Ben Bolt Theatre
828 Washington Street,
Chillicothe,
MO
64601
828 Washington Street,
Chillicothe,
MO
64601
1 person
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Last operated by B&B.
The Ben Bolt Theatre also opened with the Bugs Bunny cartoon “Mississippi Hare”, the FrizPatrick’s Traveltalks short “Calling On Michigan”, and Pathe News.
In 1971, Commonwealth Theatres took over operations of the Ben Bolt, and in March 1985, an attempt on converting the single-screener into a triplex by adding two more screens in the upstairs section of the building failed for unknown reasons.
The Ben Bolt Theatre closed for the final time in February 1999 when the Grand 6 Cinemas opened on North Grand Drive, and was sadly demolished in September of that same year.
However in April 1999 while the theater was still abandoned, a group of members of the Fine Arts Theater Group of Kansas City rescued scavenged parts of the theater and managed to save items before demolition.
The Ben Bolt Theatre was opened on Aug. 18, 1949, according to a note two days later in BoxOffice. It was built by Theatre Enterprises, Inc. “and named after the old song”. The first movie was It’s a Great Feeling.
“Two murals painted by Frank J. Zimmer, Los Angeles artist, are featured on the wall of the auditorium. Romance of the type suggested by the old song after which the theatre has been named is the theme of the murals, which are made more prominent with black light when the regular house lighting is low.”
Thomas Kneass, who is buried in Chillicothe, adapted an old German melody to the 1840s poem “Ben Bolt” by Thomas Dunn English. The song was used in a play called “The Battle of Buena Vista” which was first staged during the war with Mexico.
It was a play/opera, I believe. The man who wrote the music died in Chillicothe. There’s a zero milestone/memorial to him on the side of the drugstore on the square.
Was there someone called Ben Bolt?
Just an empty dirt lot. What a stupid waste.
Streamline Moderne was the thing in the 1940’s,very nice marquee for all you marquee people like me.
Unless I missed it somewhere up above BOXOFFICE reported the Ben Bolt was to be transformed into a Triple Theatre.The Downstairs theatre will have 350 seats and the two upstairs theatres will seat 200.Dolby Sound.Suppose to be ready for mid summer 1985. Source BOXOFFICE June 1985.
The July 2, 1949, issue of Boxoffice has an architect’s rendering of the proposed Ben Bolt Theatre. It, too, attributes the design to Boller & Lusk.
How could I purchase a photo of Mr. Max Thomas in front of the Ben Bolt(the picture that dateline describes in the above post)? I came across a picture of the Ben Bolt on the CinemaTour website and would like to add it to my collection
So what has been built on the site, since the Ben Bolt was demolished?
I was news editor of the Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune and watched with dismay out my window as the wrecking ball brought down the Ben Bolt. It was a fabulous building and from what the man said who was contracted to take it down, it was a well-built structure.
I edited a history book (Dateline-Livingston County / A look at local history) in 2001 and, of course, included some information (several news stories) and a photo of the Ben Bolt. I am, again, publishing another history book similar to the first Dateline and am looking for a photograph or two that I could include in the book. I’m under the gun now and would need any submissions before mid-July 2007. The book is due at the publishers by Oct. 1. Anyone who would like to help may reply to I really like the full color photo of (if I remember correctly), Max Thomas in front of the building. The picture was taken at night with the colorful neon lights behind. We used that photograph in our special tribute to the Ben Bolt in 1999. It is a shame that it was torn down. From what I have learned through reading old newspaper articles, it certainly was a jewel for the community. (I didn’t arrive in Chillicothe until 1992)
After a long day at the office today, I just typed in “Ben Bolt Chillicothe” and stumbled across this website. Thanks for reading.
Cathy
Does anyone know when the theater closed and when it was demolished? Obviously, by the comments directly above, those things happened in 1989 or later.
Thanks.
“There is change in the things I loved, Ben Bolt. They have changed from the old to the new; but I feel in the depths of my spirit the truth-there never as change in you” (Thomas Dunn English, “Ben Bolt”, circa, 1890)
My father, Max Thomas managed the Ben Bolt from 1977 until he retired in 1989. The theater was like one of his children. He was proud of it’s beauty. The child aged with grace and he was saddened when it was gone.
In May, 1994 my father turned 75 and my brother Phil and I gave him a surprise birthday party in the lobby of the theater. Even used the old concession stand for popcorn and pop. The venue was a perfect place to celebrate the man we loved in a place he gave so much of himself to. They are both missed.
My grandfather, Max Thomas (I always called him Papa) was the General Manager of the Ben Bolt for many years. I have forwarded this page to my mother, his daughter, Mica Thomas Duncan. I am sure that she can add much more to this page than I can.
I would visit Papa in Chillicothe every summer, spending every night of the week in the balcony of the Ben Bolt eating popcorn and drinking pop. The old projector operator Lee would sometimes allow me into the projector room to watch the movie from there.
Last year I returned to the area to lay Papa to rest. The absence of the old Ben Bolt is akin to a missing front tooth on Washington Street. Does anyone remember my Papa Max Thomas?
Hi dterry, I have a vintage black & white photo postcard with interior & exterior views of this theatre. Send your email or post it here and I will send you a scan of it.
Growing up in Chillicothe, The Ben Bolt was a favorite place to go. Even as a child, I was impressed with the granduer of the theater – the large area behind the concession stand, the top balcony, etc. I even remember the carpet! I haven’t been in a theater like it since my family moved in 1973. I was planning a family reunion and thought that would be a neat place to go, only to discover that it had been dolished a year earlier. I would love to have pictures of the interior as I am afraid my memory will eventually fail me. thank you!
Since Trenton was my hometown…rarely did we go to Chillicothe to see a movie…but I do remember one “lonely” Sunday afternoon when my sister was leaving home with her new husband leaving my mother, father and I “alone” for the first time…so to cheer ourselves up…we drove to Chillicothe to see “Teacher’s Pet” Starring Doris Day and it helped relieve the “pain of loss” of a family member leaving home for the first time and helped to cheer us up! So thanks to the Ben Bolt owners for providing a wonderful avenue of “escape” for an otherwise “lonely” Sunday afternoon!
My best…William Hamilton