Bijou Theatre
114 N. Broadway Street,
Toledo,
IA
52342
114 N. Broadway Street,
Toledo,
IA
52342
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This theatre first appears on the 1915 Sanborn, in a two story brick commercial building constructed sometime between 1892 and 1899. The 1906 map shows this location vacant, although it had previously been a dry goods store.
The name is taken from the 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory, which lists only one theatre in Toledo.
No later maps are available online to confirm, but it’s possible that this later became the Cozy Theatre, which appears in the 1926 listings with 240 seats, which seems about right for this structure. This theatre was renamed the Strand Theatre in 1929. There are no listings for Toledo in 1930, 1931 and later lists the Whiting, which is almost certainly a misspelling of Wieting, although the 240 seat capacity is still given.
It seems most likely that this theatre was killed off by the Depression, and converted back to retail. The building today is in decent shape. It seems to be used as a residence.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
If this house did become the Cozy, it had gotten that name by early 1922, when it was mentioned in the January 7 issue of Moving Picture World.
However, another theater name which might be another aka for this house or a different theater has surfaced. An item datelined Toledo, Ia, in the December 22, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World said that “Grand theater, formerly operated by W. B. Persons, has been taken over by J. J. Fomey.” The Grand is also mentioned in the October 14, 1916 issue of Motography.