Labor Temple Theater

120 S. Wood Street,
Staunton, IL 62088

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Additional Info

Functions: Storage

Previous Names: Temple Theater

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Labor Temple Theater

The Labor Temple Theater opened in 1914. It was built by the local Miner Union 755 and had a seating capacity of 800, all on a single floor. There were offices and meeting rooms and lodge places located on the second floor.

The Temple Theater was closed in late-1972 with the Walt Disney movie “Napoleon and Samantha”.

It is now in use as a furniture store warehouse, minus its marquee.

Contributed by Lost Memory, Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 4 comments)

rivest266
rivest266 on June 15, 2012 at 5:10 pm

This was on Wood south of Main St.

stormdog
stormdog on December 22, 2013 at 8:54 pm

I took a few photos of the Labor Temple on a trip through southern Illinois last year. Here’s one of them; others are nearby on my Flickr page!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormdog42/11444660486/

LouRugani
LouRugani on July 25, 2018 at 6:47 pm

The Labor Temple was built in 1914 by the Local Miners' Union. The front doors opened onto an attractive lobby with a wide stairway to the second floor on the right and a ticket office centered between two entrances to a large auditorium with a sloping floor, aisles between three sections of seats and a large stage. The theatre had the first air-conditioning system within thirty-five miles of Staunton. From Tuesday through Sunday it was a first-run theatre for years. The musical “Don’t Give Up the Ship” led to the Staunton High School fight song “Don’t Give Up the Fight”. On the first Monday of each month the miners held a union meeting there; other Mondays were available for graduations, dramatic or musical productions by local groups, lectures and so forth. Lavatories were upstairs as were several conference or committee meeting rooms and a large hall where lodges met and dances and receptions were held.

SethG
SethG on August 5, 2019 at 9:07 am

The 1921 Sanborn credits the theater with 782 seats, and notes 2 rows of iron columns, presumably holding up the second floor.

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