Opera House

431 Kasan Avenue,
Volga, SD 57071

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SethG
SethG on September 1, 2025 at 11:45 pm

Thanks, Joe. Sounds like I’m safe to create an entry for the Auditorium, which may have been called the Volga as well.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on August 31, 2025 at 12:18 am

I don’t find either the Rex or the Opera House mentioned in trade journals, but the Opera House is listed in a few editions of the Cahn Guide and in the 1906 Gus Hill guide, which was its earliest listing. It is listed with different seating capacities (400, 600, or 350.) The 1912-1913 Cahn guide gives no details, saying only “corrected details not at hand.”

One thing that might indicate that the Rex and the Opera House might not have been the same theater is a 1914 state publication rating the condition of public buildings which lists two theaters at Volga. They were the Opera House and Daum’s Theatre, so there was at least one other theater at Volga at one point. However, two editions of another state publication listing license fees charged for public buildings (in 1920 and 1921) don’t list any theaters other than the Opera House at Volga, so Daum’s appears to have been short-lived.

Wherever the Rex was, I can at least confirm that the Auditorium that replaced it did show movies. The October 3, 1947 issue of Film Daily ran an item headlined “Auditorium’s New Owner” saying: “Volga, S. D.— Mr. and Mrs. Carl Larsen have bought the Auditorium here from H. J. Givens. Larsens also operate in Onida.” That is the only mention of Volga I’ve found in the trade journals.