Alhambra Theatre

The Star Theatre was an early movie and vaudeville house opening in 1908 in Omaha’s diverse N. 24th Street commercial district. The Franklin Theatre soon followed along with the Diamond (later Lake) Theatre and many other theatres along 24th Street. The venue received a major refresh in 1914 becoming the Alhambra Theatre on June 17, 1914 with Augustus Phillips in “A Question of Hats and Gowns”, Gilbert M. ‘Broncho Billy’ Anderson in “Broncho Billy and the Rattler”, and Betty Gray in “A Man in the House”. It was equipped with a Bartola pipe organ.

Under Franklin E. Goff’s operation, the venue served integrated audiences. But following World War I, the neighborhood was primarily an African-American business district. The Alhambra Theatre advertised only in the African-American newspaper in the 1920’s before closing without transitioning to sound in 1931. The venue ostensibly yielded to the long-running Ritz Theatre two blocks away that ran from 1931 to 1967.

The former Alhambra Theatre became a short-lived fraternal hall, a roller rink and an indoor miniature golf course before burning down in February of 1936. Virtually the entire 24th Street neighborhood was put out of existence under the guise of urban renewal following rioting in the mid-1960’s.

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