Isis Theater
106 S. Washington Avenue,
Wellington,
KS
67152
106 S. Washington Avenue,
Wellington,
KS
67152
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This theater opened around 1909. It was located in an old two story brick commercial building constructed sometime between 1886 and 1891. Although this appears to be one of three storefronts, it’s actually a separate structure from the two to the south. This building was much deeper than its southern neighbor, making an ideal theater conversion. The 1905 map shows clothing/dry goods/shoes sold here.
Initially known as the Pioneer Theatre, it was renamed at some point. This theater is not listed in the 1914-15 AMPD, but it still appears on the 1922 map. It was closed in 1923 for conversion to a hardware store.
The building today appears rather threadbare. It still had the original windows in 2012, but these have been replaced by some very unattractive windows which themselves appear to be quite old. The tenant for the past decade or so had been a carpet store, but this seems to be closed.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
Accirding to the history of Wellington’s theaters on this web page, the theater at 106 S. Washington Avenue was opened by Ted Jocelyn as the Edison Electric Theater on September 13, 1907. The show was a great success, and the landlord, a Mr. Savage, grew envious and evicted Mr. Jocelyn and began operating the house himself in June, 1908, renaming it the Pioneer Picture Theater.
In 1910, Savage sold the house to the partnership of Clayton and Buford, who were already operating the Majestic Theater. They renamed the Pioneer Isis, and it continued to operate for more than a decade. The closure of the Isis by 1923 was probably a consequence of the opening of the much larger Ashland Theater in April, 1921.
Thanks for clarifying the history! I got most of it from your older comment on the Regent, and forgot to acknowledge you in the text.