As of January 2026 it has been renovated into divided retail spaces, with 4 entrances on the building’s left side.
New roof & mechanicals.
The marquee has been restored and reinstalled since the July 2025 street view.
Link with photos below.
Original owner and builder was Woodmont Development Corporation, leased to Sidney B. Lust for operation. Original seating was 1000.
(Image added with information)
Additional history credit Missouri Historical Society, link at bottom. January 31, 2017 Origin Story: The Fabulous Fox
by Jen Tebbe | Former Digital Communications Manager SHARE
Although his name isn’t on the marquee, St. Louisans largely have Charles Howard Crane to thank for the Fox Theatre’s breathtaking architecture. Crane, a Connecticut native, certainly had a niche: He designed more than 250 movie theaters over the course of his career, including several so-called movie palaces.
In 1914, New York’s Mark Strand Theatre became the first movie palace to open its doors. With its unique second-floor viewing balcony and the ability to seat approximately 3,000 people, the Strand ignited a new appreciation for escapism through entertainment. For a small fee, patrons could enter a movie palace and be engulfed in the rich and exotic, immediately forgetting the drudgery of day-to-day existence.
Crane’s Fox theatres in Detroit and St. Louis fully embraced the exotic with their use of Siamese-Byzantine style, which mixed “the salient features of Burmese, Hindoo, Persian, Indian and Chinese architecture and decoration,” according to the March 1929 issue of Union Electric Magazine. Owner William Fox referred to the theatres’ décor differently, calling it “Eve Leo style” in reference to his wife’s hands-on involvement: She traveled widely to purchase furnishings for Fox’s theatres, making numerous trips from New York to Detroit to St. Louis to oversee their delivery and installation.
The two theatres are nearly identical twins, with the biggest difference visible when you observe them from the street. Because Detroit’s Fox Theatre was built in that city’s downtown, it was attached to an office building—albeit an intricately styled one. St. Louis’s Fox Theatre was built far enough from downtown that the building could have its own ornate façade, hence the elaborate arch housing a massive window that overlooks the grandiose lobby inside.
On January 31, 1929, the St. Louis Fox was ready for its debut. William Fox himself addressed the crowds, as well as Missouri governor Henry S. Caulfield and St. Louis mayor Victor J. Miller. In addition to the feature film Street Angel, which also happened to be the premiere film at the Detroit Fox’s opening, attendees were treated to a performance of Wagner’s Tannhäuser overture courtesy of the 150-person Fox Grand Orchestra; Tableaux St. Louis, “a tribute to the city’s civic pride and progressive enterprise”; and a performance of Irving Berlin’s “Roses of Yesterday” by the Fox Ballet and Choral Ensemble.
Today the Fox is home to concerts and touring Broadway performances. Although these spectacles weren’t what Crane had in mind when designing the space, the escapist nature of the venue’s entertainment remains intact thanks to towering red-and-gold columns, a powerful Wurlitzer organ, a bejeweled chandelier, and stunning staircases that lead us up and away from our daily grind—for a few hours anyway.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because Crane’s renderings of the Fox are still under copyright, we can’t show you the detail here. If you want to take a look at—and even touch!—these fabulous artifacts, simply stop by the Library & Research Center at 225 S. Skinker Blvd. during regular operating hours.
Architecture, Charles Howard Crane, Detroit, Eve Leo, Fox Theater, movie palaces, Siamese-Byzantine style, Street Angel, William Fox, Wurlitzer organ.
In case the links go dead, I added the photos from the 2010 comments to the gallery, plus one circa December 1989 closing night photo.
The Flickr link photo is 1955 not 1948, based on the “Where There’s a Will” promo above the entrance.
The link for the Wayne Theatre page I added does not work.
It was located at a different address than this theatre.
I have photos of it.
It too burned down after only a few weeks of operation.
The screen was blown down in a windstorm on Tuesday July 20, 1954 forcing it’s closure.
It remained closed until Thursday April 27, 1955, when it reopened with the first aluminum, 7 story CinemaScope screen in that part of the country.
Reopening features were “The Adventures of Hajji Baba” in CinemaScope and color, and “Down Three Dark Streets” in B&W.
Articles added to photo gallery credit Decatur Herald.
Courtesy Decatur Public Library.
“Ad photo for the day the West Side Story was to appear in part on the Ed Sullivan show on September 14, 1958. Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert from the original cast duplicating their world famous photo from the album cover.”
Additional history credit Bartlesville Area History Museum.
“According to Edgar Weston, late area historian, the Gem Theater opened in the Yale Theater building. Earl Freiburger purchased and opened the Gem about 1919 and Mr. A.L. Ramsey was the manager. The auditorium was large and roomy, and well seated with comfortable chairs. A Baird projection machine was installed, which was “one of the best in the state.” The Gem was equipped with a gold fiber screen, two big typhoon fans that kept every part of the house cool and the lighting in the theater was splendid. The stage was arranged to accommodate Vaudeville, lectures, athletic and dramatic entertainment too. In 1921, Mr. Ramsey married and moved to Dallas. Misses Lucy Jack and Blanche Cutler operated the Gem Theater and contracted to show Paramount, First National and Goldwyn pictures until W.H. Hale purchased the Gem March 24, 1922.”
Circa 1908 photo & description added credit Bartlesville Area History Museum.
“The Oklah Air Dome was built in 1908 by J.L. Overlees, located on the corner of Dewey and Fourth St. It was the place to go on those warm June evenings - until at least until October - to watch a stock company perform a different play each night. It was an open-air theater where you sat under the stars on hard wooden benches and listened to Al Jolson play the piano or William Hart, World Famous Movie star, act out a 3 act play. The theatre remained at 328 Dewey Ave until 1915.”
Additional history credit Bartlesville Area History Museum.
“The Lyric Theater was located on Dewey Ave. next to the City Hall. During the 1930’s it became the Grand Theater.
In 1995 there were efforts by a few citizens of Bartlesville to save the theater from demolition, but as it had been completely reconstructed inside for use as offices and businesses, there were no traces of the theater left - it was torn down in 1996.”
Address was on Johnstone, not Johnson. Additional history credit Bartlesville Area History Museum.
“June 28, 1940 - Osage Theater was at 316 Johnstone, remodeled from the old Odeon March to June 1940. Grand opening and dedicated was June 28, 1940 with a gala affair. Owner was Henry J. Griffing of Griffing Amusement Company. Premiere show was "Irene” starring Anna Neagle. Large opening involved special teas, fashion shows, stunt pilot popular in the 20s and 30s, Art Gobel flew over town, Anna Neagle cut the ribbon, and there was street dances. The Osage closed its doors for the last time April 17, 1974. Robert E. Scott was the manager at that time. May 1981 the building was torn down."
“Dan Higgins, a Decatur police officer, opened a silent movie theatre 110 years ago tonight, on Christmas Eve, in 1913. Located at 1234 East Eldorado Street, Higgins branded it as "The Paris Theater”. Higgins was an efficient traffic cop who directed at the busy corner of East Main and Water Streets. His profession and focus on safety were reflected in his design for the theatre: it was the only one in town where the customers faced the exit. The projection booth was then the usual source of theatre fires. The electrical codes were more rudimentary, and the film projectors ran hot. In case of a fire in the projection booth, the customers would then exit AWAY from the fire.
Higgins was born in Hamilton, Illinois, in 1870. He came to Decatur at age 14 and remained here for the rest of his life. Before his employment as a peace officer, he had worked for the Wabash Railroad as a wheel inspector, where he developed an excellent reputation for his attention to detail.
Higgins sold the theatre in 1920. He died in 1922 at age 51. By 1923 the theatre had closed, and the building was repurposed for commercial use. Today, the site is an empty lot just east of the recently razed union hall building at the corner of Jasper and Eldorado."
Correct address is 234 W. 2nd Street, and was still standing as of the September 2021 street view.
Address confirmed via the below City of Madrid November 2017 request for bids to remove it.
As of January 2026 it has been renovated into divided retail spaces, with 4 entrances on the building’s left side. New roof & mechanicals. The marquee has been restored and reinstalled since the July 2025 street view. Link with photos below.
https://www.commercialsearch.com/commercial-property/us/mo/cape-girardeau/824-broadway-st/
All print ads and Sanborn Map in the gallery show the address to have been 2540-2542 N. Milwaukee.
Original owner and builder was Woodmont Development Corporation, leased to Sidney B. Lust for operation. Original seating was 1000. (Image added with information)
Purchased by actress Kristen Stewart per Architectural Digest.
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/kristen-stewarts-plan-to-bring-a-beloved-los-angeles-theater-back-to-life
Crisper version via Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=855993829968374&set=pb.100066732935177.-2207520000&type=3
Street view confirms it is now Demolished.
June 21, 1985 photo credit Advance/SILive.com | Steve Zaffarano.
Address need correcting again. The recent update has a typo showing “21435” instead of 2145.
Address needs correcting to show 2145 N. Talbott Street.
2143 is the house next door to the right.
Located on U.S. Highway 277 eighteen miles northwest of Eagle Pass in the Quemado Valley area of Northwestern Maverick County.
Previously posted in 2022. Photo taken October 5-6, 1973.
https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/1015/photos/365549
Photo credit Carl Burton.
Additional history credit Missouri Historical Society, link at bottom.
January 31, 2017
Origin Story: The Fabulous Fox
by Jen Tebbe | Former Digital Communications Manager
SHARE
Although his name isn’t on the marquee, St. Louisans largely have Charles Howard Crane to thank for the Fox Theatre’s breathtaking architecture. Crane, a Connecticut native, certainly had a niche: He designed more than 250 movie theaters over the course of his career, including several so-called movie palaces.
In 1914, New York’s Mark Strand Theatre became the first movie palace to open its doors. With its unique second-floor viewing balcony and the ability to seat approximately 3,000 people, the Strand ignited a new appreciation for escapism through entertainment. For a small fee, patrons could enter a movie palace and be engulfed in the rich and exotic, immediately forgetting the drudgery of day-to-day existence.
Crane’s Fox theatres in Detroit and St. Louis fully embraced the exotic with their use of Siamese-Byzantine style, which mixed “the salient features of Burmese, Hindoo, Persian, Indian and Chinese architecture and decoration,” according to the March 1929 issue of Union Electric Magazine. Owner William Fox referred to the theatres’ décor differently, calling it “Eve Leo style” in reference to his wife’s hands-on involvement: She traveled widely to purchase furnishings for Fox’s theatres, making numerous trips from New York to Detroit to St. Louis to oversee their delivery and installation.
The two theatres are nearly identical twins, with the biggest difference visible when you observe them from the street. Because Detroit’s Fox Theatre was built in that city’s downtown, it was attached to an office building—albeit an intricately styled one. St. Louis’s Fox Theatre was built far enough from downtown that the building could have its own ornate façade, hence the elaborate arch housing a massive window that overlooks the grandiose lobby inside.
On January 31, 1929, the St. Louis Fox was ready for its debut. William Fox himself addressed the crowds, as well as Missouri governor Henry S. Caulfield and St. Louis mayor Victor J. Miller. In addition to the feature film Street Angel, which also happened to be the premiere film at the Detroit Fox’s opening, attendees were treated to a performance of Wagner’s Tannhäuser overture courtesy of the 150-person Fox Grand Orchestra; Tableaux St. Louis, “a tribute to the city’s civic pride and progressive enterprise”; and a performance of Irving Berlin’s “Roses of Yesterday” by the Fox Ballet and Choral Ensemble.
Today the Fox is home to concerts and touring Broadway performances. Although these spectacles weren’t what Crane had in mind when designing the space, the escapist nature of the venue’s entertainment remains intact thanks to towering red-and-gold columns, a powerful Wurlitzer organ, a bejeweled chandelier, and stunning staircases that lead us up and away from our daily grind—for a few hours anyway.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because Crane’s renderings of the Fox are still under copyright, we can’t show you the detail here. If you want to take a look at—and even touch!—these fabulous artifacts, simply stop by the Library & Research Center at 225 S. Skinker Blvd. during regular operating hours.
Architecture, Charles Howard Crane, Detroit, Eve Leo, Fox Theater, movie palaces, Siamese-Byzantine style, Street Angel, William Fox, Wurlitzer organ.
https://mohistory.org/blog/origin-story-the-fabulous-fox?fbclid=IwY2xjawPbTmRleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFCUm5JQVRwc1ZjZm8ycHpKc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmA315wfclEmIrrInD7Ft-VQLOQWzPy_jjSFKtpj9u02UMmk20frDFtUEVEo_aem_4otwS7FwdsfOpnoQe9e5UA
In case the links go dead, I added the photos from the 2010 comments to the gallery, plus one circa December 1989 closing night photo. The Flickr link photo is 1955 not 1948, based on the “Where There’s a Will” promo above the entrance.
Decatur Public Library link with three November 1945 photos of the Wayne Theatre. Credit & copyright Herald and Review, Decatur, IL.
http://omeka.decaturlibrary.org/items/show/8695#?c=&m=&s=&cv=1&xywh=-134%2C-1780%2C2660%2C5344
The link for the Wayne Theatre page I added does not work. It was located at a different address than this theatre. I have photos of it. It too burned down after only a few weeks of operation.
The screen was blown down in a windstorm on Tuesday July 20, 1954 forcing it’s closure. It remained closed until Thursday April 27, 1955, when it reopened with the first aluminum, 7 story CinemaScope screen in that part of the country. Reopening features were “The Adventures of Hajji Baba” in CinemaScope and color, and “Down Three Dark Streets” in B&W. Articles added to photo gallery credit Decatur Herald. Courtesy Decatur Public Library.
Edited description credit Robert Roberson:
“Ad photo for the day the West Side Story was to appear in part on the Ed Sullivan show on September 14, 1958. Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert from the original cast duplicating their world famous photo from the album cover.”
Additional history credit Bartlesville Area History Museum.
“According to Edgar Weston, late area historian, the Gem Theater opened in the Yale Theater building. Earl Freiburger purchased and opened the Gem about 1919 and Mr. A.L. Ramsey was the manager. The auditorium was large and roomy, and well seated with comfortable chairs. A Baird projection machine was installed, which was “one of the best in the state.” The Gem was equipped with a gold fiber screen, two big typhoon fans that kept every part of the house cool and the lighting in the theater was splendid. The stage was arranged to accommodate Vaudeville, lectures, athletic and dramatic entertainment too. In 1921, Mr. Ramsey married and moved to Dallas. Misses Lucy Jack and Blanche Cutler operated the Gem Theater and contracted to show Paramount, First National and Goldwyn pictures until W.H. Hale purchased the Gem March 24, 1922.”
Circa 1908 photo & description added credit Bartlesville Area History Museum.
“The Oklah Air Dome was built in 1908 by J.L. Overlees, located on the corner of Dewey and Fourth St. It was the place to go on those warm June evenings - until at least until October - to watch a stock company perform a different play each night. It was an open-air theater where you sat under the stars on hard wooden benches and listened to Al Jolson play the piano or William Hart, World Famous Movie star, act out a 3 act play. The theatre remained at 328 Dewey Ave until 1915.”
July 2024 link with full history and additional photos.
https://sapulpatimes.com/this-week-in-sapulpa-history-yale-theatre/
Additional history credit Bartlesville Area History Museum.
“The Lyric Theater was located on Dewey Ave. next to the City Hall. During the 1930’s it became the Grand Theater. In 1995 there were efforts by a few citizens of Bartlesville to save the theater from demolition, but as it had been completely reconstructed inside for use as offices and businesses, there were no traces of the theater left - it was torn down in 1996.”
Address was on Johnstone, not Johnson.
Additional history credit Bartlesville Area History Museum.
“June 28, 1940 - Osage Theater was at 316 Johnstone, remodeled from the old Odeon March to June 1940. Grand opening and dedicated was June 28, 1940 with a gala affair. Owner was Henry J. Griffing of Griffing Amusement Company. Premiere show was "Irene” starring Anna Neagle. Large opening involved special teas, fashion shows, stunt pilot popular in the 20s and 30s, Art Gobel flew over town, Anna Neagle cut the ribbon, and there was street dances. The Osage closed its doors for the last time April 17, 1974. Robert E. Scott was the manager at that time. May 1981 the building was torn down."
Full history credit History of the Heartland:
“Dan Higgins, a Decatur police officer, opened a silent movie theatre 110 years ago tonight, on Christmas Eve, in 1913. Located at 1234 East Eldorado Street, Higgins branded it as "The Paris Theater”. Higgins was an efficient traffic cop who directed at the busy corner of East Main and Water Streets. His profession and focus on safety were reflected in his design for the theatre: it was the only one in town where the customers faced the exit. The projection booth was then the usual source of theatre fires. The electrical codes were more rudimentary, and the film projectors ran hot. In case of a fire in the projection booth, the customers would then exit AWAY from the fire. Higgins was born in Hamilton, Illinois, in 1870. He came to Decatur at age 14 and remained here for the rest of his life. Before his employment as a peace officer, he had worked for the Wabash Railroad as a wheel inspector, where he developed an excellent reputation for his attention to detail. Higgins sold the theatre in 1920. He died in 1922 at age 51. By 1923 the theatre had closed, and the building was repurposed for commercial use. Today, the site is an empty lot just east of the recently razed union hall building at the corner of Jasper and Eldorado."
Correct address is 234 W. 2nd Street, and was still standing as of the September 2021 street view. Address confirmed via the below City of Madrid November 2017 request for bids to remove it.
https://madridiowa.org/bids-for-movie-theater-removal/