I wish the later maps were online. I think the next one was 1926 or 29. I had assumed the Temple was in a masonic building, which I could not find. One possibility is 323-325 E 4th, which had a lodge hall above, but the storefront doesn’t look like it was ever a theater (of course it could have been a short-lived upstairs venue). Another possibility might be the opera house, which was a wooden building at about 206 E 4th. It’s been replaced by what looks like an old dealership.
The theater was a remodel of the Wycoff building, which was constructed between 1893 and 1899. There were two stores, and the streetview will still show the old cast iron entry at the rear for the northern storefront, which wrapped around in an ‘L’. It appears that the cheap sheet metal trash was installed to replace a vitrolite front.
Theater and the rest of that half block were demolished this August. They saved the vertical part of the sign, and will ‘rebuild’. Doubtless a cheap metal shed or something similar.
The history needs to be corrected. Bacon’s Opera House appears on the 1883 map, so it was constructed at some point before that. It is shown as 21' tall through the 1893 map, while 1899 and later maps show it 26-28' tall with a mansard roof, indicating a remodel. The conversion to the Atlantic flattened the roof and replaced the facade, but the footprint and stage are the same from the 1913 to the 1923 map.
Only the Majestic and Unique are listed in the 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory. It’s possible no films were shown here until the 1922 remodel.
Shown on the Dec. 1913 map, while the Nov. 1908 map has a dry goods store here. This was closed by April 1923, as the map shows a store here. The building was constructed between 1883 and 1888. For some reason, I did not take a picture of this one.
Appears on the Dec. 1913 map. The Nov. 1908 map has the YMCA here. A lodge hall appears on the second floor on the 1913 map, but is gone on the 1923 map. The building dates to 1891.
Still listed as the Harris in 1955, it appears as the Avoca in the 1956 Yearbook. Still open in 1957, so the mid-‘50s date is wrong. The Yearbooks afterward are less useful, and only list theaters belonging to circuits. It has to have been closed by 1969, when the Legion moved in.
I’m not sure this was ever known as the Harris-Avoca. That name makes no sense. It may have been called the Avoca at some point. The address needs to be corrected. It may originally have been 309 N Elm, but the N-S divider has been moved to High St, and the odds and evens switched sides.
As your photo shows, this building was constructed in 1877, so we could update the entry.
It looked a lot nicer before they stripped the cornice off. The Exchange Block across the street got mistreated the same way. The Lyon St theater is still there. I created an entry. It’s the small building second from the corner. This has to have been the Majestic, since the page you found lists the True Value here. That jewelry store was gone by 1909, and the caption is in error saying that it came after the Opera House, which was on the second floor, and had nothing to do with what was in the storefronts.
It sounds like the addresses were changed over the years. The railroad tracks, which were south of Lyon, must have been the initial N-S divider. That also partially explains the Chuck-ism on the Harris listing. The divider is now High St, and it looks like odds and evens have traded sides.
The 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory lists the Majestic, Bijou, Novelty, and Unique. Far too many theaters for a town of about 1,600. By 1925, only the Majestic is still listed.
As was pointed out long ago, the address is wrong. This is currently the American Legion. It’s been spruced up since 2010, although they did destroy the original doors.
The last paragraph is confusing. It was still open at some point after 1977? When was ‘at the time’? That sentence is very poorly written, and ‘going powerful and very strong’ makes no sense at all.
No address information at all? This was likely on Main, but might have been on Ohio or Temple. In fact, how do we know it wasn’t just a new name for the Olympic?
SethG
commented about
Theateron
Nov 19, 2024 at 10:22 pm
Note that this was Main St up through at least 1933.
The address is wrong. The correct address is 104 N 3rd St. The building in the photo was extensively remodeled, and it and the building to the north were joined in a rather bland red brick facade. This appears to have happened in the late ‘50s or early '60s, judging from the style. The space is used by a salon and a chiropractor.
I certainly can’t fault your logic. Thanks for all that research.
I wish the later maps were online. I think the next one was 1926 or 29. I had assumed the Temple was in a masonic building, which I could not find. One possibility is 323-325 E 4th, which had a lodge hall above, but the storefront doesn’t look like it was ever a theater (of course it could have been a short-lived upstairs venue). Another possibility might be the opera house, which was a wooden building at about 206 E 4th. It’s been replaced by what looks like an old dealership.
No address at all? The last map available online is 1912, so no help there.
Thanks for the history! It’s so odd that this dinky thing survived longer than the much larger opera house.
Surprising that the much smaller building lasted so long. It’s not a big town, but I assume the opera house offered superior facilities.
The theater was a remodel of the Wycoff building, which was constructed between 1893 and 1899. There were two stores, and the streetview will still show the old cast iron entry at the rear for the northern storefront, which wrapped around in an ‘L’. It appears that the cheap sheet metal trash was installed to replace a vitrolite front.
Theater and the rest of that half block were demolished this August. They saved the vertical part of the sign, and will ‘rebuild’. Doubtless a cheap metal shed or something similar.
The history needs to be corrected. Bacon’s Opera House appears on the 1883 map, so it was constructed at some point before that. It is shown as 21' tall through the 1893 map, while 1899 and later maps show it 26-28' tall with a mansard roof, indicating a remodel. The conversion to the Atlantic flattened the roof and replaced the facade, but the footprint and stage are the same from the 1913 to the 1923 map.
Only the Majestic and Unique are listed in the 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory. It’s possible no films were shown here until the 1922 remodel.
The historical address would have been on Central.
It was still open in 1923. I merely mentioned the lodge hall to show that it may have been expanded by that point. That map also shows a stage.
This was probably something like 200 or 202. 206 is the thing to the east of where the Quarry Twin used to be. My mistake on that.
Shown on the Dec. 1913 map, while the Nov. 1908 map has a dry goods store here. This was closed by April 1923, as the map shows a store here. The building was constructed between 1883 and 1888. For some reason, I did not take a picture of this one.
Appears on the Dec. 1913 map. The Nov. 1908 map has the YMCA here. A lodge hall appears on the second floor on the 1913 map, but is gone on the 1923 map. The building dates to 1891.
Last showing on their FB page is Jan. 3rd 2023. Looks like a church took over the space.
Still listed as the Harris in 1955, it appears as the Avoca in the 1956 Yearbook. Still open in 1957, so the mid-‘50s date is wrong. The Yearbooks afterward are less useful, and only list theaters belonging to circuits. It has to have been closed by 1969, when the Legion moved in.
I’m not sure this was ever known as the Harris-Avoca. That name makes no sense. It may have been called the Avoca at some point. The address needs to be corrected. It may originally have been 309 N Elm, but the N-S divider has been moved to High St, and the odds and evens switched sides.
As your photo shows, this building was constructed in 1877, so we could update the entry.
It looked a lot nicer before they stripped the cornice off. The Exchange Block across the street got mistreated the same way. The Lyon St theater is still there. I created an entry. It’s the small building second from the corner. This has to have been the Majestic, since the page you found lists the True Value here. That jewelry store was gone by 1909, and the caption is in error saying that it came after the Opera House, which was on the second floor, and had nothing to do with what was in the storefronts.
It sounds like the addresses were changed over the years. The railroad tracks, which were south of Lyon, must have been the initial N-S divider. That also partially explains the Chuck-ism on the Harris listing. The divider is now High St, and it looks like odds and evens have traded sides.
The 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory lists the Majestic, Bijou, Novelty, and Unique. Far too many theaters for a town of about 1,600. By 1925, only the Majestic is still listed.
As was pointed out long ago, the address is wrong. This is currently the American Legion. It’s been spruced up since 2010, although they did destroy the original doors.
The last paragraph is confusing. It was still open at some point after 1977? When was ‘at the time’? That sentence is very poorly written, and ‘going powerful and very strong’ makes no sense at all.
No address information at all? This was likely on Main, but might have been on Ohio or Temple. In fact, how do we know it wasn’t just a new name for the Olympic?
Note that this was Main St up through at least 1933.
The Legion moved in in 1975.
The address is wrong. The correct address is 104 N 3rd St. The building in the photo was extensively remodeled, and it and the building to the north were joined in a rather bland red brick facade. This appears to have happened in the late ‘50s or early '60s, judging from the style. The space is used by a salon and a chiropractor.
I wonder if this theater didn’t close for an extended period. Both the 1932 and 1949 maps show this space as a store.