Ward House Theater
198 E. Avenue B,
Wendell,
ID
83355
198 E. Avenue B,
Wendell,
ID
83355
2 people
favorited this theater
Originally in in 1909 by the Sanborn Insurance Company as a dance hall, skating rink and theater. The Odeon Theater was opened in summer of 1909. A photograph appeared in Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World on May 12, 1928. It shows a bearded 84 year-old R.M. Stanton, owner of the Odeon Theater, paying a visit to Paramount Studios in Hollywood. He was handing a ticket to his Wendell Theater to actress Doris Hill. However, it was noted that patrons of the Odeon Theater pay not as they enter but as they leave.
The Film Year Book of 1928 listed the Odeon Theater with 250 seats. By 1941 it was operating as the Ward House Theater. It had closed by 1943.
Contributed by
Ron Pierce
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
When the new ACE theatre opened in 1945, the theatre in the photo above was operating and known as the Ward House Theatre and the building was originally the local ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It had approx. 300 seats with a balcony of approximately 60 seats. The Ward House continued exhibiting motion pictures for approximately a year when it closed to the public.
My great-grand uncle became partner to R M Stanton, who managed the theater, sometime after 1920. In May 1922 he wrote “…the picture show house is a losing game since the War. Hope to sell out this next Fall. Think we would have sold out last Fall, but the Wendell Bank went ‘Broke’.” In November 1925 he wrote that they sold “our picture house here in Wendell” in August 1925.
Searcher-Any family photos to share?
Yes, but none of the theater or area where he lived in Wendell. I have several portraits, but none during the era he owned the theater. Should I post them?
another note…the theatre building still exists today as a private residence, at some point prior to 1990, a two story addition was added to the northwest corner of the auditorium. While I was remodeling the ACE, I was able to tour the building. The stage and proscenium arch are still in place as well as the tiny balcony including a very small projection room. The main floor is flat and level, there are windows along the east and west walls. After the LDS church built their new ward house north of town, the theatre became home to a couple different churches, then a karate studio and then a residence in the 1990s. The front appears to have been remodeled the same time the addition was made.
The Odeon is actually at the north west corner of the intersection of B Ave E and Boise Street (one block south and one block east of the ace) it’s location on the map above is incorrect.