. The building past the Ritz to the west survived as well, but was progressively stripped of ornamentation, and given a repellent slipcover around 1965. The auditorium of the Ritz may have been damaged. With the 1927 and 1948 maps unavailable online, no way to compare a before and after of the rear exists.
By the way, the address for the Ritz is 906, not 908.
As Ken pointed out long ago, this became a bicycle shop in 2008. It is still open. It’s not clear when the roofline was ruined, but it has a flat top now.
Not quite sure where the Leavitt could have been. If you’re saying it was 107, that’s the south side of Main, and can’t have been on the square. 107 E Main is part of an old tin front that’s still just barely hanging on. If it was in the 100 block west, and it was not the building that later became the Amus-U, then it’s likely still there, but I can’t identify a good candidate from the maps. The NRHP listing is very old, and therefore done to a pretty poor standard. There’s very little history of buildings, and most are only identified by address.
For the Airdome, obviously demolished, it was likely at 203, which on the 1912 map is a vacant lot between a garage/dealership on the corner (feed mill on the 1906 map) and a blacksmith. All buildings are the same between 1906 and 1912.
Okay, Looks like Depot was called Old Depot by 1893, was 5th St by 1898, and was 1st St by 1906. It was probably south of Main St, and has definitely been demolished. Everything on the 1906 map is the same on the 1912 map, so I’m not sure where it might have been. Best candidate might be a farm implement dealer which was on the west side, just south of the alley.
Also, A St is the west side of the square, Center is the east. There was never anything on A besides houses, except one hotel. Additionally, this should now be changed to demolished, since the building has vanished on the most recent streetview.
Going through all the information, it seems this was the Photoplay, which opened August 15, 1911, was renamed the Park in 1919, and may have closed in 1930.
The new listings would be the Airdome (which does not appear on the March 1912 map), the Silver Cloud (complicated by the fact that there never was any such thing as Depot St), and the New Electric (if we can figure out what the Leavitt building was).
Based on the information we have from the NRHP and Joe, and I, this opened as the Princess, and became the Amus-U. It’s completely separate from the Park. The 1926 map still shows this building as a store.
This was operated by Kerr Theatres, who had also owned the preceding Frontier Drive-In. This was built to replace the Frontier after a dam project forced its closure.
A lot of the history is wrong. This was never the Grand Opera House, that was a wooden building at the corner of Marion and 1st, and it was not built in the 1880s, since it doesn’t appear until the 1907 map. Since it sounds like it showed movies, I’ll add it. There was an opera house/skating rink at the SE corner of Robinson and 4th, which did date to sometime before 1886, and was replaced by the Grand. It’s still there on the 1913 map, used only as a rink. That 1913 map shows your typical older tin front commercial building where the theater is now. I’m not sure when this theater actually was built or opened. It was definitely after 1913, and might have been after the fire in 1922 (if there even was one, most of the buildings in the postcard clearly predate 1922). The original facade, which has now been revealed or recreated, is certainly pretty old-fashioned.
The 1926 listings show the Grand with 800 seats, which seems like a lot for this building, and might represent the old opera house. The 1935 listings still show 800 for the Grand, and 500 for an Iowa. By 1947, it is shown with 600 seats, and by 1954 it has 300, and the listing identifies the location, making it certain that it’s the same Grand as today.
I think this may have been the just recently demolished building on N Webster St. Still on streetview in 2021. It had some character, but I did not bother with it. Does have a lot of windows on the side for a theater, but those could have been added.
The NRHP listing says it opened Christmas Day on 1935, but given the film, that is likely wrong. It still has beautiful art deco light fixtures in the lobby and auditorium.
Looks like some of the history is wrong, too. This has not been demolished, and the correct address is 127 W Washington. The building is the Emil Jarl building, constructed in 1906-07 as a department store. The Lyric was here 1929-35. This building was remodeled into the Osceola, which operated until about 1970. All this information comes from the NRHP listing for downtown.
The one obvious conflict with this information is that the Lyric is the only theater listed in the 1914-15 directory. The listing makes reference to a skating rink being here in 1913 (probably upstairs), and a fire ruining the Jarl store in 1917. I think what may have happened is that the Majestic (which I’ve added a listing for) became the Lyric in 1913. That property became a hatchery in 1928, which makes a 1929 opening date at this address quite sensible.
This building today is in decent shape, with a fairly unattractive ground floor, and used as a clinic.
I’ve gone ahead and added a picture of what was likely the Strand/State.
If the history is correct, the address has to be wrong. 103 is a large building from about 1900. There’s a history painted on the side, and it was never a theater. I’d suggest something like 107-113 which is an empty lot to the west of 103, although the scar on the side indicates a small one story building is missing directly next door. The fire department is at 135, and that building is definitely post 1956.
I am almost positive this was originally the Strand, and is located at 108 N Grand St. There is a theater under construction there on the 1913 Sanborn. The NRHP listing calls it the Grand, but I don’t see that name anywhere. The Strand is still listed in 1928, but seems to have closed in 1929.
The reason I believe it must have reopened is that there was a terrazzo entry, with a scar for an outdoor ticket booth. The style did not appear to match such an old building. The State is still listed as closed in 1947. I don’t think it lasted very long. It has been turned into office space.
When I was there in 2010, 108 was a State Farm office, which seems to be gone now. The agent saw me trying to get a shot of the terrazzo, which is partly covered by a cheap little plywood addition, and let me come upstairs, where the projection booth still existed. There were some Columbia Pictures mailing labels stuck to the wall. Sadly, my pictures did not come out. At that point, the front was under a hideous tacky shingle awning that disfigured that entire side of the square. It has now been removed, but it appears that the terrazzo was sadly destroyed by a sidewalk replacement project.
I do not believe the 1930 fire was nearly as devastating as described. The Pythian Building (which held the Lincoln), is the only thing missing from the 1950s picture. The building east of the alley was from the 1880s, and survived until at least 2013, although it is now a vacant lot. The building past the Ritz to the west survived as well, but was progressively stripped of ornamentation, and given a repellent slipcover around 1965. The auditorium of the Ritz may have been damaged. With the 1927 and 1948 maps unavailable online, no way to compare a before and after of the rear exists.
By the way, the address for the Ritz is 906, not 908.
As Ken pointed out long ago, this became a bicycle shop in 2008. It is still open. It’s not clear when the roofline was ruined, but it has a flat top now.
Not quite sure where the Leavitt could have been. If you’re saying it was 107, that’s the south side of Main, and can’t have been on the square. 107 E Main is part of an old tin front that’s still just barely hanging on. If it was in the 100 block west, and it was not the building that later became the Amus-U, then it’s likely still there, but I can’t identify a good candidate from the maps. The NRHP listing is very old, and therefore done to a pretty poor standard. There’s very little history of buildings, and most are only identified by address.
For the Airdome, obviously demolished, it was likely at 203, which on the 1912 map is a vacant lot between a garage/dealership on the corner (feed mill on the 1906 map) and a blacksmith. All buildings are the same between 1906 and 1912.
Okay, Looks like Depot was called Old Depot by 1893, was 5th St by 1898, and was 1st St by 1906. It was probably south of Main St, and has definitely been demolished. Everything on the 1906 map is the same on the 1912 map, so I’m not sure where it might have been. Best candidate might be a farm implement dealer which was on the west side, just south of the alley.
Also, A St is the west side of the square, Center is the east. There was never anything on A besides houses, except one hotel. Additionally, this should now be changed to demolished, since the building has vanished on the most recent streetview.
Going through all the information, it seems this was the Photoplay, which opened August 15, 1911, was renamed the Park in 1919, and may have closed in 1930.
The new listings would be the Airdome (which does not appear on the March 1912 map), the Silver Cloud (complicated by the fact that there never was any such thing as Depot St), and the New Electric (if we can figure out what the Leavitt building was).
Based on the information we have from the NRHP and Joe, and I, this opened as the Princess, and became the Amus-U. It’s completely separate from the Park. The 1926 map still shows this building as a store.
You say in the other listing that the Park opened in the Odd Fellows building, which is obviously this one.
If the Park opened in the Odd Fellows building, then this was never the Park. The Odd Fellows is on a different street.
Unfortunately, the 1931 and 1944 maps are not available online. They would provide some assistance with the timeline.
This was part of the Kerr Theatres circuit for at least a few years around 1960.
This was being run by Kerr Theatres in 1959, but it seems they dropped it to concentrate on the Noll.
The Noll was run by Kerr Theatres from at least 1959 through 1966.
This was operated by Kerr Theatres, who had also owned the preceding Frontier Drive-In. This was built to replace the Frontier after a dam project forced its closure.
Kerr Theatres was a small circuit based in Colorado (but owning no theatres there). They ran the Frontier here, as well as a Frontier in Bethany, MO.
The Grand was run by Kerr Theatres from at least 1959 to 1966.
A lot of the history is wrong. This was never the Grand Opera House, that was a wooden building at the corner of Marion and 1st, and it was not built in the 1880s, since it doesn’t appear until the 1907 map. Since it sounds like it showed movies, I’ll add it. There was an opera house/skating rink at the SE corner of Robinson and 4th, which did date to sometime before 1886, and was replaced by the Grand. It’s still there on the 1913 map, used only as a rink. That 1913 map shows your typical older tin front commercial building where the theater is now. I’m not sure when this theater actually was built or opened. It was definitely after 1913, and might have been after the fire in 1922 (if there even was one, most of the buildings in the postcard clearly predate 1922). The original facade, which has now been revealed or recreated, is certainly pretty old-fashioned.
The 1926 listings show the Grand with 800 seats, which seems like a lot for this building, and might represent the old opera house. The 1935 listings still show 800 for the Grand, and 500 for an Iowa. By 1947, it is shown with 600 seats, and by 1954 it has 300, and the listing identifies the location, making it certain that it’s the same Grand as today.
I think this may have been the just recently demolished building on N Webster St. Still on streetview in 2021. It had some character, but I did not bother with it. Does have a lot of windows on the side for a theater, but those could have been added.