If it opened in 1909, it was after July, when the map shows this as a saloon. The structure was originally built sometime before 1885, but was modified over the years. With a hideous remodel, the building is now incorporated into the jewelry store on the corner.
The building at 217 is the same one, but I would guess it was remodeled in the ‘20s, maybe for a bank. The 1916 Sanborn shows an oriel on the building, which is clearly not there now. There was a building on this lot sometime before 1885, but between 1909 and 1916 it was either replaced or extended in the rear.
I’m going to guess at a replacement, because the building at 219 once shared a facade, although it is now missing an oriel as well. So as a theater, it would have been roughly a mirror of 219, with an oriel and a large square awning over the entry. The first 10 or so feet of the wall separating the two buildings was actually a few feet further north than the rest. There are 1927, 1934, and 1965 maps, but they are not digitized.
The Indiana was obviously much older than the 1920s. It appears on the 1901 Sanborn, with the note ‘From Plans’. At that point it was called the Indiana Opera House. By 1911, it is the Indiana Theatre, with a capacity of 1,300. By 1920, the original balcony, which was an angular C-shape which ran up to the stage, has been cut back, and given a concave curved front. Between 1920 and 1952, the appearance is unchanged.
The naming sequence is backward. It was the Grand before it was the Royal Grand. As Esteyman says, the building was first the Allen Opera House, before becoming the Grand Opera House by 1901. By 1920, it’s called the Royal Grand. It is very likely that there was an extensive reconstruction. On the 1920 map, the building is two feet shorter, the east wall has been straightened, and a U-shaped balcony appears.
In both iterations, this was a fairly large 1-2 story brick building, with a large fly tower at the rear. Stage and scenery are shown up to its last appearance on the 1931 map. By 1947, it has been replaced by a parking lot and the little hot dog stand which is there today. The correct address was 122-124 W 5th.
The Paramount was built in 1929, and was a huge theater. It took up most of the quarter block it was on, and was 2-3 stories tall. It’s shown on the maps as ‘fireproof construction’, with the auditorium being brick. The balcony was large, with a concave front. There was a large stage, and scenery is noted even on the 1952 map. It’s now a parking lot for the ugly bank on the corner.
I’m not exactly sure what the Lyric looked like before the 1930s remodel, but it appears on the 1920 and 1931 Sanborns as a brick building of one story with the entrance into a small lobby on the east side under a small square metal awning. The exit was on the far west side, and was simply a narrow hallway. The space between these was a ladies' clothing store. The theater widened to the east just past the front of the auditorium, to fill the space left by the building next door, which was wider at the front.
On the 1920 and 1931 maps, stage and scenery are noted, and there is a dressing room on the NE corner, behind the building next door. This is gone on the 1947 map, and I assume it was removed when the theater was modernized sometime in the second half of the ‘30s.
The Luna-Lite building was constructed sometime between 1887 and 1890, as a saloon and restaurant. It was a three story brick structure, originally only extending about 2/3 of the depth of the lot. Between 1896 and 1901, a two story brick extension was added to the rear. By 1905, the first floor was a ‘concert hall’ and the rear was used as a stage and scenery.
A final note: The 1952 Sanborn shows both this and the Lyric operating. The entire half block past the alley has become a parking lot.
Address is wrong. Should be 113 N Washington. Address was originally 114, but between 1913 and 1919 this block switched odds and evens. There is only one building left on either side of this block. The original building was constructed before 1892. By 1908, it had a one story extension in the rear. Most recent map is 1919, when it was a pool room as in the photo.
Not demolished, the address is wrong, and not converted from another business. It’s obviously a theater in the older photo. The address is 206 N Washington, and the building is an office supply business. We parked right next door, but I skipped taking a picture.
From the NRHP listing for downtown comes the following information:
The Fraternal Order of Eagles started construction on the building in July, 1905. While the theater and office rental space were successful, the building was sold at public auction in 1912, and was renamed the Yarnelle Building. (This also explains why the 1910 and 1920 Sanborns show the meeting hall being an Elks lodge, not an Eagles aerie.) The theater space was leased to the Dickson brothers (William and Percy) in 1913. They bought the building in 1917, presumably changing the name of the theater back.
I don’t think the address is right, although W Market on the 1920 map is a bit garbled, with some addresses out of order. Where 20 is on the 1920 map is a tiny wooden barber shop. It would be under the west side of the antique mall. The parking lot replaced the Tremont Hotel, a large 3-story structure. This housed various businesses in the ground floor, so it’s conceivable that a theater opened there.
Unfortunately for Joe’s theory about this being a renamed theater, there are no theaters besides the Eagles on the north side of Market on the 1920 map. There is one on the 1910 map, but if this stayed open until the ‘50s, that can’t be it. The old picture on the Crest’s page seems to show the parking lot in existence by 1957. It is possible that this became the Crest, at 63 (on the other side of the street). The contributor is extremely unreliable with his addresses, and that theater was open by 1920 at the latest. Unfortunately, the 1931, '39, and '61 maps are not available online.
This building was constructed sometime before 1887. On the 1887 map, it is Launder & Harper’s Carriage Factory. In 1910 it is a grocery, but by 1920, the building has been modified into a theater. The map shows an open first floor, with a recessed entry and bowed-out ticket booth in the center. Unfortunately, the 1931, ‘39, and ‘61 maps are not digitized. The address was originally 21, but on the 1920 map, this has changed to 63. The decorative medallions featuring an art deco archer are still along the roofline.
I’d like to suggest an address of 64 S Broadway for this one. That would have been on a corner with the alley. The building dated to before 1883, and was a saloon in 1906. On the 1912 map, it has become a theater. This whole half block is a vacant lot, and has been since at least 2008.
This listing is full of misinformation. The Roxy was not across from the courthouse, that’s N Broadway. It did not open in the ‘30s. The building was constructed sometime before 1883, and it was a theater as early as 1912. I’m not sure how this could possibly have been larger than the Wallace, which was much wider and a bit deeper than this converted store.
If the address is correct (which I doubt, since the Ritz is clearly on a corner in the photo), this whole block was demolished many years ago, to be replaced by a CVS and a parking lot. The 1920 map doesn’t show a theater on this block, and no later maps are available.
The 1906 Sanborn shows this as the Webb Theater. On the 1899 map, there are two houses on the lot. The 1905 Cahn guide has the Webb managed by Fred Webb, and gives the capacity as 1,045. The building was fairly large, and three stories tall. There were commercial spaces flanking the entrance, and the front of the upper stories was also rented out. The structure remains unchanged up to the 1920 map.
The 1902 Sanborn shows this as Sipe’s Opera House, and the 1916 map shows it with a capacity of 1,000.
If it opened in 1909, it was after July, when the map shows this as a saloon. The structure was originally built sometime before 1885, but was modified over the years. With a hideous remodel, the building is now incorporated into the jewelry store on the corner.
The building at 217 is the same one, but I would guess it was remodeled in the ‘20s, maybe for a bank. The 1916 Sanborn shows an oriel on the building, which is clearly not there now. There was a building on this lot sometime before 1885, but between 1909 and 1916 it was either replaced or extended in the rear.
I’m going to guess at a replacement, because the building at 219 once shared a facade, although it is now missing an oriel as well. So as a theater, it would have been roughly a mirror of 219, with an oriel and a large square awning over the entry. The first 10 or so feet of the wall separating the two buildings was actually a few feet further north than the rest. There are 1927, 1934, and 1965 maps, but they are not digitized.
Address is a guess counting up from the city hall at 112.
The Indiana was obviously much older than the 1920s. It appears on the 1901 Sanborn, with the note ‘From Plans’. At that point it was called the Indiana Opera House. By 1911, it is the Indiana Theatre, with a capacity of 1,300. By 1920, the original balcony, which was an angular C-shape which ran up to the stage, has been cut back, and given a concave curved front. Between 1920 and 1952, the appearance is unchanged.
The naming sequence is backward. It was the Grand before it was the Royal Grand. As Esteyman says, the building was first the Allen Opera House, before becoming the Grand Opera House by 1901. By 1920, it’s called the Royal Grand. It is very likely that there was an extensive reconstruction. On the 1920 map, the building is two feet shorter, the east wall has been straightened, and a U-shaped balcony appears.
In both iterations, this was a fairly large 1-2 story brick building, with a large fly tower at the rear. Stage and scenery are shown up to its last appearance on the 1931 map. By 1947, it has been replaced by a parking lot and the little hot dog stand which is there today. The correct address was 122-124 W 5th.
The Paramount was built in 1929, and was a huge theater. It took up most of the quarter block it was on, and was 2-3 stories tall. It’s shown on the maps as ‘fireproof construction’, with the auditorium being brick. The balcony was large, with a concave front. There was a large stage, and scenery is noted even on the 1952 map. It’s now a parking lot for the ugly bank on the corner.
I’m not exactly sure what the Lyric looked like before the 1930s remodel, but it appears on the 1920 and 1931 Sanborns as a brick building of one story with the entrance into a small lobby on the east side under a small square metal awning. The exit was on the far west side, and was simply a narrow hallway. The space between these was a ladies' clothing store. The theater widened to the east just past the front of the auditorium, to fill the space left by the building next door, which was wider at the front.
On the 1920 and 1931 maps, stage and scenery are noted, and there is a dressing room on the NE corner, behind the building next door. This is gone on the 1947 map, and I assume it was removed when the theater was modernized sometime in the second half of the ‘30s.
It looks like the name was shortened to Luna at some point past 1920.
The Luna-Lite building was constructed sometime between 1887 and 1890, as a saloon and restaurant. It was a three story brick structure, originally only extending about 2/3 of the depth of the lot. Between 1896 and 1901, a two story brick extension was added to the rear. By 1905, the first floor was a ‘concert hall’ and the rear was used as a stage and scenery.
A final note: The 1952 Sanborn shows both this and the Lyric operating. The entire half block past the alley has become a parking lot.
Note that on the 1920 Sanborn, the address was 65 (the Crest next door was originally 63).
Constructed sometime after 1919, when the map shows a house on the lot.
Address is wrong. Should be 113 N Washington. Address was originally 114, but between 1913 and 1919 this block switched odds and evens. There is only one building left on either side of this block. The original building was constructed before 1892. By 1908, it had a one story extension in the rear. Most recent map is 1919, when it was a pool room as in the photo.
Not demolished, the address is wrong, and not converted from another business. It’s obviously a theater in the older photo. The address is 206 N Washington, and the building is an office supply business. We parked right next door, but I skipped taking a picture.
From the NRHP listing for downtown comes the following information: The Fraternal Order of Eagles started construction on the building in July, 1905. While the theater and office rental space were successful, the building was sold at public auction in 1912, and was renamed the Yarnelle Building. (This also explains why the 1910 and 1920 Sanborns show the meeting hall being an Elks lodge, not an Eagles aerie.) The theater space was leased to the Dickson brothers (William and Percy) in 1913. They bought the building in 1917, presumably changing the name of the theater back.
The AKA is almost certainly Yarnelle, not ‘Yarnell’. There was a Yarnelle Lumber & Coal Co. in town.
I don’t think the address is right, although W Market on the 1920 map is a bit garbled, with some addresses out of order. Where 20 is on the 1920 map is a tiny wooden barber shop. It would be under the west side of the antique mall. The parking lot replaced the Tremont Hotel, a large 3-story structure. This housed various businesses in the ground floor, so it’s conceivable that a theater opened there.
Unfortunately for Joe’s theory about this being a renamed theater, there are no theaters besides the Eagles on the north side of Market on the 1920 map. There is one on the 1910 map, but if this stayed open until the ‘50s, that can’t be it. The old picture on the Crest’s page seems to show the parking lot in existence by 1957. It is possible that this became the Crest, at 63 (on the other side of the street). The contributor is extremely unreliable with his addresses, and that theater was open by 1920 at the latest. Unfortunately, the 1931, '39, and '61 maps are not available online.
This building was constructed sometime before 1887. On the 1887 map, it is Launder & Harper’s Carriage Factory. In 1910 it is a grocery, but by 1920, the building has been modified into a theater. The map shows an open first floor, with a recessed entry and bowed-out ticket booth in the center. Unfortunately, the 1931, ‘39, and ‘61 maps are not digitized. The address was originally 21, but on the 1920 map, this has changed to 63. The decorative medallions featuring an art deco archer are still along the roofline.
Address should be 105 W 1st. Despite its appearance, this building does not show up on the 1920 Sanborn. It is currently an auto repair place.
I’d like to suggest an address of 64 S Broadway for this one. That would have been on a corner with the alley. The building dated to before 1883, and was a saloon in 1906. On the 1912 map, it has become a theater. This whole half block is a vacant lot, and has been since at least 2008.
This listing is full of misinformation. The Roxy was not across from the courthouse, that’s N Broadway. It did not open in the ‘30s. The building was constructed sometime before 1883, and it was a theater as early as 1912. I’m not sure how this could possibly have been larger than the Wallace, which was much wider and a bit deeper than this converted store.
If the address is correct (which I doubt, since the Ritz is clearly on a corner in the photo), this whole block was demolished many years ago, to be replaced by a CVS and a parking lot. The 1920 map doesn’t show a theater on this block, and no later maps are available.
The 1906 Sanborn shows this as the Webb Theater. On the 1899 map, there are two houses on the lot. The 1905 Cahn guide has the Webb managed by Fred Webb, and gives the capacity as 1,045. The building was fairly large, and three stories tall. There were commercial spaces flanking the entrance, and the front of the upper stories was also rented out. The structure remains unchanged up to the 1920 map.
Those buildings look like they’re from the late 1800s, or very early 1900s. Maybe the ‘20s would be when they were stuccoed?
Sorry, I wasn’t clear. It was a billiard hall up until it became a theater. There is no information after 1942.