The Roxy opened on February 15, 1940 with Joe E. Brown in “Beware Spooks” along with an unknown cartoon, an Andy Clyde comedy, and a Ted Fio Rito scopitone. It was closed in 1952.
The first one started life as the Lyric Theatre on November 5, 1910, and was renamed the Strand Theatre on September 19, 1918. The older Strand closed in mid-1926 when it was relocated to a newer and larger building and reopened around the same time by Robert Stempel.
The Strand Theatre was renamed the St. Charles Cinema on November 23, 1968, reopening with Doris Day’s “With Six You Get Egg Roll” and Jerry Lewis’s “Big Mouth”.
This didn’t last long. In May 1971, the theater was briefly renamed the St. Charles Art Cinema running mostly R-rated and X-rated movies (yes there are some normal titles in there). It didn’t do as much of a success, and closed the following month in late-June 1971. The theater reopened as a live performance house under the name “The Factory” in 1972.
The Princess Theatre opened its doors in September 1915 and was located inside the Blaine building. The theater was renamed three times in its history. First it was renamed the Piedmont Theatre in Spring 1932, then it was renamed the Jefferis Theatre on August 28, 1940, and finally it was renamed the Melinda Theatre on January 1, 1958.
The theater closed in 1961 and the former theater became an office.
The actual opening date is May 19, 1953 with Sterling Hayden in “Kansas Pacific” along with an unnamed Popeye cartoon and an unknown comedy reel. It was first operated by Walter Wangler and owned by Mr. and Mrs. A. B. (Jeff) Jefferis who are also owners of the Jefferis Theatre.
This started life as Malco Twin, and opened its doors as a 420-seat twin-screener in December 1969. It was tripled in the 1980s and was renamed Malco Trio.
The Kinney Opera House opened in late-January 1894. It had several names throughout its earlier days. It was once known as the Kinney Theatre before briefly renaming it the New Theatre in 1917. It officially became the Majestic Theatre in 1918.
The Majestic Theatre was gutted in the Spring of 1940 and was quickly modernized to Al Hauetter of Kansas City, Missouri’s design. The theater reopened as the Time Theatre on September 4, 1940 with Melvin Douglas in “He Stayed For Breakfast” along with a newsreel and several shorts (one of which is the patriotic short “The Flag Speaks”).
The Time Theatre is still open in the late-1960s, although its closing date was not known yet at this time.
The Memphis Theatre opened on January 2, 1941 with Shirley Temple in “Young People” and Laurel and Hardy in “Saps At Sea” (unknown if extras added). It was first operated by Ms. Alice Johnson of Bonaparte, Iowa.
The Uptown Theatre opened its doors on August 29, 1936 with a one-day showing of Lionel Barrymore in “The Voice Of Bugle Ann” along with a special performance by the city’s high school band, comedian Edgar Jones appearing in-person, and special addresses by then-Mayor B.J. Thomas. Otherwise, no extra short subjects were added.
NOTE: The theater never opened in 1930. That info belongs to the Dickinson (later Chief) Theatre.
The Dickinson Theatre opened its doors on June 20, 1930 with William Powell in “The Benson Murder Case” along with Paramount News, Screen Song “The Prisoner’s Song”, and a short entitled “Home Edition” with sound installations by RCA Protophone.
It was renamed the Chief Theatre in mid-1936. The theater last had a capacity of 350 seats and closed in late-September 1939 following repairs, which literally became its final closing. During repair after World War II, the building was destroyed by a fire.
This started life as the Gem Theatre. It opened in August 1911 and was first operated by H.L. Pruett who was also an operator for the long-defunct Chicago & Alton Railroad (later known as simply Alton Railroad).
On December 6, 1921, Pruett ended up living inside the theater building for a time after a fire destroyed his house near the Allen Street Methodist Church. This was followed by him changing the theater’s name to the Pruett’s Theatre (not Puritt’s) in 1922.
Purett’s Theatre closed for the final time on May 4, 1933 when E.F. Bebermeyer opened up his Vista Theatre nearby.
The Bebe Drive-In, named after owner and Warrenton resident E.F. Bebermeyer, opened its gates on July 20, 1950 with Kirk Douglas in “Young Man With A Horn” (unknown if extras added). It started as a seasonal drive-in but later became an all-year drive-in following the closure of the Vista Theatre in 1960.
The Vista Theatre opened its doors on May 5, 1933 with Laurel and Hardy in “Pack Up Your Troubles” along with a few unknown short subjects (one of which is an unknown technicolor musical short as listed) featuring sound installations of Western Electric. It was operated by E.F. Bebermeyer of Warrenton who also operated most theaters across Centralia, and the Vista name was named after a Spanish term for view.
Iowana Sam Sosna opened his short-lived 350-seat Sosna Theatre on July 11, 1940 with Dick Powell in “Naughty But Nice” along with the Merrie Melody cartoon “Gold Rush Daze”, a “News Of The Day” newsreel, and a Dave Apollon scopitone. It was first managed by Burlington, Kansas resident Jim White.
Some information about the theater goes as follows: The original theater marquee did not last long, but here’s some hints on what it looks like in color. It is a rectangle shaped marquee featuring red marlite with black marlite base trimmed in chrome and a cream-colored bottom. Unfortunately that was replaced during the war with a V-shaped marquee. There was also attractive letter box on the marquee in metal with changeable silhouette letters. The display cases are in steel with fluorescent for illumination, and the box office is blended marlite fluorescent with two colored combinations of red and gray. The foyer is also in the colors of black, red, and gray colors and the walls are stiped horizontally in four blending shades starting at the floor with blue then light blue followed by peach and cream ceiling.
Inside the auditorium is the foyer being draped in a thick turquoise blue velour curtain that parts in the middle, and was the same material that was used in the seat upholstering as well as the front stage curtain. The walls are paneled in variegated fadeless colored nu-wood with a flat restful smoke blue wall paint in between. Direct soft shadings of fluorescent green and rose colored lights dimply direct the patrons to their seats. The ceiling is also paneled to correspond with the offset pilasters on the walls and is designed by multi-colored nu-wood in herring bone pattern bordered in stylite. Two white daylight fluorescent fixtures adorn the ceiling and are used as house lights. The capacity of 350 seats are almost 7in thick with 12 springs covered in a washable ivory leather with turquoise base and corded velour back with cream metal back plate. These light colored backs and seats are self directing towards the vacant seat. The aisles are completely carpeted and there are two offset aisles which led to the upper seats which gives access to the balcony. There are two side exits on Promenade Street as well as the four front doors making it possible to empty the house easily in case of an emergency. The auditorium is also equipped with both a hot air blower and a U.S. cooling air conditioner. In the fireproof projection booth features Super-Simplex projectors, and the sound installations were RCA High Fidelity sound.
The Sosna Theatre did make a close-call on ending its life after its projector was caught on fire on May 12, 1942. The theater continued operating shortly afterward but unfortunately I cannot find its closing date.
The husband-and-wife team of Mr. and Mrs. C.M. Bassmann opened the Hermo Theatre’s doors on January 26, 1935 with William Haines in “Young And Beautiful” along with the Happy Harmonies cartoon “The Discontented Canary” and the Vitaphone technicolor short “Show Kids”.
On May 31, 1961, the Hermo Theatre closed its doors for three months due to lack of management. With a surprising note, the Williams Theatres chain would later reopen the Hermo Theatre on September 8, 1961. The Hermo Theatre was renamed the Showboat Theatre in 1972 retaining its first-run policy.
The Showboat Theatre closed as a first-run movie house in the early-1980s, and reopened a short time later as a special events theater which also housed live performances and classic movies.
The Garden Theatre opened with Robert Young in “Paradise For Three” along with the Porky Pig Looney Tune “Porky’s Phoney Express”, an unknown comedy, and a Benny Meroff scopitone.
This replaced an earlier theater that was destroyed by a fire that left a 14-year-old projectionist dead after the projector exploded right in front of his face during World War II.
The Lin-Vu Drive-In opened its gates by the B&B chain on June 29, 1952 with an unknown technicolor movie. It was first managed by H.L. Summy, and was owned by both Frank Weary of Richmond and the one-and-only Elmer Bills of Salisbury.
Way before the one-and-only Elmer Bills took the theater over in 1924, the Lyric Theatre was originally owned by a man simply named Mr. Bell but was taken over by a lady simply named Ms. Sproul in September 1915 following a brief renovation closure.
The Roxy opened on February 15, 1940 with Joe E. Brown in “Beware Spooks” along with an unknown cartoon, an Andy Clyde comedy, and a Ted Fio Rito scopitone. It was closed in 1952.
There are two Strand Theatres in St. Charles.
The first one started life as the Lyric Theatre on November 5, 1910, and was renamed the Strand Theatre on September 19, 1918. The older Strand closed in mid-1926 when it was relocated to a newer and larger building and reopened around the same time by Robert Stempel.
The Strand Theatre was renamed the St. Charles Cinema on November 23, 1968, reopening with Doris Day’s “With Six You Get Egg Roll” and Jerry Lewis’s “Big Mouth”.
This didn’t last long. In May 1971, the theater was briefly renamed the St. Charles Art Cinema running mostly R-rated and X-rated movies (yes there are some normal titles in there). It didn’t do as much of a success, and closed the following month in late-June 1971. The theater reopened as a live performance house under the name “The Factory” in 1972.
The Princess Theatre opened its doors in September 1915 and was located inside the Blaine building. The theater was renamed three times in its history. First it was renamed the Piedmont Theatre in Spring 1932, then it was renamed the Jefferis Theatre on August 28, 1940, and finally it was renamed the Melinda Theatre on January 1, 1958.
The theater closed in 1961 and the former theater became an office.
The actual opening date is May 19, 1953 with Sterling Hayden in “Kansas Pacific” along with an unnamed Popeye cartoon and an unknown comedy reel. It was first operated by Walter Wangler and owned by Mr. and Mrs. A. B. (Jeff) Jefferis who are also owners of the Jefferis Theatre.
This started life as Malco Twin, and opened its doors as a 420-seat twin-screener in December 1969. It was tripled in the 1980s and was renamed Malco Trio.
Ralph White opened the Roxy on July 6, 1949 with Wallace Beery in “Big Jack” with no extra short subjects.
Opened in 1921.
Once operated by Kerasotes.
The Kinney Opera House opened in late-January 1894. It had several names throughout its earlier days. It was once known as the Kinney Theatre before briefly renaming it the New Theatre in 1917. It officially became the Majestic Theatre in 1918.
The Majestic Theatre was gutted in the Spring of 1940 and was quickly modernized to Al Hauetter of Kansas City, Missouri’s design. The theater reopened as the Time Theatre on September 4, 1940 with Melvin Douglas in “He Stayed For Breakfast” along with a newsreel and several shorts (one of which is the patriotic short “The Flag Speaks”).
The Time Theatre is still open in the late-1960s, although its closing date was not known yet at this time.
The Memphis Theatre opened on January 2, 1941 with Shirley Temple in “Young People” and Laurel and Hardy in “Saps At Sea” (unknown if extras added). It was first operated by Ms. Alice Johnson of Bonaparte, Iowa.
The Uptown Theatre opened its doors on August 29, 1936 with a one-day showing of Lionel Barrymore in “The Voice Of Bugle Ann” along with a special performance by the city’s high school band, comedian Edgar Jones appearing in-person, and special addresses by then-Mayor B.J. Thomas. Otherwise, no extra short subjects were added.
The Dickinson Theatre opened its doors on June 20, 1930 with William Powell in “The Benson Murder Case” along with Paramount News, Screen Song “The Prisoner’s Song”, and a short entitled “Home Edition” with sound installations by RCA Protophone.
It was renamed the Chief Theatre in mid-1936. The theater last had a capacity of 350 seats and closed in late-September 1939 following repairs, which literally became its final closing. During repair after World War II, the building was destroyed by a fire.
This started life as the Gem Theatre. It opened in August 1911 and was first operated by H.L. Pruett who was also an operator for the long-defunct Chicago & Alton Railroad (later known as simply Alton Railroad).
On December 6, 1921, Pruett ended up living inside the theater building for a time after a fire destroyed his house near the Allen Street Methodist Church. This was followed by him changing the theater’s name to the Pruett’s Theatre (not Puritt’s) in 1922.
Purett’s Theatre closed for the final time on May 4, 1933 when E.F. Bebermeyer opened up his Vista Theatre nearby.
The Bebe Drive-In, named after owner and Warrenton resident E.F. Bebermeyer, opened its gates on July 20, 1950 with Kirk Douglas in “Young Man With A Horn” (unknown if extras added). It started as a seasonal drive-in but later became an all-year drive-in following the closure of the Vista Theatre in 1960.
The Vista Theatre opened its doors on May 5, 1933 with Laurel and Hardy in “Pack Up Your Troubles” along with a few unknown short subjects (one of which is an unknown technicolor musical short as listed) featuring sound installations of Western Electric. It was operated by E.F. Bebermeyer of Warrenton who also operated most theaters across Centralia, and the Vista name was named after a Spanish term for view.
The Vista Theatre closed in 1960.
Iowana Sam Sosna opened his short-lived 350-seat Sosna Theatre on July 11, 1940 with Dick Powell in “Naughty But Nice” along with the Merrie Melody cartoon “Gold Rush Daze”, a “News Of The Day” newsreel, and a Dave Apollon scopitone. It was first managed by Burlington, Kansas resident Jim White.
Some information about the theater goes as follows: The original theater marquee did not last long, but here’s some hints on what it looks like in color. It is a rectangle shaped marquee featuring red marlite with black marlite base trimmed in chrome and a cream-colored bottom. Unfortunately that was replaced during the war with a V-shaped marquee. There was also attractive letter box on the marquee in metal with changeable silhouette letters. The display cases are in steel with fluorescent for illumination, and the box office is blended marlite fluorescent with two colored combinations of red and gray. The foyer is also in the colors of black, red, and gray colors and the walls are stiped horizontally in four blending shades starting at the floor with blue then light blue followed by peach and cream ceiling.
Inside the auditorium is the foyer being draped in a thick turquoise blue velour curtain that parts in the middle, and was the same material that was used in the seat upholstering as well as the front stage curtain. The walls are paneled in variegated fadeless colored nu-wood with a flat restful smoke blue wall paint in between. Direct soft shadings of fluorescent green and rose colored lights dimply direct the patrons to their seats. The ceiling is also paneled to correspond with the offset pilasters on the walls and is designed by multi-colored nu-wood in herring bone pattern bordered in stylite. Two white daylight fluorescent fixtures adorn the ceiling and are used as house lights. The capacity of 350 seats are almost 7in thick with 12 springs covered in a washable ivory leather with turquoise base and corded velour back with cream metal back plate. These light colored backs and seats are self directing towards the vacant seat. The aisles are completely carpeted and there are two offset aisles which led to the upper seats which gives access to the balcony. There are two side exits on Promenade Street as well as the four front doors making it possible to empty the house easily in case of an emergency. The auditorium is also equipped with both a hot air blower and a U.S. cooling air conditioner. In the fireproof projection booth features Super-Simplex projectors, and the sound installations were RCA High Fidelity sound.
The Sosna Theatre did make a close-call on ending its life after its projector was caught on fire on May 12, 1942. The theater continued operating shortly afterward but unfortunately I cannot find its closing date.
Opened on November 17, 1995.
The husband-and-wife team of Mr. and Mrs. C.M. Bassmann opened the Hermo Theatre’s doors on January 26, 1935 with William Haines in “Young And Beautiful” along with the Happy Harmonies cartoon “The Discontented Canary” and the Vitaphone technicolor short “Show Kids”.
On May 31, 1961, the Hermo Theatre closed its doors for three months due to lack of management. With a surprising note, the Williams Theatres chain would later reopen the Hermo Theatre on September 8, 1961. The Hermo Theatre was renamed the Showboat Theatre in 1972 retaining its first-run policy.
The Showboat Theatre closed as a first-run movie house in the early-1980s, and reopened a short time later as a special events theater which also housed live performances and classic movies.
The Warrenton 8 Cinemas opened in 2007 and was built on the site of a former trailer park.
The Garden Theatre opened with Robert Young in “Paradise For Three” along with the Porky Pig Looney Tune “Porky’s Phoney Express”, an unknown comedy, and a Benny Meroff scopitone.
This replaced an earlier theater that was destroyed by a fire that left a 14-year-old projectionist dead after the projector exploded right in front of his face during World War II.
The Airway was still in operation in the 1980s, but was gone by the 1990s.
The Lin-Vu Drive-In opened its gates by the B&B chain on June 29, 1952 with an unknown technicolor movie. It was first managed by H.L. Summy, and was owned by both Frank Weary of Richmond and the one-and-only Elmer Bills of Salisbury.
The theater closed in the late-1980s.
Way before the one-and-only Elmer Bills took the theater over in 1924, the Lyric Theatre was originally owned by a man simply named Mr. Bell but was taken over by a lady simply named Ms. Sproul in September 1915 following a brief renovation closure.
The former Kmart operated from July 23, 1981 until June 14, 1992.