The history is incomplete. There was a theater at 406 by June 1912. The building was a two story brick structure, and was constructed sometime after 1905.
The history is rather complicated, and the 1923 and 1942 Sanborns are not online. It’s entirely possible this theater closed for some time at least once. Below is what I have put together.
Fredonia does not appear in the 1914-15 AMPD, but the 1926 Yearbook lists an Orpheum (no capacity, perhaps closed?). The 1940 Yearbook lists a Klock with 350, a New People’s (closed) with 350, and a Whiteway at 300 (this theater is listed at least as far back as 1933, when the Orpheum is listed as closed). It’s possible this last became the Kansan, since the 1941 Yearbook lists the Kansan (300), and 4-H (350, closed).
The 1945 Yearbook still lists the Kansan with 300 seats, and a Strand with 350. The 1952 Yearbook lists 462. The building must have been extensively remodeled at some point.
In 1947, the the Kansan and 4-H were operated by H.J. Griffith Theaters, Inc., based in Kansas City, MO. In 1948 the Kansan and Strand were operated by Theater Enterprises, Inc., based in Dallas.
Whatever the actual history, this theater was demolished many years ago, and replaced with a crummy prefab shed which houses the local paper.
It is possible that the second location was in the northern half of the Henderson’s building, which today is the American Legion. I found a postcard which shows some sort of attraction board on the sidewalk, and what looks like a recessed entry. The cars pictured date to the teens through maybe the mid-‘20s, so I can’t be sure. Erie had a pleasant and fairly dense downtown up until at least the early '60s. It’s a real dump now.
This should be split into three listings. They are three separate addresses, and have different histories. I suspect that at least two of these locations are demolished. Unfortunately the 1912 map is the last available online. The 1926 listing for the Doric gives the capacity as 450.
This is the only theater listed in the 1914-15 AMPD, so it was showing movies at that point. The 1916 map calls it an opera house, the 1932 map calls it a Latter Day Saints theater and hall.
Found an old postcard showing a theater here before the Idle Hour shown in the photos. The original theater was in a two story brick storefront constructed sometime before 1886. The 1907 map shows a hardware store/tin shop there. That theater would have occupied the northern half of the lot that the current theater occupies. In the initial configuration, the shopfront was intact, and there are movie posters propped in the display windows. There was a simple vertical sign reading ‘Theatre’.
The confusing part is saying where the Idle Hour was. The buildings at 206 and 208 were very different in design. Looking at the photos, it appears that the Idle Hour may have been in 206, the southern building of the pair, although it’s possible that the two buildings had similar iron columns.
I think the Idle Hour was probably replaced by the current building. The iron column on the left side matches with the old photo, but this building appears to be wider.
The 1914-15 AMPD lists the Idle Hour and Electric. The 1926 Yearbook lists only a 250 seat Strand. There was apparently also a New somewhere in town. The 1924 map should be available on the LoC site, but they haven’t scanned it. The previous map is from 1907, and is no help, although it shows a second floor opera house (Van Werden’s) which might have been the Electric and or New. That building was on the SW corner of Main and 1st (previously Commercial). It’s long gone.
The building was constructed in 1902, after a fire destroyed most of the south side of the square. The NRHP listing has a theater here from 1924, although it’s a bit confused since each half was originally its own space. It seems as if the theater may have started at 312 (the west half), in 1924, and by 1927 been expanded to include 314 as well. The history makes no mention of an Oak Theater, under any address.
Schweser’s was a Midwestern chain of small department stores, not women’s boutiques. They may have been responsible for the unattractive 1971 storefront. The chain has been defunct for some time. This is now a dance studio.
The building was constructed in 1900, and was initially the offices of the Thomas D. Murphy Calendar Co. The east side of the building was later an implement dealership and a marble works before becoming the theater.
The address was 406-408 N 3rd St. The Opera House appears on the Dec. 1908 map, but it may have been recently completed, and not open yet. There is a large nondescript one story building there now.
Wilupp (one L and 2 Ps, although the AMPD spells it wrong under both towns) seemed conceivable. Since Woodbine is so close, it could have been owned by the same person.
But it appears that it was an error, and Hupp is the name for this one.
The addition on the side, which appears to have become the theater at some point, did not exist in 1913. It also appears from some of the pictures that this was Beck’s Theatre initially. The address for that portion would have been 705. That part of the building has been very badly preserved, and is covered in cheap plywood paneling and a garage door.
There was also a Gem elsewhere in town in the 1914-15 AMPD. Nothing on the 1913 map for that, so I assume it opened sometime in 1914. It seems that this building was still partly around in 2006. I found a photo showing the butchered remains of the south wall frankensteined onto a raw plywood mess. It was a bar at that point.
That address is wrong. The addresses are a complete mess, and the street name may actually change at that intersection. The building to the north claims to be 41, and there is a definite number 6 two blocks north. None of the intersections have signs with street names, and odds and evens seem to jump from one side of the street to the other.
This must have been the Lyric. Not sure where the Opera House was. There is no theater on the 1935 map. There is a ‘hall’ in the second floor of the building at the NW corner of Maple and Noyes, but that building says ’T. Wallis - 1916' on the top, and I believe it was built as a hotel. It’s still the best choice, I think.
Thanks for finding that information! It looks like the theater had re-closed by 1926, since it’s not in that yearbook. That just leaves the Iowa to list, if we can figure out where it was.
The correct current capacity is not 259, that’s what it was in 1913, when this was only on the ground floor. It was listed as 480 in 1956. I assume it expanded to two floors and was given the Mission remodel in 1924, when it became the Rialto. It’s possible it opened under some other name, and became the Palm in 1911. Hopefully someone will have more information.
Calling this demolished is very misleading. The entire structure is still there, although it’s possible it’s been gutted. Still vacant on the 2025 streetview.
The address is wrong. It should be 1315, and the zip code is 00907.
This was either an expansion or replacement of the old Majestic. Can anyone supply information? If the Majestic (which was only one story) was demolished, we should create a listing for that.
In 1929, both the Majestic and Rialto were operated by the Hostettler Amusement Co., which also operated the Casino, Odeon, and Strand in Marshalltown.
The Majestic was either replaced by or extensively remodeled into the Valley. However, this does not match any of the photos of the Majestic (which had a curved arch entry early on, replaced by a flat glass canopy later), and may actually show the Palm. The small portions shown of the neighboring buildings are a better match for the Palm/Rialto.
The history is incomplete. There was a theater at 406 by June 1912. The building was a two story brick structure, and was constructed sometime after 1905.
The history is rather complicated, and the 1923 and 1942 Sanborns are not online. It’s entirely possible this theater closed for some time at least once. Below is what I have put together.
Fredonia does not appear in the 1914-15 AMPD, but the 1926 Yearbook lists an Orpheum (no capacity, perhaps closed?). The 1940 Yearbook lists a Klock with 350, a New People’s (closed) with 350, and a Whiteway at 300 (this theater is listed at least as far back as 1933, when the Orpheum is listed as closed). It’s possible this last became the Kansan, since the 1941 Yearbook lists the Kansan (300), and 4-H (350, closed).
The 1945 Yearbook still lists the Kansan with 300 seats, and a Strand with 350. The 1952 Yearbook lists 462. The building must have been extensively remodeled at some point.
In 1947, the the Kansan and 4-H were operated by H.J. Griffith Theaters, Inc., based in Kansas City, MO. In 1948 the Kansan and Strand were operated by Theater Enterprises, Inc., based in Dallas.
Whatever the actual history, this theater was demolished many years ago, and replaced with a crummy prefab shed which houses the local paper.
It is possible that the second location was in the northern half of the Henderson’s building, which today is the American Legion. I found a postcard which shows some sort of attraction board on the sidewalk, and what looks like a recessed entry. The cars pictured date to the teens through maybe the mid-‘20s, so I can’t be sure. Erie had a pleasant and fairly dense downtown up until at least the early '60s. It’s a real dump now.
This should be split into three listings. They are three separate addresses, and have different histories. I suspect that at least two of these locations are demolished. Unfortunately the 1912 map is the last available online. The 1926 listing for the Doric gives the capacity as 450.
Thanks Joe. As long as they listed it as closed, they were technically correct!
This is the only theater listed in the 1914-15 AMPD, so it was showing movies at that point. The 1916 map calls it an opera house, the 1932 map calls it a Latter Day Saints theater and hall.
Found an old postcard showing a theater here before the Idle Hour shown in the photos. The original theater was in a two story brick storefront constructed sometime before 1886. The 1907 map shows a hardware store/tin shop there. That theater would have occupied the northern half of the lot that the current theater occupies. In the initial configuration, the shopfront was intact, and there are movie posters propped in the display windows. There was a simple vertical sign reading ‘Theatre’.
The confusing part is saying where the Idle Hour was. The buildings at 206 and 208 were very different in design. Looking at the photos, it appears that the Idle Hour may have been in 206, the southern building of the pair, although it’s possible that the two buildings had similar iron columns.
I think the Idle Hour was probably replaced by the current building. The iron column on the left side matches with the old photo, but this building appears to be wider.
The 1914-15 AMPD lists the Idle Hour and Electric. The 1926 Yearbook lists only a 250 seat Strand. There was apparently also a New somewhere in town. The 1924 map should be available on the LoC site, but they haven’t scanned it. The previous map is from 1907, and is no help, although it shows a second floor opera house (Van Werden’s) which might have been the Electric and or New. That building was on the SW corner of Main and 1st (previously Commercial). It’s long gone.
Website: https://scittheatre.square.site/ The latest streetview shows the marquee gone.
I’ve added an older photo of mine, as well as 1908 and 1914 Sanborns showing how the arrangement changed.
The building was constructed in 1902, after a fire destroyed most of the south side of the square. The NRHP listing has a theater here from 1924, although it’s a bit confused since each half was originally its own space. It seems as if the theater may have started at 312 (the west half), in 1924, and by 1927 been expanded to include 314 as well. The history makes no mention of an Oak Theater, under any address.
Schweser’s was a Midwestern chain of small department stores, not women’s boutiques. They may have been responsible for the unattractive 1971 storefront. The chain has been defunct for some time. This is now a dance studio.
The building was constructed in 1900, and was initially the offices of the Thomas D. Murphy Calendar Co. The east side of the building was later an implement dealership and a marble works before becoming the theater.
The address was 406-408 N 3rd St. The Opera House appears on the Dec. 1908 map, but it may have been recently completed, and not open yet. There is a large nondescript one story building there now.
Wilupp (one L and 2 Ps, although the AMPD spells it wrong under both towns) seemed conceivable. Since Woodbine is so close, it could have been owned by the same person.
But it appears that it was an error, and Hupp is the name for this one.
The addition on the side, which appears to have become the theater at some point, did not exist in 1913. It also appears from some of the pictures that this was Beck’s Theatre initially. The address for that portion would have been 705. That part of the building has been very badly preserved, and is covered in cheap plywood paneling and a garage door.
If this theater was still open in 1926, it was the Idle Hour. The 1930 map is unavailable online, which makes it hard to say.
There was also a Gem elsewhere in town in the 1914-15 AMPD. Nothing on the 1913 map for that, so I assume it opened sometime in 1914. It seems that this building was still partly around in 2006. I found a photo showing the butchered remains of the south wall frankensteined onto a raw plywood mess. It was a bar at that point.
I hadn’t noticed until the reopening ad was posted, but the address is completely wrong. It should be 154 Calle de San Justo.
That address is wrong. The addresses are a complete mess, and the street name may actually change at that intersection. The building to the north claims to be 41, and there is a definite number 6 two blocks north. None of the intersections have signs with street names, and odds and evens seem to jump from one side of the street to the other.
This must have been the Lyric. Not sure where the Opera House was. There is no theater on the 1935 map. There is a ‘hall’ in the second floor of the building at the NW corner of Maple and Noyes, but that building says ’T. Wallis - 1916' on the top, and I believe it was built as a hotel. It’s still the best choice, I think.
Thanks for finding that information! It looks like the theater had re-closed by 1926, since it’s not in that yearbook. That just leaves the Iowa to list, if we can figure out where it was.
The correct current capacity is not 259, that’s what it was in 1913, when this was only on the ground floor. It was listed as 480 in 1956. I assume it expanded to two floors and was given the Mission remodel in 1924, when it became the Rialto. It’s possible it opened under some other name, and became the Palm in 1911. Hopefully someone will have more information.
Calling this demolished is very misleading. The entire structure is still there, although it’s possible it’s been gutted. Still vacant on the 2025 streetview.
The address is wrong. It should be 1315, and the zip code is 00907.
This was either an expansion or replacement of the old Majestic. Can anyone supply information? If the Majestic (which was only one story) was demolished, we should create a listing for that.
In 1929, both the Majestic and Rialto were operated by the Hostettler Amusement Co., which also operated the Casino, Odeon, and Strand in Marshalltown.
The Majestic was either replaced by or extensively remodeled into the Valley. However, this does not match any of the photos of the Majestic (which had a curved arch entry early on, replaced by a flat glass canopy later), and may actually show the Palm. The small portions shown of the neighboring buildings are a better match for the Palm/Rialto.