Elite Theatre
402 E. Coolbaugh Street,
Red Oak,
IA
51566
402 E. Coolbaugh Street,
Red Oak,
IA
51566
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This theatre opened around 1908 in the ground floor of the Houghton building, a large three story brick commercial and office building which was constructed in 1902. It replaced an earlier short-lived Houghton Block which was constructed sometime in the 1890’s, and may have burned.
Initially, the theatre had entrances both on the east side and at the front, forming an ‘L’ around a bank in the western corner of the building. By 1914, the side entrance had been turned into more retail space, and the auditorium had been extended all the way to the rear of the building.
This theatre closed by 1927 at the latest, and the space was used as retail. The building today is in decent shape, with apartments on the upper floors. Use of the old theatre space is unclear.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
This item that appeared in the February 7, 1914 issue of Motography might have been related to the remodeling that included the closure of the house’s second entrance: “The Elite theater, in the Houghton building, Red Oak, opened recently.”
I’ve added an older photo of mine, as well as 1908 and 1914 Sanborns showing how the arrangement changed.