There must have been renumbering, the building is now 221. The chamber appears to have taken over the old library, but the marquee still displays chamber messages. Unclear if the building is now vacant. I’ve uploaded a picture to replace the blurry enlarged thumbnail that was probably poached from a website.
Hard to tell since this listing has no information at all, but this has likely been demolished. The old Opera House, which is now at 109, is a candidate if there was renumbering. The next two buildings before the corner are dumpy postwar department store type structures. Confusingly, the corner is now 100, despite all the other even numbers being on the south side of the street.
I think the address should be 927, which is now a barber shop. It’s the only 2 story building for quite a ways in either direction. The current 921 is a tiny little storefront.
Can we get a better history? The storefronts and ticket booth were indeed covered in vitrolite. To see what it looked like in the early ‘70s, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter 'Salem Marion’ in the search bar. Theater will be the first result.
The Palace is just barely visible on the left in this picture from the county historical society: http://history.montgomeryco.com/Archives/View-Photo-Archive/ID/1878
Typo in the description/name history – the correct spelling is ‘Frisina’. For a picture from the early ‘70s, when it was still a store, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter 'Frisina Building’ in the search bar. At least there’s a good excuse for the current entry, since the store destroyed the old one.
For a picture from 1985, before the ugly remodel, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter ‘Vandeveer Opera House’ in the search bar. It’s derelict and has a cruddy awning instead of the marquee.
Need to add the address! Since this listing has no information at all, here’s what I came up with. The state has it listed as the Virginia Opera House. It was designed and built by Joseph F. Black. William Jennings Bryan spoke there in 1896, so it was definitely open by then. It stayed open until at least the early ‘70s. A lot of the colored tile has now fallen off, but the ghost ads on the side have been repainted.
I must have met Gaye when I passed through. I helped her carry some sodas from her car, and she showed me around. Sadly my picture toward the screen didn’t really come out, but the interior is very well preserved.
In a picture from the early ‘70s, this was an annex to the hardware store next door (now the police station), and hadn’t yet been covered with that tacky siding. Storefront was bland and simple, no arches remained.
By 2016, the original doors and remains of the ticket booth were gone. I have no idea why they wasted money applying the cheap and tacky dryvit remodel. Messing with the façade should have been the last priority.
Theater was probably in the south half of the Whitnah Opera House, which is a bar in a picture from the early ‘70s, and still operating today. Address is 129 S 3rd.
Theater isn’t a church, it’s a Salvation Army community center. The front has been totally redone (looks ‘70s-ish), and entry is now through the side, which has lots of added windows
Added a photo of the exterior. The interior of the lobby is very drab, with a drop ceiling and tacky fake wood paneling.
There must have been renumbering, the building is now 221. The chamber appears to have taken over the old library, but the marquee still displays chamber messages. Unclear if the building is now vacant. I’ve uploaded a picture to replace the blurry enlarged thumbnail that was probably poached from a website.
Hard to tell since this listing has no information at all, but this has likely been demolished. The old Opera House, which is now at 109, is a candidate if there was renumbering. The next two buildings before the corner are dumpy postwar department store type structures. Confusingly, the corner is now 100, despite all the other even numbers being on the south side of the street.
I think the address should be 927, which is now a barber shop. It’s the only 2 story building for quite a ways in either direction. The current 921 is a tiny little storefront.
If the address is correct, this has been demolished. 519 is an ugly modern bank with a huge parking lot.
Address is wrong. Number is 242. Building is currently a cafe and auction company. Seems well cared for.
Almost certainly demolished. There’s not much left of downtown.
Can we get a better history? The storefronts and ticket booth were indeed covered in vitrolite. To see what it looked like in the early ‘70s, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter 'Salem Marion’ in the search bar. Theater will be the first result.
The Palace is just barely visible on the left in this picture from the county historical society: http://history.montgomeryco.com/Archives/View-Photo-Archive/ID/1878
Assuming the address is correct, this must have been demolished. There is a parking lot between 109 and 113.
Typo in the description/name history – the correct spelling is ‘Frisina’. For a picture from the early ‘70s, when it was still a store, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter 'Frisina Building’ in the search bar. At least there’s a good excuse for the current entry, since the store destroyed the old one.
For a picture from 1985, before the ugly remodel, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter ‘Vandeveer Opera House’ in the search bar. It’s derelict and has a cruddy awning instead of the marquee.
Building is now a bar, which seems to include the upstairs.
To see what it looked like in the ‘70s, go to: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/ and enter 'Joy Theater Building’ in the search bar.
Need to add the address! Since this listing has no information at all, here’s what I came up with. The state has it listed as the Virginia Opera House. It was designed and built by Joseph F. Black. William Jennings Bryan spoke there in 1896, so it was definitely open by then. It stayed open until at least the early ‘70s. A lot of the colored tile has now fallen off, but the ghost ads on the side have been repainted.
Such a small town that everyone knew where it was? Thanks for the address. The lounge and hotel seem to be defunct, and I couldn’t find it that way.
Can we confirm the location? I have a picture of the Opera House, and will add it if it’s correct.
The local historical society’s excellent page on the theater: https://www.tablerockhistoricalsociety.com/theater.html
Must have been 213 N Main. It’s still there, as a florist/garden center. Just a modest brick storefront from about 1900.
I must have met Gaye when I passed through. I helped her carry some sodas from her car, and she showed me around. Sadly my picture toward the screen didn’t really come out, but the interior is very well preserved.
In a picture from the early ‘70s, this was an annex to the hardware store next door (now the police station), and hadn’t yet been covered with that tacky siding. Storefront was bland and simple, no arches remained.
By 2016, the original doors and remains of the ticket booth were gone. I have no idea why they wasted money applying the cheap and tacky dryvit remodel. Messing with the façade should have been the last priority.
Don’t think this is demolished. Building in the middle of the block looks like an ex-theater.
Theater was probably in the south half of the Whitnah Opera House, which is a bar in a picture from the early ‘70s, and still operating today. Address is 129 S 3rd.
Theater isn’t a church, it’s a Salvation Army community center. The front has been totally redone (looks ‘70s-ish), and entry is now through the side, which has lots of added windows