Elberta Theatre

516 W. Main Street,
Clarksville, AR 72830

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Additional Info

Previous Names: Riddell Theatre, Little Theatre

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Elberta Theatre

Small theatre on W. Main Street in Clarksville, Arkansas. The Riddell Theatre is first listed in the 1927 edition of Film Daily Yearbook. It is still listed in 1932, but had gone from listings by 1933. In 1934 to 1937 it returns to listings as the Little Theatre with 200-seats (Closed in all these years). It had closed by 1941 and was being remodeled that year, to reopen as the Elberta Theatre in 1942. It had closed by 1948.

Contributed by Nessa

Recent comments (view all 2 comments)

robboehm
robboehm on July 18, 2021 at 5:02 pm

Building still stands and is for sale. Name “Riddell Theatre” is readily visible in the photo I have uploaded.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on July 22, 2021 at 8:39 pm

This item appeared in the October 10, 1941 issue of Film Daily:

“The old Riddell Theater, Clarksville, Ark., has been shuttered for extensive remodeling. According to Manager Jack Thomas, it will reopen shortly as the Elberta Theater in honor of that sector’s chief crop, Elberta peaches.”
I’ve been unable to find any other mentions of the Elberta Theatre in the trade journals, but it is listed in FDY’s from 1943 through 1947. The 1948 FDY doesn’t list individual theaters, only circuits, and I can’t find the Elberta there. It does not appear in the individual theater listings in the 1949 Yearbook, which lists only the Strand for Clarksville. Oddly, the 1942 Yearbook lists a house called the “Riddle” which was probably a typo for the Riddell. Most likely the name change to Elberta wasn’t submitted to the FDY in time for inclusion in the 1942 edition.

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