Palace Theatre
128 E. Main Street,
Anthony,
KS
67003
128 E. Main Street,
Anthony,
KS
67003
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Additional Info
Architects: Charles William Bulger, Isaac Hamilton Rapp
Previous Names: Grand Opera House, Opera House Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Grand Opera House was opened on December 18, 1887. It was upstairs on the second floor of the building. This theater had the stage at the front of the building. By 1926, it was showing movies, and had been renamed to the Palace Theatre. The capacity was reduced to 400, possibly by closure of the balcony. It was demolished by 1935 to be replaced by the present Anthony Municipal Hall.
Contributed by
john story
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
There is a Grand Opera House in Anthony KS listed in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. This guide does not list street addresses. Jennison & Rice were managers of the Grand OH. It had 900 seats and was upstairs on the second floor. The proscenium opening was 24 feet wide X 20 feet high, and the stage was 25 feet deep. There were 2 hotels for show folk, and 2 weekly newspapers. The population of Anthony as of 1897 was 2,500.
The 1889 edition of Jeffrey’s guide lists the Anthony Opera House with 850 seats (folding opera chairs) and a stage 24x60. The builders of the Anthony Opera House went out of state to Trinidad, Colorado for their architects, the Trinidad firm of Bulger & Rapp (Charles William Bulger and Isaac Hamilton Rapp.) The firm lasted for less than five years, after which Bulger left Trinidad, and Rapp was joined there by his brother William Rapp, forming a firm called Rapp & Rapp (not to be confused with the Chicago firm of the same name operated by Isaac and William’s older brothers Cornelius and George.)
This PDF file of the NRHP application for the Bulger & Rapp-designed Zion’s German Lutheran Church in Trinidad mentions the Anthony project, saying that the opera house was dedicated and opened on December 13, 1887. Bulger had been a prominent resident of Anthony for some time before moving to Trinidad.
I’ve added some more information to this very poor listing. This does not appear in the 1914-15 AMPD, nor in the 1926 Yearbook. Did it ever show movies?
The 1914 Gus Hill directory lists the Grand Opera House at Anthony as playing only roadshows. By that year it was listing most small town theaters as showing both R (roadshows) and P (pictures.) It is also listed with only 650 seats. It might be that the gallery had been abandoned.
The 1929 FDY lists the Novelty and a house called the Palace at Anthony, each with 400 seats. I wonder if Palace could have been an aka for the old Opera House?
DMT had added a picture of the Palace to the Novelty listing. I’ve asked that it be moved here. I’ll add the AKA.