Grand Theatre

257 W. Eighth Avenue,
Wellman, IA 52356

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SethG
SethG on April 9, 2025 at 7:00 am

I’ve added a photo I took in 2010. It seems likely the theater was only on one side, but I can’t say which. Unusually, the stoop for the entry to the stairs on the left side has the name Klockenteger carved into it.

SethG
SethG on April 8, 2025 at 8:50 pm

No such thing as W 8th. The building is at 257 8th Ave SE. No maps are available, but the building does appear on an early postcard said to be from 1910. The photo studio/framing business closed sometime after 2013, and the ground floor is vacant. 50s has supplied a much better chronology of names than the ‘contributor’.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on June 10, 2024 at 7:30 am

This started life as the Electric Theatre as early as the early-1910s, and was renamed multiple times over the years. It was renamed the Majestic Theatre in 1913, renamed the Wellman Theatre on April 4, 1930, and renamed the Grand Theatre on February 25, 1937. The Grand Theatre was originally operated by Marvin Fosse who also operated the Pastime Theatre in La Fosse City.

  • Several months later in October 1937, Fosse was treated at the University Hospital in Iowa City for more than a week after he was diagnosed with a bad malta fever despite it not being dangerously-ill.

The Grand Theatre closed in 1958 and its marquee was removed in May 1959.

  • Wellman had another Grand Electric Theatre beforehand as far early as 1907 but its history remains unknown.