I don’t entirely trust the KHRI information. The old Pastime had 250 seats, and is listed through 1930. Indeed, the 1930 entry shows it with the capacity reduced to 225. It is only in 1931 that the larger capacity is shown.
The Pastime building can’t be much older than 1927. The building is your typical bland flat-fronted thing which could be anywhere from 1920 to 1950. The 1917 map shows a large hardware store on this site. It had been built sometime between 1899 and 1905. It had a tin front, or at least a cornice. The Pastime building does have a similar footprint, so the front might have been remodeled. I wonder if there wasn’t a fire. The building that is where the old Pastime was is pretty old. The KHRI entry for that one says it’s from 1930, but that’s an estimate based on tax records, and I’ve found dates on KHRI derived from that to be extremely unreliable.
SethG
commented about
Airdomeon
Jan 13, 2026 at 7:48 pm
Added a map view. Only the garage to the right is shown on the 1911 map. Coldwater does not appear in the 1914-15 AMPD.
Not to throw Cold Water (hah!) on the data from the KHRI, but the 1926 through 1929 Yearbooks list a Pike theater with the same 350 seats as the later Gossett/Comanche/Chief. The 1930 Yearbook lists a Covsett (which is obvious nonsense), the Gossett with 350 seats and Royaltone sound, and a Pleasant Hour with no capacity, but Movie-Phone sound. I suspect the original theater which became the Gossett was the old Pike, which was constructed sometime after 1923 (as it does not appear on that Sanborn). At some later point, even though the capacity is unchanged, I believe it may have been remodeled into a two story building.
Surprisingly short on dates in the entry. The KHRI entry for this building says it was built in 1928. It was originally the Gossett. The 1935 map shows this building as one story, only 18 feet tall. I’m not sure when/if it was expanded (looks taller to me, but…?) Listed as the Gossett through 1940, it became the Comanche in 1941. It was renamed the Chief in 1947.
This is an incredibly poor listing. This theater opened in 1948 as the Harris, with 450 seats. It seems to have been a Boller Brothers design. There had apparently been an earlier, smaller Harris, with 300 seats. Unfortunately, there are no Sanborns for this town, so I’m not sure where it was. The Harris is still listed in the 1956 Yearbook, but with no capacity (possibly closed?). Unclear when it became the Showplace, which was closed before 2010. The theater was apparently vacant for years, but has been restored, and became the High Plains Theatre some time between 2018 and 2023. It offers live performances, community events, and movies. Website here: https://www.highplainstheatre.com/
I suspect the history is inaccurate. This is listed as open in the 1947 and 1956 Yearbook, so it was clearly open postwar. In 1947, both this theater and the Tucker were part of the Fox Midwest chain. In fact, I think the contributor may have been confused by this. The 1933 Yearbook lists the Tucker as closed, not the Plaza. The Tucker was a bit larger, and had a better location, but it was also older.
The 1947 Yearbook lists this as part of the Fox Midwest chain, along with the Plaza, the only other theater in town. I assume fans of Republic, MGM or Paramount had to go elsewhere.
Still listed as open in the 1956 Yearbook, with 854 seats. From the photos, looks like it made it to 1971, with that ghastly slipcover being part of a horrible remodel.
This theater is shown on the 1911 map, the earliest available. It’s hard to place this, but I’m pretty sure this has been effectively demolished. The 2020 Streetview shows a garage bay in this section, with the offices of the repair shop in 114. Both have a nasty cheap modern facade. If the marker on the map is correct, this may have been converted into an events space.
Converted to an ugly beige box with all openings bricked over. Currently seems to be a warehouse for a security company. Some deco detail still visible on the sides/roof.
What a mess! Jones seems a very odd location for the theater. The high school is the only part that shows up on any maps, and the rest of the area was presumably residential. 202 is of course now a parking lot. I suppose we could list that location separately, and then the one in the Opera House would be another listing?
I assumed it had closed to be replaced by the State, which opened soon after.
Anyhow, thanks for confirming the ID.
Going through the old report, they say the Edison was located in the the ground floor of the Opera House, and closed late in 1913. The 1914-15 AMPD lists it as open, and gives a definite address on Grant. Perhaps it moved? There is also a Grand mentioned as opening in late 1913. I’m not sure where that was, and it closed in 1917. There’s also the Garden City/Garden, again with no indication as to a location.
I don’t entirely trust the KHRI information. The old Pastime had 250 seats, and is listed through 1930. Indeed, the 1930 entry shows it with the capacity reduced to 225. It is only in 1931 that the larger capacity is shown.
The Pastime building can’t be much older than 1927. The building is your typical bland flat-fronted thing which could be anywhere from 1920 to 1950. The 1917 map shows a large hardware store on this site. It had been built sometime between 1899 and 1905. It had a tin front, or at least a cornice. The Pastime building does have a similar footprint, so the front might have been remodeled. I wonder if there wasn’t a fire. The building that is where the old Pastime was is pretty old. The KHRI entry for that one says it’s from 1930, but that’s an estimate based on tax records, and I’ve found dates on KHRI derived from that to be extremely unreliable.
Added a map view. Only the garage to the right is shown on the 1911 map. Coldwater does not appear in the 1914-15 AMPD.
Not to throw Cold Water (hah!) on the data from the KHRI, but the 1926 through 1929 Yearbooks list a Pike theater with the same 350 seats as the later Gossett/Comanche/Chief. The 1930 Yearbook lists a Covsett (which is obvious nonsense), the Gossett with 350 seats and Royaltone sound, and a Pleasant Hour with no capacity, but Movie-Phone sound. I suspect the original theater which became the Gossett was the old Pike, which was constructed sometime after 1923 (as it does not appear on that Sanborn). At some later point, even though the capacity is unchanged, I believe it may have been remodeled into a two story building.
KHRI entry here: https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=033-1070-00005
It notes that R.E. McGaully designed the ‘new’ interior.
Surprisingly short on dates in the entry. The KHRI entry for this building says it was built in 1928. It was originally the Gossett. The 1935 map shows this building as one story, only 18 feet tall. I’m not sure when/if it was expanded (looks taller to me, but…?) Listed as the Gossett through 1940, it became the Comanche in 1941. It was renamed the Chief in 1947.
Uses FB as their website: https://www.facebook.com/p/Chief-Theater-100057226429524/
Possibly demolished. Maybe 2/3 of downtown is still there.
I see no evidence that this was ever called the Rusada, unless that came between the Harris and Showplace names.
This is an incredibly poor listing. This theater opened in 1948 as the Harris, with 450 seats. It seems to have been a Boller Brothers design. There had apparently been an earlier, smaller Harris, with 300 seats. Unfortunately, there are no Sanborns for this town, so I’m not sure where it was. The Harris is still listed in the 1956 Yearbook, but with no capacity (possibly closed?). Unclear when it became the Showplace, which was closed before 2010. The theater was apparently vacant for years, but has been restored, and became the High Plains Theatre some time between 2018 and 2023. It offers live performances, community events, and movies. Website here: https://www.highplainstheatre.com/
An earlier, smaller version of the 1948 building. No idea where it was.
Better website here: https://www.dorictheatre.com/
Note that 114-116 stood alone on the 1911 map.
I suspect the history is inaccurate. This is listed as open in the 1947 and 1956 Yearbook, so it was clearly open postwar. In 1947, both this theater and the Tucker were part of the Fox Midwest chain. In fact, I think the contributor may have been confused by this. The 1933 Yearbook lists the Tucker as closed, not the Plaza. The Tucker was a bit larger, and had a better location, but it was also older.
The 1947 Yearbook lists this as part of the Fox Midwest chain, along with the Plaza, the only other theater in town. I assume fans of Republic, MGM or Paramount had to go elsewhere.
Still listed as open in the 1956 Yearbook, with 854 seats. From the photos, looks like it made it to 1971, with that ghastly slipcover being part of a horrible remodel.
This theater is shown on the 1911 map, the earliest available. It’s hard to place this, but I’m pretty sure this has been effectively demolished. The 2020 Streetview shows a garage bay in this section, with the offices of the repair shop in 114. Both have a nasty cheap modern facade. If the marker on the map is correct, this may have been converted into an events space.
I’ve added a Sanborn view.
Converted to an ugly beige box with all openings bricked over. Currently seems to be a warehouse for a security company. Some deco detail still visible on the sides/roof.
So is the AMPD wrong? Did the theater even exist at this point? Had it reopened briefly? This is very confusing.
What a mess! Jones seems a very odd location for the theater. The high school is the only part that shows up on any maps, and the rest of the area was presumably residential. 202 is of course now a parking lot. I suppose we could list that location separately, and then the one in the Opera House would be another listing?
I assumed it had closed to be replaced by the State, which opened soon after.
Anyhow, thanks for confirming the ID.
Going through the old report, they say the Edison was located in the the ground floor of the Opera House, and closed late in 1913. The 1914-15 AMPD lists it as open, and gives a definite address on Grant. Perhaps it moved? There is also a Grand mentioned as opening in late 1913. I’m not sure where that was, and it closed in 1917. There’s also the Garden City/Garden, again with no indication as to a location.
Despite being ‘suscribed’, I haven’t gotten notifications for a long time. I can’t be the only Firefox user, and I have no idea what the problem is.
Neither here nor there, but the opera house was torn down in the ‘50s. The present building is a J.C. Penney replacement from 1953.
I wonder if the Electric was the theater in the hotel. I haven’t found any indication that the opera house showed movies.
It appears the historic address may have been 210-212, but the replacement structure is 222.
A photo of the theater can be seen here: https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=055-1950-00884