Almost certainly demolished. Only two buildings in the sad downtown still have names, and both were banks. They are also the only two remaining two story buildings.
Once again, Chuck has all sorts of details wrong. The extension office is at 101 S Main, and there’s absolutely no way a theater could have fit in that tiny space. 204 N Main, and indeed the entire 200 block, is far too old to have been built after 1954. 204 S Main doesn’t make much sense. Possible locations would be Broadway, Locust, or Maple Streets, all of which have vacant lots and/or new construction.
I think the building is still there. It’s a narrow little thing with a concrete block façade. On the 1922 Sanborn, that space is occupied by a small wooden carpet cleaners shop. The current structure is an insurance office in streetview, but now appears to be a café.
The street has to be wrong. Both dmt and Tp show that the theater was open in 1914. Thus, the only choice is the theater shown on the 1916 Sanborn. It is located at 120 S 5th St. The building is currently a florist. To the extent that you can see anything at all in the photo, the second floor windows appear to be the same shape.
It’s just a vacant lot. Doubt anything will ever replace the buildings that were there, although the church has built an addition on the site of the little building that was to the left of the theater (maybe a telephone exchange?). Between church parking lots, drive through banks, and general neglect, downtown has shrunk quite a bit.
Apologies, but Electric may not be the name. It appears to be a classification used by this particular surveyor. There is another ‘electric’ on the same block.
I’m not sure how destroyed it was in the fire. Old photo is from 1940, and aside from the loss of the tile roof, the structure appears identical. I imagine the structure was gutted, but was able to be reused. At some later point, the ground floor got an ugly remodel with cheap aluminum doors and tacky dryvit covering the shop windows. Not sure when it closed, but the 2009 streetview shows the marquee already gone, and the building clearly vacant.
Should be listed as demolished. This entire side of the block has been destroyed with a few dreary prefab buildings and an indifferent bank replacing them.
This should be listed as demolished. Building is vacant on the 1909 Sanborn, but the 1916 map shows the Grand Opera House showing movies, with a seating capacity of 304. It’s a deep but narrow one story brick building, almost certainly a converted storefront.
Can we clarify which corner? The 1916 Sanborn shows a “Moving Picture Theatre” on the north side of the 300 block (perhaps 320-something), in a one story stone building. Only a fragment of that structure survives as steps and part of a wall with a metal shed built on top. Second from the corner on the north side of the 400 block (probably 402) is the town hall, which is noted as having a stage. This building is visible (just barely) on the crummy 2008 streetview, but the satellite view shows that it has collapsed in a heap.
If it was on the corner, there must have been renumbering. The current 119 is the second from the corner. The corner building makes more sense. It’s an old Knights of Pythias hall, and fairly well kept, aside from some ugly window covers. It’s a fair bit deeper than the present 119. In 2010, it was a closed grocery store, and might now be residential.
Given that the street names on these listings aren’t terribly reliable, one suggestion for either of the two theaters in town would be the sad old derelict on 3rd, just north/east of the alley. As a note, the 1911 Sanborn has a ‘cheap theatre’ located on the other side of 3rd, in a small brick building (long gone), that is also labeled as ‘grocery warehouse’. Not sure how that worked.
Given that the street names on these listings aren’t terribly reliable, one suggestion for either of the two theaters in town would be the sad old derelict on 3rd, just north/east of the alley. As a note, the 1911 Sanborn has a ‘cheap theatre’ located on the other side of 3rd, in a small brick building (long gone), that is also labeled as ‘grocery warehouse’. Not sure how that worked.
Must have been a short-lived theater. 1911 Sanborn shows it as a pool hall. It’s been very poorly treated over the years, and has a generous helping of plastic siding and boarded-up windows. 2013 streetview shows it as and insurance office.
Theater has been demolished. It’s on the 1917 Sanborn, 2nd building from the corner of 6th on Main (south side). Looks like it’s been gone for many years, since that’s just weeds on the 2009 streetview. The map credits the town with a population of 600, brick and stone buildings for a full block on either side of Main, with half a block more on the north side past the railroad. Current population is 93, and only 2-3 buildings appear to remain on the latest satellite view.
I’ve uploaded a picture of the building at 108 E Vermont. I’m pretty confident that it was the Lucille. The lot is empty on the 1911 map, which matches a 1912 construction.
On the 1906 and earlier maps, the street is called Water. By 1914, it is Tisman (sic), with ‘Water’ in parentheses. Street names seem to be pretty fluid on these maps, and I’m sure most people used the old name until they got used to the new one.
SethG
commented about
Theateron
Mar 9, 2019 at 10:05 am
The one theater you couldn’t find a name for is of course the only one I have a picture of! Thanks for listing it.
The September 1911 Sanborn, which is unfortunately the latest available, does not show a theater. The NRHP listing for the opera house says the Lucille was built in 1912.
Two suggestions for possible locations: 121 (corner), which is listed as dry goods on the map. It is much deeper than it appears on the map, suggesting a conversion. It also appears to have poster cases on the front, although they may be covered windows. The building is now apartments.
Another possibility is the yellow brick building in the middle of the block on the other side of the street. It is likewise quite deep, and has an odd recessed entry on one side. That building is a business.
He’s also misspelled Siloam. Anyhow, this theater must have been at 208 S Thompson. It’s now a parking lot.
Almost certainly demolished. Only two buildings in the sad downtown still have names, and both were banks. They are also the only two remaining two story buildings.
Once again, Chuck has all sorts of details wrong. The extension office is at 101 S Main, and there’s absolutely no way a theater could have fit in that tiny space. 204 N Main, and indeed the entire 200 block, is far too old to have been built after 1954. 204 S Main doesn’t make much sense. Possible locations would be Broadway, Locust, or Maple Streets, all of which have vacant lots and/or new construction.
I think the building is still there. It’s a narrow little thing with a concrete block façade. On the 1922 Sanborn, that space is occupied by a small wooden carpet cleaners shop. The current structure is an insurance office in streetview, but now appears to be a café.
Theater building is still there, with a very ugly façade which might be from around 1960-70. It appears to be a doctor’s office.
The street has to be wrong. Both dmt and Tp show that the theater was open in 1914. Thus, the only choice is the theater shown on the 1916 Sanborn. It is located at 120 S 5th St. The building is currently a florist. To the extent that you can see anything at all in the photo, the second floor windows appear to be the same shape.
Aside from the uselessly blurry picture above, all of the other pictures appear to be of the 1946 structure.
This theater didn’t burn in 1943, it was the Tivoli/New Globe which did.
It’s just a vacant lot. Doubt anything will ever replace the buildings that were there, although the church has built an addition on the site of the little building that was to the left of the theater (maybe a telephone exchange?). Between church parking lots, drive through banks, and general neglect, downtown has shrunk quite a bit.
If it hasn’t been demolished, a few of the buildings on the west side of the 400 block could be candidates.
Apologies, but Electric may not be the name. It appears to be a classification used by this particular surveyor. There is another ‘electric’ on the same block.
I added a photo from just before demolition.
I’m not sure how destroyed it was in the fire. Old photo is from 1940, and aside from the loss of the tile roof, the structure appears identical. I imagine the structure was gutted, but was able to be reused. At some later point, the ground floor got an ugly remodel with cheap aluminum doors and tacky dryvit covering the shop windows. Not sure when it closed, but the 2009 streetview shows the marquee already gone, and the building clearly vacant.
Should be listed as demolished. This entire side of the block has been destroyed with a few dreary prefab buildings and an indifferent bank replacing them.
This should be listed as demolished. Building is vacant on the 1909 Sanborn, but the 1916 map shows the Grand Opera House showing movies, with a seating capacity of 304. It’s a deep but narrow one story brick building, almost certainly a converted storefront.
Can we clarify which corner? The 1916 Sanborn shows a “Moving Picture Theatre” on the north side of the 300 block (perhaps 320-something), in a one story stone building. Only a fragment of that structure survives as steps and part of a wall with a metal shed built on top. Second from the corner on the north side of the 400 block (probably 402) is the town hall, which is noted as having a stage. This building is visible (just barely) on the crummy 2008 streetview, but the satellite view shows that it has collapsed in a heap.
If it was on the corner, there must have been renumbering. The current 119 is the second from the corner. The corner building makes more sense. It’s an old Knights of Pythias hall, and fairly well kept, aside from some ugly window covers. It’s a fair bit deeper than the present 119. In 2010, it was a closed grocery store, and might now be residential.
Given that the street names on these listings aren’t terribly reliable, one suggestion for either of the two theaters in town would be the sad old derelict on 3rd, just north/east of the alley. As a note, the 1911 Sanborn has a ‘cheap theatre’ located on the other side of 3rd, in a small brick building (long gone), that is also labeled as ‘grocery warehouse’. Not sure how that worked.
Given that the street names on these listings aren’t terribly reliable, one suggestion for either of the two theaters in town would be the sad old derelict on 3rd, just north/east of the alley. As a note, the 1911 Sanborn has a ‘cheap theatre’ located on the other side of 3rd, in a small brick building (long gone), that is also labeled as ‘grocery warehouse’. Not sure how that worked.
Must have been a short-lived theater. 1911 Sanborn shows it as a pool hall. It’s been very poorly treated over the years, and has a generous helping of plastic siding and boarded-up windows. 2013 streetview shows it as and insurance office.
Theater has been demolished. It’s on the 1917 Sanborn, 2nd building from the corner of 6th on Main (south side). Looks like it’s been gone for many years, since that’s just weeds on the 2009 streetview. The map credits the town with a population of 600, brick and stone buildings for a full block on either side of Main, with half a block more on the north side past the railroad. Current population is 93, and only 2-3 buildings appear to remain on the latest satellite view.
I’ve uploaded a picture of the building at 108 E Vermont. I’m pretty confident that it was the Lucille. The lot is empty on the 1911 map, which matches a 1912 construction.
On the 1906 and earlier maps, the street is called Water. By 1914, it is Tisman (sic), with ‘Water’ in parentheses. Street names seem to be pretty fluid on these maps, and I’m sure most people used the old name until they got used to the new one.
The one theater you couldn’t find a name for is of course the only one I have a picture of! Thanks for listing it.
The September 1911 Sanborn, which is unfortunately the latest available, does not show a theater. The NRHP listing for the opera house says the Lucille was built in 1912. Two suggestions for possible locations: 121 (corner), which is listed as dry goods on the map. It is much deeper than it appears on the map, suggesting a conversion. It also appears to have poster cases on the front, although they may be covered windows. The building is now apartments. Another possibility is the yellow brick building in the middle of the block on the other side of the street. It is likewise quite deep, and has an odd recessed entry on one side. That building is a business.