Majestic Theatre
170 S. Elm Street,
Avoca,
IA
51521
170 S. Elm Street,
Avoca,
IA
51521
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The Majestic Theatre first appears on the 1909 Sanborn, in the southern storefront of the Opera House Block, a two-story brick structure that dated to 1877. The 1899 map shows a sample room located here.
The Opera House was still active in the upper story, and does not seem to have shown films. The Majestic Theatre is still active on the 1920 map, at which time the Opera House had become a dance hall. The Majestic Theatre was still open in 1926, but had closed by 1927.
In later years it became a True Value hardware store. The building today is in poor shape. The upper story appears derelict, and the ground floor has suffered a really awful remodel. The current occupant is a dentist.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
The 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory lists the Majestic, Bijou, Novelty, and Unique. Far too many theaters for a town of about 1,600. By 1925, only the Majestic is still listed.
A history of Pottawattamie County published in 1977 says that the Majestic was on Main street, which is an aka for Elm Street, so there is a possibility that this was the Majestic, especially considering that it was still a movie house on the 1920 Sanborn. In 1977 the Majestic’s building was occupied by a True Value hardware store, but I’ve been unable to confirm that store’s location.
Majestic and Harris are the only theater names noted in the history, but it says there was another silent era movie house, located on Lyon Street east of Elm, next to what was by 1977 Rubecks store. That one could have been either the Bijou, the Novelty, or the Unique. Rubeck’s (a regional grocery chain) is gone, but the only modern building that looks suitable for it is the one that now houses a Napa Auto Parts, with a bowling alley in the basement at 221 W. Lyon. The theater was probably on what is now a parking lot.
I found this 1906 photo of the Opera House block. The caption mentions a number of businesses that occupied the building over the years, but unfortunately the movie theater is not among them.
As your photo shows, this building was constructed in 1877, so we could update the entry.
It looked a lot nicer before they stripped the cornice off. The Exchange Block across the street got mistreated the same way. The Lyon St theater is still there. I created an entry. It’s the small building second from the corner. This has to have been the Majestic, since the page you found lists the True Value here. That jewelry store was gone by 1909, and the caption is in error saying that it came after the Opera House, which was on the second floor, and had nothing to do with what was in the storefronts.
It sounds like the addresses were changed over the years. The railroad tracks, which were south of Lyon, must have been the initial N-S divider. That also partially explains the Chuck-ism on the Harris listing. The divider is now High St, and it looks like odds and evens have traded sides.