Drexel Theater
111 W. Ninth Street,
Coffeyville,
KS
67337
111 W. Ninth Street,
Coffeyville,
KS
67337
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Between 1885 and 1890, several two story brick buildings were constructed along West 9th Street, as the rapidly growing town acquired a more permanent character. These replaced a haphazard collection of wooden shacks. The Savage Building at 111-113 W 9th was the easternmost of these, and then used the 109-111 addresses.
By 1908, the eastern storefront of this Italianate structure housed a bank, but the July 1913 Sanborn shows this section greatly extended, and converted to a theater. This was the Drexel Theatre, which opened October 8, 1910.
The theater closed May 31, 1920. The 1923 map shows it converted to a store. The town has roughly 4,000 fewer residents today than when the theater opened. The building today is in pretty dire shape.
Coffeyville erected really awful urban ‘renewal’ awnings all down this block, and every building also had a cheap and unattractive ground floor remodel. The cornice has fallen off, and the upper floors of this building are used to store junk. The central stair is boarded up. The ground floor of the theater space is a restaurant.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
This was the Drexel Theatre in the Savage Building. It opened on October 8, 1910 with alive vaudeville preso of “Sallie’s Visit.“ Operated by Earl Van Huyning and - later - Jay Perry, the Drexel mixed vaudeville and movies closing after 10 years at end of lease on May 31, 1920 with Jack Hoxie in "Smothering Tides” and Kathleen O'Connor in “The Lion Man” supported by Fay Tincher in “Marry Movies In,” and two serials" “In the Lion’s Den: The Lion Man (episode 5)” and “Lightning Bryce (Episode 14)”. Yep, there were 15 episodes so that must have been depressing.