Pretty sparse area on the 1915 map. Nothing between 415 and 435. This whole part of town has a massive loss of structures between 1908 and 1915. Numerous wooden houses and businesses are replaced by a few scattered brick buildings. Massacres and race riots were a popular Arkansas pastime, but that doesn’t seem to have been the case here.
The website needs to be changed to: https://www.centraltheatrehs.com/
They seem to have dropped the incredibly clumsy name, and gone back to Central Theatre.
Joe is absolutely right that this theater cannot have opened in 1910. There was almost nothing on this block at that point.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Apr 3, 2023 at 5:31 am
420 on the 1915 map is an undertaker. There is no 420 on the 1908 map. Almost all the buildings are different, which makes me think there was a serious fire, or perhaps a tornado. In 1915, the building that is in the space which would have been 420 in 1908 is 424, and is a restaurant with a boarding house or SRO above.
Perhaps this earlier theater was the Lyric? The address would have been wrong, since that belonged to a large commercial building just to the south at 622-626. A tiny bit of this still exists at the southern corner.
It’s odd that the name would have been moved. 622-624 was a 5 and dime on the 1915 map, which is from June. The building is also stores on the 1908 map.
The dates are all wrong on this. The front portion was not built until sometime between 1901 and 1908. It was a commercial building, likely with apartments above. The auditorium does not appear until the 1915 map, which shows the entrance in the southern portion of what is now the Colonial Hotel, with an 821 address. 817 belonged to an unrelated building to the north.
The dates are also wrong. This appears on the April 1908 map, and one of the photos is supposedly a program from 1906. In 1901, the city hall was at the corner of Prospect and Exchange. By 1908, that had become a newspaper office, and is now gone.
Almost certainly a remodel of a much older theater. Sometime between 1886 and 1890, a pair of narrow two story brick storefronts were constructed at what were then 512 and 514. They separated by a very narrow court, and a large single story space at the rear was occupied by a plumber and gas fitter, with a 311 Exchange St address. By 1908, the addresses were 616 and 618.
By 1915, the space at the rear had been drastically remodeled to create an auditorium. The entrance was now in the southern half, at 620 (due to the filling of the court by a very narrow little store). Oddly, the stage was toward the front of the building. I’ve attached a Sanborn view.
This must have had a very brief existence. It’s not on the 1908 Sanborn, nor the 1915 edition. I assume it was upstairs, since the bar has been untouched since it was installed.
A lot of the information is incorrect. Part of the confusion is that odds and evens switched sides between 1948 and 1953. It also seems that we are conflating a few theaters.
The 1912, 1917, 1924 and 1948 maps all show one theater on the 100 block of W Washington, but it is never in the same place. In addition, neither the 1930 nor the 1953 maps show any theaters at all in the 100 block of either E or W Washington. Of the 4 theaters, two have been demolished, and two are still there.
The address is wrong. The theater was at 116. It did have a 111 address until sometime between 1948 and 1953.
It seems to have been an extensive remodel of the southern half of very old commercial building dating to before 1886. The space is shown as a grocery on the 1917 map, but was operating by 1924. Obviously, the art deco facade dates to some later point. The theater remains in operation on the 1953 map. It was converted to retail at some point, but appears vacant.
The theater was just south of the alley. It replaced two small storefronts shown on the 1948 map. I’ve added a Sanborn view, which gives the address as 146.
This theater appears on the 1924 Sanborn, but this was an empty lot in 1917. The auditorium was a rather ungainly brick box sloping north toward Van Buren St. Even by the 2008 streetview, it appears derelict, and the building was demolished sometime between 2014 and 2018.
Is this possibly just an AKA for the Dallas? Two theaters seems a bit much for a town that was just under 4,000 people in 1950-60. Even assuming it’s where all the farmers came on Saturday, the county population was cratering - from 14,471 in 1940 to 12,416 in 1950 to 10,522 in 1960.
This theater may have operated into the ‘20s, based on information in the NRHP listing. At least up to 1917, maps show Main St was called Chief (street, presumably).
Pretty sparse area on the 1915 map. Nothing between 415 and 435. This whole part of town has a massive loss of structures between 1908 and 1915. Numerous wooden houses and businesses are replaced by a few scattered brick buildings. Massacres and race riots were a popular Arkansas pastime, but that doesn’t seem to have been the case here.
Safe to say that this has been demolished. Nothing on the 1915 map, but plenty of empty space for it to have been built.
The website needs to be changed to: https://www.centraltheatrehs.com/ They seem to have dropped the incredibly clumsy name, and gone back to Central Theatre.
Joe is absolutely right that this theater cannot have opened in 1910. There was almost nothing on this block at that point.
420 on the 1915 map is an undertaker. There is no 420 on the 1908 map. Almost all the buildings are different, which makes me think there was a serious fire, or perhaps a tornado. In 1915, the building that is in the space which would have been 420 in 1908 is 424, and is a restaurant with a boarding house or SRO above.
This can’t have been the Central, since that seems to have operated well into the ‘30s, at which point this building was gone.
Perhaps this earlier theater was the Lyric? The address would have been wrong, since that belonged to a large commercial building just to the south at 622-626. A tiny bit of this still exists at the southern corner.
It’s odd that the name would have been moved. 622-624 was a 5 and dime on the 1915 map, which is from June. The building is also stores on the 1908 map.
No reason to think it was somewhere else. Any time after late 1908 is perfectly plausible.
The dates are all wrong on this. The front portion was not built until sometime between 1901 and 1908. It was a commercial building, likely with apartments above. The auditorium does not appear until the 1915 map, which shows the entrance in the southern portion of what is now the Colonial Hotel, with an 821 address. 817 belonged to an unrelated building to the north.
The dates are also wrong. This appears on the April 1908 map, and one of the photos is supposedly a program from 1906. In 1901, the city hall was at the corner of Prospect and Exchange. By 1908, that had become a newspaper office, and is now gone.
The address is wrong. This was at what was then 233-235 Benton, and is now 133 Convention.
Needs to be listed as demolished.
Almost certainly a remodel of a much older theater. Sometime between 1886 and 1890, a pair of narrow two story brick storefronts were constructed at what were then 512 and 514. They separated by a very narrow court, and a large single story space at the rear was occupied by a plumber and gas fitter, with a 311 Exchange St address. By 1908, the addresses were 616 and 618.
By 1915, the space at the rear had been drastically remodeled to create an auditorium. The entrance was now in the southern half, at 620 (due to the filling of the court by a very narrow little store). Oddly, the stage was toward the front of the building. I’ve attached a Sanborn view.
Hey, a picture of the Gaines Block! Built 1881, destroyed for a parking lot for the hulking federal building.
This must have had a very brief existence. It’s not on the 1908 Sanborn, nor the 1915 edition. I assume it was upstairs, since the bar has been untouched since it was installed.
I added a picture I took in 2016. Looks like it’s been spruced up a bit since then. Still need to fix the address, dates, etc.
So what’s the real address? Which building is it?
The address is just a guess. This was at the corner of Chert and a now vanished extension of 2nd (which even then was closed).
A lot of the information is incorrect. Part of the confusion is that odds and evens switched sides between 1948 and 1953. It also seems that we are conflating a few theaters.
The 1912, 1917, 1924 and 1948 maps all show one theater on the 100 block of W Washington, but it is never in the same place. In addition, neither the 1930 nor the 1953 maps show any theaters at all in the 100 block of either E or W Washington. Of the 4 theaters, two have been demolished, and two are still there.
The address is wrong. The theater was at 116. It did have a 111 address until sometime between 1948 and 1953.
It seems to have been an extensive remodel of the southern half of very old commercial building dating to before 1886. The space is shown as a grocery on the 1917 map, but was operating by 1924. Obviously, the art deco facade dates to some later point. The theater remains in operation on the 1953 map. It was converted to retail at some point, but appears vacant.
The theater was just south of the alley. It replaced two small storefronts shown on the 1948 map. I’ve added a Sanborn view, which gives the address as 146.
This theater appears on the 1924 Sanborn, but this was an empty lot in 1917. The auditorium was a rather ungainly brick box sloping north toward Van Buren St. Even by the 2008 streetview, it appears derelict, and the building was demolished sometime between 2014 and 2018.
The address must be wrong. Probably W Main, but there doesn’t seem to be an address higher than 219.
Is this possibly just an AKA for the Dallas? Two theaters seems a bit much for a town that was just under 4,000 people in 1950-60. Even assuming it’s where all the farmers came on Saturday, the county population was cratering - from 14,471 in 1940 to 12,416 in 1950 to 10,522 in 1960.
This theater may have operated into the ‘20s, based on information in the NRHP listing. At least up to 1917, maps show Main St was called Chief (street, presumably).