Thanks, Joe. The 1925 listings have a Rex and Grand that I haven’t been able to place. Any idea where those were, or if they were a later name for one already listed?
As originally posted by Lou on the Mahaska listing:
(Oskaloosa Post Herald, Thursday, August 1, 1907) WILL OPEN TONIGHT.
Orient Electric Theatre Will Give Initial Entertainment.
Oskaloosa can boast of a metropolitan electric theatre. Messrs. Tucker, Boweu and Struble have had the Commercial restaurant room converted to a theatre, and with the latest moving picture machine and films will open their new “Orient” theatre this evening to the public. A pretty lobby has been built with a nice little box office. Above the lobby is the machine room from where the pictures are thrown on the big screen to the rear of the room. The audience part of theatre is cool and roomy. At present chairs will be used, but later opera chairs will be put in place. The room will seat several hundred people.
To give their patrons the best of everything the proprietors have secured Ed Reid of Des Moines as operator of the large moving picture machine. Mr. Reid is experienced and has been connected with the Colonial Theatre at Des Moines for some time. The latest moving pictures and illustrated program will form the program at present, but if business warrants, vaudeville acts will be put on later. Several hundred dollars have been expended in establishing the theatre, and the patronage of the public is ‘deserved.
The map marker is in the wrong place, but this block does not exist now. It would have been roughly on the east side of the northern section of the mall.
The Phoenix Block originally had addresses running 114-124. 114 was either remodeled or replaced. 120 has been completely butchered. 122 and 124 were torn down around 1980 for the bank drive through that is there now. 118 on the 1902 map is ‘Meat’. The 1910 map shows it as ‘Meats’ with a printing operation on the second floor.
This theater was part of the Phoenix Block, a large two story brick structure from 1873 that once ran from the alley on the west to the corner. The original appearance would have been close to the remaining sections at 116 and 118. The section at 120 has been the victim of a really butchered remodel. Both 122 and 124 were demolished by about 1980. Pictures from 1985 show the bank drive through.
The dates are a bit confused, but this was a grocery store in 1910, and had opened by 1917. There is only one theater (the Orient) listed for Oskaloosa in the 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory, but at least one other theater (the Lyric) was open then, so the absence of a listing for whatever this was before becoming the Princess doesn’t mean much.
The Princess is still listed in 1952, the 1953 listings are useless, and it’s gone in 1954. It apparently became a cab company office and the local bus station.
The street name also needs to be corrected to High Ave W. This block no longer exists, since a massive portion of downtown (about 10-12 entire blocks) was replaced by a really depressing mall. The demolition must have been in preparation for that.
This listing is really garbled. There was a theater at 115 S Market, but it does not appear until the 1948 update to the 1927 map. Thus, it was definitely not the Orient. It also was not the Strand (see below). Lou was probably confused by the fact that there was also a theater at 115 N Market, which does appear on the 1927 map, but does not appear on the 1948 version.
This building was not demolished, but the front section going back maybe 15 feet has been replaced with a rather bland facade. That matches a serious fire. The original structure seems to date to before 1885, and maps show it in various configurations, indicating some remodels around 1900-10. The 1927 map shows a drug store taking up much of the ground floor, with a smaller store on the south side, and a hall of some sort on the second floor.
Lastly, the dates are wrong. The Mahaska appears in the 1939 listings, with 475 seats, which is much more than the Strand’s 250 in the 1938 listings. Finally, the Strand is noted as closed in the 1939 listings, so it obviously wasn’t the same theater.
When I visited in 2010, the interior was a bit rough. The seats were very shabby, and had been repaired with duct tape, and the ceiling had obvious water damage. The owner/manager was nice enough to let me take some pictures of the inside, without having to sit through a Chipmunks movie.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Feb 8, 2025 at 9:31 pm
The weather was absolutely awful when I was in Tipton, so aside from a few bad shots of the Hardacre marquee, I have next to nothing.
There is a three story Masonic lodge just to the south that contained an opera house up through 1914, and may have been one of the theaters. The armory, which is now a really ugly car dealership, had a stage and scenery on the 1906 map, but it seems to have been gone by 1914.
For what it’s worth, the old NRHP listing for downtown calls this the Valerius building. I did not get a picture of this theater, since it was a dismal rainy day when I passed through in 2010.
This theater was definitely open by Dec. 1916. The building does not appear on the 1906 map. It was probably built as a theater. The 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory lists a Majestic, which could very well be this building. The Garden is listed in 1926.
SethG
commented about
Air Domeon
Feb 4, 2025 at 3:01 pm
It might well have been the Family. The ‘Air Dome’ on the map looks like a generic designation, not a name.
I think the Plaza has to be the same place. There are no other suitable buildings. There are some cruddy modern buildings, but I don’t think the Plaza was where they are, based on the description (in the NRHP listing for downtown) of what was replaced. Can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of this.
Ken’s old comment with the 1993 newspaper article explains why the window at the very top used to say ‘Mike’s Pad’ on it. There must have been an apartment up there.
This building is in the NRHP listing for downtown as the Watters & Niles building, having been built by the Watters brothers in 1871. No real history is given, but the Niles name may refer to its time as a theater. It could just as well be that a family member ran a store here.
I figured one of those names was likely an aka for the opera house.
Fascinating stuff!
Thanks, Joe. The 1925 listings have a Rex and Grand that I haven’t been able to place. Any idea where those were, or if they were a later name for one already listed?
Thanks, Joe! The date makes sense as well.
I have created listings for all the early theaters Ron mentions at the end.
Also shown in the photo above is the Unique, a short-lived theater operating around 1910. It’s the photo shop right next door.
In the photo above, the second to last storefront before the alley was the Orpheum, an early theater that was operating in 1917.
As originally posted by Lou on the Mahaska listing: (Oskaloosa Post Herald, Thursday, August 1, 1907) WILL OPEN TONIGHT.
Orient Electric Theatre Will Give Initial Entertainment.
Oskaloosa can boast of a metropolitan electric theatre. Messrs. Tucker, Boweu and Struble have had the Commercial restaurant room converted to a theatre, and with the latest moving picture machine and films will open their new “Orient” theatre this evening to the public. A pretty lobby has been built with a nice little box office. Above the lobby is the machine room from where the pictures are thrown on the big screen to the rear of the room. The audience part of theatre is cool and roomy. At present chairs will be used, but later opera chairs will be put in place. The room will seat several hundred people.
To give their patrons the best of everything the proprietors have secured Ed Reid of Des Moines as operator of the large moving picture machine. Mr. Reid is experienced and has been connected with the Colonial Theatre at Des Moines for some time. The latest moving pictures and illustrated program will form the program at present, but if business warrants, vaudeville acts will be put on later. Several hundred dollars have been expended in establishing the theatre, and the patronage of the public is ‘deserved.
The map marker is in the wrong place, but this block does not exist now. It would have been roughly on the east side of the northern section of the mall.
This was the Lyric, based on information in the Princess listing.
The Phoenix Block originally had addresses running 114-124. 114 was either remodeled or replaced. 120 has been completely butchered. 122 and 124 were torn down around 1980 for the bank drive through that is there now. 118 on the 1902 map is ‘Meat’. The 1910 map shows it as ‘Meats’ with a printing operation on the second floor.
Hey, we tore down your nice historic theater, and 10 blocks of downtown to build an ugly mall, but here’s a cheap prefab shed you can watch movies in!
This theater was part of the Phoenix Block, a large two story brick structure from 1873 that once ran from the alley on the west to the corner. The original appearance would have been close to the remaining sections at 116 and 118. The section at 120 has been the victim of a really butchered remodel. Both 122 and 124 were demolished by about 1980. Pictures from 1985 show the bank drive through.
The dates are a bit confused, but this was a grocery store in 1910, and had opened by 1917. There is only one theater (the Orient) listed for Oskaloosa in the 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory, but at least one other theater (the Lyric) was open then, so the absence of a listing for whatever this was before becoming the Princess doesn’t mean much.
The Princess is still listed in 1952, the 1953 listings are useless, and it’s gone in 1954. It apparently became a cab company office and the local bus station.
The street name also needs to be corrected to High Ave W. This block no longer exists, since a massive portion of downtown (about 10-12 entire blocks) was replaced by a really depressing mall. The demolition must have been in preparation for that.
This listing is really garbled. There was a theater at 115 S Market, but it does not appear until the 1948 update to the 1927 map. Thus, it was definitely not the Orient. It also was not the Strand (see below). Lou was probably confused by the fact that there was also a theater at 115 N Market, which does appear on the 1927 map, but does not appear on the 1948 version.
This building was not demolished, but the front section going back maybe 15 feet has been replaced with a rather bland facade. That matches a serious fire. The original structure seems to date to before 1885, and maps show it in various configurations, indicating some remodels around 1900-10. The 1927 map shows a drug store taking up much of the ground floor, with a smaller store on the south side, and a hall of some sort on the second floor.
Lastly, the dates are wrong. The Mahaska appears in the 1939 listings, with 475 seats, which is much more than the Strand’s 250 in the 1938 listings. Finally, the Strand is noted as closed in the 1939 listings, so it obviously wasn’t the same theater.
When I visited in 2010, the interior was a bit rough. The seats were very shabby, and had been repaired with duct tape, and the ceiling had obvious water damage. The owner/manager was nice enough to let me take some pictures of the inside, without having to sit through a Chipmunks movie.
The weather was absolutely awful when I was in Tipton, so aside from a few bad shots of the Hardacre marquee, I have next to nothing.
There is a three story Masonic lodge just to the south that contained an opera house up through 1914, and may have been one of the theaters. The armory, which is now a really ugly car dealership, had a stage and scenery on the 1906 map, but it seems to have been gone by 1914.
For what it’s worth, the old NRHP listing for downtown calls this the Valerius building. I did not get a picture of this theater, since it was a dismal rainy day when I passed through in 2010.
Jackie’s is long gone, but this was a hair salon until recently. The latest streetview shows it vacant and for sale.
This theater was definitely open by Dec. 1916. The building does not appear on the 1906 map. It was probably built as a theater. The 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory lists a Majestic, which could very well be this building. The Garden is listed in 1926.
It might well have been the Family. The ‘Air Dome’ on the map looks like a generic designation, not a name.
I think the Plaza has to be the same place. There are no other suitable buildings. There are some cruddy modern buildings, but I don’t think the Plaza was where they are, based on the description (in the NRHP listing for downtown) of what was replaced. Can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of this.
Ken’s old comment with the 1993 newspaper article explains why the window at the very top used to say ‘Mike’s Pad’ on it. There must have been an apartment up there.
This building is in the NRHP listing for downtown as the Watters & Niles building, having been built by the Watters brothers in 1871. No real history is given, but the Niles name may refer to its time as a theater. It could just as well be that a family member ran a store here.
Ken needs to substitute the text here with a corrected submission I sent him.