Current use is an appliance dealer, and the sentence about the Castle should be removed as irrelevant and outdated. The first sentence is also incorrect, there was at least one other.
Dates are wrong. This theater first appears on the Feb. 1913 Sanborn. The building was an old commercial structure from before 1886. The 1905 map shows a clothing store there.
Between 1913 and 1921, it was nearly doubled in depth, and you can see a seam in the brick on the north wall where this was done. The addition included a lot of windows and a doorway, so it’s unlikely the auditorium was enlarged.
This may have been the theater at 702 S River Park Dr. It’s the only theater shown on the 1914 map, and it’s in the ground floor of a very old (1850s?) three-story stone commercial building, which seems to now be apartments, if the blurry mess on streetview is to be believed. It’s a very strange location, way off to one edge of downtown. The 1902 Sanborn shows it as the Wiest & Class general store.
The building was built in 1884, and was a dry goods store for many years. It’s shown as vacant on the 1913 map. It was apparently damaged when the old masonic lodge next door (then the restaurant) burned down sometime before 2015.
Found a postcard from 1956 or so (going by the last model of car), and this was still in good shape, and two stories. Most or all of the ground floor looks like it was a Rexall. 1960 was the peak census, and I think the downtown declined a lot after that.
There actually was a three story building just north of the Ritz. It also was constructed after the 1906 map, and on the 1914 map, the third floor is a ‘Hall’. Perhaps that was the new opera house? Odd that it was right across the street from an opera house shown on the 1906 map, and a hall on the 1914 map.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Aug 21, 2023 at 9:12 am
Note that this historic address was 40, but this block had been renumbered by 1918.
The only possible theater on the Jan. 1906 map is an opera house in the upper stories of 9-13 N Frederick. That is just a ‘Hall’ on the 1914 map, and the building is still there.
Dates are incorrect. This theater appears on the 1918 Sanborn as Nixon’s Academy Theatre, with a capacity of 1,070. The building itself is much older. It was built sometime before 1887 as the Baldwin Hotel, and contained from the beginning a theater space called the Academy of Music.
Sometime after 1910, the building was extensively remodeled into ‘The Arcade’. The 5th floor was added. The eastern portion got a more elaborate facade than the rest, and became a department store. The auditorium was extensively remodeled, becoming both wider and quite a bit deeper. It appears that a multi-layered set of balconies was replaced by a single, deeper balcony.
I have added both a 1910 and 1918 view, as a before/after.
Address is wrong, and this has been demolished. Downtown is completely trashed, so it was hard to figure out where this was. It was where the ugly modern bank is. The theater was at 8 N Frederick. The dates are also wrong, since the theater appears on the 1914 Sanborn (replacing a large wooden house on the 1906 map).
There are Sanborns from the mid-20s and early 40s, but I can’t find them online. We need someone with an Iowa State ID, I think. That would help fill in the gaps.
Yeah, I knew that Palace aka couldn’t be right. I know where the Opera House was. I’ll add it. Do you know anything more about dates, etc. for that one?
The NRHP listing, which seems meticulously researched, gave the end date. I thought it was odd that there was no name given for such a long tenure. They say it only had a few historical tenants - bank, theater, and Sears (which combined two buildings). There was new lighting/ceiling installed in 1948, which might show up in trade journals. Anyhow, I think you’ve got the name and capacity, and we know it was open as late as 1950.
Current use is an appliance dealer, and the sentence about the Castle should be removed as irrelevant and outdated. The first sentence is also incorrect, there was at least one other.
Dates are wrong. This theater first appears on the Feb. 1913 Sanborn. The building was an old commercial structure from before 1886. The 1905 map shows a clothing store there.
Between 1913 and 1921, it was nearly doubled in depth, and you can see a seam in the brick on the north wall where this was done. The addition included a lot of windows and a doorway, so it’s unlikely the auditorium was enlarged.
Quite obviously did not have a red brick facade, and the window trim is obviously light brick. Needs to be changed to demolished.
This may have been the theater at 702 S River Park Dr. It’s the only theater shown on the 1914 map, and it’s in the ground floor of a very old (1850s?) three-story stone commercial building, which seems to now be apartments, if the blurry mess on streetview is to be believed. It’s a very strange location, way off to one edge of downtown. The 1902 Sanborn shows it as the Wiest & Class general store.
Building is now a beauty salon. Streetview has very poor coverage, but if you look from Lawler north of the intersection, you can see it fairly well.
Cozy almost certainly wasn’t the opera house. It was open until 1918, but must never have showed movies.
I am pretty sure that it was. There is an opera house, and I’ve asked Ken for more information about that.
The building was built in 1884, and was a dry goods store for many years. It’s shown as vacant on the 1913 map. It was apparently damaged when the old masonic lodge next door (then the restaurant) burned down sometime before 2015.
The city demolished the sad remains in late November 2022. It apparently was damaged in the tornado of 1968.
Can’t believe I walked right past this and decided not to bother!
Probably accounts for a lot of the ugly buildings and empty lots, but the town was pretty sad when i was there in 2009.
Found a postcard from 1956 or so (going by the last model of car), and this was still in good shape, and two stories. Most or all of the ground floor looks like it was a Rexall. 1960 was the peak census, and I think the downtown declined a lot after that.
There actually was a three story building just north of the Ritz. It also was constructed after the 1906 map, and on the 1914 map, the third floor is a ‘Hall’. Perhaps that was the new opera house? Odd that it was right across the street from an opera house shown on the 1906 map, and a hall on the 1914 map.
Note that this historic address was 40, but this block had been renumbered by 1918.
Thanks for finding the name!
The only possible theater on the Jan. 1906 map is an opera house in the upper stories of 9-13 N Frederick. That is just a ‘Hall’ on the 1914 map, and the building is still there.
Perhaps the Orpheum is what later became the Ritz?
Then this was for sure the Gem. Orpheum must have been elsewhere, but it was not where the Grand is today.
Dates are incorrect. This theater appears on the 1918 Sanborn as Nixon’s Academy Theatre, with a capacity of 1,070. The building itself is much older. It was built sometime before 1887 as the Baldwin Hotel, and contained from the beginning a theater space called the Academy of Music.
Sometime after 1910, the building was extensively remodeled into ‘The Arcade’. The 5th floor was added. The eastern portion got a more elaborate facade than the rest, and became a department store. The auditorium was extensively remodeled, becoming both wider and quite a bit deeper. It appears that a multi-layered set of balconies was replaced by a single, deeper balcony.
I have added both a 1910 and 1918 view, as a before/after.
Picture incorrectly posted under another listing shows this theater was still open in 1925. Unknown when this was chopped down to one story.
Address is wrong, and this has been demolished. Downtown is completely trashed, so it was hard to figure out where this was. It was where the ugly modern bank is. The theater was at 8 N Frederick. The dates are also wrong, since the theater appears on the 1914 Sanborn (replacing a large wooden house on the 1906 map).
I bet that’s his garage/dealership right next door. Almost the entire block has now been laid waste for a parking lot.
There are Sanborns from the mid-20s and early 40s, but I can’t find them online. We need someone with an Iowa State ID, I think. That would help fill in the gaps.
Yeah, I knew that Palace aka couldn’t be right. I know where the Opera House was. I’ll add it. Do you know anything more about dates, etc. for that one?
The NRHP listing, which seems meticulously researched, gave the end date. I thought it was odd that there was no name given for such a long tenure. They say it only had a few historical tenants - bank, theater, and Sears (which combined two buildings). There was new lighting/ceiling installed in 1948, which might show up in trade journals. Anyhow, I think you’ve got the name and capacity, and we know it was open as late as 1950.