Watson Theatre

Graettinger’s Opera House was a fine two story brick building in a rather blocky style which indicates it was probably built sometime after 1900. It appears on the first map of town, in 1916.

It’s unknown exactly when movies began to be shown, but by 1927, it was listed as operating with 400 seats. By 1934, the capacity had been reduced to 250, likely by the closure of a balcony. From 1935 to 1950, it was known as the Hawk Eye (likely actually Hawkeye), with a possible capacity increase to 300 in the 1940’s. By 1950, it had become the Watson Theatre, with the capacity back to 250. It remained open until 1956, but does not appear in the 1957 listings.

It seems to have later become the Hawkeye Apartments, but it has been gone for many years. The site is now a park.

The historical address seems to have been 107-109, but the addresses were later switched to increase west from the railroad tracks, rather than increase towards them. Many thanks to Ken Roe for providing the listings.

Get Movie Tickets & Showtimes

Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.