According to the NRHP listing for downtown, the western portion was originally the east end of the Union Block, a large structure that runs all the way to the corner. This theater may have been Blackstone’s, and then become the State.
This theater was built by Michael A. Switow, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, who lived in Shelbyville. He converted his candy store into the first Dream Theatre after seeing a movie in Chicago. He and his family eventually owned over 40 theaters, and this must have been an early addition.
The 1916 map calls it ‘The Grace’, and gives a capacity of 500. The building then had shallow one-story section at the front. This had a wide entry flanked by narrow retail spaces, one of which is the obligatory barber. The auditorium is covered by a peaked roof, and there is a fly tower at the rear. The whole was built in brick. It’s possible that some of the rear of the structure dates to the original theater, since the brick is a different color on the front.
168 seems ridiculously low even without using the balconies. The 1913 Sanborn shows the capacity as 1,000. The 1909-10 Cahn guide gives a total capacity of 925 (orchestra 350, balcony 300, gallery 275).
The correct address today is 107. The building was constructed some time before 1883, when the map shows the northern 2/3 as a ‘Fire Eng. Ho.’, with the foundation of the southern third (to be a hook & ladder house) laid. It was still used as the city hall/fire station on the 1913 map, with an address of 107-111. Unfortunately, no later maps are available online. The building today is office space. I neglected to take a picture for some reason.
By the way, the address is completely bogus. The original name of the street was Greenville, but by 1951 it was S Commerce St. The original address was probably 120-122, but it is now 116.
The Town Hall was built sometime between 1895 and 1901. From the beginning, there was an ‘opera house’ on the second floor, which had a deep balcony with a small U-shaped cutout in the center. As late as the 1920 map, it does not seem to be used as a cinema.
The 1951 map shows something much like the photo, and the balcony has been drastically remodeled to a sort of angled C-shape. At this point the other theater in town has closed, and it’s unlikely that such a small town could have supported two at once.
The ground floor was always city offices, but today the space is used by the fire department, which was housed in the little building to the left while the theater was operating.
This was a direct replacement of the old Grand Opera House, which occupied nearly the same space since sometime before 1886. There was originally a small stream called Mill Run along the south wall, but this was paved over, probably during construction of the new theater.
The building which became the Princess first appears on the 1891 map, with the note ‘Being Built’. It was a three-story brick building with a stone front. The 1894 map shows a store in this location.
The 1910 map shows the theater using a 15hp gas engine and 10kw dynamo to power the operation. Sometime between 1910 and 1928, it seems the theater was expanded into number 19 to the west. This had originally been an odd one-story structure with a narrower wooden front on a brick rear. On the 1928 map, it has been greatly expanded in the rear and the front reconstructed in brick. An intermittent partition wall is still shown, but the ‘Movies’ legend is written diagonally across both spaces.
The 1955 map shows the space as vacant. Most of the block was destroyed long ago, and aside from the State theater complex and a bit on the SW corner, is a wasteland of surface parking, with a few ugly modern structures scattered about.
Actually, Fountain Ave is the E-W dividing line. The first block East and West is 1-99, then 100s in the second block. The 1955 map shows this as the Civic Theatre. It’s not clear whether that’s a name or function, but the ‘Movie’ note from the 1928 map has disappeared. It looks like it had stage and scenery until the end. This is another block that was completely destroyed due to neglect and the collapse of Springfield’s economy and downtown. By at least 2007, the whole thing was a vacant lot, but there is now a hospital and ocean of parking covering it.
We should probably split this listing, as the first Liberty was completely demolished to be replaced by the new one.
Not sure when exactly the first theater opened. The 1910 map shows a 2 story commercial building on the site, which appears to have been remodeled into the theater by putting up a new facade, and extending the rear of the building by a fair amount to create an auditorium. Strangely, the building to the east, visible on the right of the old photo, originally was much deeper, and had an angled corner at the rear, meaning that the auditorium got wider at the very back, likely behind the screen.
Joe is right, there was never a hotel in this building. Most of it was bank offices, and there were some stores in the ground floor. The auditorium was a 3-4 story brick structure that completely filled in the ‘L’. It’s still shown on the 1955 map.
The 1910 map shows the ‘Billy S. Clifford Theatre’ had quite a large balcony. Perhaps this was torn out in the remodel. There is indeed an armory on the upper two stories.
The 1909-10 Cahn guide calls it the New Clifford Theatre, and gives the capacity as 1,200. Billy was the owner, while Ed. C. Clifford is listed as the manager.
This theater is shown on the 1910 map. The building was constructed sometime before 1885 (likely not too long before, judging from the style). It was originally the masonic temple. The 1901 map shows the theater location as a grocery.
As originally built, the main three story structure had a smaller two story annex on the rear, connected by a short extension on the north side. The 1910 map shows that the gap has been filled in, although the theater is still separated from the rear section by a wall.
By the 1924 map, the annex has been demolished and replaced by a long one-story auditorium that extends all the way to the alley, and, while wider than the northern storefront, is not quite as wide as the front section, leaving a narrow alley along the south wall.
The setup remains the same on the 1950 map, but the rear half of the auditorium has been demolished.
The 1909 map shows this space as a store. It was the southern half of the Railroad Store, which offered ‘Dry Goods, Clothing, Shoes, Hats, Carpets and Bargains’.
SethG
commented about
Pictoriumon
Apr 14, 2021 at 5:17 pm
To be fair to Richmond, this theater was likely badly damaged in a huge gas explosion that took place under a sporting goods store located on the SE corner of 6th and Main. The gas explosion was followed by the gunpowder stored in the basement of Marting Arms. The local gas company had been grossly negligent, as had the sporting goods store, and 41 people died. 21 buildings near the site were condemned. This took place April 6, 1968.
While the building remains in an aerial photo of the aftermath, at the very least all the windows would have been broken. Only the solidly built little ‘50s office building on the corner seems to have escaped being condemned.
The building this theater had been in was located just behind an old commercial building on the corner of 6th and Main. It housed Vigran’s Variety Store, and was directly across 6th from Marting Arms. The explosion obliterated it, and all inside died. An aerial photo of the aftermath shows that this building was reduced to a roofless shell. It must have been demolished shortly thereafter.
To be fair to Richmond, this theater was badly damaged in a huge gas explosion that took place under a sporting goods store located up on the corner of 6th and Main. The gas explosion was followed by the gunpowder stored in the basement of Marting Arms. The local gas company had been grossly negligent, as had the sporting goods store, and 41 people died. 21 buildings near the site were condemned. This took place April 6, 1968.
The day of the explosion, the movie showing was Elvis' ‘Stay Away Joe’. Damage included lots of plaster from the ceiling, and a large crack in the western wall. There don’t seem to have been any deaths there, but the attendees of the children’s matinee poured out into a street full of bricks and broken glass. Everything to the west of the theater was either obliterated by the explosion or destroyed by the fire which followed. The theater was saved by the fire department, but if it wasn’t condemned then, was gone by about 1972 when several blocks of Main became one of those awful pedestrian mall urban renewalists loved so much.
To be fair to Richmond, this theater was badly damaged in a huge gas explosion that took place under a sporting goods store located on the corner to the west. The gas explosion was followed by the gunpowder stored in the basement of Marting Arms. The local gas company had been grossly negligent, as had the sporting goods store, and 41 people died. 21 buildings near the site were condemned, including probably the theater. This took place April 6, 1968.
The theater was replaced by Bartel’s department store, which in older photos appears to have been built in the mid to late ‘20s. It was badly damaged in the 1968 disaster (Marting Arms was across the street). A car was thrown into the show windows and the entire second floor was apparently shifted a few inches back. It was then remodeled into what can be seen on streetview.
According to the NRHP listing for downtown, the western portion was originally the east end of the Union Block, a large structure that runs all the way to the corner. This theater may have been Blackstone’s, and then become the State.
This theater was built by Michael A. Switow, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, who lived in Shelbyville. He converted his candy store into the first Dream Theatre after seeing a movie in Chicago. He and his family eventually owned over 40 theaters, and this must have been an early addition.
The 1916 map calls it ‘The Grace’, and gives a capacity of 500. The building then had shallow one-story section at the front. This had a wide entry flanked by narrow retail spaces, one of which is the obligatory barber. The auditorium is covered by a peaked roof, and there is a fly tower at the rear. The whole was built in brick. It’s possible that some of the rear of the structure dates to the original theater, since the brick is a different color on the front.
That makes sense. I wish I could get a copy of the 1927 or 1932 maps.
168 seems ridiculously low even without using the balconies. The 1913 Sanborn shows the capacity as 1,000. The 1909-10 Cahn guide gives a total capacity of 925 (orchestra 350, balcony 300, gallery 275).
The correct address today is 107. The building was constructed some time before 1883, when the map shows the northern 2/3 as a ‘Fire Eng. Ho.’, with the foundation of the southern third (to be a hook & ladder house) laid. It was still used as the city hall/fire station on the 1913 map, with an address of 107-111. Unfortunately, no later maps are available online. The building today is office space. I neglected to take a picture for some reason.
Odds and evens must have switched sides at some point. Up until the 1948 map, the address is shown as 104.
By the way, the address is completely bogus. The original name of the street was Greenville, but by 1951 it was S Commerce St. The original address was probably 120-122, but it is now 116.
The Town Hall was built sometime between 1895 and 1901. From the beginning, there was an ‘opera house’ on the second floor, which had a deep balcony with a small U-shaped cutout in the center. As late as the 1920 map, it does not seem to be used as a cinema.
The 1951 map shows something much like the photo, and the balcony has been drastically remodeled to a sort of angled C-shape. At this point the other theater in town has closed, and it’s unlikely that such a small town could have supported two at once.
The ground floor was always city offices, but today the space is used by the fire department, which was housed in the little building to the left while the theater was operating.
This was a direct replacement of the old Grand Opera House, which occupied nearly the same space since sometime before 1886. There was originally a small stream called Mill Run along the south wall, but this was paved over, probably during construction of the new theater.
The building which became the Princess first appears on the 1891 map, with the note ‘Being Built’. It was a three-story brick building with a stone front. The 1894 map shows a store in this location.
The 1910 map shows the theater using a 15hp gas engine and 10kw dynamo to power the operation. Sometime between 1910 and 1928, it seems the theater was expanded into number 19 to the west. This had originally been an odd one-story structure with a narrower wooden front on a brick rear. On the 1928 map, it has been greatly expanded in the rear and the front reconstructed in brick. An intermittent partition wall is still shown, but the ‘Movies’ legend is written diagonally across both spaces.
The 1955 map shows the space as vacant. Most of the block was destroyed long ago, and aside from the State theater complex and a bit on the SW corner, is a wasteland of surface parking, with a few ugly modern structures scattered about.
Actually, Fountain Ave is the E-W dividing line. The first block East and West is 1-99, then 100s in the second block. The 1955 map shows this as the Civic Theatre. It’s not clear whether that’s a name or function, but the ‘Movie’ note from the 1928 map has disappeared. It looks like it had stage and scenery until the end. This is another block that was completely destroyed due to neglect and the collapse of Springfield’s economy and downtown. By at least 2007, the whole thing was a vacant lot, but there is now a hospital and ocean of parking covering it.
The address is incorrect. The theater entrance was at 24.
This entire city block was destroyed and replaced by a really ugly ‘70s city hall and an office tower.
We should probably split this listing, as the first Liberty was completely demolished to be replaced by the new one.
Not sure when exactly the first theater opened. The 1910 map shows a 2 story commercial building on the site, which appears to have been remodeled into the theater by putting up a new facade, and extending the rear of the building by a fair amount to create an auditorium. Strangely, the building to the east, visible on the right of the old photo, originally was much deeper, and had an angled corner at the rear, meaning that the auditorium got wider at the very back, likely behind the screen.
Joe is right, there was never a hotel in this building. Most of it was bank offices, and there were some stores in the ground floor. The auditorium was a 3-4 story brick structure that completely filled in the ‘L’. It’s still shown on the 1955 map.
The 1910 map shows the ‘Billy S. Clifford Theatre’ had quite a large balcony. Perhaps this was torn out in the remodel. There is indeed an armory on the upper two stories.
The 1909-10 Cahn guide calls it the New Clifford Theatre, and gives the capacity as 1,200. Billy was the owner, while Ed. C. Clifford is listed as the manager.
This theater is shown on the 1910 map. The building was constructed sometime before 1885 (likely not too long before, judging from the style). It was originally the masonic temple. The 1901 map shows the theater location as a grocery.
As originally built, the main three story structure had a smaller two story annex on the rear, connected by a short extension on the north side. The 1910 map shows that the gap has been filled in, although the theater is still separated from the rear section by a wall.
By the 1924 map, the annex has been demolished and replaced by a long one-story auditorium that extends all the way to the alley, and, while wider than the northern storefront, is not quite as wide as the front section, leaving a narrow alley along the south wall.
The setup remains the same on the 1950 map, but the rear half of the auditorium has been demolished.
1905 Cahn Guide gives the capacity as 600, manager C.O. Shuler.
The 1909 map shows this space as a store. It was the southern half of the Railroad Store, which offered ‘Dry Goods, Clothing, Shoes, Hats, Carpets and Bargains’.
To be fair to Richmond, this theater was likely badly damaged in a huge gas explosion that took place under a sporting goods store located on the SE corner of 6th and Main. The gas explosion was followed by the gunpowder stored in the basement of Marting Arms. The local gas company had been grossly negligent, as had the sporting goods store, and 41 people died. 21 buildings near the site were condemned. This took place April 6, 1968.
While the building remains in an aerial photo of the aftermath, at the very least all the windows would have been broken. Only the solidly built little ‘50s office building on the corner seems to have escaped being condemned.
The building this theater had been in was located just behind an old commercial building on the corner of 6th and Main. It housed Vigran’s Variety Store, and was directly across 6th from Marting Arms. The explosion obliterated it, and all inside died. An aerial photo of the aftermath shows that this building was reduced to a roofless shell. It must have been demolished shortly thereafter.
To be fair to Richmond, this theater was badly damaged in a huge gas explosion that took place under a sporting goods store located up on the corner of 6th and Main. The gas explosion was followed by the gunpowder stored in the basement of Marting Arms. The local gas company had been grossly negligent, as had the sporting goods store, and 41 people died. 21 buildings near the site were condemned. This took place April 6, 1968.
The day of the explosion, the movie showing was Elvis' ‘Stay Away Joe’. Damage included lots of plaster from the ceiling, and a large crack in the western wall. There don’t seem to have been any deaths there, but the attendees of the children’s matinee poured out into a street full of bricks and broken glass. Everything to the west of the theater was either obliterated by the explosion or destroyed by the fire which followed. The theater was saved by the fire department, but if it wasn’t condemned then, was gone by about 1972 when several blocks of Main became one of those awful pedestrian mall urban renewalists loved so much.
To be fair to Richmond, this theater was badly damaged in a huge gas explosion that took place under a sporting goods store located on the corner to the west. The gas explosion was followed by the gunpowder stored in the basement of Marting Arms. The local gas company had been grossly negligent, as had the sporting goods store, and 41 people died. 21 buildings near the site were condemned, including probably the theater. This took place April 6, 1968.
The theater was replaced by Bartel’s department store, which in older photos appears to have been built in the mid to late ‘20s. It was badly damaged in the 1968 disaster (Marting Arms was across the street). A car was thrown into the show windows and the entire second floor was apparently shifted a few inches back. It was then remodeled into what can be seen on streetview.