After waiting for months and months after the city has been wanting an opera house for a while, the opera house was officially planned during the week of April 13, 1892. The original construction of the 48x124ft building was erected several days later facing the north on Thorington Street just north of the original First National Bank.
Original information about its planning featured offices on the first and second floors which were 30ft deep. The remaining 94ft will be the hall and auditorium which would occupy both stories with an arched ceiling measuring 24ft high, which gives a room of 90x47x24 in the clear with a gallery supported by iron pillars and otherwise fitted in first class opera house style. The Call name was named after Mr. Ambrose A. Call, who was the first owner of the theater as well as the one who erected the building with an estimate $25,000 in construction.
The Call Opera House then officially opened its doors to the public on February 9, 1893 with a live presentation of “Gloriana” along with musical performances by the Iowa State Band and opening announcements delivered by Lafe Young, a prominent politician at the time. Call formed his own Algona Opera House Company, with Harvey Ingham as president, T.F. Cook as the vice-president, S.S. Sessions as the secretary, and Charles C. St. Clair as the treasurer.
Norman C. Rice began taking over the theater in September 1916, which at the same time on September 23 would began screening silent movies. The Call Theatre would then install sound in 1929. Rice would later become the member of the Tri-State Theaters chain.
On September 1, 1936, the Call Opera House officially became local headlines following a box office sneak involving $70 being robbed led by former Algona boys Kenneth and Dick Neitzel, age 15 and 12, who lived in Fort Dodge at the time of the incident.
The end of its operation marks a devastating disaster as one of the most spectacular fires in the history of the city when the afternoon hours of April 28, 1937 rolled along. The fire was discovered at 2:15 PM CT in the afternoon that day and brought a $60,000-$75,000 loss. After the fire department arrived, they attempted to fight the fires inside but because of the smoke being too dense, they have no choice but to poor water out of their buckets and use their hoses to spray the exterior. The entire downtown was blanked with black smoke in the air and the entirety was watched by many.
Rice promised that a new theater will be built shortly after the fire demolished the former house which will have the same amount of seats as the old house, but that was immediately turned down. Instead, they moved in to the State Theatre which opened the previous year and changed its name to the New Call Theatre (which will have its own page on Cinema Treasures soon).
NOTE: I accidentally added a duplicate page on accident, I hope they can fix it soon.
Paramount-Publix opened the Valley Theatre on December 25, 1930 with Harold Lloyd in “Feet First” (unknown if extras added). The theater closed in 1952.
The theater features original installations of Simplex projectors, a Translite screen, and RCA sound. It originally accommodate 100 cars but it appears that it may’ve expanded to 175.
It was still open in the 1980s, but its closing date remains unknown. A 1995 aerial view shows the theater still standing but its traces were faded, while a 1993 topo still shows that the property is still a drive-in theater.
You’re right. The Sunrise Cinema in May 2001 fell into a $1 discount house before eventually closing for the final time on August 26, 2001. It was last operated by Bluegrass Theaters of Lexington, Kentucky.
The Madison Drive-In opened its gates on September 9, 1955 with Richard Widmark in “Red Skies Of Montana” (unknown if any short subjects were added), with a total capacity of 120 cars. It was once operated by Alfred Stevens during its later heyday.
The theater closed for the final time in the late-1980s.
The Orpheum opened in September 1916 and briefly closed on August 6, 1928 due to major remodeling which featured installations of a mix of mostly Spanish and some Italian and Moorish architectures. The theater reopened as the Granada on October 10, 1928.
It was once known as Lockport Cinema 4. In 1993, the theater was taken over by an independent chain known as WNY Theatres (who also operated three other theaters in the Buffalo area) after a five-year run as a Loews theater. The theater would then double the amount of screens and became the Lockport Cinema 8 in June 1994.
After all three screens were demolished in 1993, the Kmart began construction at the site and opened on April 14, 1994 as the second Kmart to operate in Antioch.
It became the only Kmart there after its other longtime Kmart location on Auto Center Drive closed the following year on August 27, 1995 after a 22-year run.
The Kmart closed on November 25, 2018 and the building is currently vacant.
As of 2023, the Kmart was still vacant, as well as the blue-roofed Burger King which closed in 2019. The 7-Eleven and Mobil (ex-Valero) gas stations were still operational to this very day, as well as a car wash next door.
The Chief Theatre opened its doors on August 30, 1951 with Rod Cameron in “Cavalry Scout” (unclear if any extras were added). It was first managed by Talmadge Kolb. It was closed in the early-1980s.
The Arrow Theatre closed for the final time on August 29, 1951 with “Quebec” (unclear if any short subjects were added) due to the opening of the Chief Theatre. The building became a relocated Bargain Center in January 1956.
The Sunset was operational as early as 1954 but it could be opened a few years prior than that. A 1958 aerial view shows the drive-in with a new screen, meaning that there’s probably an incident with its older screen.
The Sunset closed in the mid-1980s. It appears operational between 1982 and 1983, but a 1987 aerial view shows some of its traces being occupied by a newly-made road and a small parking lot.
Twinned in February 1973, tripled on Christmas Day 1980.
The Bridgehead 1-2-3 Drive-In closed for the final time on November 1, 1992. All three screens were removed the following year according to a 1993 aerial view.
Opened in August 2005.
After waiting for months and months after the city has been wanting an opera house for a while, the opera house was officially planned during the week of April 13, 1892. The original construction of the 48x124ft building was erected several days later facing the north on Thorington Street just north of the original First National Bank.
Original information about its planning featured offices on the first and second floors which were 30ft deep. The remaining 94ft will be the hall and auditorium which would occupy both stories with an arched ceiling measuring 24ft high, which gives a room of 90x47x24 in the clear with a gallery supported by iron pillars and otherwise fitted in first class opera house style. The Call name was named after Mr. Ambrose A. Call, who was the first owner of the theater as well as the one who erected the building with an estimate $25,000 in construction.
The Call Opera House then officially opened its doors to the public on February 9, 1893 with a live presentation of “Gloriana” along with musical performances by the Iowa State Band and opening announcements delivered by Lafe Young, a prominent politician at the time. Call formed his own Algona Opera House Company, with Harvey Ingham as president, T.F. Cook as the vice-president, S.S. Sessions as the secretary, and Charles C. St. Clair as the treasurer.
Norman C. Rice began taking over the theater in September 1916, which at the same time on September 23 would began screening silent movies. The Call Theatre would then install sound in 1929. Rice would later become the member of the Tri-State Theaters chain.
On September 1, 1936, the Call Opera House officially became local headlines following a box office sneak involving $70 being robbed led by former Algona boys Kenneth and Dick Neitzel, age 15 and 12, who lived in Fort Dodge at the time of the incident.
The end of its operation marks a devastating disaster as one of the most spectacular fires in the history of the city when the afternoon hours of April 28, 1937 rolled along. The fire was discovered at 2:15 PM CT in the afternoon that day and brought a $60,000-$75,000 loss. After the fire department arrived, they attempted to fight the fires inside but because of the smoke being too dense, they have no choice but to poor water out of their buckets and use their hoses to spray the exterior. The entire downtown was blanked with black smoke in the air and the entirety was watched by many.
Rice promised that a new theater will be built shortly after the fire demolished the former house which will have the same amount of seats as the old house, but that was immediately turned down. Instead, they moved in to the State Theatre which opened the previous year and changed its name to the New Call Theatre (which will have its own page on Cinema Treasures soon).
Its current marquee was installed in June 1949.
Paramount-Publix opened the Valley Theatre on December 25, 1930 with Harold Lloyd in “Feet First” (unknown if extras added). The theater closed in 1952.
The Palm was renamed the Rialto on August 31, 1924.
It was actually first operated by Cineplex Odeon before being taken over by Loews Cineplex.
Opened in October 2006.
The theater features original installations of Simplex projectors, a Translite screen, and RCA sound. It originally accommodate 100 cars but it appears that it may’ve expanded to 175.
It was still open in the 1980s, but its closing date remains unknown. A 1995 aerial view shows the theater still standing but its traces were faded, while a 1993 topo still shows that the property is still a drive-in theater.
The Lyric Theatre opened its doors on January 1, 1917 with “The Girl He Couldn’t Buy”, and was renamed the Strand Theatre in October 1925.
During its final years of operation, the theater had several ups-and-downs until the Strand closed for the final time in 1970.
You’re right. The Sunrise Cinema in May 2001 fell into a $1 discount house before eventually closing for the final time on August 26, 2001. It was last operated by Bluegrass Theaters of Lexington, Kentucky.
Closed in September 1916 when the theater moved next door.
The Main Line Drive-In closed in September 1975 after a months-long run of “Jaws”.
The Madison Drive-In opened its gates on September 9, 1955 with Richard Widmark in “Red Skies Of Montana” (unknown if any short subjects were added), with a total capacity of 120 cars. It was once operated by Alfred Stevens during its later heyday.
The theater closed for the final time in the late-1980s.
The Orpheum opened in September 1916 and briefly closed on August 6, 1928 due to major remodeling which featured installations of a mix of mostly Spanish and some Italian and Moorish architectures. The theater reopened as the Granada on October 10, 1928.
Opened on February 6, 1981 and closed in September 2007.
In June 1986, the Warner West became the first movie theater in England with THX-certified sound.
Its also the first THX-certified theater in Georgia.
Opened on December 22, 1978, closed on November 5, 2000.
Cinemark operated the 6-screener until July 25, 1991. This was followed by Hollywood Theaters and lastly Wallace Theaters.
It was once known as Lockport Cinema 4. In 1993, the theater was taken over by an independent chain known as WNY Theatres (who also operated three other theaters in the Buffalo area) after a five-year run as a Loews theater. The theater would then double the amount of screens and became the Lockport Cinema 8 in June 1994.
The theater closed on January 21, 2007.
After all three screens were demolished in 1993, the Kmart began construction at the site and opened on April 14, 1994 as the second Kmart to operate in Antioch.
It became the only Kmart there after its other longtime Kmart location on Auto Center Drive closed the following year on August 27, 1995 after a 22-year run.
The Kmart closed on November 25, 2018 and the building is currently vacant.
As of 2023, the Kmart was still vacant, as well as the blue-roofed Burger King which closed in 2019. The 7-Eleven and Mobil (ex-Valero) gas stations were still operational to this very day, as well as a car wash next door.
The Chief Theatre opened its doors on August 30, 1951 with Rod Cameron in “Cavalry Scout” (unclear if any extras were added). It was first managed by Talmadge Kolb. It was closed in the early-1980s.
The Arrow Theatre closed for the final time on August 29, 1951 with “Quebec” (unclear if any short subjects were added) due to the opening of the Chief Theatre. The building became a relocated Bargain Center in January 1956.
The Sunset was operational as early as 1954 but it could be opened a few years prior than that. A 1958 aerial view shows the drive-in with a new screen, meaning that there’s probably an incident with its older screen.
The Sunset closed in the mid-1980s. It appears operational between 1982 and 1983, but a 1987 aerial view shows some of its traces being occupied by a newly-made road and a small parking lot.
Twinned in February 1973, tripled on Christmas Day 1980.
The Bridgehead 1-2-3 Drive-In closed for the final time on November 1, 1992. All three screens were removed the following year according to a 1993 aerial view.