I added a listing for one of these, with a West Frankfort address. Frankfort Heights seems to no longer exist, post-office wise. I understand the Frankfort Heights PO burned in 2004. The zip code must have been eliminated at that point. Anyway, since this is a very bad listing with nothing but a name, it should probably be removed or replaced. It’s possible that two theaters were operating when the Tri-State Tornado came through, but there was definitely only one on either the 1919 map or the 1928 map. The 1928 theater was in a newer building next to the building that had the theater in 1919.
This listing has a lot of bad information. The address is wrong, it should be 213 (the empty lot next to the old garage/Honda dealer). The dates are also wrong, since the theater appears on the 1928 map (but not 1919).
If the 226 address is accurate, the Rex aka is wrong. The Rex was in the one story building at 224. The Rex is shown on the September 1914 Sanborn with a note: ‘To Be Motion Pictures’. It remains in operation on the 1928 map. Either it closed permanently and the Roxy opened at 226, or we have the wrong address for the Roxy, and that was a brief reopening. I can’t understand people complaining that the Rex building was small since it obviously has a much higher ceiling than 226, so I suspect these are different theaters.
Another very poor listing with no information. It may have become the Strand in 1927, but the 1919 map shows it as the Star. The building does not appear on the 1914 map. The ‘Opera House’ aka is spurious; this was never an opera house. The 1928 map shows the address as 104-106. 100-102 belonged to a lumber yard closer to the railroad.
There are two theaters on the 1926 map, but based on the description, I am positive that this was the brick building at 113 S Main. It’s still in very good shape, and seems to be used as a car repair shop.
The 1905 Cahn guide has a Sterling Opera House with a capacity of 425. This was almost certainly somewhere else, as the timeline and low capacity don’t match this structure.
Needs to be listed as demolished. The purported address makes no sense. Main runs E-W, so there has never been a N Main. I suggest 125 N 2nd St, which on the 1918 map is an empty space between a two-story brick building, and a two-story concrete block dealership. That matches up pretty well with what’s shown in one photo. That whole corner is now a parking lot.
The address is gibberish. This is like saying the address is Interstate. A Farm to Market Road always has a number (FM 1960, for instance). In addition, this must have an actual street name when it runs through town.
It’s possible the theater did move, but the numbers are a bit inconsistent. The building to the east now has an address of 106, and the theater seems to be using 100 Cedar, which would have belonged to the bank on the corner (I think that the old theater space has been incorporated into the building on the corner.). The old fire station would have had a lot more room to run a theater in. The fire department would have likely moved out when the new power plant was built. The 1921 map says that it contained city hall and the fire department as well, but it’s not quite clear where they would have fit. At any rate, by 1921 ‘102’ is labeled ‘Dead Auto Storage’.
Website needs to be corrected to: https://www.hippodromeartscentre.com/
From the history section on the website, it was closed in December 1922, purchased in March 1923 (and presumably reopened shortly thereafter), sold again in March 1924, remodeled and renamed the Chaka, and closed around June of 1996. It then reopened under the Hippodrome name sometime around early 1997. No mention of the Hipp name, which I suspect is just a nickname.
I’m wondering how old the sign really is. It certainly looks like the original, but it definitely wasn’t on the building in the older photos. Either they found it down in the basement, or they recreated it.
Website needs to be corrected to: https://peerlesstheatre.com/
This theater was open by 1921. The building does not appear on the 1911 map. The auditorium was originally quite a bit narrower than the front. Looking at the back on streetview, it seems quite modern, and the roofline is definitely a different shape than on the ‘50s postcard.
I added a listing for one of these, with a West Frankfort address. Frankfort Heights seems to no longer exist, post-office wise. I understand the Frankfort Heights PO burned in 2004. The zip code must have been eliminated at that point. Anyway, since this is a very bad listing with nothing but a name, it should probably be removed or replaced. It’s possible that two theaters were operating when the Tri-State Tornado came through, but there was definitely only one on either the 1919 map or the 1928 map. The 1928 theater was in a newer building next to the building that had the theater in 1919.
This listing has a lot of bad information. The address is wrong, it should be 213 (the empty lot next to the old garage/Honda dealer). The dates are also wrong, since the theater appears on the 1928 map (but not 1919).
This must be a very early picture, since by 1919 there was a building to the left, and the side wall wouldn’t be visible.
If the 226 address is accurate, the Rex aka is wrong. The Rex was in the one story building at 224. The Rex is shown on the September 1914 Sanborn with a note: ‘To Be Motion Pictures’. It remains in operation on the 1928 map. Either it closed permanently and the Roxy opened at 226, or we have the wrong address for the Roxy, and that was a brief reopening. I can’t understand people complaining that the Rex building was small since it obviously has a much higher ceiling than 226, so I suspect these are different theaters.
Another very poor listing with no information. It may have become the Strand in 1927, but the 1919 map shows it as the Star. The building does not appear on the 1914 map. The ‘Opera House’ aka is spurious; this was never an opera house. The 1928 map shows the address as 104-106. 100-102 belonged to a lumber yard closer to the railroad.
There are two theaters on the 1926 map, but based on the description, I am positive that this was the brick building at 113 S Main. It’s still in very good shape, and seems to be used as a car repair shop.
The 1921 Sanborn has a capacity of 750.
Not demolished, the old railway station is very obviously still there.
That sounds like a double to me!
The 1905 Cahn guide has a Sterling Opera House with a capacity of 425. This was almost certainly somewhere else, as the timeline and low capacity don’t match this structure.
Maybe? We definitely need to add America, with no ‘N’, as an aka.
Thanks, I’ll list the Opera House. Very fleeting existence, and I wasn’t sure about it.
I didn’t mean that the address was wrong, only that old directories, etc. would give a different one! It is now 120.
Obviously not three stories tall, but one, possibly later remodeled to two.
Address while this theater was operating was 114, and it was definitely still open in 1918.
Needs to be listed as demolished. The purported address makes no sense. Main runs E-W, so there has never been a N Main. I suggest 125 N 2nd St, which on the 1918 map is an empty space between a two-story brick building, and a two-story concrete block dealership. That matches up pretty well with what’s shown in one photo. That whole corner is now a parking lot.
That’s much better than the one on the Illinois site, and looks contemporaneous.
This was possibly the Photoplay or Silver Cloud, based on information from Ken Roe.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who hates looking at a streetview of downtown and getting state highway or county road designations.
The address is gibberish. This is like saying the address is Interstate. A Farm to Market Road always has a number (FM 1960, for instance). In addition, this must have an actual street name when it runs through town.
It’s possible the theater did move, but the numbers are a bit inconsistent. The building to the east now has an address of 106, and the theater seems to be using 100 Cedar, which would have belonged to the bank on the corner (I think that the old theater space has been incorporated into the building on the corner.). The old fire station would have had a lot more room to run a theater in. The fire department would have likely moved out when the new power plant was built. The 1921 map says that it contained city hall and the fire department as well, but it’s not quite clear where they would have fit. At any rate, by 1921 ‘102’ is labeled ‘Dead Auto Storage’.
Website needs to be corrected to: https://www.hippodromeartscentre.com/
From the history section on the website, it was closed in December 1922, purchased in March 1923 (and presumably reopened shortly thereafter), sold again in March 1924, remodeled and renamed the Chaka, and closed around June of 1996. It then reopened under the Hippodrome name sometime around early 1997. No mention of the Hipp name, which I suspect is just a nickname.
I’m wondering how old the sign really is. It certainly looks like the original, but it definitely wasn’t on the building in the older photos. Either they found it down in the basement, or they recreated it.
This is definitely the Peerless. It’s strange they call it Main St, since it has never been called that. I guess they’re just using a generic term.
Website needs to be corrected to: https://peerlesstheatre.com/
This theater was open by 1921. The building does not appear on the 1911 map. The auditorium was originally quite a bit narrower than the front. Looking at the back on streetview, it seems quite modern, and the roofline is definitely a different shape than on the ‘50s postcard.
That 1913 mention has to be the Akron.