Lakin Theatre
108 S. Main Street,
Lakin,
KS
67860
108 S. Main Street,
Lakin,
KS
67860
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This simple theatre appears to have opened in 1939. It was a very basic plastered box, with a wooden ticket booth in the center of the recessed entry.
The theatre was still open in 1946, but seems to have closed by 1951. It disappears from listings, although it is shown as closed in the 1956 Yearbook. Film showings seem to have moved to the high school auditorium.
The building seems to have been left vacant. It moldered away in the sleepy little downtown until sometime after 2010, when it seems to have been used for storage by a hardware store. The entry was visible until at least 2018, but is now covered by a sloppy plywood sliding door. The interior is likely long gone.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
It seems the address may originally have been 108, but 110 is now two or three doors south.
Here is something from the Hutchinson News of September 20, 1949: “Lakin Theater Changes Hands
“Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Johnson have purchased the Lakin theater here from Fred Munson, builder. Included in the transaction is the building which houses the movie, Brehm’s store, and the apartment above the two business locations.
“Munson built the theater less than three years ago and leased the other location to Brehm while operating the movie house himself. Johnson has been engaged in aerial crop spraying operations in Kearny and surrounding counties the past two years. He plans to continue this business during the spring and summer seasons while also operating the theater.”
The Kearny County Museum has a bit more information in a June, 2023 post on their web site: “The Lakin Theatre building on the east side of South Main was completed in 1947 by Fred Munson. He finished the building next door at 108 S. Main in early 1948, leasing it to Howard Brehm who operated Brehm’s Department Store there. The last business to operate at this site was Jim Powers’ barber shop.”
Jerry Johnson and the Lakin Theatre were mentioned in the December 16, 1950 issue of Boxoffice. He attended an exhibitors convention in Kansas City in 1954, noted in the May 15 issue of Boxoffice. An obituary for Gerald Lee Johnson says that he “…ran the Lakin Theater for many years….”
Not sure why a theater of the same name and identical capacity would show up in 1939, but I would expect that the article was correct, and this would then have opened in 1947. I’m not sure how four years of operation qualifies as ‘many’. Perhaps it reopened at some point? The building to the south must have been the store. It was a little taller, but that same Western Plains style of flat fronted white plaster.
I’m also a little confused how the building next door could have been 108. Maybe they were renumbered at some point? The fire station would presumably be 100, and likely occupies the lots for 102-106. My photo of the theater entry clearly shows a very old ‘108’ affixed above a door to the left of the entry. It can’t be seen here, and may have led to an apartment above, or the projection booth.
Johnson’s obituary was from 2012, so details of how long he had run the house had probably gone fuzzy. I wonder if the Lakin of 1939 could have been one of the town’s older theaters renamed and reopened for a while?
I added an AI generated image if it could have appeared in 1950.