Tauy Theatre
120 S. Main Street,
Ottawa,
KS
66067
120 S. Main Street,
Ottawa,
KS
66067
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The Tauy Theatre was opened January 22, 1941. It suffered a fire on December 5, 1959 and was closed, never to reopen. In 1962 it went into retail use.
Contributed by
Billy Smith / Billy Holcomb / Don Lewis
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
I remember view the original release of Disny’s “Sleeping Beauty” in this theater in 1962(?). I was mesmerized by “Malificent (sp)”, voiced by Eleanor Audley. There was a balcony, but I am not sure I ever saw a movie from up there. I knew the theater as the “Tauy”, after “Tauy” Jones, who was a local celebrity of sorts in the early settlement of the town of Ottawa.
Tauy Theatre was to be the name of this house according to the item in the January 3, 1941, issue of The Film Daily:
The Tauy Theatre can be seen in the penultimate picture on this web page featuring scenes of Ottawa during a flood in 1957.The Tauy Theatre opened January 22, 1941. It was named for John Tecumseh “Tauy” Jones, an early pioneer in the area who was an interpreter for the Pottawatomie Indians and became one of their leaders. The name was selected in a contest in which local people submitted potential names for the new theatre. A statute in Tauy’s name is on the city’s courthouse grounds.
The Tauy closed due to a fire on December 5, 1959 after the last film shown: “Odds Against Tomorrow.” Repairs scheduled didn’t occur. The location was retrofitted for a catalog store that launched there in 1962. The theatre was never known as the “Tony” or the “Tany.”
I’m sure the dates are right, but there is a gorgeous antique mirror in the courthouse, with a wooden frame holding advertisements. One is for the Tauy. Given that it is in the Eastlake style, it likely has been in the courthouse since it was built in 1892. Most of the other ads appear very old, and have 3 digit phone numbers. I don’t find any evidence of an earlier Tauy, so I suppose the card was placed in the frame around 1941.