Wrong street. Address was almost certainly 101 N Gex St. Reesman’s Theatre (note the spelling, not sure which is right) is on the 1916 Sanborn, in the top floor of a 2-story brick building which had two storefronts downstairs. It was also offering vaudeville at this point. Either this received a severe remodel, or it was demolished. At any rate, an exceedingly unattractive one story mess of metal siding occupies the lot now.
Should be listed as demolished. Was almost certainly on the courthouse square, and only one older building remains, which looks nothing like a theater.
It’s hard to tell, since almost all of downtown is gone, but this might still be here. Assuming it’s the same one shown on the 1915 Sanborn, the theater was on the north side, 6th building west of N 4th.
I think this theater opened a lot earlier. The 1917 Sanborn shows a small wooden theater at 6 S Green. The number is a guess, but it’s the third from the corner. The building looks like it’s still there, but streetview coverage is terrible for this town. It may have been replaced at some point by a brick building, but it’s clear from the satellite view that the structure is very old. 402 seats seems like a pretty big theater for such a tiny town.
Since three of the corner lots have been demolished for parking, the theater was on the SE corner. You can see the Princess and post office in the background of the main photo.
Shame this building got such an awful, ugly remodel. Given its original appearance, I was surprised to see the August 1914 Sanborn still showing a fairly substantial Presbyterian church on the lot. The theater can’t have been constructed too many years later.
Address is wrong. The theater was at 209 W Prime. Although its neighbors have all been demolished, it is still in use as a lawnmower shop. It must have opened earlier than Chris thought, as it appears on the 1921 Sanborn.
Either the description or the address or both are wrong. The Majestic is shown on the 1921 Sanborn at 108 W Madison. It has long been demolished, judging by the busted pavement in front of the fire station that occupies part of the lot it was on. On the map, the Majestic is listed as having 500 seats. The map does not show the bay windows on the building in the photo, but none of the buildings either on the map or still existing which have two bays are on a corner.
Joe, I just found the picture in question on the St. Joseph Memory Lane page, and he says the smaller theater was demolished in 1926, which, if correct, puts those cars back in the correct era.
I think we should probably split the listings if we can confirm the name history. If the current building was never anything but the Civic, then it shouldn’t be listed as the Till/Artilla. Of course, it depends what exactly is meant by ‘destroyed’. It’s possible the original building was only gutted.
I think this theater must have been in the City Hall. I’m not sure if ‘City Hall’ was a function or name, since the stone at the top says ‘Spivey & Davis’ above ‘City Hall’. It may have been built as an oddly-named opera house. Construction date is 1883, and while the building bears the name of a funeral home, it appeared to be derelict as long ago as 2010.
F.G. Weary Jr. began leasing the theater from J.L. Farris (a local lawyer) in 1914, and bought it outright in 1921. The theater was first modernized in 1930 when the theater began showing talkies. In 1931 it was leased out to Dickenson Theaters, Inc., although the Weary family managed the theater all the way up to at least 1982. This information from the NRHP listing.
Boller Brothers were only responsible for the 1930s and 1940s remodels, which have been effectively destroyed by ‘restoration’. The original architects were Shepard and Farrar. The Boller modifications left the auditorium untouched, although they did remove a large fly tower, and the lobby was changed, although I suspect this again has been put back similar to its 1901 appearance.
Wrong street. Address was almost certainly 101 N Gex St. Reesman’s Theatre (note the spelling, not sure which is right) is on the 1916 Sanborn, in the top floor of a 2-story brick building which had two storefronts downstairs. It was also offering vaudeville at this point. Either this received a severe remodel, or it was demolished. At any rate, an exceedingly unattractive one story mess of metal siding occupies the lot now.
Should be listed as demolished. Was almost certainly on the courthouse square, and only one older building remains, which looks nothing like a theater.
It’s hard to tell, since almost all of downtown is gone, but this might still be here. Assuming it’s the same one shown on the 1915 Sanborn, the theater was on the north side, 6th building west of N 4th.
Or lowered.
Almost certainly demolished. The few older buildings left on S Main are too small to have been a theater.
I think this was later renamed the Emerald. Number was probably 16, and the 1917 map shows this storefront as a feed store.
I think this theater opened a lot earlier. The 1917 Sanborn shows a small wooden theater at 6 S Green. The number is a guess, but it’s the third from the corner. The building looks like it’s still there, but streetview coverage is terrible for this town. It may have been replaced at some point by a brick building, but it’s clear from the satellite view that the structure is very old. 402 seats seems like a pretty big theater for such a tiny town.
Since three of the corner lots have been demolished for parking, the theater was on the SE corner. You can see the Princess and post office in the background of the main photo.
Shame this building got such an awful, ugly remodel. Given its original appearance, I was surprised to see the August 1914 Sanborn still showing a fairly substantial Presbyterian church on the lot. The theater can’t have been constructed too many years later.
Building appears to be a thrift store.
Pretty shameful waste of the entire west side of the courthouse square. Better suited for sprawl on the highway.
Probably the 100 block of W Washington, and almost certainly demolished. There’s very little left of downtown.
Address is wrong. The theater was at 209 W Prime. Although its neighbors have all been demolished, it is still in use as a lawnmower shop. It must have opened earlier than Chris thought, as it appears on the 1921 Sanborn.
Either the description or the address or both are wrong. The Majestic is shown on the 1921 Sanborn at 108 W Madison. It has long been demolished, judging by the busted pavement in front of the fire station that occupies part of the lot it was on. On the map, the Majestic is listed as having 500 seats. The map does not show the bay windows on the building in the photo, but none of the buildings either on the map or still existing which have two bays are on a corner.
Joe, I just found the picture in question on the St. Joseph Memory Lane page, and he says the smaller theater was demolished in 1926, which, if correct, puts those cars back in the correct era.
I think the reopening fizzled. Last update on their FB page was in 2015.
Needs to have the address and description corrected. Theater wasn’t just in a neighborhood, it was in a mall, and East Hills is not the street name.
The photo of the smaller theater cannot be correct. It’s obviously a different building.
Street name is NOT East Penney, it’s ER Penney. That should help with mapping. The original name of the street was W McGaughy St.
I think we should probably split the listings if we can confirm the name history. If the current building was never anything but the Civic, then it shouldn’t be listed as the Till/Artilla. Of course, it depends what exactly is meant by ‘destroyed’. It’s possible the original building was only gutted.
Street name needs to be changed. On older maps, Davis is also labeled Main.
I think this theater must have been in the City Hall. I’m not sure if ‘City Hall’ was a function or name, since the stone at the top says ‘Spivey & Davis’ above ‘City Hall’. It may have been built as an oddly-named opera house. Construction date is 1883, and while the building bears the name of a funeral home, it appeared to be derelict as long ago as 2010.
F.G. Weary Jr. began leasing the theater from J.L. Farris (a local lawyer) in 1914, and bought it outright in 1921. The theater was first modernized in 1930 when the theater began showing talkies. In 1931 it was leased out to Dickenson Theaters, Inc., although the Weary family managed the theater all the way up to at least 1982. This information from the NRHP listing.
Boller Brothers were only responsible for the 1930s and 1940s remodels, which have been effectively destroyed by ‘restoration’. The original architects were Shepard and Farrar. The Boller modifications left the auditorium untouched, although they did remove a large fly tower, and the lobby was changed, although I suspect this again has been put back similar to its 1901 appearance.
If this was the first Farris, it may only have lasted a year or two. Farris bought the current Farris in 1910.