Shafer Theater
111 S. Broad Street,
Lacon,
IL
61540
111 S. Broad Street,
Lacon,
IL
61540
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Alger Theatres
Previous Names: Rose Opera House
Nearby Theaters
A conversion of the Rose opera House, the Shafer Theater was opened on November 2, 1940 with Pat O'Brien in “Flowing Gold”.
It was closed in 1967, and was demolished later that year.
Contributed by
Billy Holcomb / Billy Smith / Don Lewis
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
In addition, it seems like a film was shown at the theater in March 1967 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Lacon Tornado, so the closing/demolition date is dubious.
As Joe mentioned on another theater listing, this theater was a 1940 remodel of Rose’s Opera House, which was a large square single-story building located on S Broad behind the Rose House Hotel, which was on the SW corner with 5th. Both buildings were constructed sometime before 1888. The hotel seems to have been notably unsuccessful, and the 2nd and 3rd stories are listed as vacant on several maps.
The opera house appears to have stayed in operation up to 1913 at least. The whole complex was demolished for the new offices of the First National Bank of Lacon.
I’ve uploaded a photo of the Shafer which I found on Flkr. Comment indicated it had previously been the Rose Opera House. Also says the building was purchased by the bank in 1967 and destroyed later that year.
According to a reference in Historic Movie Theatres in Illinois by Konrad Schieke, 2015: “New theatre to be built in old Rose Opera House Building”.
According to a reference in “Guide and Directory to the Opera Houses of Illinois” by John B. Jeffrey, 1889, the seating capacity of the Rose Opera House was 500.
The July 5, 1940 issue of Film Daily had news about the theater project underway at Lacon (it missed its opening date target by more than a month.)
Although the bank now on the theater’s site uses a Broad Street address, the vintage photo of the Shafer shows that its entrance was actually on Fifth Street, at the southwest corner of Broad.