Lake Theatre
4 N. 4th Street,
Clear Lake,
IA
50428
4 N. 4th Street,
Clear Lake,
IA
50428
1 person
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Clear Lake Iowa is most notably remembered by old rock'n'roll enthusiasts as home to the Surf Ballroom. Three famous “Rockers” performed their last concert at the Surf. Though taking a backseat to the Surf Ballroom but still worth a visit is the Lake Theatre. The Lake is open 7 days a week with one 7:00 pm showing on weekdays and 3 showings on weekends at 1:00pm, 4:00pm and 7:00pm. Admission is $5.00 for adults and $4.00 for children. The auditorium has 6 beautiful art deco sconces and the foyer has 2 lovely ceiling fixtures. Completing this memorable image of past grandeur is a soda fountain next to the theatre. Supposedly, a there is a resident ghost from the 1935 fire.
For what it’s worth, the 1909 map shows the opera house, but the 1916 map shows only stores on the ground floor.
The Lake Theatre opened its doors on January 18, 1936 with Shirley Temple in “Curly Top” and George O'Brien in “Thunder Mountain” (unclear if any short subjects were added).
https://www.caboosebooks.net/node/94
This is a link to an article about the career of Bob Endres, the long time head projectionist at Radio City Music Hall. It includes a picture of Bob in the booth of the Lake Theater taken when his family was vacationing in Clear Lake from their home in Chicago. It is a good article for anyone interested in the projection end of the theater business.
I have been to this theater while attending the Winter Dance Party on Buddy Holly weekend at the Surf Ballroom. 1999 I think. A nice looking small town theater so much more welcoming that the 24 screen megaplexes that I avoid in Atlanta. Very nice people too.
Nice website. Thanks.
You can check out our website at http://www.clearlaketheatre.com or http://www.clearlaketheater.com for those that might misspell it.
Congratulations and good luck. This little theatre is a great asset to the community. I would like to respectfully request that you also set up a theatre website for those of use who are not on Facebook.
We’re the new owners of the Lake Theatre (Purchased from the Sherman family in April 2016). We’d love to see more old photos, programs, etc. as we look for ways to enhance or restore the theatre!
This web page has a few photos of the Opera House/Lake Theatre, with some reminiscences by local residents. The Opera House was built in 1890, and was a movie theater by the 1930s. It was listed as the 500-seat, second floor New Opera House in the 1897 Cahn guide, and as the Halvorson Opera House in the 1909-1910 guide.
A Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce page about the Lake Theatre says that the Opera House was damaged by a fire in the 1920s, and the building was reopened as the Lake Theatre in 1936. The house has been equipped for digital movies since 2012. A photo shows a very modern, curtain-wall, mostly stadium-seated auditorium, so I suspect that a rebuilding much more recent than 1936 has also taken place.
Clear Lake also once had a movie house called the Park Theatre, operating from at least 1930 into the 1950s, which we don’t have listed yet.
No website for this theater, but they do have a Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-Theatre/417802038300090
Here is a chilly photo of the Lake:
http://tinyurl.com/yenyt4j