If this was the theater intended to be constructed in 1923, then the correct address was 401 N Main. The 1917 map shows a lumber yard on that corner, and the ugly bank here today might be from about 1980. If this was indeed the Regent, then my listing has the wrong name. I don’t have access to any Sanborn after 1917, but there were at least two. If anyone can access them, we can be more sure.
SethG
commented about
Theateron
Apr 4, 2026 at 3:49 pm
Possibly the Crescent, Gem, or Electric, if this lasted long enough to be listed in the 1914-15 AMPD.
I think the older Regent listing is in error. This is apparently still shown as a theater on the 1947 Sanborn, which I do not have access to. The other possibility is that this theater was somehow never listed. The KHRI entry for this building has several historic photos, but you can’t make out a name in any of them. The elaborate cornice on top was removed by about 1950.
This corner was vacant in 1912. I’ve added a 1917 Sanborn view, which is definitely the same buildings as shown in the photo, with the Safeway having moved into the dealership. The Spanish style facades might be from a 1920s-‘30s remodel. The Sanborn map shows tin fronts on both.
Still listed as the Grand (no opera house designation) in 1926. It appears as the New Regent (no indication there was any ‘old’ Regent) in 1927, possibly closed, with no capacity. Still listed with no capacity in 1929, it becomes simply the Regent in 1930.
This has not been demolished. It has an ugly remodel, but the original stone construction is still evident. It is a co-working space. The building was constructed sometime between 1899 and 1905, and was originally a clothing store. The theater was operating by February 1912.
The supposed prior location of the Novelty is impossible. The northernmost avenue is 4th, and there has never been a North or South Main. 245, if it had ever existed, would be in the middle of the park at the north end of town.
This is an incredibly lazy listing. If the address is correct, this has been demolished. This theater first appears in the 1941 Yearbook as the ‘Zile’ (likely an error, which persists at least through 1946). From the initial capacity of of 337 it seems this was a renaming of the Ritz, which first appears in 1936. After 1942, but by 1946, the capacity increases to 568. There was likely an extensive remodel. The theater is still listed in the 1956 Yearbook. The site today is a gas station. The original structure may have been constructed between 1899 and 1905 as a dance hall/skating rink/bowling alley. By 1918, it had become a dealership.
This building was constructed sometime between 1899 and 1905 as a skating rink, replacing a wooden livery on this site. It was then a wholesale grocery on the 1912 map. The theater does not appear in the 1914-15 AMPD. The Spanish facade probably dates from the theater conversion. The KHRI entry suggests it may have been a Boller Brothers project.
By the way, the website is AI slop with fake reviews. It is not official. Apparently the whole domain of edan.io is stuff like this.
They use FB: https://www.facebook.com/WellingtonRegentTheater/ Even that page refers to an ‘official’ site which appears to be a fake full of malware! They probably abandoned it to save money.
It’s definitely on the 1915 map. The KHRI entry data fields say 1915, but the text says that a Gem opened here, burned in 1914, and this building was constructed in 1914. It also says the Regent renaming happened in 1920, and the theater was enlarged at that point. It additionally notes that old Jimmy Crow was in force for black and Mexican patrons until ‘midcentury’.
Reminder that this history is utter nonsense. I don’t think there was ever any such thing as the Corral, which was likely a nickname if it showed a lot of westerns.
The 1926 Yearbook has a Strand with 250 seats, but no Star. 1927 and 1929 list a Star with 514 seats. The 1933 Yearbook has a Star with 250 seats listed as closed, but no Strand. Still the Star with 250 seats in 1949. It seems to have become the Chief in 1950 or ‘51.
This was a Fox Midwest theater throughout the ‘40s at least.
The photo of the fire damage shows the second location of the Star and needs to be moved to the Chief listing. The original location of the Star was constructed sometime between 1884 and 1886, and was later extended. I’ve added a Sanborn view.
The picture is wrong. It shows the Star at 626. The Star at 506 had no columns in the entry.
This entry is also garbled. It should say that the Star opened at 626, and moved here in 1913. I think the theater may have been a new build, as it does not match the building shown on the 1909 map. The Star was damaged in the August 4th, 1914 fire that destroyed the center of the block, including the building just to the north. The building today has a midcentury storefront belonging to Lasater’s, the first retail tenant after the theater closed. It is in good shape, but vacant.
Actually, as an extra poke in the eye, the little spike and urns have been removed from the roofline, and the ornamental opening in the center has been ruined and filled with cement. It’s much uglier than it was a few years ago.
Now a urology clinic. The marquee has gone from white to some nasty house-flipper putty color, and the ugly storefront has been replaced by a new ugly storefront with a chintzy fake tile canopy. The original pent tile ornamentation on the roofline has also been replaced by cheap plastic fakes.
The building is the Nelson & Ostenberg building, which was constructed sometime between 1905 and 1911 along with the identical T.W. Roach building to the south. It appears from the night photo that the theater entry was about where today’s streetview shows the door between 141 and 143. The building is in good shape, with a lame HGTV storefront for some boutiques replacing a rather battered 1960s (?) storefront sometime around 2020. The theater was apparently on the ground floor. The maps which would show it operating are not available online.
SethG
commented about
Air Domeon
Mar 22, 2026 at 4:46 pm
Wasn’t there, but I did find it. I’ll add a listing.
The 1938 remodel was fairly cheap, considering the demolition of the three story building which fronted the auditorium, and its replacement by a ‘modern’ one story storefront section.
The original building behind which the auditorium was constructed was the Grand Central Hotel, the northern half of which appears on the 1884 map, with the rest completed by 1887. It was oddly shallow, and divided into quite a few narrow storefronts. It appears to have been deepened to connect it to the auditorium.
The auditorium was behind the storefronts, and is now a parking lot, like about 2/3 of the old downtown. Can anyone explain the significance of the F.C.-A.O. flanking the York name on the facade? Sadly, some of the streamline ornamentation was removed between 2013 and 2018. I don’t know why, but I never got a picture of this. The storefronts are now a grocery store.
If this was the theater intended to be constructed in 1923, then the correct address was 401 N Main. The 1917 map shows a lumber yard on that corner, and the ugly bank here today might be from about 1980. If this was indeed the Regent, then my listing has the wrong name. I don’t have access to any Sanborn after 1917, but there were at least two. If anyone can access them, we can be more sure.
Possibly the Crescent, Gem, or Electric, if this lasted long enough to be listed in the 1914-15 AMPD.
I think the older Regent listing is in error. This is apparently still shown as a theater on the 1947 Sanborn, which I do not have access to. The other possibility is that this theater was somehow never listed. The KHRI entry for this building has several historic photos, but you can’t make out a name in any of them. The elaborate cornice on top was removed by about 1950.
This corner was vacant in 1912. I’ve added a 1917 Sanborn view, which is definitely the same buildings as shown in the photo, with the Safeway having moved into the dealership. The Spanish style facades might be from a 1920s-‘30s remodel. The Sanborn map shows tin fronts on both.
Still listed as the Grand (no opera house designation) in 1926. It appears as the New Regent (no indication there was any ‘old’ Regent) in 1927, possibly closed, with no capacity. Still listed with no capacity in 1929, it becomes simply the Regent in 1930.
The duplicate cover photo should be deleted. The un-captioned copy is better quality.
This has not been demolished. It has an ugly remodel, but the original stone construction is still evident. It is a co-working space. The building was constructed sometime between 1899 and 1905, and was originally a clothing store. The theater was operating by February 1912.
The supposed prior location of the Novelty is impossible. The northernmost avenue is 4th, and there has never been a North or South Main. 245, if it had ever existed, would be in the middle of the park at the north end of town.
This is an incredibly lazy listing. If the address is correct, this has been demolished. This theater first appears in the 1941 Yearbook as the ‘Zile’ (likely an error, which persists at least through 1946). From the initial capacity of of 337 it seems this was a renaming of the Ritz, which first appears in 1936. After 1942, but by 1946, the capacity increases to 568. There was likely an extensive remodel. The theater is still listed in the 1956 Yearbook. The site today is a gas station. The original structure may have been constructed between 1899 and 1905 as a dance hall/skating rink/bowling alley. By 1918, it had become a dealership.
Thanks for clarifying the history! I got most of it from your older comment on the Regent, and forgot to acknowledge you in the text.
For what it’s worth, this building was a harness shop until it was converted, which involved adding a one story extension at the rear.
This building was constructed sometime between 1899 and 1905 as a skating rink, replacing a wooden livery on this site. It was then a wholesale grocery on the 1912 map. The theater does not appear in the 1914-15 AMPD. The Spanish facade probably dates from the theater conversion. The KHRI entry suggests it may have been a Boller Brothers project.
By the way, the website is AI slop with fake reviews. It is not official. Apparently the whole domain of edan.io is stuff like this.
They use FB: https://www.facebook.com/WellingtonRegentTheater/ Even that page refers to an ‘official’ site which appears to be a fake full of malware! They probably abandoned it to save money.
When I saw this in 2010, it had godawful wood paneling covering the front. So glad it’s been removed.
It’s definitely on the 1915 map. The KHRI entry data fields say 1915, but the text says that a Gem opened here, burned in 1914, and this building was constructed in 1914. It also says the Regent renaming happened in 1920, and the theater was enlarged at that point. It additionally notes that old Jimmy Crow was in force for black and Mexican patrons until ‘midcentury’.
Reminder that this history is utter nonsense. I don’t think there was ever any such thing as the Corral, which was likely a nickname if it showed a lot of westerns.
The 1926 Yearbook has a Strand with 250 seats, but no Star. 1927 and 1929 list a Star with 514 seats. The 1933 Yearbook has a Star with 250 seats listed as closed, but no Strand. Still the Star with 250 seats in 1949. It seems to have become the Chief in 1950 or ‘51.
This was a Fox Midwest theater throughout the ‘40s at least.
The photo of the fire damage shows the second location of the Star and needs to be moved to the Chief listing. The original location of the Star was constructed sometime between 1884 and 1886, and was later extended. I’ve added a Sanborn view.
The picture is wrong. It shows the Star at 626. The Star at 506 had no columns in the entry.
This entry is also garbled. It should say that the Star opened at 626, and moved here in 1913. I think the theater may have been a new build, as it does not match the building shown on the 1909 map. The Star was damaged in the August 4th, 1914 fire that destroyed the center of the block, including the building just to the north. The building today has a midcentury storefront belonging to Lasater’s, the first retail tenant after the theater closed. It is in good shape, but vacant.
This is the wrong Star. This is the 506 location.
Actually, as an extra poke in the eye, the little spike and urns have been removed from the roofline, and the ornamental opening in the center has been ruined and filled with cement. It’s much uglier than it was a few years ago.
Now a urology clinic. The marquee has gone from white to some nasty house-flipper putty color, and the ugly storefront has been replaced by a new ugly storefront with a chintzy fake tile canopy. The original pent tile ornamentation on the roofline has also been replaced by cheap plastic fakes.
The building is the Nelson & Ostenberg building, which was constructed sometime between 1905 and 1911 along with the identical T.W. Roach building to the south. It appears from the night photo that the theater entry was about where today’s streetview shows the door between 141 and 143. The building is in good shape, with a lame HGTV storefront for some boutiques replacing a rather battered 1960s (?) storefront sometime around 2020. The theater was apparently on the ground floor. The maps which would show it operating are not available online.
Wasn’t there, but I did find it. I’ll add a listing.
The 1938 remodel was fairly cheap, considering the demolition of the three story building which fronted the auditorium, and its replacement by a ‘modern’ one story storefront section.
The original building behind which the auditorium was constructed was the Grand Central Hotel, the northern half of which appears on the 1884 map, with the rest completed by 1887. It was oddly shallow, and divided into quite a few narrow storefronts. It appears to have been deepened to connect it to the auditorium.
The auditorium was behind the storefronts, and is now a parking lot, like about 2/3 of the old downtown. Can anyone explain the significance of the F.C.-A.O. flanking the York name on the facade? Sadly, some of the streamline ornamentation was removed between 2013 and 2018. I don’t know why, but I never got a picture of this. The storefronts are now a grocery store.