There’s nothing at 225. I assume you mean 221, which is just your standard old commercial building. The three story thing had an Odd Fellows lodge on the third floor.
This theater may appear in a photo on the Illinois HARGIS site, for listing number 118663. The site is pretty hard to use, but some clicking will get you to a photo, likely from the early ‘70s, before this corner became so depressingly ugly. The building on the far right is either the theater, or it’s the ice cream parlor, and the theater is just out of frame. At any rate, this building was lost much later, during Kewanee’s sharp decline postwar.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Aug 23, 2021 at 11:50 am
Photos from the ‘70s show this already used as the VFW, but the original brick front wall of the old structure hadn’t been covered in siding.
If the statement on the listing for the Dreamland about it moving around the corner is correct, this would have been the new location, although the original Dreamland location stayed in operation as well.
The 1910 map actually has addresses. The Red Men’s Hall is 112, and the theater was 120. Looks like 106 really belongs to the ugly little annex south of the Red Men’s Hall, and the furniture store uses that as the address.
I can’t explain why the arch in the picture very clearly has a ‘206’ on it. That was never the address, and from the larger picture it’s obviously the right building.
The Rialto was a conversion of an old 2-story brick commercial building built sometime between 1885 and 1892, and modified over the years. At least for a time it was known as the Hallin Block, which is a bit odd since there was a Hallin building at 107. The 1910 map shows it as a restaurant.
Correct address was 205. The theater was located in the southern section of what was built as the Hotel Main, sometime between 1892 and 1899. The 1905 map shows this as a grocery.
By 1910, the building was known as the Saratoga Hotel, and the theater is shown. By 1918, the theater is still in operation, and a one story addition has appeared at the rear, possibly to expand the auditorium. The theater on 3rd is also shown, but perhaps the name was moved to the newer theater.
The status is also incorrect, as this building is still standing, although with an ugly modern ground floor. It seems to be used by the furniture store that occupies several buildings on both sides of Main.
The whole thing about the first fire is wrong. McClure’s appears on the 1899 map as the Kewanee Theatre, with the note ‘From Plans’, so it had likely just been finished (or possibly not quite finished by May, when the map was issued). The 1905 map calls it McClure’s Opera House, the 1910 map calls it the Grand Theatre. The 1905 Cahn guide gives McClure’s a capacity of 1,000.
The footprint/interior plan of the Grand was identical to McClure’s, although the building is shown as 45' tall on the 1905 map, and 40' tall in 1910 and after. There are numerous theaters where ‘destroyed by fire’ apparently only means damaged. If there even was a first fire, it either destroyed something before 1899, which was then replaced by McClure’s, or it damaged the Grand sometime after 1905, resulting in a remodel with a lower height.
The address is wrong. Since the Red Men’s Hall is 106, this would have likely been 108. Even the 1918 map is no help, since the buildings on Main are using a confusing mix of addresses and lot numbers. The Grand is shown as 107, but unless they switched odds and evens, that is likely a lot number.
The neighboring Hallin building, which has been really badly treated, but is more visible, was built in 1899. The theater was built in a matching style sometime after 1905, when there’s an old wooden three story building with a Chinese laundry on the lot.
Originally built sometime between 1886 and 1891 as Adair’s Opera House. Given there was a huge flood in 1889, it was likely built shortly afterward. 1895 map still calls it the Adair Opera house. Remodel changed the shape of the balcony, and seems to have eliminated a wide central staircase entry. The storefronts at either side of the entry were also deeper prior to 1913. The history should probably be rewritten for the benefit of those who don’t read all the comments.
It’s funny how late this part of Main got built up. In 1913, this block had the buildings on the corner with the park, then three large Victorian homes, and then the Majestic.
Address was 404-406, and this is long gone. Lots of parking lots and dumpy little prefab buildings in this stretch. Little wooden shops and homes in this area on the 1913 map.
This building still exists, at least on the 2019 streetview. It is abandoned, and likely to become part of Johnstown’s extensive collection of vacant lots. There is an ‘A N’ monogram on the top. The building may have existed in 1913, but the style looks problematic. If it was earlier, there was an extensive remodel to turn it into a theater.
The 1913 map has a large house on this corner. The next map is a 1949 update, so not terribly helpful pinning down a date, but the building likely dates from the early ‘20s.
There’s nothing at 225. I assume you mean 221, which is just your standard old commercial building. The three story thing had an Odd Fellows lodge on the third floor.
Address is approximate.
The armory was constructed in 1908. Pictures from the early-mid ‘70s show it was used as the Turpin Dodge dealership.
This theater may appear in a photo on the Illinois HARGIS site, for listing number 118663. The site is pretty hard to use, but some clicking will get you to a photo, likely from the early ‘70s, before this corner became so depressingly ugly. The building on the far right is either the theater, or it’s the ice cream parlor, and the theater is just out of frame. At any rate, this building was lost much later, during Kewanee’s sharp decline postwar.
Photos from the ‘70s show this already used as the VFW, but the original brick front wall of the old structure hadn’t been covered in siding.
If the statement on the listing for the Dreamland about it moving around the corner is correct, this would have been the new location, although the original Dreamland location stayed in operation as well.
The 1910 map actually has addresses. The Red Men’s Hall is 112, and the theater was 120. Looks like 106 really belongs to the ugly little annex south of the Red Men’s Hall, and the furniture store uses that as the address.
I can’t explain why the arch in the picture very clearly has a ‘206’ on it. That was never the address, and from the larger picture it’s obviously the right building.
The Rialto was a conversion of an old 2-story brick commercial building built sometime between 1885 and 1892, and modified over the years. At least for a time it was known as the Hallin Block, which is a bit odd since there was a Hallin building at 107. The 1910 map shows it as a restaurant.
The 1892 map shows a house on this lot, so the fire tale is a bit dubious. It’s still possible there was one sometime between 1905 and 1910.
Correct address was 205. The theater was located in the southern section of what was built as the Hotel Main, sometime between 1892 and 1899. The 1905 map shows this as a grocery.
By 1910, the building was known as the Saratoga Hotel, and the theater is shown. By 1918, the theater is still in operation, and a one story addition has appeared at the rear, possibly to expand the auditorium. The theater on 3rd is also shown, but perhaps the name was moved to the newer theater.
The status is also incorrect, as this building is still standing, although with an ugly modern ground floor. It seems to be used by the furniture store that occupies several buildings on both sides of Main.
The whole thing about the first fire is wrong. McClure’s appears on the 1899 map as the Kewanee Theatre, with the note ‘From Plans’, so it had likely just been finished (or possibly not quite finished by May, when the map was issued). The 1905 map calls it McClure’s Opera House, the 1910 map calls it the Grand Theatre. The 1905 Cahn guide gives McClure’s a capacity of 1,000.
The footprint/interior plan of the Grand was identical to McClure’s, although the building is shown as 45' tall on the 1905 map, and 40' tall in 1910 and after. There are numerous theaters where ‘destroyed by fire’ apparently only means damaged. If there even was a first fire, it either destroyed something before 1899, which was then replaced by McClure’s, or it damaged the Grand sometime after 1905, resulting in a remodel with a lower height.
The address is wrong. Since the Red Men’s Hall is 106, this would have likely been 108. Even the 1918 map is no help, since the buildings on Main are using a confusing mix of addresses and lot numbers. The Grand is shown as 107, but unless they switched odds and evens, that is likely a lot number.
The neighboring Hallin building, which has been really badly treated, but is more visible, was built in 1899. The theater was built in a matching style sometime after 1905, when there’s an old wooden three story building with a Chinese laundry on the lot.
This has not been demolished. It has a hideously ugly slipcover, but it’s still there.
Originally built sometime between 1886 and 1891 as Adair’s Opera House. Given there was a huge flood in 1889, it was likely built shortly afterward. 1895 map still calls it the Adair Opera house. Remodel changed the shape of the balcony, and seems to have eliminated a wide central staircase entry. The storefronts at either side of the entry were also deeper prior to 1913. The history should probably be rewritten for the benefit of those who don’t read all the comments.
It’s funny how late this part of Main got built up. In 1913, this block had the buildings on the corner with the park, then three large Victorian homes, and then the Majestic.
What an amazing streetscape. Contrast with today’s grimly ugly view.
It seems that this Park was also known as the Park Family Theater.
This belongs to the other Park, which I have created a listing for.
Not that it likely has anything to do with the theater, but in 1917 the Moose constructed a large building at 306-308 Bedford St.
Address was 404-406, and this is long gone. Lots of parking lots and dumpy little prefab buildings in this stretch. Little wooden shops and homes in this area on the 1913 map.
Err… retail with offices above, rather.
For some stupid reason, I walked right past this without getting a picture.
This building still exists, at least on the 2019 streetview. It is abandoned, and likely to become part of Johnstown’s extensive collection of vacant lots. There is an ‘A N’ monogram on the top. The building may have existed in 1913, but the style looks problematic. If it was earlier, there was an extensive remodel to turn it into a theater.
The 1913 map has a large house on this corner. The next map is a 1949 update, so not terribly helpful pinning down a date, but the building likely dates from the early ‘20s.