A 1909 opening for the Comet is confirmed by an item from the January 1, 1910 issue of The Nickelodeon: “ALBIA, IOWA.-The Comet theater, a new vaudeville and picture house, has been opened here under the management of Mr. Struber, who is also interested in a similar enterprise in Oskaloosa and other places.”
The Lyric didn’t make the American Motion Picture Directory in 1914, but it was the only picture theater listed at Albia in that year’s Gus Hill directory. It was listed there with a capacity of 388 (which, if accurate, does seem a bit large for this space) and admission prices of five and ten cents. The Lyric subscribed to the Mutual picture service, and the manager was named C. A. Hibbard.
A house called the Kings Theatre was the only listing for Albia in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. Probably a typo for this house. It seems very unlikely that the listings were complete, though. I’ve come across multiple trade journal references to the Comet Theatre being in operation during this period.
An item in the March 19, 1927 Moving Picture World said that Harry Weinberg had bought the King Theatre and the Rex Theatre at Albia, Iowa. The seller was A. Frankel.
The Comet was apparently open by 1909. This item is from the September, 1911 issue of Motography: “A deal has been consummated whereby Alex Long has come into possession of the Comet theater of Albia, the leading moving picture theater in that part of the state. For the past two years the house has been conducted by the Comet Amusement Company, Red Oak. The Comet has the reputation of being first class in every way, and the new owners will maintain the same high standard.”
The Comet was also mentioned in the December 25, 1915 Moving Picture World which said that a 17-piece Orchestrion had been installed in the house. Large orchestrions were fairly costly devices, so the Comet must have still been quite prosperous at that time.
The Scenic at Albia was mentioned in the December 28, 1907 issue of Show World.
The February 1, 1913 issue of Motography had this brief notice: “J. E. Benton will now have a monopoly practically on the picture shows in Albia. He will conduct two shows, using both the Comet and the Scenic.”
This house might or might not have yet another aka. The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists only two houses at Pella: the Electric Palace and a house called the Royal. However, as the Opera House is also missing from the listings, Royal could have been its aka instead. If it wasn’t an aka for one or the other then it must have been a different theater, probably short-lived as I’ve found no other references to it.
Oddly, there is supposed to be a movie house called the Royal Theatre in Pella today, as part of the Royal Amsterdam Hotel, a recently built project, but I can’t find any listings for it.
This was Leggett’s Opera House when it appeared in listings as early as 1884, managed by an E. Leggett. It had 250 seats then but later was either expanded or moved to larger quarters and was managed by a John Leggett. The 1912-1913 Cahn guide lists it as a 450-seat, ground floor house managed by L .I. Rowe. In the early 1920s, an Ida B. Rowe of the Opera House, Eddyville, was submitting capsule movie reviews to theater trade journals. A bit of digging reveals that Ida B. Leggett married Lorin I. Rowe in 1893. It looks like Mr. Rowe either became manager of the house and married the boss’s daughter or married the daughter and became manager. The Rowes and the Leggetts were both prominent families in Eddyville.
The July 7, 1947 issue of Film Daily had bad news about theaters damaged or closed by floods in Iowa, including at Eddyville: “At Eddyville, Earl McConkey who had just purchased the Eddy Theater, had his house submerged three times and he now figures it will take six months to re-open.”
The Trail’s web site is advertising classic movies, and I don’t see a single live event on its schedule. We might as well list Classic Movies in the theater’s “Functions” field.
The Gem Theatre was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. An Opera House was also listed. Higbee was misspelled as Highbee in the 1926 FDY, but in 1927 it was back to Higbee. The May 4, 1935 issue of Motion Picture Herald said that “HARLE AND ROBB have opened the Star Theatre at Higbee, Mo.” If this was a name change it was temporary, as the 1936 FDY lists the Gem again, as do editions through 1941, though in those I’ve checked the house is always listed as closed. The town of Higbee is last listed in the 1941 edition, at least through 1951, which is as late as I can go. If the long-closed Gem became the Higbee Theatre it must have been in the 1950s.
The last mention of Higbee I’ve found in the trade journals is in the August 19, 1950 issue of Boxoffice, which says that a Sterling Bagby, who had been showing movies in Higbee on Friday nights, had opened an outdoor theater in mid-July on a vacant lot behind a filling station, and provided folding chairs for patrons who wished to leave their cars. It might be that Mr. Bagby had been running his shows in the old theater, though itinerant showmen of his sort commonly used community centers, lodge halls, school auditoriums, or even friendly churches for their operations. In any case, it appears that by 1950 Higbee had no full-time movie theater. It could be that the theater was listed as closed for so long because it was used only by traveling exhibitors such as Mr. Bagby for many years.
This excerpt from a 2015 article in the Columbia Tribune says that the Grand Theatre building was incorporated into the adjacent bank rather than demolished: “…the Alamo Theatre, eventually became the Dickinson Theatre, then the Fayette Theatre and finally the Grand Theater. Today it is part of the Commercial Bank, though you can still see the outline of the Alamo façade on the building.”
A current Google street view does show what looks like two buildings joined by matching façades. Satellite view also shows two buildings.
The Bijou was one of five theaters listed at Danville in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. Its listing in the 1926 FDY gave it 400 seats, so it was considerably smaller than the Rialto which replaced it the following year.
The architect field on this page needs to be updated to Oliver William Stiegemeyer, as it is orphaned from the other listings for the architect, but then those other listings also need to be updated as the surname is misspelled on all of them. The correct spelling is Stiegemeyer, which is how it appears in the 1952 and 1956 editions of the AIA’s American Architects Directory. The information in the directories was submitted to the AIA by the architect’s own office, so can safely be assumed to be correct.
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A 2015 article in the Columbia Daily Tribune says that the Fayette Opera House was designed by architect H. D. Hunter of Mexico, Missouri. Hunter also designed the Ferris Opera House in Mexico.
This web page says that the Ferris Grand Opera House was at 213 W. Monroe Street, and was designed by local architect H. D. Hunter. The opening event was Gilbert & Sullivan’s 1885 operetta “The Mikado.” The 1907-1908 Cahn guide lists the Grand Opera House as a ground floor theater seating 1,000 and a stage 38 feet from footlights to back wall and 56 feet between the sidewalls.
The December 25, 1920 issue of Motion Picture News provided this description of Mexico’s new Liberty Theatre: “What the motion picture theatre means to the town of 8,000 inhabitants is indicated by the announcement last week of the formal opening of the new Liberty theatre, a $100,000 structure at Mexico, Mo. The Liberty is the largest house devoted entirely to motion pictures in any town in America of the size of Mexico. The seating capacity is a trifle over 1,500.
“Equipped with an $18,000 pipe organ, silk and tapestried mural ornament, two latest model Simplex machines, marbled foyer, spacious rest rooms for both men and women, and a perfect system of stage lighting and effects, the Liberty stands out as a paragon of not only small town houses but as one to which many theatres in the larger cities might look with envy.
“A. H. Whitney, one of the prominent business men of Mexico, has been appointed manager of the theatre, which is backed by interests of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation. The Liberty will run productions of first run caliber, showing them at the same time that they are being presented in St. Louis and Kansas City.”
An article on the web site of television station KXEO attributes the design of the Liberty to St. Louis architect Oliver W. Stiegemeyer, who the article also credits with the design for remodeling Mexico’s Orpheum Theatre (later the Rex) in 1935.
The Gaiety Theatre is one of five houses listed at Danville in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, though with the address 312 Main Street. I don’t know if this indicates that the house moved next door at some point or the lot it was on was simply renumbered. Google street view shows that they are two distinct buildings, so it seems unlikely that they were combined to make a larger theater.
One possible name for this house is revealed in this item from the January 21, 1911 issue of The Motion Picture News: “Centerville, Iowa.—O. E. Dickeson has purchased the Star theater here from G. E. Morrow.” So far this is the earliest mention of a movie theater at Centerville I’ve found in the trade journals, and I’ve found no other mentions of the Star Theatre. The Star was not listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, which lists only the Majestic at Centerville.
The planned remodeling and expansion of the Iris Theatre at Wheatland was noted in this item from the May 4, 1918 issue of Moving Picture World: “Wheatland, Wyo.—An architect is now making plans for putting a balcony into the Iris theater, rebuilding the stage, installing a scientific ventilating system, putting in new lights, etc. The proposed improvement will increase the seating capacity to between 500 and 600.”
The Trio Theatre opened in 1918, according to this item from the May 4 issue of Moving Picture World that year: “Hale, Mo.—Hale’s new motion picture house, the Trio, has been opened to the public. It has a seating capacity of 400. T. F. Houx and A. D. Hanners are at the head of the new concern.”
Here is an item from Moving Picture World of May 4, 1918: “Kaukauna, Wis.—The Conkey-Cleland Bijou theater has been opened to the public with motion pictures.”
News about the Adel Opera House from the May 4, 1918 issue of Moving Picture World: “DES MOINES, IA.—John Ruskin, who has put the town of Adel on the map in a moving picture way, has a national reputation as producer of wild animal pictures. Mr. Ruskin settled down in Adel, a town of 1,400 people, and took over the opera house, seating 600, for a picture theater, redecorated it, put up artistic sets on the commodious stage and, after a thorough campaign of publicity, opened with the best state rights pictures. His success was instantaneous. Not only Adel, but the small towns surrounding, were quick to realize that they were being offered real pictures in their immediate locality for the first time. Mr. Ruskin is literally packing them in. The old road fever hits him occasionally and he tours the bigger towns in Iowa, showing his latest wild animal film and lecturing with the pictures.”
Good grief!
A 1909 opening for the Comet is confirmed by an item from the January 1, 1910 issue of The Nickelodeon: “ALBIA, IOWA.-The Comet theater, a new vaudeville and picture house, has been opened here under the management of Mr. Struber, who is also interested in a similar enterprise in Oskaloosa and other places.”
The Lyric didn’t make the American Motion Picture Directory in 1914, but it was the only picture theater listed at Albia in that year’s Gus Hill directory. It was listed there with a capacity of 388 (which, if accurate, does seem a bit large for this space) and admission prices of five and ten cents. The Lyric subscribed to the Mutual picture service, and the manager was named C. A. Hibbard.
A house called the Kings Theatre was the only listing for Albia in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. Probably a typo for this house. It seems very unlikely that the listings were complete, though. I’ve come across multiple trade journal references to the Comet Theatre being in operation during this period.
An item in the March 19, 1927 Moving Picture World said that Harry Weinberg had bought the King Theatre and the Rex Theatre at Albia, Iowa. The seller was A. Frankel.
The Comet was apparently open by 1909. This item is from the September, 1911 issue of Motography: “A deal has been consummated whereby Alex Long has come into possession of the Comet theater of Albia, the leading moving picture theater in that part of the state. For the past two years the house has been conducted by the Comet Amusement Company, Red Oak. The Comet has the reputation of being first class in every way, and the new owners will maintain the same high standard.”
The Comet was also mentioned in the December 25, 1915 Moving Picture World which said that a 17-piece Orchestrion had been installed in the house. Large orchestrions were fairly costly devices, so the Comet must have still been quite prosperous at that time.
The Scenic at Albia was mentioned in the December 28, 1907 issue of Show World.
The February 1, 1913 issue of Motography had this brief notice: “J. E. Benton will now have a monopoly practically on the picture shows in Albia. He will conduct two shows, using both the Comet and the Scenic.”
This house might or might not have yet another aka. The 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory lists only two houses at Pella: the Electric Palace and a house called the Royal. However, as the Opera House is also missing from the listings, Royal could have been its aka instead. If it wasn’t an aka for one or the other then it must have been a different theater, probably short-lived as I’ve found no other references to it.
Oddly, there is supposed to be a movie house called the Royal Theatre in Pella today, as part of the Royal Amsterdam Hotel, a recently built project, but I can’t find any listings for it.
This was Leggett’s Opera House when it appeared in listings as early as 1884, managed by an E. Leggett. It had 250 seats then but later was either expanded or moved to larger quarters and was managed by a John Leggett. The 1912-1913 Cahn guide lists it as a 450-seat, ground floor house managed by L .I. Rowe. In the early 1920s, an Ida B. Rowe of the Opera House, Eddyville, was submitting capsule movie reviews to theater trade journals. A bit of digging reveals that Ida B. Leggett married Lorin I. Rowe in 1893. It looks like Mr. Rowe either became manager of the house and married the boss’s daughter or married the daughter and became manager. The Rowes and the Leggetts were both prominent families in Eddyville.
The July 7, 1947 issue of Film Daily had bad news about theaters damaged or closed by floods in Iowa, including at Eddyville: “At Eddyville, Earl McConkey who had just purchased the Eddy Theater, had his house submerged three times and he now figures it will take six months to re-open.”
The Trail’s web site is advertising classic movies, and I don’t see a single live event on its schedule. We might as well list Classic Movies in the theater’s “Functions” field.
The Gem Theatre was listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. An Opera House was also listed. Higbee was misspelled as Highbee in the 1926 FDY, but in 1927 it was back to Higbee. The May 4, 1935 issue of Motion Picture Herald said that “HARLE AND ROBB have opened the Star Theatre at Higbee, Mo.” If this was a name change it was temporary, as the 1936 FDY lists the Gem again, as do editions through 1941, though in those I’ve checked the house is always listed as closed. The town of Higbee is last listed in the 1941 edition, at least through 1951, which is as late as I can go. If the long-closed Gem became the Higbee Theatre it must have been in the 1950s.
The last mention of Higbee I’ve found in the trade journals is in the August 19, 1950 issue of Boxoffice, which says that a Sterling Bagby, who had been showing movies in Higbee on Friday nights, had opened an outdoor theater in mid-July on a vacant lot behind a filling station, and provided folding chairs for patrons who wished to leave their cars. It might be that Mr. Bagby had been running his shows in the old theater, though itinerant showmen of his sort commonly used community centers, lodge halls, school auditoriums, or even friendly churches for their operations. In any case, it appears that by 1950 Higbee had no full-time movie theater. It could be that the theater was listed as closed for so long because it was used only by traveling exhibitors such as Mr. Bagby for many years.
This excerpt from a 2015 article in the Columbia Tribune says that the Grand Theatre building was incorporated into the adjacent bank rather than demolished: “…the Alamo Theatre, eventually became the Dickinson Theatre, then the Fayette Theatre and finally the Grand Theater. Today it is part of the Commercial Bank, though you can still see the outline of the Alamo façade on the building.”
A current Google street view does show what looks like two buildings joined by matching façades. Satellite view also shows two buildings.
The Bijou was one of five theaters listed at Danville in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. Its listing in the 1926 FDY gave it 400 seats, so it was considerably smaller than the Rialto which replaced it the following year.
The architect field on this page needs to be updated to Oliver William Stiegemeyer, as it is orphaned from the other listings for the architect, but then those other listings also need to be updated as the surname is misspelled on all of them. The correct spelling is Stiegemeyer, which is how it appears in the 1952 and 1956 editions of the AIA’s American Architects Directory. The information in the directories was submitted to the AIA by the architect’s own office, so can safely be assumed to be correct. .
The history page of this theater’s official web site (now working fine) says that the house was designed by St. Louis architect Oliver W. Stiegemeyer.
A 2015 article in the Columbia Daily Tribune says that the Fayette Opera House was designed by architect H. D. Hunter of Mexico, Missouri. Hunter also designed the Ferris Opera House in Mexico.
This web page says that the Ferris Grand Opera House was at 213 W. Monroe Street, and was designed by local architect H. D. Hunter. The opening event was Gilbert & Sullivan’s 1885 operetta “The Mikado.” The 1907-1908 Cahn guide lists the Grand Opera House as a ground floor theater seating 1,000 and a stage 38 feet from footlights to back wall and 56 feet between the sidewalls.
The December 25, 1920 issue of Motion Picture News provided this description of Mexico’s new Liberty Theatre: “What the motion picture theatre means to the town of 8,000 inhabitants is indicated by the announcement last week of the formal opening of the new Liberty theatre, a $100,000 structure at Mexico, Mo. The Liberty is the largest house devoted entirely to motion pictures in any town in America of the size of Mexico. The seating capacity is a trifle over 1,500.
“Equipped with an $18,000 pipe organ, silk and tapestried mural ornament, two latest model Simplex machines, marbled foyer, spacious rest rooms for both men and women, and a perfect system of stage lighting and effects, the Liberty stands out as a paragon of not only small town houses but as one to which many theatres in the larger cities might look with envy.
“A. H. Whitney, one of the prominent business men of Mexico, has been appointed manager of the theatre, which is backed by interests of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation. The Liberty will run productions of first run caliber, showing them at the same time that they are being presented in St. Louis and Kansas City.”
An article on the web site of television station KXEO attributes the design of the Liberty to St. Louis architect Oliver W. Stiegemeyer, who the article also credits with the design for remodeling Mexico’s Orpheum Theatre (later the Rex) in 1935.
The Gaiety Theatre is one of five houses listed at Danville in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, though with the address 312 Main Street. I don’t know if this indicates that the house moved next door at some point or the lot it was on was simply renumbered. Google street view shows that they are two distinct buildings, so it seems unlikely that they were combined to make a larger theater.
One possible name for this house is revealed in this item from the January 21, 1911 issue of The Motion Picture News: “Centerville, Iowa.—O. E. Dickeson has purchased the Star theater here from G. E. Morrow.” So far this is the earliest mention of a movie theater at Centerville I’ve found in the trade journals, and I’ve found no other mentions of the Star Theatre. The Star was not listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, which lists only the Majestic at Centerville.
The planned remodeling and expansion of the Iris Theatre at Wheatland was noted in this item from the May 4, 1918 issue of Moving Picture World: “Wheatland, Wyo.—An architect is now making plans for putting a balcony into the Iris theater, rebuilding the stage, installing a scientific ventilating system, putting in new lights, etc. The proposed improvement will increase the seating capacity to between 500 and 600.”
The Trio Theatre opened in 1918, according to this item from the May 4 issue of Moving Picture World that year: “Hale, Mo.—Hale’s new motion picture house, the Trio, has been opened to the public. It has a seating capacity of 400. T. F. Houx and A. D. Hanners are at the head of the new concern.”
Here is an item from Moving Picture World of May 4, 1918: “Kaukauna, Wis.—The Conkey-Cleland Bijou theater has been opened to the public with motion pictures.”
News about the Adel Opera House from the May 4, 1918 issue of Moving Picture World: “DES MOINES, IA.—John Ruskin, who has put the town of Adel on the map in a moving picture way, has a national reputation as producer of wild animal pictures. Mr. Ruskin settled down in Adel, a town of 1,400 people, and took over the opera house, seating 600, for a picture theater, redecorated it, put up artistic sets on the commodious stage and, after a thorough campaign of publicity, opened with the best state rights pictures. His success was instantaneous. Not only Adel, but the small towns surrounding, were quick to realize that they were being offered real pictures in their immediate locality for the first time. Mr. Ruskin is literally packing them in. The old road fever hits him occasionally and he tours the bigger towns in Iowa, showing his latest wild animal film and lecturing with the pictures.”