Princess Theatre

The Princess Theatre was the first dedicated silent movie house in downtown Galva. It was placed in an existing building, the Best Block, in February of 1911. Prior to its launch, the Galva Opera House carried a few moving pictures though mostly programmed live events.

The building housing the Princess Theatre - the Best Block - was built in 1887 and part of a somewhat uncommon feature of Galva’s downtown landscape; unlike the rest of the city, which followed a traditional grid pattern, its central commercial block, its Galva House, and its Princess Theatre were positioned diagonally along the railroad tracks.

When the new-build Galva Theatre opened in May of 1927, the Princess Theatre was closed permanently and converted back to retail. Its final showtimes were on May 14, 1927 with Jackie Coogan in “Johnny, Get Your Hair Cut”. The former Princess Theatre first became a Ben Franklin Store in May of 1928. It later became a long-running home to Murnen’s, a clothing store. But the Best Block was torn down in the 2010’s.

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