Auditorium Theatre
105-107 N. Main Street,
Benton,
IL
68212
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This large theatre was constructed sometime between 1900 and 1910, replacing a house and a small wooden store. The front was a 2-story brick commercial structure, with the auditorium section placed behind it in an ‘L’, filling the northwest quarter of the block, with the stage at the north wall. Entry seems to have been by a covered staircase on the south wall of the office section, and also by stairs from the alley.
The 1910 map shows the ground floor of the rear section used as an implement dealership, with an ‘opera house’ above. ‘Moving Pictures’ are noted. It was listed in the 1914-1915 edition of American Motion Picture Directory as McFalls Auditorium. The 1915 map makes no mention of movies, but the opera house remains. By 1925, the rear section is in use as a hardware and furniture warehouse.
The rear section especially seems to have been cut up and remodeled over the years, and the fly tower is missing. The front section has been heavily remodeled on the ground floor, and serves as a law office.
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