When the Grand Opera House was rebuilt into Keith’s Grand Theatre in 1908-1909, it was part of a project that included a major office building, originally called the Lemcke Annex and later the Consolidated Building. The original front of the Grand Opera House was demolished to make way for the Lemcke Annex. The project was designed by R. P. Daggett & Co., an architectural firm founded in 1868 by Robert Platt Daggett, who was probably the lead architect for the project, though his son, Robert Frost Daggett, Sr., was also a member of the firm by then.
The Grand Opera House reopened in the fall of 1909, though the rebuilding of the house was not completed until 1910. It appears that the B. F. Keith circuit did not take over operation of the Grand until that year, judging from this article in the September 4, 1910, issue of The Indianapolis Star:
“Unusual interest attaches to the opening of tho Grand Opera House for the new season, because of the fact that it is now under the management of B. F. Keith, the founder of modern vaudeville. It will hereafter be known as B. F. Keith’s Grand Opera House, and the season inaugurated with the Monday matinée will be the first that Indianapolis has had opportunity to enjoy the full benefits of the splendid organization that has made the Keith theaters the acknowledged home of the best to be found in vaudeville. Since the Grand closed when the wrecking of the street facade of the building was commenced, to make way for the new Lemcke Annex, many improvements have been made, the new lobby has been completed, and the patrons will suffer no discomfort from the building operations, which do not in any way Interfere with the theater proper, or the auditorium.”
This photo shows the old front of the Grand Opera House on the site of the Lemcke Annex, beyond the original Lemcke Building at Pennsylvania and Market Streets. This 1915 Sanborn map shows the Lemcke Building, the Lemcke Annex at Pennsylvania and Wabash Streets, and Keith’s Grand Theatre extending along Wabash Street east of the Annex.
This web page has a history of the Kent Opera House and a few photos. The Opera House was built by the Odd Fellows Lodge in 1889,opening on November 4. The first “moving picture show” at the house took place on November 5, 1906, but it wasn’t until 1912 that the theater became a full-time vaudeville and movie house.
Sound equipment was installed in 1929, but the theater closed in 1936. In 1940, the Opera House was reopened by the Schine circuit, who operated it until its final closing in the early 1950s. The vacant building was finally demolished in July, 1963.
The Kent Opera House was located on Columbus Street at the northeast corner of North Water Street.
Comparing the 1893 and 1902 photos of the theater at the page DavidAE found, it’s clear that the facades of the rebuilt Park Theatre differed significantly from those in the original design by Diedrich Bohlen.
The records of Hugh J. Baker & Co., purveyors of structural steel and concrete, show that they provided materials for the Regent Theatre at 42 S. Illinois Street in 1915. The house, first operated by Bingham, Crose, & Cohen, opened on Thanksgiving Day, 1915 (November 25 that year.)
The November 28, 1915, issue of The Indianapolis Star reported on the opening of the Regent, noting that the new house had been designed by the architectural firm of R. P. Daggett & Co. (the lead architect was probably Robert Frost Daggett, as Robert Platt Daggett had retired in 1912 and Robert Frost Daggett, Jr., didn’t join the firm until the 1930s.)
The Moving Picture World found the Regent Theatre sufficiently significant to publish several paragraphs about it, with a small photo, in their issue of January 1, 1916 (page 72 in this Google Books scan.)
The American Theatre was in the planning stage in late 1913. Here is an item from the September 13, 1913, issue of The American Contractor:
:“Terre Haute, Ind.—Theater. $10,000. Wabash bet. 8th and 9th St. Archt., Rodney Leonard, 316 Rea Bldg., plans in progress. Owner, American Theatre. Brk.”
There was some delay in construction, though, and the project was still underway in 1914, when the October 31 issue of the Terre Haute Saturday Spectator reported the architect saying that, when completed, the American Theatre would be as near fireproof as possible, and that its floor was a single block of concrete formed in one continuous pour. Architect Rodney W. Leonard also designed the West Theatre in West Terre Haute in 1916.
The October 27, 1927, issue of The Motion Picture News reported that the Palace Theatre at Corbin, Kentucky, had been renamed the Kentucky Theatre. The Palace Theatre was mentioned in the July 10, 1915, issue of The Moving Picture World, when it was being managed by an R. E. Gumm.
A history of Muscatine published in 1911 has this paragraph about the Grand Opera House:
“In the spring of 1900 the building of the Grand Opera House on the northeast corner of Second and Walnut streets was commenced and completed the following fall. The building is a handsome one, constructed of St. Louis buff brick and stone and cost $30,000. Its seating capacity is 1,100, but at least 1,500 can be accommodated. The ground dimensions of the structure are 60x140 feet and height of stage loft 60 feet. It is strictly modern and up-to-date. There are eight private boxes and plush opera chairs. The stage is spacious and has many modern conveniences. Underneath it are dressing rooms, etc.”
Film Daily Yearbooks from the 1930s give the seating capacity of the Grand Theatre as 700. I suspect that the boxes and perhaps a gallery had been closed.
Excerpts of items published in the Centennial edition of the Muscatine Journal & News-Tribune, May 31, 1940, includes this information about the A-Muse-U Theatre:
“The A-Muse-U theater was first opened by E. M. Henle in 1908, in a new building erected by Adam Van Dresky at 103 Sycamore street.
“Mr. Henle had previously operated the bijou on West Second street, which was the first moving picture theater in Muscatine. He ran the A-Muse-U until 1914 when he built the Palace theater and sold the former to Ludy Bosten and George Neipert, who had previously operated the Princess theater on East Second street.
“Later Mr. Neipert dropped out of the business, and Mr. Bosten continued to run the A-Muse-U until October of 1931, when he sold out to C. J. Jamison, the present proprietor.”
A section about the A-Muse-U Theatre on this web page says that E. M. Henley built the Palace Theatre in 1914. The Palace Theatre was listed at 212 Sycamore Street in the 1916 Muscatine city directory.
An item about the Uptown Theatre on this web page says that the Princess Theatre opened on May 30, 1912. The page says that partners Ludy Bosten and George Niebert ran the Princess for about ten years, but another source says that it had closed by 1919. An inventory of historic buildings prepared for the State Historical Society (PDF here) says of the property at 227 E. Second Street:
“From 1913 to 1916 the Princess Theater, an early motion picture theater was here. The Princess Theater was opened by George Neibert and Ludy Bosten. An ad article from the Annual Edition of the 1913 Muscatine Journal claims ‘they have connections with the best of Film Companies in the business and they have shown a very keen business management by introducing pictures that are so poplar in all the larger cities through the United States.’ The article shows an elaborate arched recessed entrance to the theater and indicates ‘with an airy, well ventilated clean play house these two young men have built up a reputation among the movie goers of this city during their career in Muscatine. With their variety of quality films, and well balanced programs and with the best and latest projecting devices will sure mean another successful year to the young proprietors of the well known theatre.’ (Muscatine Journal Annual Edition, December 13, 1913, pages unnumbered). Unfortunately, their business did not last with the Princess Theatre out of business by 1919.”
The Gayety Theatre was listed at 303 E. Second Street in 1919. I’ve found it mentioned in the local newspaper as early as October, 1916, and as late as 1920.
The Crystal Theatre is listed with 300 seats in FDY’s from 1926 through 1932, vanishes in 1933 and 1934, and reappears in 1935 with 400 seats. It is last listed in 1947.
This house was last known as the Riviera Theatre. Compare the photo of the Uptown above with these photos of the Riviera at the time of its demolition. Same building, same marquee, different name.
Our page for the Riviera Theatre might or might not be a duplication. Its description says that it was once the Majestic Theatre, and reopened as the Riviera in 1929. If that’s the case, then it must have closed soon after being renamed, if it ever existed. I haven’t found the name Riviera Theatre mentioned in any Muscatine newspaper items until after the Uptown had been renamed Riviera.
A comment on this forum page at Topix says that this house was the Uptown from the 1930s until the late 1960s or early 1970s, then became the Bosten Cinema until finally being renamed the Riviera.
This web page cites items from a 1940 issue of the Muscatine Journal & Neww-Tribune, and the part about the Uptown Theatre says that it opened on November 4, 1931. !940 being closer to the event than the 1962 Boxoffice article I cited in my earlier comment, I’d say that 1931 is probably the correct opening year.
This page at Quad Cities Online cites a newspaper item from August 2, 1929: “The remodeled Riviera Theater, formerly the Majestic, reopened today.”
The newspaper was probably the Rock Island Argus, since merged with the Moline Dispatch, but the page doesn’t say. I can’t find evidence that any of the other Quad Cities had a Riviera Theatre.
The May 25, 1945, issue of the Muscatine Journal said that the new Palace Theatre would open on May 29. One courtesy advertisement congratulated the Bosten family on their new theater, so they were the owners even then.
The October 24, 1914, issue of The New York Clipper said that I. Berman was building a moving picture theater at 1 S. High Street in Baltimore. The architect for the project was John Freund, Jr..
The July 4, 1917, issue of The American Contractor said that W. H. McElfatrick was drawing plans for the Stratford Theatre at Poughkeepsie. The house was to be 55 x 134 feet, and was owned by the Elgar Company. The March 23, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World said that the Stratford had opened on January 21. The 1,500-seat house had cost $100,000.
I believe this house went back to its original name in its last years. An article in the March 1, 1965, issue of the Amsterdam, New York Evening Recorder said that the Fort Plain Theatre, which had been closed for some months, had been bought by the Fort Plain Merchants Association, and title had been conveyed to the Village Board so that the building could be demolished to make way for a public parking lot.
The house probably closed in the latter part of 1964, and the building was demolished in 1965.
The Strand Theatre has been demolished. There are what appears to be five two-story buildings along the section of the square where the theater once stood, but if you look at the back of the structure from SW 1st Street you can see that it is one long, modern building.
In 1919, 2501 Lagrange Street was the location of a 733-seat house called the Savoy Theatre. Later, the name Savoy was moved to a smaller house on Lagrange. I don’t know what then became of the Orpheum/Savoy. Richard Abel says the Orpheum on Lagrange opened in 1910.
According to John Phelan’s Motion Pictures As a Phase of Commercial Amusement in Toledo, Ohio, in 1919 the Superior Street Orpheum had 664 seats and twenty employees, eight male and twelve female. That was not only a fairly high employee-to-seat ratio, but a very high female-to-male ratio. It makes me wonder if the Orpheum could have been a burlesque house at the time.
The March 6, 1915, issue of The Construction News said that Davenport architectural firm Clausen & Cruse had been hired to draw plans for the expansion and remodeling of the Family Theatre.
When the Grand Opera House was rebuilt into Keith’s Grand Theatre in 1908-1909, it was part of a project that included a major office building, originally called the Lemcke Annex and later the Consolidated Building. The original front of the Grand Opera House was demolished to make way for the Lemcke Annex. The project was designed by R. P. Daggett & Co., an architectural firm founded in 1868 by Robert Platt Daggett, who was probably the lead architect for the project, though his son, Robert Frost Daggett, Sr., was also a member of the firm by then.
The Grand Opera House reopened in the fall of 1909, though the rebuilding of the house was not completed until 1910. It appears that the B. F. Keith circuit did not take over operation of the Grand until that year, judging from this article in the September 4, 1910, issue of The Indianapolis Star:
This photo shows the old front of the Grand Opera House on the site of the Lemcke Annex, beyond the original Lemcke Building at Pennsylvania and Market Streets. This 1915 Sanborn map shows the Lemcke Building, the Lemcke Annex at Pennsylvania and Wabash Streets, and Keith’s Grand Theatre extending along Wabash Street east of the Annex.This web page has a history of the Kent Opera House and a few photos. The Opera House was built by the Odd Fellows Lodge in 1889,opening on November 4. The first “moving picture show” at the house took place on November 5, 1906, but it wasn’t until 1912 that the theater became a full-time vaudeville and movie house.
Sound equipment was installed in 1929, but the theater closed in 1936. In 1940, the Opera House was reopened by the Schine circuit, who operated it until its final closing in the early 1950s. The vacant building was finally demolished in July, 1963.
The Kent Opera House was located on Columbus Street at the northeast corner of North Water Street.
Comparing the 1893 and 1902 photos of the theater at the page DavidAE found, it’s clear that the facades of the rebuilt Park Theatre differed significantly from those in the original design by Diedrich Bohlen.
The records of Hugh J. Baker & Co., purveyors of structural steel and concrete, show that they provided materials for the Regent Theatre at 42 S. Illinois Street in 1915. The house, first operated by Bingham, Crose, & Cohen, opened on Thanksgiving Day, 1915 (November 25 that year.)
The November 28, 1915, issue of The Indianapolis Star reported on the opening of the Regent, noting that the new house had been designed by the architectural firm of R. P. Daggett & Co. (the lead architect was probably Robert Frost Daggett, as Robert Platt Daggett had retired in 1912 and Robert Frost Daggett, Jr., didn’t join the firm until the 1930s.)
The Moving Picture World found the Regent Theatre sufficiently significant to publish several paragraphs about it, with a small photo, in their issue of January 1, 1916 (page 72 in this Google Books scan.)
The American Theatre was in the planning stage in late 1913. Here is an item from the September 13, 1913, issue of The American Contractor:
There was some delay in construction, though, and the project was still underway in 1914, when the October 31 issue of the Terre Haute Saturday Spectator reported the architect saying that, when completed, the American Theatre would be as near fireproof as possible, and that its floor was a single block of concrete formed in one continuous pour. Architect Rodney W. Leonard also designed the West Theatre in West Terre Haute in 1916.The October 27, 1927, issue of The Motion Picture News reported that the Palace Theatre at Corbin, Kentucky, had been renamed the Kentucky Theatre. The Palace Theatre was mentioned in the July 10, 1915, issue of The Moving Picture World, when it was being managed by an R. E. Gumm.
The West Theatre was probably the subject of this item from the March 11, 1916, issue of The American Contractor:
Other items indicate that architect Leonard’s design featured white enameled face brick and terra cotta trim.A history of Muscatine published in 1911 has this paragraph about the Grand Opera House:
Film Daily Yearbooks from the 1930s give the seating capacity of the Grand Theatre as 700. I suspect that the boxes and perhaps a gallery had been closed.Excerpts of items published in the Centennial edition of the Muscatine Journal & News-Tribune, May 31, 1940, includes this information about the A-Muse-U Theatre:
A section about the A-Muse-U Theatre on this web page says that E. M. Henley built the Palace Theatre in 1914. The Palace Theatre was listed at 212 Sycamore Street in the 1916 Muscatine city directory.
An item about the Uptown Theatre on this web page says that the Princess Theatre opened on May 30, 1912. The page says that partners Ludy Bosten and George Niebert ran the Princess for about ten years, but another source says that it had closed by 1919. An inventory of historic buildings prepared for the State Historical Society (PDF here) says of the property at 227 E. Second Street:
The Gayety Theatre was listed at 303 E. Second Street in 1919. I’ve found it mentioned in the local newspaper as early as October, 1916, and as late as 1920.
The Crystal Theatre is listed with 300 seats in FDY’s from 1926 through 1932, vanishes in 1933 and 1934, and reappears in 1935 with 400 seats. It is last listed in 1947.
This house was last known as the Riviera Theatre. Compare the photo of the Uptown above with these photos of the Riviera at the time of its demolition. Same building, same marquee, different name.
Our page for the Riviera Theatre might or might not be a duplication. Its description says that it was once the Majestic Theatre, and reopened as the Riviera in 1929. If that’s the case, then it must have closed soon after being renamed, if it ever existed. I haven’t found the name Riviera Theatre mentioned in any Muscatine newspaper items until after the Uptown had been renamed Riviera.
A comment on this forum page at Topix says that this house was the Uptown from the 1930s until the late 1960s or early 1970s, then became the Bosten Cinema until finally being renamed the Riviera.
This web page cites items from a 1940 issue of the Muscatine Journal & Neww-Tribune, and the part about the Uptown Theatre says that it opened on November 4, 1931. !940 being closer to the event than the 1962 Boxoffice article I cited in my earlier comment, I’d say that 1931 is probably the correct opening year.
This page at Quad Cities Online cites a newspaper item from August 2, 1929: “The remodeled Riviera Theater, formerly the Majestic, reopened today.”
The newspaper was probably the Rock Island Argus, since merged with the Moline Dispatch, but the page doesn’t say. I can’t find evidence that any of the other Quad Cities had a Riviera Theatre.
I’ve found references to the Family Theatre at this address as late as 1928.
The May 25, 1945, issue of the Muscatine Journal said that the new Palace Theatre would open on May 29. One courtesy advertisement congratulated the Bosten family on their new theater, so they were the owners even then.
Preservation Idaho has this page with photos of the Key Bank building before, during, and after the restoration project.
The October 24, 1914, issue of The New York Clipper said that I. Berman was building a moving picture theater at 1 S. High Street in Baltimore. The architect for the project was John Freund, Jr..
The July 4, 1917, issue of The American Contractor said that W. H. McElfatrick was drawing plans for the Stratford Theatre at Poughkeepsie. The house was to be 55 x 134 feet, and was owned by the Elgar Company. The March 23, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World said that the Stratford had opened on January 21. The 1,500-seat house had cost $100,000.
I believe this house went back to its original name in its last years. An article in the March 1, 1965, issue of the Amsterdam, New York Evening Recorder said that the Fort Plain Theatre, which had been closed for some months, had been bought by the Fort Plain Merchants Association, and title had been conveyed to the Village Board so that the building could be demolished to make way for a public parking lot.
The house probably closed in the latter part of 1964, and the building was demolished in 1965.
An article about the Lake Theatre appeared in Boxoffice of February 3, 1940.
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
The house was more Streamline Modern than Art Deco.
The Strand Theatre has been demolished. There are what appears to be five two-story buildings along the section of the square where the theater once stood, but if you look at the back of the structure from SW 1st Street you can see that it is one long, modern building.
A photo of the Village Theatre’s concession stand appeared on the cover of the “Modern Theatre” section of Boxoffice, November 9, 1964.
In 1919, 2501 Lagrange Street was the location of a 733-seat house called the Savoy Theatre. Later, the name Savoy was moved to a smaller house on Lagrange. I don’t know what then became of the Orpheum/Savoy. Richard Abel says the Orpheum on Lagrange opened in 1910.
According to John Phelan’s Motion Pictures As a Phase of Commercial Amusement in Toledo, Ohio, in 1919 the Superior Street Orpheum had 664 seats and twenty employees, eight male and twelve female. That was not only a fairly high employee-to-seat ratio, but a very high female-to-male ratio. It makes me wonder if the Orpheum could have been a burlesque house at the time.
The March 6, 1915, issue of The Construction News said that Davenport architectural firm Clausen & Cruse had been hired to draw plans for the expansion and remodeling of the Family Theatre.