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 7:05 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.
1916 Sanborn gives the capacity as 764, and notes that it offers ‘moving pictures & vaudeville’. February 1909 map shows the lot occupied by a wooden single-story opera house, which faces W 2nd St. The lot is empty on the 1900 map, so perhaps this ‘opera house’ was a temporary structure?
1916 Sanborn shows a capacity of 666, and notes that it offers ‘moving pictures & vaudeville’. The stone that bears the name also has a small note ‘Reed & Hutch’ with ‘W.H.H.’ below that. I assume Reed & Hutch were the builders or perhaps owners, and “W.H.H.‘ is either some acronym I can’t decipher, or the initials of the stonemason.
This theater appears on the December 1892 Sanborn, where it is labeled ‘not finished’. The name on this and subsequent maps up to 1916 is ‘Auditorium’. The theater occupied the second and third stories of a large brick building which had an iron front and a large wooden porch covering the two storefronts as well as the neighboring buildings to the east. The stage was deep and bowed out in the center, and the large balcony was U-shaped. Capacity must have been above 550 at this point.
This has been demolished. It was likely one of the two ugly, sheet metal covered buildings visible in the blurry 2008 street view, or it may have been what was replaced by the grocery store on the corner. Anyway, address must have been in the 100 block.
Building was constructed in 1916. It was still there in 2010. At that point it was completely derelict, and looked like it might have been used as a library. It seems to have collapsed or been demolished by late 2011. Address would have been in the upper 300s on the odd side of the street. It was the second building south of Washington.
Robert Boller was born in 1887, so he obviously wasn’t the architect of the opera house. He was the architect of either a 1923 remodel, or a 1923 replacement structure, which may have had a reduced capacity, given the information Chris originally had.
It was a play/opera, I believe. The man who wrote the music died in Chillicothe. There’s a zero milestone/memorial to him on the side of the drugstore on the square.
1914 Sanborn map shows a Hubble (which I think is a misspelling) theater located in the second floor of the storefronts from 806-814 Main. The stage was at the south end, and was clearly set up for live theater/vaudeville. Capacity is listed as 810. The building appears on the 1886 Sanborn as Hubbel’s Opera House. It’s possible this was later replaced by a purpose-built cinema. In any case, that entire section of the block was destroyed for a ‘50/'60s bank and parking.
According to the 1916 Sanborn map, there was a theater at 505. In the picture with the wrecked cars, I think that would be the far left building. If we can find a name, we sort of have a picture.
Just to avoid confusion, this is likely taken from the Ritz. The fantastic Victorian buildings in the rear are now a parking lot for a huge, ugly bank.
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.
1916 Sanborn gives the capacity as 764, and notes that it offers ‘moving pictures & vaudeville’. February 1909 map shows the lot occupied by a wooden single-story opera house, which faces W 2nd St. The lot is empty on the 1900 map, so perhaps this ‘opera house’ was a temporary structure?
1916 Sanborn shows a capacity of 666, and notes that it offers ‘moving pictures & vaudeville’. The stone that bears the name also has a small note ‘Reed & Hutch’ with ‘W.H.H.’ below that. I assume Reed & Hutch were the builders or perhaps owners, and “W.H.H.‘ is either some acronym I can’t decipher, or the initials of the stonemason.
The Odd Fellows hall was built in 1912 by E.Y. Davis & Son. Probably had an ‘opera house’ from the beginning. Building is currently a residence.
This theater appears on the December 1892 Sanborn, where it is labeled ‘not finished’. The name on this and subsequent maps up to 1916 is ‘Auditorium’. The theater occupied the second and third stories of a large brick building which had an iron front and a large wooden porch covering the two storefronts as well as the neighboring buildings to the east. The stage was deep and bowed out in the center, and the large balcony was U-shaped. Capacity must have been above 550 at this point.
This has been demolished. It was likely one of the two ugly, sheet metal covered buildings visible in the blurry 2008 street view, or it may have been what was replaced by the grocery store on the corner. Anyway, address must have been in the 100 block.
Building was constructed in 1916. It was still there in 2010. At that point it was completely derelict, and looked like it might have been used as a library. It seems to have collapsed or been demolished by late 2011. Address would have been in the upper 300s on the odd side of the street. It was the second building south of Washington.
Robert Boller was born in 1887, so he obviously wasn’t the architect of the opera house. He was the architect of either a 1923 remodel, or a 1923 replacement structure, which may have had a reduced capacity, given the information Chris originally had.
It was a play/opera, I believe. The man who wrote the music died in Chillicothe. There’s a zero milestone/memorial to him on the side of the drugstore on the square.
Used to go here for ‘Rocky Horror’. Feel so stupid for never having taken any pictures.
Confusingly, the 1906 Cahn-Hill Theatrical Guide is quite certain that the name is Hubbell’s Opera House, managed by W.W. Hubbell.
1914 Sanborn map shows a Hubble (which I think is a misspelling) theater located in the second floor of the storefronts from 806-814 Main. The stage was at the south end, and was clearly set up for live theater/vaudeville. Capacity is listed as 810. The building appears on the 1886 Sanborn as Hubbel’s Opera House. It’s possible this was later replaced by a purpose-built cinema. In any case, that entire section of the block was destroyed for a ‘50/'60s bank and parking.
The building is obviously quite old. Was this a 1990’s conversion?
According to the 1916 Sanborn map, there was a theater at 505. In the picture with the wrecked cars, I think that would be the far left building. If we can find a name, we sort of have a picture.
Just to avoid confusion, this is likely taken from the Ritz. The fantastic Victorian buildings in the rear are now a parking lot for a huge, ugly bank.
Just an empty dirt lot. What a stupid waste.
If this is still around, it might be the building in the middle of the block, which is a bakery on the 2013 streetview.