Niobara Theatre
Elm Street,
Niobrara,
NE
68760
Elm Street,
Niobrara,
NE
68760
No one has favorited this theater yet
Additional Info
Previous Names: Koster Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Koster Theatre was opened by Henry Koster in July 1930. It was closed in 1931 due to a plague of grasshoppers. It was reopened in 1932. In 1938 it was renamed Niobara Theatre. It was closed in November 1963 when it was badly damaged by fire. 1977 photos from Library of Congress indicate that the Niobara Theatre had been shuttered for quite some time and it was demolished in 1977. It was located on the north side of Elm Street.
Contributed by
Jeff Chapman
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
Here is one of those LOC photos.
One of the LOC document scans says that the Koster Theatre was opened by Harry Koster in July, 1930, and that the house was renamed the Niobrara Theatre when he sold it in 1938.
Also, it should be noted that the entire town of Niobrara was moved to a new site farther from the Missouri River the year the photos were taken. The Niobrara Theatre was demolished along with everything else.
Niobrara was actually relocated twice. In 1882, the entire town was moved to a new site following a devastating flood. The second relocation, in 1977, was occasioned by a rising water table that flooded the town’s basements and damaged the infrastructure. The 1977 LOC photos and plans were made to document the town before it was demolished.
Harry Koster launched the new Koster Theatre in July of 1930 as a talkie with 240 seats. Citing the combination of drought and grasshoppers that hurt the agricultural community, the theater was closed just over one year later. (It is one of the few theaters in the database to list “grasshoppers” as an official reason for closure.)
New operators took on the venue in July 1932 with shows on Saturday and Sunday and with a change of program for Wednesday and Thursday. Walter Krall was one of three local business persons to take on the venue. They operated until selling it in 1938. Joe B. Liska took on the venue and renamed it as the Niobrara Theater. He operated from 1938 to November of 1963 when it was badly damaged by fire. We believe that was the end of the theater’s run although the building remained until its demolition in 1977. The reason was not grasshoppers or drought but a flood which caused the town to be demolished and moved.