This theater is not shown on the September 1911 map, so it must have opened late in the year. The address is wrong. The building was on the SW corner, so it would have had a number something like 715. However, the entrance was on 8th St, so the proper address should be 209 N 8th. City hall is located there today.
The history is wrong, per Ken’s comment long ago. This was built in 1936. If anything was built here in 1921, it was the Majestic, which was replaced by this theater. Also, Chris’s link does not work due to formatting, but the older one from rivest does.
I suspect ‘Main Street’ was just lazy shorthand for downtown. I’ve definitely seen that used in listings here and other references. There never was such a street. The theater was roughly at 121 E 3rd St. The Kansas Film Commission took photos of downtown in 1990 and July 2001. In 1990 the theater is obviously closed, but still has the marquee and canopy. In 2001, it is derelict, and all the openings are covered with weathered plywood. The sign and canopy are gone.
I don’t think this was a direct replacement of the older theater, but I can’t be sure. The 1911 map shows a small row of shops here. There is a theater at the NW corner of the square, as well as an opera house on Commercial (now C St).
Was the entrance on the corner? I’m not sure what to call the style, but that blocky brick moderne-ish style with the green stone paneling is very common in Virginia, and sometimes seen in North Carolina.
The Photoplay was not open in either 1911 or 1918. If I had to guess, it might be the bar at 18 Public Sq, which was a grocery in 1911, and a Ford garage in 1918.
Okay, this has definitely been demolished. I found a picture from about 1970, and where the antique store is today was a bar. The building at 104 still existed then. That building was a wide one story stone building which had a tin front. It was also built between 1885 and 1893, and the 1911 map shows it as a drug store. It originally had a nice ornate pediment on the cornice, but the picture I found shows the roof cut flat, and possibly a plaster front above the old storefront. There is a very old vertical sign, which appears to have been painted black.
That building was torn down before 2008. The site is a little garden.
It’s hard to tell without a picture, but the antique store is in what I would assume is 102. However, rather than being 100, the building on the corner uses a 200 N Kansas address.
Assuming the theater building is not the empty lot to the west, it was built sometime between 1885 and 1893. Despite appearances, it’s a separate structure from the building on the corner, which is older. The 1911 map shows it as a general store.
This must have had a protracted construction. The foundation appears on the January 1892 map, but the date on the front of the building is 1895. The 1905 Cahn guide gives this a capacity of 1,000. I think the eagle on top is salvage from the Columbian Exposition (which I expect is where Rogers got the name). There are also two statues from the exposition in the city park.
Curiously, there was already a fairly large pre-1885 opera house at 5th and Elm, which is still there. The 1905 Cahn Guide calls it Leach’s, and gives a capacity of 500. It definitely contended with the Columbian early on, but the 1912 map shows it used for implement storage.
Address is wrong. 460 is either a house or a parking lot. 452 on the 2011 street view looks like it certainly could have been a small theater. It was gone by 2016.
There is no Westwego Arts Center. There is a Westwego Community Center at 177 Sala. It is home to the Westwego Performing Arts Theatre. It’s a bizarre dryvit fake retro thing, but the website claims it’s historic. Looks more like the front was demolished and the auditorium remodeled, rather than the other way around.
SethG
commented about
Cinemaon
Aug 5, 2024 at 9:33 am
The building is vacant and derelict, and seems to have been that way for at least a few years.
Should be listed as demolished. The space in the middle of the block where this must have been remained vacant up until the ‘40s. There’s now a little telephone building there.
I think the correct chronology is a 1928 opening as the Uptown, some later name change to Junction and then Dickenson (or is it Dickinson?). The postcard is from perhaps 1955-56, judging by the cars, and shows it as the Junction.
The theater is just barely visible on the right in the photo. I’ve added a map view. It’s a shame it’s such a grungy little lot now. There’s only room for about 6-8 cars. That block of downtown is otherwise well preserved.
The building was originally a livery stable, but had been a store for many years when converted. It looks like the entire front half of the building was replaced.
There is a problem with the dates. This building is still a two story store with offices above on the 1925 map.
Again, the opening date for the opera house, which is not the same building anyway, is wrong. The opera house was at least 11 years old in 1893, when it was purchased by Wareham. The 1897 map still calls it Moore’s Opera House.
As I said before, since the new building is so much larger than the opera house, it wouldn’t be possible for any of it to remain, except possibly parts of the side walls or some of the foundation.
I also see no evidence that the old opera house included a hotel. This is definitely something that would have shown up on a fire insurance map. There is no hotel shown anywhere on this block on any map, until the construction of the Hotel Wareham in 1926.
Moore’s Opera House was built around 1882, and is shown on the 1885 map. I’m not at all sure that it has anything to do with the Wareham, except that it occupied the lot. There is some confusing information out there. Wareham purchased the building in 1893. The 1905 map shows it as the Wareham Opera House, and it is listed as such in that year’s Cahn guide.
The KS historical society says the theater was built in 1909, the date at the top of the building is 1910, but the 1912 map still shows the opera house in its old configuration. The 1923 map, which shows the new theater, has it 12 feet taller than the old building, and much deeper. I doubt there was any of the old structure retained at all. That map calls it the Wareham Theatre, so the 1938 renaming date is definitely bogus.
I suspect the Electric name was only used briefly. The theater was likely showing films earlier than 1914, since the airdome to the west, which was most likely associated with this theater, was open by 1912.
The building to the left is the airdome, likely still operating at this date.
SethG
commented about
Airdomeon
Jul 29, 2024 at 8:12 pm
It definitely makes sense. The three existing buildings all have a Wareham tie. The hotel where the airdome was, a three story commercial building where the millinery is in the photo, and the Wareham itself.
SethG
commented about
Air Domeon
Jul 29, 2024 at 2:09 pm
I had asked about the Leland, but not heard back. I’ll create a listing. I have a lousy picture from a very gray day.
This theater is not shown on the September 1911 map, so it must have opened late in the year. The address is wrong. The building was on the SW corner, so it would have had a number something like 715. However, the entrance was on 8th St, so the proper address should be 209 N 8th. City hall is located there today.
The history is wrong, per Ken’s comment long ago. This was built in 1936. If anything was built here in 1921, it was the Majestic, which was replaced by this theater. Also, Chris’s link does not work due to formatting, but the older one from rivest does.
I suspect ‘Main Street’ was just lazy shorthand for downtown. I’ve definitely seen that used in listings here and other references. There never was such a street. The theater was roughly at 121 E 3rd St. The Kansas Film Commission took photos of downtown in 1990 and July 2001. In 1990 the theater is obviously closed, but still has the marquee and canopy. In 2001, it is derelict, and all the openings are covered with weathered plywood. The sign and canopy are gone.
I don’t think this was a direct replacement of the older theater, but I can’t be sure. The 1911 map shows a small row of shops here. There is a theater at the NW corner of the square, as well as an opera house on Commercial (now C St).
Was the entrance on the corner? I’m not sure what to call the style, but that blocky brick moderne-ish style with the green stone paneling is very common in Virginia, and sometimes seen in North Carolina.
The Photoplay was not open in either 1911 or 1918. If I had to guess, it might be the bar at 18 Public Sq, which was a grocery in 1911, and a Ford garage in 1918.
Architect was John McPherson. I tried adding that, guess it didn’t take.
Okay, this has definitely been demolished. I found a picture from about 1970, and where the antique store is today was a bar. The building at 104 still existed then. That building was a wide one story stone building which had a tin front. It was also built between 1885 and 1893, and the 1911 map shows it as a drug store. It originally had a nice ornate pediment on the cornice, but the picture I found shows the roof cut flat, and possibly a plaster front above the old storefront. There is a very old vertical sign, which appears to have been painted black.
That building was torn down before 2008. The site is a little garden.
It’s hard to tell without a picture, but the antique store is in what I would assume is 102. However, rather than being 100, the building on the corner uses a 200 N Kansas address.
Assuming the theater building is not the empty lot to the west, it was built sometime between 1885 and 1893. Despite appearances, it’s a separate structure from the building on the corner, which is older. The 1911 map shows it as a general store.
The 1896 map shows the building to be a bit shallower, and only lists a hall on the second floor. The 1905 map shows the fly tower added.
This must have had a protracted construction. The foundation appears on the January 1892 map, but the date on the front of the building is 1895. The 1905 Cahn guide gives this a capacity of 1,000. I think the eagle on top is salvage from the Columbian Exposition (which I expect is where Rogers got the name). There are also two statues from the exposition in the city park.
Curiously, there was already a fairly large pre-1885 opera house at 5th and Elm, which is still there. The 1905 Cahn Guide calls it Leach’s, and gives a capacity of 500. It definitely contended with the Columbian early on, but the 1912 map shows it used for implement storage.
Address is wrong. 460 is either a house or a parking lot. 452 on the 2011 street view looks like it certainly could have been a small theater. It was gone by 2016.
There is no Westwego Arts Center. There is a Westwego Community Center at 177 Sala. It is home to the Westwego Performing Arts Theatre. It’s a bizarre dryvit fake retro thing, but the website claims it’s historic. Looks more like the front was demolished and the auditorium remodeled, rather than the other way around.
The building is vacant and derelict, and seems to have been that way for at least a few years.
Should be listed as demolished. The space in the middle of the block where this must have been remained vacant up until the ‘40s. There’s now a little telephone building there.
I’ve created a listing for the original Cozy. Could we switch the photo to the other one?
This theater was a remodel of a garage building constructed sometime between 1912 and 1925. The northern half was still a dealership in 1947.
I think the correct chronology is a 1928 opening as the Uptown, some later name change to Junction and then Dickenson (or is it Dickinson?). The postcard is from perhaps 1955-56, judging by the cars, and shows it as the Junction.
The theater is just barely visible on the right in the photo. I’ve added a map view. It’s a shame it’s such a grungy little lot now. There’s only room for about 6-8 cars. That block of downtown is otherwise well preserved.
The building was originally a livery stable, but had been a store for many years when converted. It looks like the entire front half of the building was replaced.
There is a problem with the dates. This building is still a two story store with offices above on the 1925 map.
Again, the opening date for the opera house, which is not the same building anyway, is wrong. The opera house was at least 11 years old in 1893, when it was purchased by Wareham. The 1897 map still calls it Moore’s Opera House.
As I said before, since the new building is so much larger than the opera house, it wouldn’t be possible for any of it to remain, except possibly parts of the side walls or some of the foundation.
Thanks to Joe Vogel for some of the information here!
I also see no evidence that the old opera house included a hotel. This is definitely something that would have shown up on a fire insurance map. There is no hotel shown anywhere on this block on any map, until the construction of the Hotel Wareham in 1926.
The history is wrong.
Moore’s Opera House was built around 1882, and is shown on the 1885 map. I’m not at all sure that it has anything to do with the Wareham, except that it occupied the lot. There is some confusing information out there. Wareham purchased the building in 1893. The 1905 map shows it as the Wareham Opera House, and it is listed as such in that year’s Cahn guide.
The KS historical society says the theater was built in 1909, the date at the top of the building is 1910, but the 1912 map still shows the opera house in its old configuration. The 1923 map, which shows the new theater, has it 12 feet taller than the old building, and much deeper. I doubt there was any of the old structure retained at all. That map calls it the Wareham Theatre, so the 1938 renaming date is definitely bogus.
I suspect the Electric name was only used briefly. The theater was likely showing films earlier than 1914, since the airdome to the west, which was most likely associated with this theater, was open by 1912.
The building to the left is the airdome, likely still operating at this date.
It definitely makes sense. The three existing buildings all have a Wareham tie. The hotel where the airdome was, a three story commercial building where the millinery is in the photo, and the Wareham itself.
I had asked about the Leland, but not heard back. I’ll create a listing. I have a lousy picture from a very gray day.
I’ve added a Sanborn view of this theater to show the arrangement, which seems to have been fairly consistent up through the last map in 1947.