Colony Theatre
1856 N. 40th Street,
East St. Louis,
IL
62204
1856 N. 40th Street,
East St. Louis,
IL
62204
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Frisina Amusement Company
Architects: Cletis R. Foley
Previous Names: Waverley Theatre, Fourtieth Street Theatre
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The Waverley Theatre was opened in May 1921. It was renamed Fourtieth Street Theatre in 1934. It was destroyed by fire in 1945.
In 1948 after being rebuilt to the plans of architect Cletis R. Foley, it reopened as the Colony Theatre and was operated by the Frisina Amusement Co. It went over to adult movies in 1972 and later gay adult movies. It was closed in 1992. Since demolished, the site was an empty lot in 2016, and still an empty lot in 2022.
Not to be confused with the Colony II Theatre (a straight adult theatre) on Forest Boulevard, which has its own page on Cinema Treasures.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
The Waverly Theatre opened in May 1921. With a change of ownership in 1934 the theatre was renamed the 40th Street. The structure suffered a fire in 1945, was closed, and was replaced in 1948 with a new structure, and name, as the Colony Theatre. Theatre started showing X-rated films in 1974 which continued until closure in 1992.
The photograph was taken in December 2009.