Giles Theatre
1714 W. 39th Street,
Kansas City,
MO
64111
1714 W. 39th Street,
Kansas City,
MO
64111
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The Giles closed at end of lease in November 30, 1958 with Susan Hayward in “I’d Climb the Highest Mountain” and Martin and Lewis’ “Jumping Jacks.”
Full timeline
•August 30th, 1926 opens as Neptune
•June 19th, 1930 renamed Mokan, which means MissOuri and KANsas. Owned by Fox and Commonwealth.
•1932 closes (or did not bother to place ads in the paper)
•September 1st, 1939 reopens as Giles
•1958 closes for the last time.
1926, 1930 and 1939 grand opening ads in the photo section.
An article about the remodeling of the Mokan Theatre into the Giles Theatre appears on this page of Boxoffice, December 9, 1939. Unfortunately, it is not illustrated. The remodeling was designed by architect Joseph B. Shaughnessy, Sr., best known for the churches and parochial schools he designed in the Kansas City area.
One of the businesses currently occupying the surviving part of the Giles Theatre is a hookah bar called the Sahara Sheesha Lounge. This might be the only former theater in the United States that has a hookah bar in it. The space is not recognizable as a former theater.
A picture of the Giles Theater c. 1940 can be seen here.