Theatre
6608 E. Main Street,
Eau Claire,
MI
49111
6608 E. Main Street,
Eau Claire,
MI
49111
No one has favorited this theater yet
Showing 1 comment
Eau Claire was skipped by the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture directory, but the 1926 FDY lists a 200 seat Opera House in operation at Eau Claire, though a history of the town published in 1961 says that the Opera House, opened in 1900, had burned to the ground in 1930. The history’s only other mention of any sort of theater in the town is a reference to classes being held temporarily in the “Picture Show” following a fire that destroyed the town’s school in 1918. The fact that Picture Show is capitalized suggests that this might have been the name under which the house operated.
The only reference to movies in the book is this: “Also during the great depression came the era of the village free shows. A full length movie was shown at an outdoor location during the summer months. Sponsored by local merchants, a new film was shown each week. These free shows were perhaps the most successfully attended social gatherings in the history of the village.”
Free shows sponsored by local merchants suggests that the indoor theater had been closed by then. The fact that the 1926 FDY lists only the Opera House also indicates that an earlier closing date was likely for this house at 6608 E. Main.