Princess Theatre

Joe Vogel on July 4, 2014 at 12:38 pm

The Princess Theatre is mentioned in the May 30, 1912, edition of The Topeka Daily Capital.

As many references to early theaters in Topeka that I’ve found in the trade journals, I have not yet found any mention of a Victorian Theatre. There were houses called the Aurora and the Olympic that converted to movies in 1908, there were theaters called the Majestic, the Isis, the Iris, the Empress, the Cozy, the Best, the Gem, the Earl, and the Hippodrome, but so far no Victorian.

Joe Vogel on July 5, 2014 at 3:14 pm

Thanks, Chris. It was a temporary name change, then, as the house had returned to its original name by the time the 1921 city directory was published.

The September 13, 1913, issue of The Topeka Daily Capital noted the opening of the Princess Theatre at this address:

“The Princess theater reopened, at the new location, 834 North Kansas avenue, yesterday evening. A special four reel program was given, with additional music. There was a capacity attendance at each performance.”

I haven’t yet discovered the address of the Princess Theatre mentioned in the 1912 newspaper item, but it must have been the same neighborhood as the item specified that it was in North Topeka..