Princess Theatre

Two 19th Century wooden frame retail buildings housing the Altmann Harness Shop and Bingham Jewelry were demolished to make way for Slauson and Hanssen’s new electric theatre in 1912. It opened as the 250-seat Princess Theatre on September 14, 1912. It featured a fireproof, cement projection booth.

Ernest T. Landis took on the venue in June of 1914 with Slauson remaining for a period of time. Landis equipped the Princess Theatre with a DeForest Sound System, the Junior DeForest Phonofilm - designed for smaller theatres. The hardware allowed the Princess Theatre to present sound films and remain commercially viable. DeForest’s trade advertisements carried the slogan, “The Show Must Go On” stressing extinction for theatres not adopting sound - which turned out to be correct. The first talkie was presented on June 26, 1930 with Jack Oakie in “Sweetie”.

Landis opened the Monte Theatre in June of 1934. With fewer than 2,500 residents and the Depression, it was hard to imagine two theatres co-existing. But Landis gave the Princess Theatre new seating and an interior refresh in July of 1934. In October of 1941, the Princess Theatre was downgraded to five-day operational weeks. It ran under the banner of “Where Pictures and Sound are the Best to be Found”.

Landis sold both the Princess Theatre and Monte Theatre to a Des Moines chain effective July 1, 1945 under the banner of the Monticello Amusement Company. The Princess Theatre spot was abdicated on August 26, 1945 after Ann Miller in “Eve Knew Her Apples” and Tex Ritter in “The Whispering Skull” supported by a Movietone Newsreel.

The theatre seats and projection were removed in short order but the marquee remained in place until 1949. The venue was later retrofitted for retail purposes. The building was still in Downtown in the 2020’s in use as a restaurant named The Market at the Tap.

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