We began our renovation story in December of 2015 when we acquired the theater from Fred Saunders who purchased it from theater magnate Bob Fridley. Saunders was an awesome owner who loved the communities where he had his theaters and always offered to help build a community through education and entertainment. When the building fell to disrepair and film turned to digital, he gifted the theater to the city which turned it over to the Ida Grove Community Foundation, a non profit which had the purpose of encouraging the arts in Ida Grove and surrounding areas. With a six-month reprieve for a fallen back wall, the renovation took three years and three months to complete, opening in October of 2019, aptly with the live version of ‘The Lion King’. We seat 125 people and are handicap accessible with bathrooms on the main floor and four spots for wheelchair access. We have a balcony where 37 of our seats reside. Of course, the pandemic set growth back for three months late March to early June 2020, but we’ve been back at it hard ever since. We show current movies, have free classic movie Mondays, and produce live events in the fall and winter. We’ve become a hub of downtown Ida Grove which has produced a hallmark coffee shop as well as an emerging BBQ joint downtown since its renovation. Doug Clough, president- Ida Grove Community Foundation/manager - King Theatre. 712-371-9368. .
We began our renovation story in December of 2015 when we acquired the theater from Fred Saunders who purchased it from theater magnate Bob Fridley. Saunders was an awesome owner who loved the communities where he had his theaters and always offered to help build a community through education and entertainment. When the building fell to disrepair and film turned to digital, he gifted the theater to the city which turned it over to the Ida Grove Community Foundation, a non profit which had the purpose of encouraging the arts in Ida Grove and surrounding areas. With a six-month reprieve for a fallen back wall, the renovation took three years and three months to complete, opening in October of 2019, aptly with the live version of ‘The Lion King’. We seat 125 people and are handicap accessible with bathrooms on the main floor and four spots for wheelchair access. We have a balcony where 37 of our seats reside. Of course, the pandemic set growth back for three months late March to early June 2020, but we’ve been back at it hard ever since. We show current movies, have free classic movie Mondays, and produce live events in the fall and winter. We’ve become a hub of downtown Ida Grove which has produced a hallmark coffee shop as well as an emerging BBQ joint downtown since its renovation. Doug Clough, president- Ida Grove Community Foundation/manager - King Theatre. 712-371-9368. .