Rex Theater
120 S. Main Street,
Albia,
IA
52531
120 S. Main Street,
Albia,
IA
52531
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This theater appears on the November 1922 Sanborn. It was located in an old two story brick building that was originally constructed as a livery (possibly Thompson’s) between 1899 and 1907. The 1913 map shows it as a garage.
This large building would have been an excellent candidate for conversion to a theater. It had an open floor and space for a small balcony. Unfortunately, with two purpose built theaters within a few blocks, this was probably not a success. The 1933 map shows it in use as a ‘Hall’. By 1947 it had reverted to retail.
The building was demolished many years ago. It was gone by the mid 1980’s at least. The site is now a parking lot.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
Based on information from a comment on the other large theater, this may actually have been the Rex, and the northern theater the Comet. There’s some conflict with dates, as the source article claims the Rex opened in 1923. The fact that the map was issued in 1922, when they were both open, and the next in 1933, when they had both closed, makes it hard to eliminate a name based on the dates.
This has to have been the Rex, which means the capacity was 500.
Some sources have the Rex opening in 1923, but it was clearly open by late 1922. Those sources say it closed in 1927, but it is listed in the Yearbook of Motion Pictures up until 1929.