Bon-Ton Theatre

Joe Vogel on February 11, 2017 at 11:00 am

A vintage postcard (link is probably temporary) shows a sign for the Bon-Ton Theatre on the second floor of the building at the northwest corner of Glenn Miller Avenue (aka 16th Street) and Main Street. This building was originally Hawley’s Opera House, built in 1880 by J. D. Hawley, and designed and erected by local architect/builder N. A. Olston. The 1909-1910 Cahn guide lists the house:

“CLARINDA- Pop 4,000. Hawley’s Opera House. J.D. Hawley mg.r S c 7oo. Prices 25c 50c and 75c. llum elec. E Howard elect. Width of prosc opening 20 ft. Height 21 ft. Footlights to back wall 21 ft. Curtain line to footlights 3 ft. No grooves. Depth under stage 5 ft. Distance between side walls 50 ft. 2 traps located center and at each side. Scene room. Theatre on second floor.

The retail store on the ground floor of the building is now occupied by S & S Appliance, which uses the address 100 N. 16th Street. The building’s front has been modernized, but the side wall along Main Street has been painted with a faux balcony, windows, and figures on the second floor, and on the ground floor a sign reading "Clarinda’s Hawley Opera House” and more figures, along with a painted “poster” advertising the opera Carmen.

A guide to Clarinda says: “Clarinda Hawley’s Opera House Mural The mural was painted by mural artist, Kelly Poling, featuring the former Hawley’s Opera House that used to be located in the building. The mural has created a beautiful focal point for the downtown area in preserving Clarinda’s historical culture.” There’s no clue as to what occupies the theater space now.

Hawley’s Opera House was still listed in the 1914 edition of the Iowa State Gazetteer and Business Directory, which probably went to press in late 1913, so 1914 is likely the year the name was changed to Bon-Ton Theatre. The directory also lists an Armory Opera House in Clarinda, probably the house that became the Armory Theatre.

Joe Vogel on February 11, 2017 at 4:10 pm

Here is a brief biography of architect/builder N. A. Olston. An article in Biographical History of Page County, Iowa, published in 1890, gives his first name as Nels.