Not sure when it got the second story, but the 1913 map shows this as one story, with small storefronts on either side of the entrance. The upper story is Prairie style, which would have been popular in the ‘teens.
While the opera house was originally 3 stories, by 1913 it had been cut down by ten feet, and the only three story building in town was the Santa Fe Club building, well out of downtown. The ground floor was a roller rink, and the opera house was upstairs.
In addition, it seems like a film was shown at the theater in March 1967 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Lacon Tornado, so the closing/demolition date is dubious.
No, the theater was new construction, replacing a large feed/livery operation. The roller skating rink was at 314-316, the later location of the State (it had the same footprint as the theater, down to the two story building in the little nook, but appears to have a different construction).
Not sure where that address came from, but it’s ridiculously wrong. This is almost certainly the theater that appears on the Oct. 1939 Sanborn, at 109-111. At some later point, the addresses were changed, and the address is now 110. It has not been demolished, but has been butchered down to a dull flat-fronted box. It appears to be used as a residence.
The history is inaccurate. The 1913 map shows this as The Star, offering moving pictures but also a stage and scenery. The cigar factory is located on the second floor. I don’t know that it was ever a bank, that was probably a mixup with the little thing on the corner. From 1886 to 1907 it appears as a general store with offices and a store room on the second floor.
The only vacant space on the 1910 map for W 3rd was 110, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. That was a much denser area than the desolate wasteland of vacant lots and surface parking there today.
Comm. House is likely Commercial House, a hotel. This might possibly have been the Stanley Hotel at 116-118 W 2nd, which was known by 1910 and through 1916 as the Hotel Whitney. I don’t find an American Steel Wire on the 1916 map, but the area between 2nd and the river was a massive industrial complex (International Harvester, nut and bolt factory, box factory, etc.). Not sure how using one of those as a theater would have worked.
Thanks for all that. A bit confusing. I actually did take a picture of the Roxy/Strand building. As far as the theater project goes, there simply is no room at 207 for anything with a large stage to have been constructed. That can’t have been the intended location. They must have meant 209-211. Since it was a hardware store in 1925, it either folded, or was never completed as a theater.
I wonder if ‘two doors down’ wasn’t loosely interpreted, and meant two buildings down. That would be 209-211, which is a much bigger building than the little storefront at 207. It does not appear on the 1916 map, and the style looks right for the early ‘20s.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Mar 10, 2022 at 7:10 pm
The Academy was not in the opera house space, it was in the ground floor. The opera house seems to have still been in use in 1916, possibly only for live performances.
Shown ‘From Plans’ on the Nov. 1910 Sanborn, so it may not have been completed yet. This was actually a much larger building than the photo indicates. Quite deep, solidly constructed. The capacity is shown as 800.
I wonder if the ID isn’t wrong. I’d be shocked that such a large purpose-built structure would close without making the conversion. In addition, the capacity mismatch is pretty extreme. That said, neither the 1910 or 1916 maps show any other theaters.
The Academy took its name from its location in the Academy of Music Building, alternately known as the Galt & Tracy Block, or the George S. Tracy Block. This was built sometime before 1884, and had an opera house on the second and third floor. The theater was definitely operating by 1916, when the map shows a one story addition at the rear of the space (this is now gone). In 1910, the space was a drugstore.
The building has been given a rather unsympathetic remodel (a Sterling specialty), and the entire thing is now a furniture store. 314 was originally the southernmost of six storefronts.
Not demolished, but mutilated by a bad remodel. If it was ever a sporting goods store, that was gone by 2007, when it was vacant. Most recent streetview shows a furniture/lighting store. Best to just say retail.
The only good candidates for anything demolished on Main would be the little telephone building south of the old city hall, the ugly thing on the southeast corner with 8th, the lot next to the grocery store, and the bank. I wonder, given the dates, if both weren’t in the same building.
Hard to say what was what. This could have been the Gem, or the Gem may already have folded, and this was the Star.
Not sure when it got the second story, but the 1913 map shows this as one story, with small storefronts on either side of the entrance. The upper story is Prairie style, which would have been popular in the ‘teens.
While the opera house was originally 3 stories, by 1913 it had been cut down by ten feet, and the only three story building in town was the Santa Fe Club building, well out of downtown. The ground floor was a roller rink, and the opera house was upstairs.
In addition, it seems like a film was shown at the theater in March 1967 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Lacon Tornado, so the closing/demolition date is dubious.
Yes, it is.
No, the theater was new construction, replacing a large feed/livery operation. The roller skating rink was at 314-316, the later location of the State (it had the same footprint as the theater, down to the two story building in the little nook, but appears to have a different construction).
Note that while the theater was operating, the address was 106. This was changed sometime after 1939.
Not sure where that address came from, but it’s ridiculously wrong. This is almost certainly the theater that appears on the Oct. 1939 Sanborn, at 109-111. At some later point, the addresses were changed, and the address is now 110. It has not been demolished, but has been butchered down to a dull flat-fronted box. It appears to be used as a residence.
The history is inaccurate. The 1913 map shows this as The Star, offering moving pictures but also a stage and scenery. The cigar factory is located on the second floor. I don’t know that it was ever a bank, that was probably a mixup with the little thing on the corner. From 1886 to 1907 it appears as a general store with offices and a store room on the second floor.
The only vacant space on the 1910 map for W 3rd was 110, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. That was a much denser area than the desolate wasteland of vacant lots and surface parking there today.
Thanks to Joe Vogel for much of the information here!
Comm. House is likely Commercial House, a hotel. This might possibly have been the Stanley Hotel at 116-118 W 2nd, which was known by 1910 and through 1916 as the Hotel Whitney. I don’t find an American Steel Wire on the 1916 map, but the area between 2nd and the river was a massive industrial complex (International Harvester, nut and bolt factory, box factory, etc.). Not sure how using one of those as a theater would have worked.
Thanks for all that. A bit confusing. I actually did take a picture of the Roxy/Strand building. As far as the theater project goes, there simply is no room at 207 for anything with a large stage to have been constructed. That can’t have been the intended location. They must have meant 209-211. Since it was a hardware store in 1925, it either folded, or was never completed as a theater.
I wonder if ‘two doors down’ wasn’t loosely interpreted, and meant two buildings down. That would be 209-211, which is a much bigger building than the little storefront at 207. It does not appear on the 1916 map, and the style looks right for the early ‘20s.
Sounds like a good fit, dates-wise.
Seating information taken from the 1905 Cahn guide, so it may have been before the auditorium was restructured.
Thanks to Ken Roe for providing some of this information.
Added a photo of the building today, and a Sanborn showing the arrangement when the theater was open.
The Academy was not in the opera house space, it was in the ground floor. The opera house seems to have still been in use in 1916, possibly only for live performances.
Shown ‘From Plans’ on the Nov. 1910 Sanborn, so it may not have been completed yet. This was actually a much larger building than the photo indicates. Quite deep, solidly constructed. The capacity is shown as 800.
I wonder if the ID isn’t wrong. I’d be shocked that such a large purpose-built structure would close without making the conversion. In addition, the capacity mismatch is pretty extreme. That said, neither the 1910 or 1916 maps show any other theaters.
The Academy took its name from its location in the Academy of Music Building, alternately known as the Galt & Tracy Block, or the George S. Tracy Block. This was built sometime before 1884, and had an opera house on the second and third floor. The theater was definitely operating by 1916, when the map shows a one story addition at the rear of the space (this is now gone). In 1910, the space was a drugstore.
The building has been given a rather unsympathetic remodel (a Sterling specialty), and the entire thing is now a furniture store. 314 was originally the southernmost of six storefronts.
There was presumably a Family theater for this to be a ‘New’ version of, but I’m not sure where that might have been.
Not demolished, but mutilated by a bad remodel. If it was ever a sporting goods store, that was gone by 2007, when it was vacant. Most recent streetview shows a furniture/lighting store. Best to just say retail.
The only good candidates for anything demolished on Main would be the little telephone building south of the old city hall, the ugly thing on the southeast corner with 8th, the lot next to the grocery store, and the bank. I wonder, given the dates, if both weren’t in the same building.
The theater is listed on both the 1950 and 1956 maps with no note of closure. Perhaps it was only used for stage performances?