Avoca Theater
112 N. Elm Street,
Avoca,
IA
51521
112 N. Elm Street,
Avoca,
IA
51521
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Sorry, I guess I didn’t make it clear that the name of the theater was changed to the Harris-Avoca Theatre when Carl Ernst took it over. (Ernst bought it on November 28, 1938 from A.H. “Ole” Lehman. Ernst sold it to Art Meredith in April 1940 who continued it as the Harris-Avoca Theatre.)
It became the Avoca Theatre dropping the Harris on October 30, 1947
The New Harris Theatre opened August 6, 1929 with sound films and “Fox Movietone Follies” as its opening film. Field’s 11-piece stage band was there and then moved to Avoca Hall for a post-theatrical dance. Party time! The venue replaced the Majestic Theatre. Carl Ernst took on the venue calling it the Harris-Avoca Theatre in 1938 through 1947.
On October 30, 1947, it changed names to the Avoca Theatre with “Sport of Kings” and GE Germicidal Lamps for patrons' personal protection. Howard Brookings operated it under that name for its late 1940s and 1950s run except for a few months in 1952. He changed the equipment to show widescreen VistaVision, CinemaScope, and SuperScope films beginning June 12, 1955 with “Captain Lightfoot.” But the theatre immediately scuffled thereafter. This was due to the impact of television and the Avoca closed for regular features late in 1955 though hosting live events, kids screenings, and John Deere trade screenings.
The Avoca twice reopened in the 1960s. It reopened on June 25, 1964 only to close again on January 9, 1965. It reopened one last time beginning on April 8, 1965. It closed for the holidays on December 18, 1965 with “Palm Springs Weekend.” It delivered a lump of coal not reopening… although it was used for John Deere trade shows and sporadic live events. In March of 1968, it was purchased by the American Legion for $6,500. They tore out the interior within a week.
This web page has some historic photos of Avoca, though the slide show doesn’t work as advertised (you can’t pause it, at least not with my browser.) Below the slide show are thumbnails of the photos with captions, but only some of the thumbnails can be clicked and enlarged. The first photo is of the Harris Theatre, and the caption mentions a few names connected with the house.
This May, 2023 article from the web site of The Daily Nonpariel tells of the acquisition of the Legion Hall by the City of Avoca and plans for restoring and renovating the building as a community center under the auspices of the Avoca Main Street preservation group. The Legion will continue to oversee daily operations of the center. The page has a period photo of the theater promoting two 1942 releases on the marquee.
Still listed as the Harris in 1955, it appears as the Avoca in the 1956 Yearbook. Still open in 1957, so the mid-‘50s date is wrong. The Yearbooks afterward are less useful, and only list theaters belonging to circuits. It has to have been closed by 1969, when the Legion moved in.
I’m not sure this was ever known as the Harris-Avoca. That name makes no sense. It may have been called the Avoca at some point. The address needs to be corrected. It may originally have been 309 N Elm, but the N-S divider has been moved to High St, and the odds and evens switched sides.
As was pointed out long ago, the address is wrong. This is currently the American Legion. It’s been spruced up since 2010, although they did destroy the original doors.
The address should be 112 North Elm Street.