Electric Theater of Colfax

This entry is about four locations screening silent films in the nickelodeon era of Hollywood in diminutive Colfax, Illinois. Puett & Wood opened the Colfax Olympic Hall on October 12, 1899 in downtown Colfax. Within a year of its opening, in 1900, the venue presented motion pictures which may have been the first time Colfaxians saw the art form.

Colfax’s first dedicated movie house launched when Merrill and Gilmore opened their second Nickeldome (sometimes Nickledome) in the area - the first being in Chatsworth. The theater was a hit opening 1908. Meanwhile, that same year, Olympic Hall burned down. It was replaced by the Central Opera House which opened, after a skating event, with motion pictures in 1909.

The Colfax Electric Theatre launched on April 4, 1914 by Robert P. Keefe providing regular motion picture shows. The 235-seat theater had an Edison Model D projector and an electronic piano. The Central Opera House venue was renamed as the Colfax Opera House in 1916 by operator F.B. Frankberger. Its best years ended at the conclusion of World War I when small towns had a difficult time making money with live event opera houses. It was torn down in 1927 after falling into disuse.

The Colfax Electric Theatre was ostensibly replaced by a new-build theatre by H.A. Arnold. Arnold had purchased the Electric Theater from Keefe in 1917 as he was building the new venue. Arnold had a naming contest for the opera house / theater and J.L. Barnes won $5 in gold for coming up with the Colonial Theatre. Failed names included the Kimbark, Up-to-Date, Blue Moon, and the Castle Dome.

Arnold ran both the Colfax Electric Theater and the Colonial - at its launch on November 5, 1917 - concurrently for just over two months. Arnold closed the Electric Theatre on January 22, 1918 and moved the movie equipment to the Colonial beginning on January 24, 1918 with Bryant Washburn in “Fibbers”. The Colonial Theatre has its own Cinema Treasures entry.

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.