Either the address or description are wrong. Washington St is the E-W divider, so this would have been 4 blocks off the square. Google coverage of town is uselessly bad, so I can’t find a possible location.
Another confusing listing full of errors. There is no Liberty St, and never has been. The odd side of Water would have been on the east side, not the west. May have been at the corner of S Water and E Mill? In any case the entire block was long ago eaten by an ugly monstrosity of city/county offices. The most ‘recent’ Sanborn is from 1913, and only shows houses along that part of the street. On the map there is a large 2 story block under construction along E Kansas, which seems to have the numbers 101-105 assigned to its western face. The next down is a house at 115.
Clearly opened earlier. The theater is on the 1920 Sanborn, when Bridge St was also known as Water. For some stupid reason, I took a picture of the building next door, but not this one. It is currently an antique store.
It’s odd that such a large old theater has next to no history in its listing. B&B certainly came up with the dullest possible name. Their claims in 2010 that the building was over 100 years old are false. The 1910 Sanborn shows the lot occupied by a huge oval wooden dance hall/skating rink, which also occupied the space which is currently a furniture store next door to the theater. A construction date around 1915-20 looks likely based on the architecture.
Also unusual is that the building does not appear on the 1909 Sanborn. On the 1922 map, it is listed as an ‘Opera House’, with a capacity of 300. Post-1910 construction of an opera house is very strange. In 1922, the ground floor tenants were a bowling alley and a saloon. Up until at least 1922, Main was Schiller, and the theater was on the corner with Boggs (now S 8th, with a N 8th on the other side of I-70). Not sure when they decided to be as boring as possible with the street names.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
May 8, 2019 at 6:31 pm
I’ve added a photo. I’m convinced that the NRHP listing is wrong, and we should not list this as demolished. Note the old-fashioned brickwork in the alley (especially the ‘column’), and the fact that almost the entire top of the Farmers Trust ghost ad is missing. It’s clear that the roofline was lowered, and the façade updated.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Apr 28, 2019 at 11:52 pm
This wasn’t the Stephens. That’s the Thespian Hall.
For some reason, both the 1910 and 1917 Sanborn maps spell the name as Stevens, which is wrong. It is however, interesting to note that it was not called the Lyric on the 1917 map. The second floor was used as a lodge hall. Lon Vest Stephens was governor of Missouri 1897-1901, and his brother W. Speed Stephens assisted in the operation of the theater. In late 2018, the stage had to be closed because the rigging ropes were too worn to be used safely. Hopefully it has reopened.
I wish the photos online weren’t so incompetently done. I think the building was extensively remodeled in 1950, rather than there having been new construction, based on the shape of the building being identical to the one on the maps. There appears to be an old roofline just above the plywood siding.
I guess you can remove my remark about the tenure being short. I’m surprised it was there so long without modifying the entry. Must have had pretty low traffic, since the ‘Mudd & Gibbons’ cast into the iron plate in front of the door (I’m sure this has an architectural name.) is hardly worn at all.
The building was built in 1881 for Phillip B. Linville, who constructed several of the buildings downtown. It was the original home of the Bank of Edina, before it moved to the corner in 1907. It was also home to the telephone exchange and the post office before it became a theater. I assume the name of the theater was a combination of Linville and Edina.
Address is wrong, and the map marker has ended up in Baring. There is no 123 N Main, the highest number is 121. The theater was at 304 E Lafayette. For some reason, there is no 302, and two storefronts numbered 304. Very soon after closing, it looks like it was converted to retail. It is currently vacant.
SethG
commented about
Airdomeon
Apr 19, 2019 at 8:41 am
On the maps, Washington St is 1st St N. It was apparently renamed sometime later.
SethG
commented about
Muzidomeon
Apr 19, 2019 at 8:41 am
On the maps, Washington St is 1st St N. It was apparently renamed sometime later.
Pretty sure the number was 124. The building appears to be a bar on the horrible 2008 streetview. It has gotten a really awful dumpy remodel of painted plywood siding over a formstone shopfront. Theater appears on the 1908 Sanborn, and on the 1914 map it has a tin cornice (probably installed when the building was constructed), which is now gone. Building appears on the 1893 map as a grocery and queensware store.
Address is wrong, as is the map marker. 115 is correct. 106 was almost certainly never a theater, since it is a tiny (but very deep) structure with an elaborate tin shopfront which is in original condition. Although Perry was certainly ‘big’ enough to have Sanborn coverage, I can’t find a map online.
The 1917 Sanborn shows a theater operating at 201 S Main, which is either the Orpheum or perhaps a predecessor. The building at this point was a 2-story brick commercial block of which the theater occupied the northern half. Current structure is a dumpy ‘70s or '80s thing which replaced 4 buildings on Main.
Progress incredibly slow. Building looks nearly identical to my first visit over 9 years ago. ‘Green’ has been painted up top, and I think the awning might be new. Lobby looks exactly the same, except now it’s full of stuff for the work.
Sometime in the last month, the roof fell in, popping nearly all of the south wall out onto the street. From the substantial brick construction revealed, it must be the original building with the top story removed. At any rate, it is for sure demolished now.
Either the address or description are wrong. Washington St is the E-W divider, so this would have been 4 blocks off the square. Google coverage of town is uselessly bad, so I can’t find a possible location.
Map marker is way too far out of downtown.
Another confusing listing full of errors. There is no Liberty St, and never has been. The odd side of Water would have been on the east side, not the west. May have been at the corner of S Water and E Mill? In any case the entire block was long ago eaten by an ugly monstrosity of city/county offices. The most ‘recent’ Sanborn is from 1913, and only shows houses along that part of the street. On the map there is a large 2 story block under construction along E Kansas, which seems to have the numbers 101-105 assigned to its western face. The next down is a house at 115.
According to the NRHP listing for downtown, this was built about 1910 as the State. Correct address is 117.
Clearly opened earlier. The theater is on the 1920 Sanborn, when Bridge St was also known as Water. For some stupid reason, I took a picture of the building next door, but not this one. It is currently an antique store.
It’s odd that such a large old theater has next to no history in its listing. B&B certainly came up with the dullest possible name. Their claims in 2010 that the building was over 100 years old are false. The 1910 Sanborn shows the lot occupied by a huge oval wooden dance hall/skating rink, which also occupied the space which is currently a furniture store next door to the theater. A construction date around 1915-20 looks likely based on the architecture.
Also unusual is that the building does not appear on the 1909 Sanborn. On the 1922 map, it is listed as an ‘Opera House’, with a capacity of 300. Post-1910 construction of an opera house is very strange. In 1922, the ground floor tenants were a bowling alley and a saloon. Up until at least 1922, Main was Schiller, and the theater was on the corner with Boggs (now S 8th, with a N 8th on the other side of I-70). Not sure when they decided to be as boring as possible with the street names.
I’ve added a photo. I’m convinced that the NRHP listing is wrong, and we should not list this as demolished. Note the old-fashioned brickwork in the alley (especially the ‘column’), and the fact that almost the entire top of the Farmers Trust ghost ad is missing. It’s clear that the roofline was lowered, and the façade updated.
This wasn’t the Stephens. That’s the Thespian Hall.
For some reason, both the 1910 and 1917 Sanborn maps spell the name as Stevens, which is wrong. It is however, interesting to note that it was not called the Lyric on the 1917 map. The second floor was used as a lodge hall. Lon Vest Stephens was governor of Missouri 1897-1901, and his brother W. Speed Stephens assisted in the operation of the theater. In late 2018, the stage had to be closed because the rigging ropes were too worn to be used safely. Hopefully it has reopened.
I wish the photos online weren’t so incompetently done. I think the building was extensively remodeled in 1950, rather than there having been new construction, based on the shape of the building being identical to the one on the maps. There appears to be an old roofline just above the plywood siding.
Thanks to Ken Roe for the name and some more history.
I guess you can remove my remark about the tenure being short. I’m surprised it was there so long without modifying the entry. Must have had pretty low traffic, since the ‘Mudd & Gibbons’ cast into the iron plate in front of the door (I’m sure this has an architectural name.) is hardly worn at all.
The building was built in 1881 for Phillip B. Linville, who constructed several of the buildings downtown. It was the original home of the Bank of Edina, before it moved to the corner in 1907. It was also home to the telephone exchange and the post office before it became a theater. I assume the name of the theater was a combination of Linville and Edina.
Address is wrong, and the map marker has ended up in Baring. There is no 123 N Main, the highest number is 121. The theater was at 304 E Lafayette. For some reason, there is no 302, and two storefronts numbered 304. Very soon after closing, it looks like it was converted to retail. It is currently vacant.
On the maps, Washington St is 1st St N. It was apparently renamed sometime later.
On the maps, Washington St is 1st St N. It was apparently renamed sometime later.
The bank building was constructed in 1914 according to the decorative tile on the front.
Pretty sure the number was 124. The building appears to be a bar on the horrible 2008 streetview. It has gotten a really awful dumpy remodel of painted plywood siding over a formstone shopfront. Theater appears on the 1908 Sanborn, and on the 1914 map it has a tin cornice (probably installed when the building was constructed), which is now gone. Building appears on the 1893 map as a grocery and queensware store.
Address is between 102-116.
Address is wrong, as is the map marker. 115 is correct. 106 was almost certainly never a theater, since it is a tiny (but very deep) structure with an elaborate tin shopfront which is in original condition. Although Perry was certainly ‘big’ enough to have Sanborn coverage, I can’t find a map online.
The 1917 Sanborn shows a theater operating at 201 S Main, which is either the Orpheum or perhaps a predecessor. The building at this point was a 2-story brick commercial block of which the theater occupied the northern half. Current structure is a dumpy ‘70s or '80s thing which replaced 4 buildings on Main.
Progress incredibly slow. Building looks nearly identical to my first visit over 9 years ago. ‘Green’ has been painted up top, and I think the awning might be new. Lobby looks exactly the same, except now it’s full of stuff for the work.
Sometime in the last month, the roof fell in, popping nearly all of the south wall out onto the street. From the substantial brick construction revealed, it must be the original building with the top story removed. At any rate, it is for sure demolished now.
How did the map marker get so badly lost?