Peoples Theatre
129 E. 4th Avenue,
Garnett,
KS
66032
129 E. 4th Avenue,
Garnett,
KS
66032
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Additional Info
Architects: Robert O. Boller
Firms: Boller Brothers
Styles: Art Deco
Nearby Theaters
Peoples Theatre was opened as early as 1914. At some point it was converted to show movies. The balcony was enclosed and converted into a projection room. The stage was left intact.
It resembled the old theatre in "The Last Picture Show". There was a lighted marquee that hung out over the sidewalk. It was the only movie theatre in the county.
The main fare was second run features. In the 1960’s they had kid’s Saturday matinees for 25 cents. Around 1980 it became part of a small chain. A few years later it was damaged by fire and was closed.
Contributed by
Michael Ellis
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
thanks Michael,so many of these lost gems will probably never make on CT,unless locals care enough.
PLEASE ADD TO ADDRESS:
EAST 4th AVENUE
SEATS 550
The September 17, 1938, issue of Motion Picture Herald said that a new front on the Peoples Theatre (the name on the marquee had no apostrophe) had been designed by Robert Boller.
Address was 129 E. 4th Avenue, confirmed Demolished. Building to the left of it in the photos is still standing, with distinctive horizontal trim beneath it’s coping stones. Cinematour also lists a separate Garnett Theatre which has no CT page. But that conflicts with the Overview above that claims Peoples Theatre was the only movie theatre in the county.
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.
Garnett seems to make few appearances in the theater industry trade journals. This one from the December 10, 1921 Moving Picture World mentions the Peoples Theater: “W. H. Carson has sold the Peoples Theatre at Garnett, Kas., to the Central States Theatres Company.” I’ve been unable to discover how long Central States operated the house, but by 1938 it was operated by H. B. Doering, whose name was still mentioned in connection with Garnett in issues of Boxoffice at least as late as 1971.