I think this theater has to be the Fox. There’s not enough information on either this or the Beverly to say which one opened in 1935. It’s odd that there were two opening so late to compete with the Lark and the Sourwine. Brazil peaked in population around 1910, and seems to have been declining ever since. Downtown is in a pretty sad state, and most of the largest buildings are long gone.
Conversion to a Penney’s involved some really ugly paneling. To install this, most of the glazed tile ornamentation was chiseled off. The paneling has been removed, and some white stone added to cover the scars.
Note that while the theater was operating, the street was called Main St. It appears to have changed names around 1920, probably with the coming of the National Pike (US 40).
The building was very old, but I’m not sure on the theater. The building was a deep two story brick building constructed sometime before 1883. The 1921 map shows a haberdasher there. The 1946 update shows the theater, which had a simple rectangular wooden awning or marquee.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Jun 8, 2021 at 1:11 pm
Note that while the theater was operating, the street was called Main St. It appears to have changed names around 1920, probably with the coming of the National Pike (US 40).
As can sort of be made out on some of the postcard views, the auditorium ran transversely behind the storefronts. The stage was at the north wall, and was quite deep, while one or possibly two curved balconies faced it from the south. There were seven storefronts with offices above. The central storefront was the theater entrance. It appears that a hallway ran behind the southern storefronts, and led to a stair to the balcony. The building was split roughly 50/50 between commercial space and the auditorium.
This building dates to sometime before 1887. The 1913 map shows a hardware store in this space. The nifty modernist theater entry has been replaced by an ugly collection of smoked plexiglass windows with a steel door. Looks like it might be an office. The one positive is that the horribly clumsy bricking in of the windows on the second floor has been undone.
As mentioned in the article, the original construction did intrude into the west half of the block. The rear of the building, still three stories, was actually hanging over the alley that split the block. Good thing the front section was saved, it’s a very nice old building.
Not sure why this is listed as art deco, unless the auditorium had been redone during the ‘30s. This beautiful stone-fronted set of stores was the Bayne Block, built sometime before 1887. There were originally 5 storefronts, and it looks like the theater took up two of these, the old 21, which was a wider space, and 23, keeping that address. Too bad some short-sighted fools thought a bare patch of asphalt was a better look for downtown.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
May 18, 2021 at 3:57 pm
According to a listing in the 1908 report of state inspections, this may have been the Nickelo.
Address was 1. For some reason, this location was a vacant lot until the theater was built. It does not appear on the 1921 map. The 1940 map shows it as a two-story brick building right on the corner of E Spring and S Franklin. There is a large balcony with a concave curved front, and a stage is shown. The theater was air conditioned.
All the buildings on the side of the block facing the courthouse were destroyed many years ago, but the back wall of the theater is still attached to the building to the south.
According to the NRHP listing for downtown, the western portion was originally the east end of the Union Block, a large structure that runs all the way to the corner. This theater may have been Blackstone’s, and then become the State.
This theater was built by Michael A. Switow, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, who lived in Shelbyville. He converted his candy store into the first Dream Theatre after seeing a movie in Chicago. He and his family eventually owned over 40 theaters, and this must have been an early addition.
The 1916 map calls it ‘The Grace’, and gives a capacity of 500. The building then had shallow one-story section at the front. This had a wide entry flanked by narrow retail spaces, one of which is the obligatory barber. The auditorium is covered by a peaked roof, and there is a fly tower at the rear. The whole was built in brick. It’s possible that some of the rear of the structure dates to the original theater, since the brick is a different color on the front.
168 seems ridiculously low even without using the balconies. The 1913 Sanborn shows the capacity as 1,000. The 1909-10 Cahn guide gives a total capacity of 925 (orchestra 350, balcony 300, gallery 275).
The correct address today is 107. The building was constructed some time before 1883, when the map shows the northern 2/3 as a ‘Fire Eng. Ho.’, with the foundation of the southern third (to be a hook & ladder house) laid. It was still used as the city hall/fire station on the 1913 map, with an address of 107-111. Unfortunately, no later maps are available online. The building today is office space. I neglected to take a picture for some reason.
By the way, the address is completely bogus. The original name of the street was Greenville, but by 1951 it was S Commerce St. The original address was probably 120-122, but it is now 116.
The Town Hall was built sometime between 1895 and 1901. From the beginning, there was an ‘opera house’ on the second floor, which had a deep balcony with a small U-shaped cutout in the center. As late as the 1920 map, it does not seem to be used as a cinema.
The 1951 map shows something much like the photo, and the balcony has been drastically remodeled to a sort of angled C-shape. At this point the other theater in town has closed, and it’s unlikely that such a small town could have supported two at once.
The ground floor was always city offices, but today the space is used by the fire department, which was housed in the little building to the left while the theater was operating.
This was a direct replacement of the old Grand Opera House, which occupied nearly the same space since sometime before 1886. There was originally a small stream called Mill Run along the south wall, but this was paved over, probably during construction of the new theater.
The building which became the Princess first appears on the 1891 map, with the note ‘Being Built’. It was a three-story brick building with a stone front. The 1894 map shows a store in this location.
The 1910 map shows the theater using a 15hp gas engine and 10kw dynamo to power the operation. Sometime between 1910 and 1928, it seems the theater was expanded into number 19 to the west. This had originally been an odd one-story structure with a narrower wooden front on a brick rear. On the 1928 map, it has been greatly expanded in the rear and the front reconstructed in brick. An intermittent partition wall is still shown, but the ‘Movies’ legend is written diagonally across both spaces.
The 1955 map shows the space as vacant. Most of the block was destroyed long ago, and aside from the State theater complex and a bit on the SW corner, is a wasteland of surface parking, with a few ugly modern structures scattered about.
I think this theater has to be the Fox. There’s not enough information on either this or the Beverly to say which one opened in 1935. It’s odd that there were two opening so late to compete with the Lark and the Sourwine. Brazil peaked in population around 1910, and seems to have been declining ever since. Downtown is in a pretty sad state, and most of the largest buildings are long gone.
Conversion to a Penney’s involved some really ugly paneling. To install this, most of the glazed tile ornamentation was chiseled off. The paneling has been removed, and some white stone added to cover the scars.
This may have been the Fox? Cinematour lists a Fox in Brazil with no other information.
Note that while the theater was operating, the street was called Main St. It appears to have changed names around 1920, probably with the coming of the National Pike (US 40).
The building was very old, but I’m not sure on the theater. The building was a deep two story brick building constructed sometime before 1883. The 1921 map shows a haberdasher there. The 1946 update shows the theater, which had a simple rectangular wooden awning or marquee.
Note that while the theater was operating, the street was called Main St. It appears to have changed names around 1920, probably with the coming of the National Pike (US 40).
As can sort of be made out on some of the postcard views, the auditorium ran transversely behind the storefronts. The stage was at the north wall, and was quite deep, while one or possibly two curved balconies faced it from the south. There were seven storefronts with offices above. The central storefront was the theater entrance. It appears that a hallway ran behind the southern storefronts, and led to a stair to the balcony. The building was split roughly 50/50 between commercial space and the auditorium.
The old name on the top of the facade is ‘Kinoteatr Mir’. Probably a Soviet-era building.
Kinoteatr Mir, so a Soviet-era name?
This building dates to sometime before 1887. The 1913 map shows a hardware store in this space. The nifty modernist theater entry has been replaced by an ugly collection of smoked plexiglass windows with a steel door. Looks like it might be an office. The one positive is that the horribly clumsy bricking in of the windows on the second floor has been undone.
As mentioned in the article, the original construction did intrude into the west half of the block. The rear of the building, still three stories, was actually hanging over the alley that split the block. Good thing the front section was saved, it’s a very nice old building.
Not sure why this is listed as art deco, unless the auditorium had been redone during the ‘30s. This beautiful stone-fronted set of stores was the Bayne Block, built sometime before 1887. There were originally 5 storefronts, and it looks like the theater took up two of these, the old 21, which was a wider space, and 23, keeping that address. Too bad some short-sighted fools thought a bare patch of asphalt was a better look for downtown.
According to a listing in the 1908 report of state inspections, this may have been the Nickelo.
Address was 1. For some reason, this location was a vacant lot until the theater was built. It does not appear on the 1921 map. The 1940 map shows it as a two-story brick building right on the corner of E Spring and S Franklin. There is a large balcony with a concave curved front, and a stage is shown. The theater was air conditioned.
All the buildings on the side of the block facing the courthouse were destroyed many years ago, but the back wall of the theater is still attached to the building to the south.
The streets have been renamed. Up until at least 1929, the theater was on Cross near the intersection with Back (now Vine).
According to the NRHP listing for downtown, the western portion was originally the east end of the Union Block, a large structure that runs all the way to the corner. This theater may have been Blackstone’s, and then become the State.
This theater was built by Michael A. Switow, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, who lived in Shelbyville. He converted his candy store into the first Dream Theatre after seeing a movie in Chicago. He and his family eventually owned over 40 theaters, and this must have been an early addition.
The 1916 map calls it ‘The Grace’, and gives a capacity of 500. The building then had shallow one-story section at the front. This had a wide entry flanked by narrow retail spaces, one of which is the obligatory barber. The auditorium is covered by a peaked roof, and there is a fly tower at the rear. The whole was built in brick. It’s possible that some of the rear of the structure dates to the original theater, since the brick is a different color on the front.
That makes sense. I wish I could get a copy of the 1927 or 1932 maps.
168 seems ridiculously low even without using the balconies. The 1913 Sanborn shows the capacity as 1,000. The 1909-10 Cahn guide gives a total capacity of 925 (orchestra 350, balcony 300, gallery 275).
The correct address today is 107. The building was constructed some time before 1883, when the map shows the northern 2/3 as a ‘Fire Eng. Ho.’, with the foundation of the southern third (to be a hook & ladder house) laid. It was still used as the city hall/fire station on the 1913 map, with an address of 107-111. Unfortunately, no later maps are available online. The building today is office space. I neglected to take a picture for some reason.
Odds and evens must have switched sides at some point. Up until the 1948 map, the address is shown as 104.
By the way, the address is completely bogus. The original name of the street was Greenville, but by 1951 it was S Commerce St. The original address was probably 120-122, but it is now 116.
The Town Hall was built sometime between 1895 and 1901. From the beginning, there was an ‘opera house’ on the second floor, which had a deep balcony with a small U-shaped cutout in the center. As late as the 1920 map, it does not seem to be used as a cinema.
The 1951 map shows something much like the photo, and the balcony has been drastically remodeled to a sort of angled C-shape. At this point the other theater in town has closed, and it’s unlikely that such a small town could have supported two at once.
The ground floor was always city offices, but today the space is used by the fire department, which was housed in the little building to the left while the theater was operating.
This was a direct replacement of the old Grand Opera House, which occupied nearly the same space since sometime before 1886. There was originally a small stream called Mill Run along the south wall, but this was paved over, probably during construction of the new theater.
The building which became the Princess first appears on the 1891 map, with the note ‘Being Built’. It was a three-story brick building with a stone front. The 1894 map shows a store in this location.
The 1910 map shows the theater using a 15hp gas engine and 10kw dynamo to power the operation. Sometime between 1910 and 1928, it seems the theater was expanded into number 19 to the west. This had originally been an odd one-story structure with a narrower wooden front on a brick rear. On the 1928 map, it has been greatly expanded in the rear and the front reconstructed in brick. An intermittent partition wall is still shown, but the ‘Movies’ legend is written diagonally across both spaces.
The 1955 map shows the space as vacant. Most of the block was destroyed long ago, and aside from the State theater complex and a bit on the SW corner, is a wasteland of surface parking, with a few ugly modern structures scattered about.