Manor Theatre
105 S. Main Street,
McPherson,
KS
67460
105 S. Main Street,
McPherson,
KS
67460
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he owner of the Cozy Theatre, H.C. Collins, decided to expand his motion picture business by taking over the Klassen Auto Company next to the Alliance Exchange creating the Grace Theatre. The Grace launched December 10, 1913 running three years to December of 1916.
Jeff Tourney and Carl E. Oelrich who had taken over the Cozy Theatre (changing it to the Mikado Theatre (1916-1917) took over the Grace. The pair decided to transform the Grace into the modern Tourney Theatre by tearing down most if not all of the Grace structure. The 600-seat theatre launched June 4, 1917. After several changes of ownership, Empire Theater operators C.W. Helstrom and George Wooldridge took on the Tourney changing its name to the Helstrom Theatre in 1934.
In July of 1940, Helstrom and Wooldridge sold the theatre to George Baker of Baker Enterprises. In April of 1941, the Helstrom became the Manor Theatre upgrading from a second-run house to a first-run theater. In 1946, Boller Brothers redesigned the Manor. The Manor continued into the television era and eventually closed and was demolished.
I’ve come across an old letter from the mid 1920s written to my Grandmother from a Mr. D.E. (Duke) Widiger of the Tourney Theatre showing 418 S. Main Street as the address.
According to this site, the Tourney Theater was already open as of July 4, 1917:
http://tinyurl.com/ce6ov5