Regale Theater

140 W. Norton Avenue,
Salem, SD 57058

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Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on September 13, 2025 at 2:14 am

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.