Mayflower Theater
416 Main Street,
Florence,
KS
66851
416 Main Street,
Florence,
KS
66851
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The KHRI entry here: https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=115-1023 has some pdfs of old articles/photos.
Correct address is 416. This building is in very poor shape, with some ugly wooden fill on the ground floor. It appears to be used as a garage (probably just junk storage), with what seems to be a residence on the second floor. The capacity is wrong. A December 16, 1920 article about the theater gives it as 685 (540 main, 145 balcony).
The theatre had a 2 manual Reuter Organ. In 1967 the, then shuttered, theater’s, projector, seats and rewinds were shipped 150 miles to Kiowa, KS where they were used in the Chief Theatre.
The architect was Walter H. Simon and the Mayflower had a space for Curry & Olson Confectioner which sold candy to patrons. The Mayflower opened on October 14, 1920 with Matt Moore in “Don’t Ever Marry.” Karl Gaston owned the theatre and its previous location from 1913 to the Mayflower’s 1920 opening all the way to 1939. The theatre was ravaged by a flood in 1951 closing for five months.