SethG
commented about
Theatreon
May 17, 2025 at 2:16 pm
That demolition date cannot be right, since there was a gas station here in 1930. It does appear that this structure has a roof, so the indoor conversion part is correct.
I’m not sure where this would have been. The corner is 202. There is no 200, even though it makes more sense. 202 ½ is the upstairs. The 1912 map doesn’t show anything upstairs. The space at 202 was occupied by a clothing store from 1895 through at least 1912 (the remaining bay window says ‘H.L.T. Skinner Clothier’ at the top), and there were some small spaces at the rear which faced W 2nd St. The left hand side of the building, 204, had a more varied history, and the theater might have been there, although again it would have closed by 1912.
George P. Washburn (1846-1922) was a prolific local architect. His office at 413 S Main is a charming Victorian eclectic structure. He mainly produced civic designs, with 9 Carnegie libraries and 13 courthouses to his credit.
This was not a conversion of the opera house. That was a large quadruple storefront 3 story building located roughly where the ugly little bank is. The Wikipedia page for Garnett has a photo showing both the proto-Peoples and the opera house. This area is a vacant lot on the July 1913 map, but the Peoples is listed in the 1914-15 AMPD. The name may have been moved. There is a Undeeda listed on 4th Ave, while the Peoples has no address information.
Judging from the photo in the listing which shows the neighboring buildings, the Opera House had been torn down by around 1940.
I’m sure the dates are right, but there is a gorgeous antique mirror in the courthouse, with a wooden frame holding advertisements. One is for the Tauy. Given that it is in the Eastlake style, it likely has been in the courthouse since it was built in 1892. Most of the other ads appear very old, and have 3 digit phone numbers. I don’t find any evidence of an earlier Tauy, so I suppose the card was placed in the frame around 1941.
The original building may have been a wooden structure which was originally built between 1884 and 1888 as the Ottawa Carriage Works. It was rebuilt or replaced between 1888 and 1893 by a wooden auditorium roughly the same size, but with a second story.
The 1905 Cahn guide gives the Rohrbaugh Opera House (also the name on the 1912 map) a capacity of 1,200.
This was never an event venue. It’s been a CPA’s office since at least 2008.
David was saying that the ‘new’ post office on 2nd St is an event venue. The post office had actually moved out of this building sometime between 1899 and 1905. It relocated to 111 E 2nd (now the chamber of commerce).
This was a meat market and a music store before becoming a theater. It’s still shown as ‘Music’ on the May 1912 map. Here is the KHRI entry, which contains a 2005 picture before the very nice restoration showing the building with a trashy shingle awning - https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=059-4270-00045
Here is the KHRI entry, which doesn’t have much information, but has an older photo with a different ugly modern ground floor - https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=059-4270-00014
The building was built between 1884 and 1888. It was originally a dry goods store, but is vacant on the 1905 map. The 1914-15 AMPD lists the address as N Main, but that is an error. In the postcard above, the Star is the building in the left foreground with the elaborate cornice.
Typo in the entry, should be ‘New Paola’. This address is pretty consistent across the various Yearbooks, so either the dates are wrong, or this cannot have been the Empress. For one thing, the December 1916 map shows 109 as a gas office. The Paola and Empress are also listed concurrently from 1941 through at least 1945.
109 also does not appear nearly large enough for 600 seats. It’s rather narrow, and not very deep. It currently uses a 111 address. It was built sometime between 1897 and 1905. It appears to have been remodeled around 1960. The ground floor office space is either vacant or an apartment, and the upstairs appears to be residences.
The name is spelled ‘Jewell’. There is no such address, and Main St runs through some tract housing well out of downtown. If it was on the square, it was on Silver, Pearl, Wea, or Peoria. It was not open in 1957. It disappears sometime around 1953. Unfortunately, the 1948 map is not available online.
Status should be demolished. The property has been for sale since at least 2008, and even that streetview shows nothing but a rotted section of the entry drive.
The marquee was removed long ago. It’s gone on the 2013 streetview. Looking at my pictures of the ticket booth from April 2010 (the marquee still up), it seems that they have restored it. The tile on the outside entry walls and on the ticket booth was covered in ‘50s fluted metal siding. Oddly, the tile walls in the lobby were left alone.
Note that the name was originally ‘New Grand’. It’s unclear if it replaced an older Grand from somewhere else in town. The 1926 Yearbook gives a capacity of 440.
This listing needs to be rewritten to include the known history. The theater does not appear in the 1954 Yearbook, and is listed in 1957 with no capacity. It has been an event venue for some time. The capacity seems absurdly large, and the 1949 Yearbook lists it at 600. It is listed at 800 in 1952, and seems to have closed shortly thereafter. Unfortunately the 1953 Yearbook is useless, as it only lists drive-ins and circuits.
That demolition date cannot be right, since there was a gas station here in 1930. It does appear that this structure has a roof, so the indoor conversion part is correct.
I’m not sure where this would have been. The corner is 202. There is no 200, even though it makes more sense. 202 ½ is the upstairs. The 1912 map doesn’t show anything upstairs. The space at 202 was occupied by a clothing store from 1895 through at least 1912 (the remaining bay window says ‘H.L.T. Skinner Clothier’ at the top), and there were some small spaces at the rear which faced W 2nd St. The left hand side of the building, 204, had a more varied history, and the theater might have been there, although again it would have closed by 1912.
I’ve added a picture. Some moron put cladding on the left hand side sometime around the ‘60s, so that bay is missing.
George P. Washburn (1846-1922) was a prolific local architect. His office at 413 S Main is a charming Victorian eclectic structure. He mainly produced civic designs, with 9 Carnegie libraries and 13 courthouses to his credit.
Capacity listed is the current capacity. The Yearbooks listed it as 1,500. It was likely reduced during the renovations in the ‘70s.
This was not a conversion of the opera house. That was a large quadruple storefront 3 story building located roughly where the ugly little bank is. The Wikipedia page for Garnett has a photo showing both the proto-Peoples and the opera house. This area is a vacant lot on the July 1913 map, but the Peoples is listed in the 1914-15 AMPD. The name may have been moved. There is a Undeeda listed on 4th Ave, while the Peoples has no address information.
Judging from the photo in the listing which shows the neighboring buildings, the Opera House had been torn down by around 1940.
I’m sure the dates are right, but there is a gorgeous antique mirror in the courthouse, with a wooden frame holding advertisements. One is for the Tauy. Given that it is in the Eastlake style, it likely has been in the courthouse since it was built in 1892. Most of the other ads appear very old, and have 3 digit phone numbers. I don’t find any evidence of an earlier Tauy, so I suppose the card was placed in the frame around 1941.
Here’s the KHRI entry for the theater, with a few bits of information - https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=059-4270-00038
If you drive the streetview car down the alley behind, the original stone walls of the Pickrell Block can be seen.
As pointed out in 2018, the ‘Grill &’ part of the name should be removed. Looks like it hasn’t had a restaurant since at least 2014.
The original building may have been a wooden structure which was originally built between 1884 and 1888 as the Ottawa Carriage Works. It was rebuilt or replaced between 1888 and 1893 by a wooden auditorium roughly the same size, but with a second story.
The 1905 Cahn guide gives the Rohrbaugh Opera House (also the name on the 1912 map) a capacity of 1,200.
The address was 317-321 S Hickory St, almost directly across from the courthouse. This location is now a parking lot. Status should be updated.
This was never an event venue. It’s been a CPA’s office since at least 2008.
David was saying that the ‘new’ post office on 2nd St is an event venue. The post office had actually moved out of this building sometime between 1899 and 1905. It relocated to 111 E 2nd (now the chamber of commerce).
This was a meat market and a music store before becoming a theater. It’s still shown as ‘Music’ on the May 1912 map. Here is the KHRI entry, which contains a 2005 picture before the very nice restoration showing the building with a trashy shingle awning - https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=059-4270-00045
Here is the KHRI entry, which doesn’t have much information, but has an older photo with a different ugly modern ground floor - https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=059-4270-00014
The building was built between 1884 and 1888. It was originally a dry goods store, but is vacant on the 1905 map. The 1914-15 AMPD lists the address as N Main, but that is an error. In the postcard above, the Star is the building in the left foreground with the elaborate cornice.
Typo in the entry, should be ‘New Paola’. This address is pretty consistent across the various Yearbooks, so either the dates are wrong, or this cannot have been the Empress. For one thing, the December 1916 map shows 109 as a gas office. The Paola and Empress are also listed concurrently from 1941 through at least 1945.
109 also does not appear nearly large enough for 600 seats. It’s rather narrow, and not very deep. It currently uses a 111 address. It was built sometime between 1897 and 1905. It appears to have been remodeled around 1960. The ground floor office space is either vacant or an apartment, and the upstairs appears to be residences.
The name is spelled ‘Jewell’. There is no such address, and Main St runs through some tract housing well out of downtown. If it was on the square, it was on Silver, Pearl, Wea, or Peoria. It was not open in 1957. It disappears sometime around 1953. Unfortunately, the 1948 map is not available online.
Status should be demolished. The property has been for sale since at least 2008, and even that streetview shows nothing but a rotted section of the entry drive.
Maybe 1916 was the closing date, if he lost.
The marquee was removed long ago. It’s gone on the 2013 streetview. Looking at my pictures of the ticket booth from April 2010 (the marquee still up), it seems that they have restored it. The tile on the outside entry walls and on the ticket booth was covered in ‘50s fluted metal siding. Oddly, the tile walls in the lobby were left alone.
Photo by John Margolies from the LoC.
Note that the name was originally ‘New Grand’. It’s unclear if it replaced an older Grand from somewhere else in town. The 1926 Yearbook gives a capacity of 440.
Here is the KHRI entry for the building: https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=037-405
The building must have been built as a theater. The 1913 map shows a little wooden building here. This is now the local Republican Party HQ.
This may have been associated with the Liberty, which was just off to the SE.
This listing needs to be rewritten to include the known history. The theater does not appear in the 1954 Yearbook, and is listed in 1957 with no capacity. It has been an event venue for some time. The capacity seems absurdly large, and the 1949 Yearbook lists it at 600. It is listed at 800 in 1952, and seems to have closed shortly thereafter. Unfortunately the 1953 Yearbook is useless, as it only lists drive-ins and circuits.