The 1905 Cahn guide has a Sterling Opera House with a capacity of 425. This was almost certainly somewhere else, as the timeline and low capacity don’t match this structure.
Needs to be listed as demolished. The purported address makes no sense. Main runs E-W, so there has never been a N Main. I suggest 125 N 2nd St, which on the 1918 map is an empty space between a two-story brick building, and a two-story concrete block dealership. That matches up pretty well with what’s shown in one photo. That whole corner is now a parking lot.
The address is gibberish. This is like saying the address is Interstate. A Farm to Market Road always has a number (FM 1960, for instance). In addition, this must have an actual street name when it runs through town.
It’s possible the theater did move, but the numbers are a bit inconsistent. The building to the east now has an address of 106, and the theater seems to be using 100 Cedar, which would have belonged to the bank on the corner (I think that the old theater space has been incorporated into the building on the corner.). The old fire station would have had a lot more room to run a theater in. The fire department would have likely moved out when the new power plant was built. The 1921 map says that it contained city hall and the fire department as well, but it’s not quite clear where they would have fit. At any rate, by 1921 ‘102’ is labeled ‘Dead Auto Storage’.
Website needs to be corrected to: https://www.hippodromeartscentre.com/
From the history section on the website, it was closed in December 1922, purchased in March 1923 (and presumably reopened shortly thereafter), sold again in March 1924, remodeled and renamed the Chaka, and closed around June of 1996. It then reopened under the Hippodrome name sometime around early 1997. No mention of the Hipp name, which I suspect is just a nickname.
I’m wondering how old the sign really is. It certainly looks like the original, but it definitely wasn’t on the building in the older photos. Either they found it down in the basement, or they recreated it.
Website needs to be corrected to: https://peerlesstheatre.com/
This theater was open by 1921. The building does not appear on the 1911 map. The auditorium was originally quite a bit narrower than the front. Looking at the back on streetview, it seems quite modern, and the roofline is definitely a different shape than on the ‘50s postcard.
Address is 210 Main Ave. This theater appears on the 1937 Sanborn (but not 1913). It is a small and simple concrete or cinder block building. Still there, with a very drab white facade using a lot of sheet metal.
At least up to 1937 Main was Greely, and this was just north of the intersection with Franklin (now 2nd). Not sure when they changed all the street names to the dullest possible generic ones.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Apr 16, 2023 at 12:19 pm
Of course there would be choices! Oh, well… Thanks for the information.
The theater (and the adjoining building seen in a few of the photos) appears on the 1913 map, so the 1916 date is not accurate. Nearly the entire block is empty on the 1907 map.
This was open by the February 1909 Sanborn. It appears the building was constructed in 1902 (the last digit has fallen off the cornice), but it doesn’t appear on the July 1902 map.
Status needs to be changed to demolished. The photo is from 1950, not 1915.
If the history is accurate, this building would have been on the second empty lot south of the alley on the east side of 2nd St between Main and Elm, perhaps with an address somewhere around 324.
That sounds like a double to me!
The 1905 Cahn guide has a Sterling Opera House with a capacity of 425. This was almost certainly somewhere else, as the timeline and low capacity don’t match this structure.
Maybe? We definitely need to add America, with no ‘N’, as an aka.
Thanks, I’ll list the Opera House. Very fleeting existence, and I wasn’t sure about it.
I didn’t mean that the address was wrong, only that old directories, etc. would give a different one! It is now 120.
Obviously not three stories tall, but one, possibly later remodeled to two.
Address while this theater was operating was 114, and it was definitely still open in 1918.
Needs to be listed as demolished. The purported address makes no sense. Main runs E-W, so there has never been a N Main. I suggest 125 N 2nd St, which on the 1918 map is an empty space between a two-story brick building, and a two-story concrete block dealership. That matches up pretty well with what’s shown in one photo. That whole corner is now a parking lot.
That’s much better than the one on the Illinois site, and looks contemporaneous.
This was possibly the Photoplay or Silver Cloud, based on information from Ken Roe.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who hates looking at a streetview of downtown and getting state highway or county road designations.
The address is gibberish. This is like saying the address is Interstate. A Farm to Market Road always has a number (FM 1960, for instance). In addition, this must have an actual street name when it runs through town.
It’s possible the theater did move, but the numbers are a bit inconsistent. The building to the east now has an address of 106, and the theater seems to be using 100 Cedar, which would have belonged to the bank on the corner (I think that the old theater space has been incorporated into the building on the corner.). The old fire station would have had a lot more room to run a theater in. The fire department would have likely moved out when the new power plant was built. The 1921 map says that it contained city hall and the fire department as well, but it’s not quite clear where they would have fit. At any rate, by 1921 ‘102’ is labeled ‘Dead Auto Storage’.
Website needs to be corrected to: https://www.hippodromeartscentre.com/
From the history section on the website, it was closed in December 1922, purchased in March 1923 (and presumably reopened shortly thereafter), sold again in March 1924, remodeled and renamed the Chaka, and closed around June of 1996. It then reopened under the Hippodrome name sometime around early 1997. No mention of the Hipp name, which I suspect is just a nickname.
I’m wondering how old the sign really is. It certainly looks like the original, but it definitely wasn’t on the building in the older photos. Either they found it down in the basement, or they recreated it.
This is definitely the Peerless. It’s strange they call it Main St, since it has never been called that. I guess they’re just using a generic term.
Website needs to be corrected to: https://peerlesstheatre.com/
This theater was open by 1921. The building does not appear on the 1911 map. The auditorium was originally quite a bit narrower than the front. Looking at the back on streetview, it seems quite modern, and the roofline is definitely a different shape than on the ‘50s postcard.
That 1913 mention has to be the Akron.
Note that Main was called Greely until at least 1937.
Address is 210 Main Ave. This theater appears on the 1937 Sanborn (but not 1913). It is a small and simple concrete or cinder block building. Still there, with a very drab white facade using a lot of sheet metal.
At least up to 1937 Main was Greely, and this was just north of the intersection with Franklin (now 2nd). Not sure when they changed all the street names to the dullest possible generic ones.
Of course there would be choices! Oh, well… Thanks for the information.
The theater (and the adjoining building seen in a few of the photos) appears on the 1913 map, so the 1916 date is not accurate. Nearly the entire block is empty on the 1907 map.
This was open by the February 1909 Sanborn. It appears the building was constructed in 1902 (the last digit has fallen off the cornice), but it doesn’t appear on the July 1902 map.
We should also add the AKA information supplied long ago by Joe.
Status needs to be changed to demolished. The photo is from 1950, not 1915.
If the history is accurate, this building would have been on the second empty lot south of the alley on the east side of 2nd St between Main and Elm, perhaps with an address somewhere around 324.
This looks like it was just west of the alley on the north side, where the bank parking lot is. Needs to be listed as demolished.