Comments from SethG

Showing 51 - 75 of 1,990 comments

SethG
SethG commented about Dixie Theater on May 21, 2025 at 8:28 pm

Surely we can have a better main photo than a terrible blurry picture of one corner of the screen?

SethG
SethG commented about Temple Theatre on May 21, 2025 at 12:42 pm

Link to the KHRI entry for this building - https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=207-6010-00033

SethG
SethG commented about Temple Theatre on May 21, 2025 at 12:35 pm

Not at an intersection, and not on Main. The theater is at 115-117 W Butler. Dates are wrong as well. The Star is listed in the 1914-15 AMPD. The building was originally the Apollo Hall (later Apollo Opera House), built between 1897 and 1901. The capacity of the opera house is listed as 600 in the 1905 Cahn guide. The theater was still open in 1986 when the NRHP survey for downtown was done. The building is in fairly threadbare condition. The outdoor ticket booth has been destroyed and that side of the building has been derelict since well before 2010. There was a senior center on the other side, which may now be closed.

SethG
SethG commented about Mallory Opera House on May 19, 2025 at 4:13 pm

That makes sense. The new Empress was supposedly a remodeled commercial building, but he could have used the name here first.

SethG
SethG commented about Empress Theatre on May 19, 2025 at 4:11 pm

The map is from 1916, so you may well be right. I got my information from one of the other listings, which I felt misidentified the Empress.

SethG
SethG commented about Blue Moon Youth Center on May 19, 2025 at 7:25 am

Trolleyguy’s comment was misinterpreted. The church runs the youth center. The changes should be reverted.

SethG
SethG commented about Princess Theatre on May 18, 2025 at 8:20 pm

I do not think the address is right. While 203 is indeed a taxi station on the 1917 map, it is furniture storage on the 1912 map (and an armory in 1905). I see no theaters on the east side except for the Elite at 3 S Jefferson in 1912, and moved to 1 S Jefferson in 1917.

SethG
SethG commented about Plaza Theatre on May 18, 2025 at 8:06 pm

The building is in good shape, although the ground floor is pretty ugly. It’s a CPAs office.

SethG
SethG commented about Pic Theatre on May 18, 2025 at 7:58 pm

Not sure why this is listed as demolished. The building is still there, although it’s an incredibly ugly siding box. Who knows what’s under the sheet metal?

SethG
SethG commented about Iola Cinema 1 & 2 on May 18, 2025 at 7:56 pm

It was being used as a church in 2010, but a nonprofit was formed in 2022 to restore it. The ‘50s marquee, hidden under '70s plastic trash, has been revealed again.

SethG
SethG commented about Elite Theatre on May 18, 2025 at 7:49 pm

The building is an unattractive one story corrugated metal shed. It appears to be home to a religious organization. According to the KHRI, it was constructed sometime between 1899 and 1901. Entry here -https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=001-98

SethG
SethG commented about Airdome Theatre on May 18, 2025 at 7:41 pm

Address would be 203. The Memorial Hall was a very attractive building, but was demolished in 1970 to be replaced by some appallingly ugly apartments.

SethG
SethG commented about Cozy Theatre on May 18, 2025 at 4:25 pm

Almost certainly somewhere on S Main St. Most likely demolished, but there are some possibilities for a small theater still standing in the decaying village.

SethG
SethG commented about Miner Theatre on May 18, 2025 at 3:20 pm

The address is wrong, there is no Main St. This must have been on Cedar, and is certainly demolished. This town is a squalid wreck, and very few buildings survive. I think, from the very poor quality thumbnails, that it was north of Randolph. It appears to have been just south of the old library, which is the ugly abandoned siding covered thing south of the fire station. The theater, and the dealership to the south, were gone by 2008. Possible address of 323 Cedar.

SethG
SethG commented about Theatre on May 17, 2025 at 2:16 pm

That demolition date cannot be right, since there was a gas station here in 1930. It does appear that this structure has a roof, so the indoor conversion part is correct.

SethG
SethG commented about Bijou Theatre on May 17, 2025 at 2:10 pm

I’m not sure where this would have been. The corner is 202. There is no 200, even though it makes more sense. 202 ½ is the upstairs. The 1912 map doesn’t show anything upstairs. The space at 202 was occupied by a clothing store from 1895 through at least 1912 (the remaining bay window says ‘H.L.T. Skinner Clothier’ at the top), and there were some small spaces at the rear which faced W 2nd St. The left hand side of the building, 204, had a more varied history, and the theater might have been there, although again it would have closed by 1912.

SethG
SethG commented about Bijou Theatre on May 17, 2025 at 2:09 pm

I’ve added a picture. Some moron put cladding on the left hand side sometime around the ‘60s, so that bay is missing.

SethG
SethG commented about Ottawa Memorial Auditorium on May 17, 2025 at 9:02 am

George P. Washburn (1846-1922) was a prolific local architect. His office at 413 S Main is a charming Victorian eclectic structure. He mainly produced civic designs, with 9 Carnegie libraries and 13 courthouses to his credit.

SethG
SethG commented about Ottawa Memorial Auditorium on May 17, 2025 at 8:27 am

Capacity listed is the current capacity. The Yearbooks listed it as 1,500. It was likely reduced during the renovations in the ‘70s.

SethG
SethG commented about Peoples Theatre on May 16, 2025 at 1:01 pm

This was not a conversion of the opera house. That was a large quadruple storefront 3 story building located roughly where the ugly little bank is. The Wikipedia page for Garnett has a photo showing both the proto-Peoples and the opera house. This area is a vacant lot on the July 1913 map, but the Peoples is listed in the 1914-15 AMPD. The name may have been moved. There is a Undeeda listed on 4th Ave, while the Peoples has no address information.

Judging from the photo in the listing which shows the neighboring buildings, the Opera House had been torn down by around 1940.

SethG
SethG commented about Tauy Theatre on May 16, 2025 at 7:52 am

I’m sure the dates are right, but there is a gorgeous antique mirror in the courthouse, with a wooden frame holding advertisements. One is for the Tauy. Given that it is in the Eastlake style, it likely has been in the courthouse since it was built in 1892. Most of the other ads appear very old, and have 3 digit phone numbers. I don’t find any evidence of an earlier Tauy, so I suppose the card was placed in the frame around 1941.

SethG
SethG commented about Plaza Grill & Cinema on May 15, 2025 at 9:15 am

Here’s the KHRI entry for the theater, with a few bits of information - https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=059-4270-00038

If you drive the streetview car down the alley behind, the original stone walls of the Pickrell Block can be seen.

SethG
SethG commented about Plaza Grill & Cinema on May 15, 2025 at 9:13 am

As pointed out in 2018, the ‘Grill &’ part of the name should be removed. Looks like it hasn’t had a restaurant since at least 2014.

SethG
SethG commented about Rohrbaugh Theatre on May 15, 2025 at 7:09 am

The original building may have been a wooden structure which was originally built between 1884 and 1888 as the Ottawa Carriage Works. It was rebuilt or replaced between 1888 and 1893 by a wooden auditorium roughly the same size, but with a second story.

The 1905 Cahn guide gives the Rohrbaugh Opera House (also the name on the 1912 map) a capacity of 1,200.

SethG
SethG commented about Rohrbaugh Theatre on May 15, 2025 at 7:01 am

The address was 317-321 S Hickory St, almost directly across from the courthouse. This location is now a parking lot. Status should be updated.