Ada Theatre

Robert S. Patton built the Patton Block Building in 1891 on the Monmouth Square. In the early-1900, the Pattee Opera House experimented with short films which helped to launch a movie theater boom in downtown Monmouth which included the Alamo Theatre, the Lyric Theatre and the Bijou Theatre. In 1909, the Patton Block was home to the first of three theaters in the building’s history, the LeGrande Theatre.

Mrs. A.M. Osborne purchased the LeGrandeTheatre in 1910 and rebranded it as the Arrow Theatre. Osborne’s tagline for the Arrow Theatre was “strictly first class pictures.” She would also launch the Alamo Theatre and took on the Princess Theatre and renamed it the Family Theatre on February 18, 1918. The Arrow Theatre was an early casualty as the town could not support the growing number of movie theaters.

However, the Patton Block would be home to one more theatre. The Ada Theatre launched there in April of 1934. The diminutive 190-seat theatre was located on the third floor before moving to the more convenient first floor. Its positioning statement was, “The little house with big pictures”. The Monmouth Theatre Company took on the Ada Theatre late in 1937 while the Rivoli Theatre got its big makeover becoming a Streamlined Moderne style theatre. When the new-look Rivoli Theatre opened, the Ada Theatre closed for good in 1938. The Patton Block still existed into the 21st Century though theater-less.

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