I’m a little dubious about this. 1920 Sanborn map shows this as auto repair, with the large fancy building next door listed as a showroom. This building is really narrow and deep, and the roof is pretty low. The map does show a theater at 212 E Main, which is a 2 story brick commercial building from the late 1800s.
Not sure why this listing is empty, there’s a bunch of information in the comments. The NRHP listing says that it was built in 1918, as a live theater/opera house. It originally seated 500. It was sold to O.C. Scarborough in 1930, which is when it became a movie theater.
There must have been renumbering, the building is now 221. The chamber appears to have taken over the old library, but the marquee still displays chamber messages. Unclear if the building is now vacant. I’ve uploaded a picture to replace the blurry enlarged thumbnail that was probably poached from a website.
Hard to tell since this listing has no information at all, but this has likely been demolished. The old Opera House, which is now at 109, is a candidate if there was renumbering. The next two buildings before the corner are dumpy postwar department store type structures. Confusingly, the corner is now 100, despite all the other even numbers being on the south side of the street.
I think the address should be 927, which is now a barber shop. It’s the only 2 story building for quite a ways in either direction. The current 921 is a tiny little storefront.
Can we get a better history? The storefronts and ticket booth were indeed covered in vitrolite. To see what it looked like in the early ‘70s, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter 'Salem Marion’ in the search bar. Theater will be the first result.
The Palace is just barely visible on the left in this picture from the county historical society: http://history.montgomeryco.com/Archives/View-Photo-Archive/ID/1878
Typo in the description/name history – the correct spelling is ‘Frisina’. For a picture from the early ‘70s, when it was still a store, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter 'Frisina Building’ in the search bar. At least there’s a good excuse for the current entry, since the store destroyed the old one.
For a picture from 1985, before the ugly remodel, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter ‘Vandeveer Opera House’ in the search bar. It’s derelict and has a cruddy awning instead of the marquee.
Need to add the address! Since this listing has no information at all, here’s what I came up with. The state has it listed as the Virginia Opera House. It was designed and built by Joseph F. Black. William Jennings Bryan spoke there in 1896, so it was definitely open by then. It stayed open until at least the early ‘70s. A lot of the colored tile has now fallen off, but the ghost ads on the side have been repainted.
Now home to a barber college.
Currently houses a church.
Now a parking lot. Such a waste. An extremely ugly courthouse also replaced a historic structure at the same time.
I’m a little dubious about this. 1920 Sanborn map shows this as auto repair, with the large fancy building next door listed as a showroom. This building is really narrow and deep, and the roof is pretty low. The map does show a theater at 212 E Main, which is a 2 story brick commercial building from the late 1800s.
According to the 1920 Sanborn map, it did have a projector installed, so it might have showed movies from time to time.
Not sure why this listing is empty, there’s a bunch of information in the comments. The NRHP listing says that it was built in 1918, as a live theater/opera house. It originally seated 500. It was sold to O.C. Scarborough in 1930, which is when it became a movie theater.
Without an address, or any information, this listing is really useless. Ken’s old link is dead.
Without an address, or any information, this listing is really useless.
Not sure why this won’t map. 106 Clyde is correct. Very easy to spot in the satellite view. Clyde is one block to the east of the courthouse square.
According to the cornerstone, architects were Lafaye & Lafaye. It was built in 1935.
Added a photo of the exterior. The interior of the lobby is very drab, with a drop ceiling and tacky fake wood paneling.
There must have been renumbering, the building is now 221. The chamber appears to have taken over the old library, but the marquee still displays chamber messages. Unclear if the building is now vacant. I’ve uploaded a picture to replace the blurry enlarged thumbnail that was probably poached from a website.
Hard to tell since this listing has no information at all, but this has likely been demolished. The old Opera House, which is now at 109, is a candidate if there was renumbering. The next two buildings before the corner are dumpy postwar department store type structures. Confusingly, the corner is now 100, despite all the other even numbers being on the south side of the street.
I think the address should be 927, which is now a barber shop. It’s the only 2 story building for quite a ways in either direction. The current 921 is a tiny little storefront.
If the address is correct, this has been demolished. 519 is an ugly modern bank with a huge parking lot.
Address is wrong. Number is 242. Building is currently a cafe and auction company. Seems well cared for.
Almost certainly demolished. There’s not much left of downtown.
Can we get a better history? The storefronts and ticket booth were indeed covered in vitrolite. To see what it looked like in the early ‘70s, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter 'Salem Marion’ in the search bar. Theater will be the first result.
The Palace is just barely visible on the left in this picture from the county historical society: http://history.montgomeryco.com/Archives/View-Photo-Archive/ID/1878
Assuming the address is correct, this must have been demolished. There is a parking lot between 109 and 113.
Typo in the description/name history – the correct spelling is ‘Frisina’. For a picture from the early ‘70s, when it was still a store, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter 'Frisina Building’ in the search bar. At least there’s a good excuse for the current entry, since the store destroyed the old one.
For a picture from 1985, before the ugly remodel, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter ‘Vandeveer Opera House’ in the search bar. It’s derelict and has a cruddy awning instead of the marquee.
Building is now a bar, which seems to include the upstairs.
To see what it looked like in the ‘70s, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter 'Joy Theater Building’ in the search bar.
Need to add the address! Since this listing has no information at all, here’s what I came up with. The state has it listed as the Virginia Opera House. It was designed and built by Joseph F. Black. William Jennings Bryan spoke there in 1896, so it was definitely open by then. It stayed open until at least the early ‘70s. A lot of the colored tile has now fallen off, but the ghost ads on the side have been repainted.