The post-War Roanoke Theatre’s December 1, 1946 grand opening ad with “Renegades” in photos. It first closed in November of 1957 due to lack of business as small town theatres were decimated by television.
A dreamer by the name of Martin Moritz and his wife reopened the venue on October 9, 1957. They closed citing four straight months of financial losses out of five they operated it. It closed after the March 2, 1958 showings of “Pal Joey.” They didn’t show the final advertised shows of “Monkey on My Back” likely because it hit close to home. Hoping to sell or lease the building, a decision was made to rid the building from the tax roster through demolition.
This venue opened at 124 North Jefferson on February 23, 1947 and its grand opening ad with “Canyon Passage” is in photos. On December 3, 1948, it became the Bonny Theatre and the crossover ad with “The River Lady” and “The Devil’s Playground” is in photos. It concluded film exhibition on February 14, 1954 with “Easy to Love.” It was offered for sale and had a couple of Country Western live jamboree shows until coming back on a three-day operational schedule.
New operator John M. Weber reopened it on January 29, 1955 with “Rocketman” and “Princess of the Nile.” He had a longer than expected run making it six weeks and closing permanently on March 14, 1955 with “The Last Time I Saw Paris.” Weber cited lack of patronage for its closure. The building became home to Swede Crank Plumbing a year later and has since been razed.
The Palace Theatre opened on December 15, 1923 with “The Drivin' Fool” with a Schaeffer Symphonola providing the silent film’s accompaniment. It competed with the existing Phoenix Theatre. When the Arcadia wired for sound in 1929, the State was designated as the “silent program” theater. It closed November 29, 1929 with Greta Garbo in “The Single Standard.” It did not reopen.
The theatre was built by Frisina Amusement in Fall of 1956 as an 8-ramp, 322 car venue with expansion possible to 500 in the future. It opened June 7, 1957 with “Hell and High Water” and “River of No Return” in CinemaScope with a bonus feature of “The Catman of Paris” on June 8th.
The last advertised show was on August 2, 1982 with “Things Are Tough All Over” and “The Blues Brothers.” In January of 1983 article said that Frisna sold the land for redevelopment along with a half dozen other drive-ins as it reduced its ozoner footprint. The entry should be the Midway Drive-In - its name from beginning to end.
Frisina remodeled it as the State Theatre on September 6, 1942 with “Mrs. Miniver.” The final film shown was a four-wall “Pan-American Race” film on September 14, 1955 although its regular operation had pretty much ceased in 1954. The venue was retrofitted for a Western Auto Store in May of 1956.
Just a skeletal synopsis (none of this information was provided by Bryan Krefft, if that is the indication in this entry - it also is in error). The Elks replaced the J.F. Hyatt Opera House after its fire of 1910 (see photo). The building was located at 323 South Kitchell Street. Grand opening ads as the Elks Theatre on January 30, 1913 (in photos), the New Elks on April 1, 1934 (in photos) and the New Roxy (formerly the Elks) February 21, 1941 (in photos).
Phil H. Heyde took over operation of the venue in November 1921 as primarily as a full time movie house with some events. Heyde closed the venue in 1931 unable to convert to sound despite an announcement of its impending installation late in 1931. He remodeled and added sound returning the Elks to active operation in 1934. After a brief foray to live events in early 1935, Frisina Amusement took over the venue as the “New” Elks in 1935 and full time films likely on a 20-year subleasing agreement.
The name was changed back to the Elks Theatre by new Manager John Strum after a refresh beginning on April 12, 1946 (ad in photos) closing in 1955 at end of leasing agreement with an in person event by Ferlin Husky being the highlight of its final partial year of operation. The Elks turned Roxy turned back to Elks was dismantled in November of 1955 for use in the expansion of its restaurant / grill. The building was demolished for a new Elks Club.
The Plez-U Theatre was located in the IOOF Building in 1935 and took the place of the 40-yar old Opera House that served as the local movie house. The IOOF which housed the Plez-U decided to remodel and the theatre was taken out with the playdates moved back to the Opera House. The theatre auditorium was repositioned as the Brown Theatre opening on November 14, 1936. It was a streamline moderne movie house launching with “Sing, Baby, Sing.” Following the showtimes of January 27, 1958, a nitrate film fire destroyed the IOOF building. “Stop Over Tokyo” was the final film for the Brown Theatre.
The first movies in town were shown in the Wyoming Opera House. But three nickelodeon-era theaters soon co-existed in town. Frank Warren and Pauline Terwilliger operated four theatres in the area - one in the Swan Building in Wyoming, one in Toulon, one in Princeville, and the Airdome in Wyoming. L.A. Castle operated another nickelodeon. This entry is about the other venue: The Princess Theatre.
Here, on Williams Street, “Doc” Harvey and Lawrence Higbee operated the Princess Theatre in the existing Liggett Building on East Williams Street launching on November 2, 1912 just west of the Hoover Restaurant. Roy Evans was the singer with advertising slides behind him between one reel films. Armentrout & Jacobus assumed control of the Princess by 1914 and appear to have installed a second projector - they advertised “no delays,” which was a constant issue for one projector operations. The venue stopped advertising in 1915 - likely at the end of her reign.
The Liggett Building was used for other purposes including for the Graves Motor Cars Sales and Service. It appears to have been demolished in 1931.
Grand opening ad on August 17, 1934 with “Cockeyed Cavaliers” is in photos. When business was at its lowest because of television in 1952, Bodwell opened the Dairy Creme hoping to supplement its business in the slow summer months. It worked! The venue went widescreen to present CinemaScope titles. The Paramount closed May 8, 1969 with “Enter Laughing.”
In March of 1987, son Tom and Linda Bodwell re-entered laughing. To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of that moment, they handed off the venue to Barry and Pam Sprout who ran it beginning in 1997. They inquired about the white line on the auditorium floor and were told that it was there in 1934 to divide adult ticket prices from kids ticket prices. The original popper was vented to the outside producing less aroma and better tasting ‘corn (according to the Sprouts). The venue appears to have closed in late 1998.
Gwen “Yess” Green bought the Paramount in 2002 conducting two years of renovation but does not appear to have reopened. The building was sold by the city to private interests in 2013 for $25,000 but little seemed to come from that operation.
The venue finally opened in 2022 perhaps using the lobby - based on photos and was still being used in 2026 for very sporadic events.
Opened by Marion Bodwell on October 24, 1923 in the existing Harty’s Hall as the Paramount Theatre with Marion Davies in “When Knighthood was in Flower.” Bodwell started his theatre work at age 12 as the projectionist at the Lyceum Theatre in town. After opening the Paramount, pipe organist Vera McCluen married Bodwell and they ran both this Paramount and the New Paramount.
Bodwell installed sound in 1930 to remain commercially viable. He said that 1,600 theaters had closed without converting to sound in similar sized towns. Bodwell then went to new digs on August 17, 1934 with the New Paramount Theatre.
Moline architect M.R. Beckstrom drew up the Stark Theatre plans in 1936. It opened as a streamline moderne movie theatre and seems to be largely unchanged to its closure. The Stark Theatre opened on February 18, 1937 for Princeton’s H.V. and John W. Bailey with “Polo Joe” with Joe E. Brown. Lyle Leek dropped the venue to weekend plus operation in its final year. He closed it permanently on December 18, 1954. With just over 1,100 people in town, television had pretty much ruined small town movie houses like the Stark.
The vacant Stark Theatre attracted a new audience with a colony of bees in its marquee in July of 1957. Local beekeeper Henry Robots corralled them and added them to his colony. The theatre was razed on September 10, 1973. It opened and closed as the Stark.
Ah… indeed. Sorry. It returned to cinematic operation:
Over at Chestnut and Second, the space served as a long running silent movie house. The Nickelodeon opened as a store-show era silent one reel movie house with live music in February of 1907. It was joined by four other nickelodeons chasing the coin in the Princess, Dreamland, Bijou, and Atheneum. In 1908, the bubble burst leaving just two venues - one of which was the Nickelodeon.
The Nickelodeon was operated by local theater magnate Chris Taylor of the Dreamland among others as he - followed by Willard J. West - became the dominant early movie pioneers in Kewanee. Taylor was a 19th Century vaudeville and live showman who transitioned to early cinema. Kewanee doled out short-term, one year licenses to operators in the early days; so that encouraged a lot of moving about and name changing. That’s exactly what transpired at 205 North Chestnut was one such location.
The Nickelodeon closed on February 9, 1910. Taylor appeared before the City Council to explain that he would neither extend the license which was expiring in May of 1910 nor reopen the theatre in the interim. Purdy Brothers took on the location as a retail operation.
The next operator was Basil Argeropolis. Argeropolis ran the Olympia Theatre doors away and the Olympia Candy Kitchen. Argeropolis took on the location in October of 1912 returning it to cinematic capacity as the American Theater opening on October 5, 1912. (The newspaper account even cites the building’s absence and return as a cinema.) Argerpolis operated both theaters for a short period of time. He transferred the operations to C.M. Merritt at his retirement in late October of 1914.
Merritt appears to have reduced to one venue with the Olympia roosting here and open from 1914 to 1919. The Olympia changed from films in 1919 to live vaudeville in a last ditch effort to stay commercially viable. That didn’t work out with the Olympia ending its run with a vaudeville show on November 6, 1919 featuring Nichols & Taylor in “The Royal African Prince.” Later that month, the space was remodeled into the Exide Battery and Auto Service Station that opened in early 1920. This ended the location’s 12-year cinematic journey as better movie houses were built in Kewanee.
This entry should be the Olympia Theatre formerly the Nickelodeon Theater and American Theatre.
The Rialto opened in the existing Heaps Building on March 26, 1917 by Walter Taylor with “The Gates of Eden” and Weonna Campbell at the console of the $5,000 Seeburg Pipe Organ Orchestra.
The Rialto added sound to maintain commercial viability. On April 12, 1942, the Rialto played “The Mad Doctor of Market Street” and “Hands Across the Rockies” supported by the serial, “Don Winslow Joins the Navy.” The Rialto was then destroyed by fire on April 13, 1942… but they played out the remaining episodes of the serial at another theater.
The Majestic Theatre opened in 1907 by Ben Straight and Frank Davis. Its second operator with movies was Galesburg showman Willard J. West - his first of three movie houses in Kewanee in the Majestic, Grand, and Willard. West updated the venue in 1915 bringing in the first of two Bartola pipe organs to the building. That update also provided rose panels and Italian marble throughout.
In 1917, West provided the Majestic with its new Bartola pipe organ and it was played Bina Keaveny to great effect. The old Bartola pipe organ was moved to West’s Willard Theatre. Future Majestic organists were John Behan and Robert James Judie.
The Majestic’s final operator was Fred W. Shaver who gave it a final refresh in 1929. Shaver almost stubbornly presented silent films into early 1932 and the slogan “Good Old Organ Music All Appreciate.” And it was still the Bartola.
Having a silent movie house in 1932 made the town of Kewanee and the Majestic an outlier as most movie houses had either converted to audio or exited film exhibition. But 1932 was its last year of regular operation as it veered into very sporadic live events. Its last movies were shown silent in 1935. As it was reaching its 30-year leasing expiry, the venue was converted to retail for a Larkin’s store in early 1936.
The Nickelodeon opened as a store-show era silent one reel movie house with live music between in February of 1907. It was joined by four other nickelodeons chasing the coin in the Princess, Dreamland, Bijou, and Atheneum. In 1908, the bubble burst leaving just two venues - one of which was the Nickelodeon. It was operated by local theater magnate Chris Taylor of the Dreamland among others.
The Nickelodeon closed on February 9, 1910. Taylor appeared before the City Council to explain that he would neither extend the license which was expiring in May of 1910 nor reopen the theatre in the interim. Purdy Brothers took on the location as a retail operation.
This venue had a 33-year run as both opera house from 1899 to 1910 and as a silent-era movie house that was converted back to live programming before burning down in 1932. The Kewanee Opera House - the successor to McClure’s Opera House in that same building - was a 1,000 seat venue that closed on April 29, 1910 for a one month refresh by new owner and Galesburg movie house owner Willard J. West and his partner, Frank Theilen. When it re-emerged on June 6, 1910, it had a permanent screen at the rear of the building and a new name in the Grand Theatre mostly dedicated to movies with live vaudeville acts. It also had reduced seat count seemingly removing the balcony and boxes - but as noted above, it’s not clear what that count was. It did have new frescos painted on the walls and its exit doors and a larger stage.
Late in 1919, the Grand Theater’s run of movies was over and it scuffled under new operators. It had a return to live event programming including plays and minstrel shows booked by new operators W.T. Pierce and Fred Shaver in 1926 and 1927. But that was an unsuccessful run as Kewanee-sized towns had trouble supporting old opera house, live programming. So by the late 1920s and early 1930s, it added boxing and wrestling making the choice not to convert to sound films. Shows continued into 1932.
The Grand’s programming was so lightly regarded and sporadic that the newspaper said that the fire destroying it on September 24, 1933 took out a venue that had been more or less in darkness for six years. Said the reporter, “(The Grand) passes out of the pictures with no one particularly concerned” and - not a theatre - but a retail operation would hopefully take its place. The venue was also described as cavernous - not the greatest term for a showplace of the era.
The previous building, the New Opera House had opened on September 6, 1898; but it burned down on February 21, 1899 following a wrestling match after just five months of operation. The skeletal walls of the building were used in the new building. It was the New Opera House - and soon McClure’s Opera House - opening on October 19, 1899. Thomas McClure had entered into the project as it was being rebuilt. The venue shows early moving pictures before the turn of the century. With the opening of its new season on August 22 1906, it was decided to call it the Kewanee Opera House. It retained that name through its final show of its season on April 29, 1910. The Grand operated under that name 22 of its 33 year run.
The 1,400-seat Air Dome opened on June 1, 1908 and operated seasonally in 1908, 1909 and 1910 with the ventilation challenged Opera House as the rain location. In April of 1911, a salvage sale was held with demolition occurring in May of 1911 to make way for the new Elks Lodge.
Dreamland “#1” opened in the Hotel Main Building on May 24, 1907 after a test screening two days earlier at 206 N. Main in the Hotel Main Building at 208 N. Main. Lina Clark accompanied the songs and the Pathé films that were mixed in with live acts. Vitagraph and other films were part of the mix as the short movies were easier to program and enjoyed. It has its own entry as the Dreamland Theatre.
Chris Taylor moved the venue across the street here to new digs in 1912 as Dreamland “#2”. That building apparently replaced the existing Dickey Building. When Willard J. West, he of Galesburg’s West Theatre, took on the venue in 1913, he renamed it the Willard Theatre That’s this entry which spent more time as the Willard Theatre - the name of this entry. He had it reseated with 300 white maple opera house chairs and renamed it the Willard Theatre beginning on December 12, 1913.
Taylor reacquired the operation closing it on January 8, 1922 with “False Brands” and “Dixie Madcaps” supported by a serial. With the closing of the Willard, the continuing serial moved to the Rialto. In February of 1922, the white maple seating and projection equipment was gone in favor of a retail store.
In the 1910s, Taylor had opened the Tabard Theatre which became Dreamland “#3” at 108 W. 3d Street (it has its own entry - likely as the Garden Theatre).
So to recap: Dreamland “#1” was in the Hotel Main Building - carrying the 206 N. Main address at the Hotel Main at 208 W. Main. (The picture above is from 1910 and it not from 205 N. Main but 206 N. Main and should be moved to that entry.)
This entry: Dreamland “#2” became the Willard Theatre at 205 N. Main. This entry should be the Willard Theatre formerly the Dreamland (“#2” if that helps).
Dreamland “#3” became the Garden Theatre after opening as the Tabard Theatre (108 W. 3rd Street). Its entry should be the Garden Theatre (formerly the Tabard and formerly the Dreamland [“#3” if that helps]).
Chris Taylor opened the New Dreamland / Dreamland (“#2”) elsewhere in 1912, as well as Dreamland #1 in 1907 in the Hotel Main. Here, in the Gould Building, Taylor and business associate Mr. Beard, had their names fused together - as explained by naming contest winner Wilnia Bowman - to create the 312-seat Tabard Theatre launching March 24, 1912. Ernest Lindbeck was the first person to actually purchase a ticket that day as Bowman’s money was a guest of the theater’s. The projection booth was built in steel and concrete to protect against a spreading fire.
Even though its pronunciation was also explained, nobody knew how to properly pronounce it. So Taylor went for the hat trick on January 29, 1914 renaming here as the Dreamland (“#3”) with “The Adventures of Kathlyn.” The theatre lists regular shows until October 13, 1918’s showing of Marion Davies first starring role in “Runaway Roman.” It then played sporadic shows likely to complete booking engagements in December.
John Rood took on the venue in January of 1919 hanging vines and using lots of artificial flowers in the renaming of the building as the Garden Theatre. It was advertised as “The Small House with the Big Show.” Rood sold out to Harold Eckenfelder of Peru, Illinois - a road show film operator who had two Simplex projectors he took to small towns and villages in the area. The Garden operated until May of 1921 when it closed permanently. The former Tabard / Dreamland / Garden was torn out for a barber shop and a retail store in 1921 and 1922.
Ralph C. Harris drew the first draft of this venue in 1916. He then made a revised effort in 1920. He was shooting for a Roman Pompeian interior and mural work reminding folks of Roman baths. An Illinois-based, Smith Unit pipe organ wowed audiences at the opening on December 1, 1920.
Publix rebooted the Plaza as the streamline moderne Kee Theatre on Christmas Day 1937 with High Flyers and The Westland Case. It played “Rise and Shine” on the first of three playdates on April 12, 1942 but before the second playdate, the building exploded taking much of downtown with it. It was rebuilt and opened on March 1, 1945 with The Great Barn Dance. The Kee wasn’t a match for the lure of television closing on May 11, 1952 with The Marrying Kind.
The Wanee Drive-In opened with “Fort Defiance" on May 8, 1952. Kerasotes ran it to the end of lease closing on Labor Day, September 7, 1981 with “Tarzan, the Ape Man” and “Clash of the Titans.”
The post-War Roanoke Theatre’s December 1, 1946 grand opening ad with “Renegades” in photos. It first closed in November of 1957 due to lack of business as small town theatres were decimated by television.
A dreamer by the name of Martin Moritz and his wife reopened the venue on October 9, 1957. They closed citing four straight months of financial losses out of five they operated it. It closed after the March 2, 1958 showings of “Pal Joey.” They didn’t show the final advertised shows of “Monkey on My Back” likely because it hit close to home. Hoping to sell or lease the building, a decision was made to rid the building from the tax roster through demolition.
This venue opened at 124 North Jefferson on February 23, 1947 and its grand opening ad with “Canyon Passage” is in photos. On December 3, 1948, it became the Bonny Theatre and the crossover ad with “The River Lady” and “The Devil’s Playground” is in photos. It concluded film exhibition on February 14, 1954 with “Easy to Love.” It was offered for sale and had a couple of Country Western live jamboree shows until coming back on a three-day operational schedule.
New operator John M. Weber reopened it on January 29, 1955 with “Rocketman” and “Princess of the Nile.” He had a longer than expected run making it six weeks and closing permanently on March 14, 1955 with “The Last Time I Saw Paris.” Weber cited lack of patronage for its closure. The building became home to Swede Crank Plumbing a year later and has since been razed.
The Palace Theatre opened on December 15, 1923 with “The Drivin' Fool” with a Schaeffer Symphonola providing the silent film’s accompaniment. It competed with the existing Phoenix Theatre. When the Arcadia wired for sound in 1929, the State was designated as the “silent program” theater. It closed November 29, 1929 with Greta Garbo in “The Single Standard.” It did not reopen.
The theatre was built by Frisina Amusement in Fall of 1956 as an 8-ramp, 322 car venue with expansion possible to 500 in the future. It opened June 7, 1957 with “Hell and High Water” and “River of No Return” in CinemaScope with a bonus feature of “The Catman of Paris” on June 8th.
The last advertised show was on August 2, 1982 with “Things Are Tough All Over” and “The Blues Brothers.” In January of 1983 article said that Frisna sold the land for redevelopment along with a half dozen other drive-ins as it reduced its ozoner footprint. The entry should be the Midway Drive-In - its name from beginning to end.
Frisina remodeled it as the State Theatre on September 6, 1942 with “Mrs. Miniver.” The final film shown was a four-wall “Pan-American Race” film on September 14, 1955 although its regular operation had pretty much ceased in 1954. The venue was retrofitted for a Western Auto Store in May of 1956.
Duplicate entry (see Roxy)
Opened July 12, 1926 with “The Cohens and The Kellys.” The $10,000 Robert Morton Wonder Pipe Organ impresed.
Just a skeletal synopsis (none of this information was provided by Bryan Krefft, if that is the indication in this entry - it also is in error). The Elks replaced the J.F. Hyatt Opera House after its fire of 1910 (see photo). The building was located at 323 South Kitchell Street. Grand opening ads as the Elks Theatre on January 30, 1913 (in photos), the New Elks on April 1, 1934 (in photos) and the New Roxy (formerly the Elks) February 21, 1941 (in photos).
Phil H. Heyde took over operation of the venue in November 1921 as primarily as a full time movie house with some events. Heyde closed the venue in 1931 unable to convert to sound despite an announcement of its impending installation late in 1931. He remodeled and added sound returning the Elks to active operation in 1934. After a brief foray to live events in early 1935, Frisina Amusement took over the venue as the “New” Elks in 1935 and full time films likely on a 20-year subleasing agreement.
The name was changed back to the Elks Theatre by new Manager John Strum after a refresh beginning on April 12, 1946 (ad in photos) closing in 1955 at end of leasing agreement with an in person event by Ferlin Husky being the highlight of its final partial year of operation. The Elks turned Roxy turned back to Elks was dismantled in November of 1955 for use in the expansion of its restaurant / grill. The building was demolished for a new Elks Club.
The Plez-U Theatre was located in the IOOF Building in 1935 and took the place of the 40-yar old Opera House that served as the local movie house. The IOOF which housed the Plez-U decided to remodel and the theatre was taken out with the playdates moved back to the Opera House. The theatre auditorium was repositioned as the Brown Theatre opening on November 14, 1936. It was a streamline moderne movie house launching with “Sing, Baby, Sing.” Following the showtimes of January 27, 1958, a nitrate film fire destroyed the IOOF building. “Stop Over Tokyo” was the final film for the Brown Theatre.
Opening date: June 21, 1972 (sorry)
The first movies in town were shown in the Wyoming Opera House. But three nickelodeon-era theaters soon co-existed in town. Frank Warren and Pauline Terwilliger operated four theatres in the area - one in the Swan Building in Wyoming, one in Toulon, one in Princeville, and the Airdome in Wyoming. L.A. Castle operated another nickelodeon. This entry is about the other venue: The Princess Theatre.
Here, on Williams Street, “Doc” Harvey and Lawrence Higbee operated the Princess Theatre in the existing Liggett Building on East Williams Street launching on November 2, 1912 just west of the Hoover Restaurant. Roy Evans was the singer with advertising slides behind him between one reel films. Armentrout & Jacobus assumed control of the Princess by 1914 and appear to have installed a second projector - they advertised “no delays,” which was a constant issue for one projector operations. The venue stopped advertising in 1915 - likely at the end of her reign.
The Liggett Building was used for other purposes including for the Graves Motor Cars Sales and Service. It appears to have been demolished in 1931.
Grand opening ad on August 17, 1934 with “Cockeyed Cavaliers” is in photos. When business was at its lowest because of television in 1952, Bodwell opened the Dairy Creme hoping to supplement its business in the slow summer months. It worked! The venue went widescreen to present CinemaScope titles. The Paramount closed May 8, 1969 with “Enter Laughing.”
In March of 1987, son Tom and Linda Bodwell re-entered laughing. To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of that moment, they handed off the venue to Barry and Pam Sprout who ran it beginning in 1997. They inquired about the white line on the auditorium floor and were told that it was there in 1934 to divide adult ticket prices from kids ticket prices. The original popper was vented to the outside producing less aroma and better tasting ‘corn (according to the Sprouts). The venue appears to have closed in late 1998.
Gwen “Yess” Green bought the Paramount in 2002 conducting two years of renovation but does not appear to have reopened. The building was sold by the city to private interests in 2013 for $25,000 but little seemed to come from that operation.
The venue finally opened in 2022 perhaps using the lobby - based on photos and was still being used in 2026 for very sporadic events.
Opened by Marion Bodwell on October 24, 1923 in the existing Harty’s Hall as the Paramount Theatre with Marion Davies in “When Knighthood was in Flower.” Bodwell started his theatre work at age 12 as the projectionist at the Lyceum Theatre in town. After opening the Paramount, pipe organist Vera McCluen married Bodwell and they ran both this Paramount and the New Paramount.
Bodwell installed sound in 1930 to remain commercially viable. He said that 1,600 theaters had closed without converting to sound in similar sized towns. Bodwell then went to new digs on August 17, 1934 with the New Paramount Theatre.
Moline architect M.R. Beckstrom drew up the Stark Theatre plans in 1936. It opened as a streamline moderne movie theatre and seems to be largely unchanged to its closure. The Stark Theatre opened on February 18, 1937 for Princeton’s H.V. and John W. Bailey with “Polo Joe” with Joe E. Brown. Lyle Leek dropped the venue to weekend plus operation in its final year. He closed it permanently on December 18, 1954. With just over 1,100 people in town, television had pretty much ruined small town movie houses like the Stark.
The vacant Stark Theatre attracted a new audience with a colony of bees in its marquee in July of 1957. Local beekeeper Henry Robots corralled them and added them to his colony. The theatre was razed on September 10, 1973. It opened and closed as the Stark.
Ah… indeed. Sorry. It returned to cinematic operation:
Over at Chestnut and Second, the space served as a long running silent movie house. The Nickelodeon opened as a store-show era silent one reel movie house with live music in February of 1907. It was joined by four other nickelodeons chasing the coin in the Princess, Dreamland, Bijou, and Atheneum. In 1908, the bubble burst leaving just two venues - one of which was the Nickelodeon.
The Nickelodeon was operated by local theater magnate Chris Taylor of the Dreamland among others as he - followed by Willard J. West - became the dominant early movie pioneers in Kewanee. Taylor was a 19th Century vaudeville and live showman who transitioned to early cinema. Kewanee doled out short-term, one year licenses to operators in the early days; so that encouraged a lot of moving about and name changing. That’s exactly what transpired at 205 North Chestnut was one such location.
The Nickelodeon closed on February 9, 1910. Taylor appeared before the City Council to explain that he would neither extend the license which was expiring in May of 1910 nor reopen the theatre in the interim. Purdy Brothers took on the location as a retail operation.
The next operator was Basil Argeropolis. Argeropolis ran the Olympia Theatre doors away and the Olympia Candy Kitchen. Argeropolis took on the location in October of 1912 returning it to cinematic capacity as the American Theater opening on October 5, 1912. (The newspaper account even cites the building’s absence and return as a cinema.) Argerpolis operated both theaters for a short period of time. He transferred the operations to C.M. Merritt at his retirement in late October of 1914.
Merritt appears to have reduced to one venue with the Olympia roosting here and open from 1914 to 1919. The Olympia changed from films in 1919 to live vaudeville in a last ditch effort to stay commercially viable. That didn’t work out with the Olympia ending its run with a vaudeville show on November 6, 1919 featuring Nichols & Taylor in “The Royal African Prince.” Later that month, the space was remodeled into the Exide Battery and Auto Service Station that opened in early 1920. This ended the location’s 12-year cinematic journey as better movie houses were built in Kewanee.
This entry should be the Olympia Theatre formerly the Nickelodeon Theater and American Theatre.
The Rialto opened in the existing Heaps Building on March 26, 1917 by Walter Taylor with “The Gates of Eden” and Weonna Campbell at the console of the $5,000 Seeburg Pipe Organ Orchestra.
The Rialto added sound to maintain commercial viability. On April 12, 1942, the Rialto played “The Mad Doctor of Market Street” and “Hands Across the Rockies” supported by the serial, “Don Winslow Joins the Navy.” The Rialto was then destroyed by fire on April 13, 1942… but they played out the remaining episodes of the serial at another theater.
The Majestic Theatre opened in 1907 by Ben Straight and Frank Davis. Its second operator with movies was Galesburg showman Willard J. West - his first of three movie houses in Kewanee in the Majestic, Grand, and Willard. West updated the venue in 1915 bringing in the first of two Bartola pipe organs to the building. That update also provided rose panels and Italian marble throughout.
In 1917, West provided the Majestic with its new Bartola pipe organ and it was played Bina Keaveny to great effect. The old Bartola pipe organ was moved to West’s Willard Theatre. Future Majestic organists were John Behan and Robert James Judie.
The Majestic’s final operator was Fred W. Shaver who gave it a final refresh in 1929. Shaver almost stubbornly presented silent films into early 1932 and the slogan “Good Old Organ Music All Appreciate.” And it was still the Bartola.
Having a silent movie house in 1932 made the town of Kewanee and the Majestic an outlier as most movie houses had either converted to audio or exited film exhibition. But 1932 was its last year of regular operation as it veered into very sporadic live events. Its last movies were shown silent in 1935. As it was reaching its 30-year leasing expiry, the venue was converted to retail for a Larkin’s store in early 1936.
The Nickelodeon opened as a store-show era silent one reel movie house with live music between in February of 1907. It was joined by four other nickelodeons chasing the coin in the Princess, Dreamland, Bijou, and Atheneum. In 1908, the bubble burst leaving just two venues - one of which was the Nickelodeon. It was operated by local theater magnate Chris Taylor of the Dreamland among others.
The Nickelodeon closed on February 9, 1910. Taylor appeared before the City Council to explain that he would neither extend the license which was expiring in May of 1910 nor reopen the theatre in the interim. Purdy Brothers took on the location as a retail operation.
This venue had a 33-year run as both opera house from 1899 to 1910 and as a silent-era movie house that was converted back to live programming before burning down in 1932. The Kewanee Opera House - the successor to McClure’s Opera House in that same building - was a 1,000 seat venue that closed on April 29, 1910 for a one month refresh by new owner and Galesburg movie house owner Willard J. West and his partner, Frank Theilen. When it re-emerged on June 6, 1910, it had a permanent screen at the rear of the building and a new name in the Grand Theatre mostly dedicated to movies with live vaudeville acts. It also had reduced seat count seemingly removing the balcony and boxes - but as noted above, it’s not clear what that count was. It did have new frescos painted on the walls and its exit doors and a larger stage.
Late in 1919, the Grand Theater’s run of movies was over and it scuffled under new operators. It had a return to live event programming including plays and minstrel shows booked by new operators W.T. Pierce and Fred Shaver in 1926 and 1927. But that was an unsuccessful run as Kewanee-sized towns had trouble supporting old opera house, live programming. So by the late 1920s and early 1930s, it added boxing and wrestling making the choice not to convert to sound films. Shows continued into 1932.
The Grand’s programming was so lightly regarded and sporadic that the newspaper said that the fire destroying it on September 24, 1933 took out a venue that had been more or less in darkness for six years. Said the reporter, “(The Grand) passes out of the pictures with no one particularly concerned” and - not a theatre - but a retail operation would hopefully take its place. The venue was also described as cavernous - not the greatest term for a showplace of the era.
The previous building, the New Opera House had opened on September 6, 1898; but it burned down on February 21, 1899 following a wrestling match after just five months of operation. The skeletal walls of the building were used in the new building. It was the New Opera House - and soon McClure’s Opera House - opening on October 19, 1899. Thomas McClure had entered into the project as it was being rebuilt. The venue shows early moving pictures before the turn of the century. With the opening of its new season on August 22 1906, it was decided to call it the Kewanee Opera House. It retained that name through its final show of its season on April 29, 1910. The Grand operated under that name 22 of its 33 year run.
The 1,400-seat Air Dome opened on June 1, 1908 and operated seasonally in 1908, 1909 and 1910 with the ventilation challenged Opera House as the rain location. In April of 1911, a salvage sale was held with demolition occurring in May of 1911 to make way for the new Elks Lodge.
Dreamland “#1” opened in the Hotel Main Building on May 24, 1907 after a test screening two days earlier at 206 N. Main in the Hotel Main Building at 208 N. Main. Lina Clark accompanied the songs and the Pathé films that were mixed in with live acts. Vitagraph and other films were part of the mix as the short movies were easier to program and enjoyed. It has its own entry as the Dreamland Theatre.
Chris Taylor moved the venue across the street here to new digs in 1912 as Dreamland “#2”. That building apparently replaced the existing Dickey Building. When Willard J. West, he of Galesburg’s West Theatre, took on the venue in 1913, he renamed it the Willard Theatre That’s this entry which spent more time as the Willard Theatre - the name of this entry. He had it reseated with 300 white maple opera house chairs and renamed it the Willard Theatre beginning on December 12, 1913.
Taylor reacquired the operation closing it on January 8, 1922 with “False Brands” and “Dixie Madcaps” supported by a serial. With the closing of the Willard, the continuing serial moved to the Rialto. In February of 1922, the white maple seating and projection equipment was gone in favor of a retail store.
In the 1910s, Taylor had opened the Tabard Theatre which became Dreamland “#3” at 108 W. 3d Street (it has its own entry - likely as the Garden Theatre).
So to recap: Dreamland “#1” was in the Hotel Main Building - carrying the 206 N. Main address at the Hotel Main at 208 W. Main. (The picture above is from 1910 and it not from 205 N. Main but 206 N. Main and should be moved to that entry.)
This entry: Dreamland “#2” became the Willard Theatre at 205 N. Main. This entry should be the Willard Theatre formerly the Dreamland (“#2” if that helps).
Dreamland “#3” became the Garden Theatre after opening as the Tabard Theatre (108 W. 3rd Street). Its entry should be the Garden Theatre (formerly the Tabard and formerly the Dreamland [“#3” if that helps]).
Chris Taylor opened the New Dreamland / Dreamland (“#2”) elsewhere in 1912, as well as Dreamland #1 in 1907 in the Hotel Main. Here, in the Gould Building, Taylor and business associate Mr. Beard, had their names fused together - as explained by naming contest winner Wilnia Bowman - to create the 312-seat Tabard Theatre launching March 24, 1912. Ernest Lindbeck was the first person to actually purchase a ticket that day as Bowman’s money was a guest of the theater’s. The projection booth was built in steel and concrete to protect against a spreading fire.
Even though its pronunciation was also explained, nobody knew how to properly pronounce it. So Taylor went for the hat trick on January 29, 1914 renaming here as the Dreamland (“#3”) with “The Adventures of Kathlyn.” The theatre lists regular shows until October 13, 1918’s showing of Marion Davies first starring role in “Runaway Roman.” It then played sporadic shows likely to complete booking engagements in December.
John Rood took on the venue in January of 1919 hanging vines and using lots of artificial flowers in the renaming of the building as the Garden Theatre. It was advertised as “The Small House with the Big Show.” Rood sold out to Harold Eckenfelder of Peru, Illinois - a road show film operator who had two Simplex projectors he took to small towns and villages in the area. The Garden operated until May of 1921 when it closed permanently. The former Tabard / Dreamland / Garden was torn out for a barber shop and a retail store in 1921 and 1922.
Ralph C. Harris drew the first draft of this venue in 1916. He then made a revised effort in 1920. He was shooting for a Roman Pompeian interior and mural work reminding folks of Roman baths. An Illinois-based, Smith Unit pipe organ wowed audiences at the opening on December 1, 1920.
Publix rebooted the Plaza as the streamline moderne Kee Theatre on Christmas Day 1937 with High Flyers and The Westland Case. It played “Rise and Shine” on the first of three playdates on April 12, 1942 but before the second playdate, the building exploded taking much of downtown with it. It was rebuilt and opened on March 1, 1945 with The Great Barn Dance. The Kee wasn’t a match for the lure of television closing on May 11, 1952 with The Marrying Kind.
The Wanee Drive-In opened with “Fort Defiance" on May 8, 1952. Kerasotes ran it to the end of lease closing on Labor Day, September 7, 1981 with “Tarzan, the Ape Man” and “Clash of the Titans.”