Washington Theatre

1346 19th Street,
Granite City, IL 62040

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Arthur Enterprises Inc., Skouras Theatres

Architects: Leo F. Abrams

Firms: Charles Pauly & Son, R. Levine & Co.

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Washington Theatre

The original Washington Theatre was built in 1910 for the Lilian Amusement Co., and sat about 1,200. It was designed by architectural firm Charles Pauly & Son. There was also a Washington Airdome beside the theatre. Located at 1330 19th Street, it was closed in 1923 when a new Washington Theatre was built at the rear of the existing theatre, which became the entrance hall to the new auditorium.

The second Washington Theatre was opened December 21, 1923 and was designed by architectural firm R. Levine & Company. Acquired in December 1928 by the Skouras Theatres chain. In late-1929 it was taken over by the St. Louis Amusement Co. Still later, the theatre was part of the Fanchon & Marco chain.

The theatre contained a Barton organ, which was removed after a blaze on November 27, 1945. The theatre was slightly remodelled to the plans of architect Leo F. Abrams, reopening on June 15, 1946. It was taken over by Arthur Enterprises in 1957. The theatre was remodeled again in 1975. In 1978 it was taken over by Mid-America Theatres. The Washington Theatre operated until 1980.

It was briefly used afterwards for live events but razed in 1993 to make way for a bus depot, which was never built. The site is an empty lot in 2020.

Contributed by Bryan Krefft

Recent comments (view all 26 comments)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on December 29, 2011 at 3:41 pm

Thanks for the time line on Fanchon & Marco’s St. Louis operations, JAlex. All I had was a few fragments I’ve picked up from various sources, some of which contradict each other.

And I’ll second Chuck’s call for a separate page for the first Washington Theatre. RetroMike’s comment of June 14 provides plenty of details for one.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on May 31, 2012 at 3:26 pm

The December 22, 1928, issue of Motion Picture News said that the Washington Theatre in Granite City had recently been bought by Skouras Brothers Enterprises. Skouras Brothers planned to expend about $25,000 for improvements to the house, including the installation of Vitaphone sound equipment. The value of the sale was not released, but MPM said that the estimated value of the Washington Theatre was $300,000.

Stephenvb
Stephenvb on November 25, 2013 at 3:29 am

This is a dedication to our loving father whom was called home by out heavenly father on November 11, 2013.

Our great grandmother managed theatres in St. Louis so theatre was in dad’s blood. Then while in high school he was in the DECCA program his Junior and Senior years and went to school a half day and worked at the Loew’s State in Downtown St. Louis. Dad loved the movie theatres and started researching them early in his life. He was most fond of the Loew’s State. Mr. Bovin was the City Manager for Loew’s in St. Louis. The two built a special bind. Others there were Nick Manzella the manage and John Muich the assistant manager. Dad wanted to be a pilot above all things though. He did his college and then his flight school, met our mother in college. Through pulling some string by people that could dad was able to get a job with TWA. His life was happy, a beautiful career and a wonderful loving wife. They had three children, Stephen Philip, Christopher Charles and Zachary Benjamin. Mon developed cancer while carrying Zachary and passed away three months after Zachary was born. It was very difficult for all three of us boys but it was extremely hard on dad. He had to do local flights so that he could be home with us as much as possible. We must say we had the greatest dad the heavenly father could put on this earth. As we got older dad was able to work international flights. When we were not in school we would make as many trips with him as possible. Dad joined an online site called Cinema Treasures and it worked out great for him. When he had layovers in his destination cities he would research theatres. Dad joined Cinema Treasures not very long after it went live inline. He joined on October 6, 2003 and over the years has contributed more than 5,000 theatres, 14,000 comments and almost 4,000 photos to the site. Dad lived for his sons first, flying second and the theatres were his one and only hobby. He made some special friends on Cinema Treasures, Patsy from down south, Ken from New York,, Randy Carlisle the great photographer from Texas, Don Lewis from the Dallas Fort Worth area (Don is also a airline worker with Southwest) but they all are contributors to Cinema Treasures. There is also Ken Roe from the United Kingdom who was a wonderful friend to dad. Out Mom was born and raised in the UK. Being a pilot dad had his favorites to fly to. His number one spot was Hawaii. That is where mom and dad were buried. They are there is spirit and we well be able to feel that spirit when we go over there. Mom and Dad had their condo new Honolulu on the ocean and he spent the mainland cold months in HI. We have family and friends in St. Louis, Salt Lake City and of course Hawaii so we had to have services at all three places before dad was finally buried. Dad got me started on Cinema Treasure but I don’t know if I will ever be able to fill his shoes. But I will try. Mahalo to all those that have helped me so far, especially Joe Vogel and Ken. Ken I can’t count the times that when we were around dad and he would read your comments and just bust out laughing. You touched his heart in so many way. I know there are many others but those mentioned in this dedication are the one that dad talked about most of the time. His love through my spirit goes out to you all. You are all treasures in so many ways and thru a treasure that your friendships came to fruitation “Cinema Treasures” Mahalo to you all. Dad really fought a tough battle but his body was so weak from the first tumor that he didn’t have the physical strength to beat it this time. I tried to be there for him as much as possible and sometimes I felt like I wasn’t there enough. Being the firstborn there was a special bind between the two of us. I still feel the flow involuntarily when I go through his theatre research, when I see something that was special to him, his photos. Time will help I know. And since we were all sealed together in the Temple I know we will all be together again one day.

Well to all I say Mahalo and Aloha (An eternal Aloha to Patsy from dad)

Stephen Philip Van Bibber, Christopher Charles Van Bibber, Zachary Benjamin Van Bibber

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on November 25, 2013 at 10:39 pm

My condolences to you and your family, Stephen. Your dad will be sorely missed at Cinema Treasures, as I’m sure he will be by everyone who knew him off the Internet as well. His many valuable contributions to this site will be remembered with great appreciation.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on January 2, 2017 at 3:37 pm

The September 1, 1923, issue of The Moving Picture World ran this brief article about the second Washington Theatre, then under construction in Granite City:

“Granite City, Ill., Theatre to Seat 3,000, Cost $250,000

“The New Washington Theatre, Nineteenth and E streets, Granite City, 111., will open on the evening of October 5 when a big benefit performance will be put on for its owner-manager, Louis Landau, Jr. The theatre will cost approximately $250,000 and will have 3,000 seats in the parquet and balcony. It will be among the finest amusement houses in Southern Illinois.

“Landau plans to play both pictures and vaudeville. The house will have a stage 65 feet long and a proscenium arch with an opening 35 by 50 feet. The lobby and arcade will measure 18 by 154 feet. There will be several rest rooms for the ladies, smoking rooms for the gents and checking stations, etc. He also is installing a three-manual organ and plans to enlarge his orchestra.”

The claim of 3,000 seats must have been considerably exaggerated, if the reported capacity of 1,750 in the November, 1945 newspaper article about the fire, cited in a comment by kencmcintyre on November 8, 2008, was correct.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on January 2, 2017 at 5:12 pm

A Facebook photo album for the Washington Theatre, with 100 photos and scans of articles, can be seen at this link. The information in the articles clarifies the theater’s history.

The “second” Washington Theatre, opened on December 21, 1923, was actually just a new auditorium constructed behind the 1910 theater building, and at right angles to the original auditorium. The long, narrow lobby noted in the article cited in my previous comment ran through the 1910 building, and the remainder of the original auditorium was converted to retail space. The airdome next door was not closed, but continued to operate during the summer at least into the late 1920s.

Although the Facebook album doesn’t extend to the period of the fire, it seems very likely that the Streamline Modern entrance at 1349 19th Street dates from the 1946 post-fire remodeling designed by Leo F. Abrams. It was this entrance, not the second auditorium of 1923, that occupied part of the site of the former airdome.

As part of the original theater building was used until 1945 as the entrance and lobby for the new auditorium of 1923 it now seems unnecessary to have a separate page for the original theater built in 1910, but we could add to this page the architects of the 1911 expansion, Charles Pauly & Son, as noted by RetroMike in his comment of June 14, 2011. It’s possible that the firm designed the original theater of 1910 as well.

RetroMike
RetroMike on July 29, 2019 at 9:56 pm

Just to set things straight, the second version of the theatre suffered fire damage on Tuesday November 27th, 1945 and after restoration, the third version of the theatre opened on June 15, 1946.

MitchWolf
MitchWolf on May 14, 2020 at 4:22 pm

Added an ad marking Mid-America Theaters taking over operation of the Washington on August 11, 1978

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on May 15, 2020 at 10:52 am

Street view shows a vacant lot, so it appears the bus depot never happened.

MitchWolf
MitchWolf on May 16, 2020 at 10:40 am

The Madison County Transit Center in Granite City is the bus depot mentioned

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