Regale Theater
140 W. Norton Avenue,
Salem,
SD
57058
140 W. Norton Avenue,
Salem,
SD
57058
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The theater was open by 1926. It was located in a long, narrow, one story brick building constructed in 1915.
The 1917 map shows this building as a billiard hall and lunch room with bowling alleys in the basement. That map also shows a now lost opera house on the corner, which was in the process of being converted into a store. It’s possible that movies were moved into this space from that operation.
In any case, this theater was still operating in 1963. The building is in decent shape, with cheap plastic siding covering the lower facade, and the old marquee painted white.
It is now a furniture store.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
Mentions of Salem are few in the trade journals, and the earliest mention of the Regale Theater I’ve found is in the July 4, 1925 issue of Moving Picture World. It is a capsule movie review from the manager of the house, Ed Mahan.
The November 23, 1955 Motion Picture Exhibitor said that “N. A. and L. E. Jorgensen’s Regale, Salem, S. D., celebrated its 25th anniversary.” This was apparently only the anniversary of the Jorgensens ownership, and Leonard Jorgensen’s 1999 obituary in the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader said that in 1930 he “…moved to Salem, where he owned and operated the Regale Theater and Bowling Alley until the early 1970’s.” Presumably, the bowling alley was the one that had been in the basement by 1917 and was probably part of the original construction in 1915.