Electric Theatre
906 Central Avenue,
Hawarden,
IA
51023
906 Central Avenue,
Hawarden,
IA
51023
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The Electric Theatre was opened on July 23, 1908. It appears appears on the 1914 Sanborn, in the southern storefront of an old two story brick commercial building dating to before 1899. The 1909 map shows ‘General Merchandise Here’. This theatre was closed on April 20, 1918. By 1926, when the map again shows it as a store.
This building and an old opera house on the corner were demolished 1939-40 to be replaced by a nice New Deal post office.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
Polk’s 1914 Iowa Gazetteer lists only one movie theater (the Lyric) and the opera house (Brunskill Opera House, David Brunskill, propr.) at Hawarden. Items in theater industry trade journals indicate that Lyric was a new name for the Hawarden Theatre, but not until early 1915, so I don’t know how it got named in the 1914 Gazetteer.
This house at 906 Central might not have opened until after the 1914 Gazetteer went to press, so didn’t get listed that year, but this might be the house called the Electric Theatre that was listed (along with the Lyric) in the 1918 Gazetteer. An Electric Theatre was listed in the 1912 Gazetteer, but as it wasn’t listed in 1914 it must have been a different house. Perhaps it was an earlier name for the Hawarden/Lyric Theatre.
The first dedicated movie theatre opened in the 1890-built Lind Block on February 20, 1908 - a store-show nickelodeon. That’s likely the Star turned Lyric Theatre. This entry is most likely the second dedicated movie house in town. It opened as the Electric Theatre on July 23, 1908. And the Opera House was advertising movies as well in 1908. So three venues in town with movies which wasn’t unusual in a small town in the nickelodeon era.
The Electric Theatre ceased advertising on April 20, 1918. As that’s likely the end of its 10-year leasing agreement. So that’s the posited time line here - though no promises.