June 23, 1923 grand opening ad with Harold Lloyd in “Grandma’s Boy” in photos. At its 15th anniversary in 1938, it received a streamline moderne makeover.
The Theatre opened with Movies by October 1, 1925. By October 17, 1925, it begins advertising as the Imp Theatre. The theatre closed on March 12, 1932 unable to convert to sound. It reopened on October 29, 1932 still silent. Open sporadically through 1934, it finally showed a sound film in March of that year.
Lead Belt Amusement Circuit took on the venue in June of 1934 equipping with a sound system. R.C. Jordan and R.H. Shy renamed it as the Strong Theatre with
“Police Car No. 19” on June 23, 1934. It remained operational into the 1950s.
This entry will encompass all three Piedmont Missouri Theatres. Jules A. Freeman announced the the Princess Theatre in July of 1915 in a converted retail building at 106 South Main Street. He was unable to open until securing Mutual films from a St. Louis distributor and, according to the local reports, figuring out “the mysteries of his new projecting machine.” The first date was September 20, 1915 and by the end of the month, the correct lens was secured making the film presentations that much better.
Freeman’s was the first of three locations for movie houses in downtown Piedmont, Missouri. New operator W.H. Dunn installed sound in the Princess Theatre in July of 1930. A week later, however, the Princess became the Piedmont Theatre on July 28, 1930 with “The Love Racket” at the Piedmont’s relaunch. The Piedmont was basically the venue’s “sound era” name.
Alva Brinton (A.B.) “Jeff” and Maude “Maudie” Jefferis bought the movie house and were chagrined to find that it had only one projector and was not up to modern safety standards. They decided to move across the street to 107 South Main Street to create the New Piedmont Theatre on April 6, 1933 opening with “The Big Broadcast.“ That ended the Princess / Piedmont Theater run.
The 210-seat New Piedmont ended as the Piedmont Theatre on August 22, 1940 with “Pride of the Navy.” Earlier in 1940, the Jefferis had purchased the Blaine Building at 105 West Elm and would open their Jefferis Theatre there. It launched on August 28, 1940 with the Bob Burns in “Comin' ‘round the Mountain.” The Jefferis would add the Pine-Hill Drive-In Theatre to the mix opening it in 1953.
The Jefferis had one more refresh in store for their hardtop theatre equipping it with widescreen projection and giving the interior a completely new look and signage change to the exterior. They celebrated it with a grand reopening on October 27, 1954 playing “The Boy from Oklahoma.” The couple would retire at the end of 1957. Mr. and Mrs. Lacy Ragan, who operated Greenville’s Lux Theatre, took on both the Jefferis Theatre and the Pine-Hill Drive-In on January 1, 1958. The grand opening film for the renamed Melinda Theatre on January 1, 1958 was Bill Haley & The Comets “Don’t Knock the Rock.”
Mr. and Mrs. Sonny Bazzell followed the Ragans who, in turn, were followed by final operators Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Ross. The Rosses closed the Melinda Theatre on March 10, 1985 with “The Flamingo Kid.“ There would be no rebirth with the Melinda Theatre burning down just after its lease expired nine months later. The fire on December 29, 1985 was ruled as arson.
–Note that this entry should technically be the Melinda Theatre at 105 West Elm Street. The local paper claims 300 seats.
The Jefferis opened on May 19, 1953 with Sterling Hayden in “Kansas Pacific” supported by a Popeye cartoon and a comedy short. On the menu were JuicyBurgers (a Sloppy Joe sandwich) and sno-cones using an S.T. Echolls ice shaver. Just one year later, the screen was adapted to widescreen for presenting CinemaScope film titles.
This entry as contributed by Bryan Krefft reads, “The Cosmo Theatre on Main Street in Merrill is housed in a vintage theatre building which has been twinned, and screens first-run films. The Cosmo Theatre’s facade features an Art Deco-style marquee lit with pink, blue and white neon lighting.” My research indicates there’s a bit more history to this venue as follows:
The new-build Fox Theatre by William Fox’s Fox Midwestern Theatres Circuit opened on December 7, 1929 with Will Rogers in “They Had to See Paris.” The theater was equipped with Warner Bros.‘ Vitaphone and and Fox’s Movietone sound equipment. Charles Brewster was the architect of the project from the Fox side and Oppenheimer & Over from Wausau had the multi-use building plans. The project carried a 15-year lease with an option for another ten-year period thereafter. Fox would make it through three of those years having declared bankruptcy at the onset of the Depression.
The original Cosmo had opened on May 6, 1908 on the main floor of the Grand Opera House. That building was built by Peter Berard in 1885 opening September 11, 1886 as Berard’s Opera House on the second floor with the play, “Kathleen Mavourneen.” At the end of its 20-year agreement, the venue became the Grand Opera House with Dan J. Dwyer taking on the new lease. The Cosmo moved into a former retail / saloon spot on the main floor in 1908. In 1922, the second floor opera house was removed and in 1927 the theatre received a massive upgrade including a Killgen organ and 400 seats.
As the Cosmo Theater was reaching its 20th Anniversary, operator Albert L. Robarge leased the theater to the Cheesney Theater Corporation. Later that same year, it burned down on December 17, 1928. Parts of the Kilgen organ and some musical equipment pieces were saved but much of the theater was destroyed. The Bellevue Cafe, which was serving as the de facto concession stand for the Cosmo was also destroyed.
With the cost of rebuilding the theater and the price of equipping the theatre for sound too great, property owner Robarge contracted with Fox / Fox Midwest to build a new theater. The venue would be established ostensibly kitty corner moving from the 900 East Main location to the 813 East Main location.
Fox’s bankruptcy on February 28, 1932 left property owners all over the country with Fox-branded theaters scrambling. Robarge was the building owner and served papers finally closing the Fox after the January 30, 1933 shows well after Fox had stopped paying its leasing fees.
Under new management, the former Fox reopened as the Merrill Theatre on February 12, 1933 with the film, “Dangerously Yours,” and a naming contest. The 1,700 pound Fox signage was later removed in favor of the contest-winning “new” Cosmo Theatre which started under that moniker with “Broadway Bad” on March 8, 1933. Delft Theatre Circuit took on the Cosmo and the Badger. In 1948, the Cosmo was given a shocking streamline moderne makeover. After its closure on December 9, 1947, for the refresh, the “new” Cosmo opened January 16, 1948 with “Road to Rio.”
Following the Badger’s lead of conversion to widescreen in 1954, the Merrill converted to CinemaScope in 1956. It was twinned and given a third screen to remain viable which it was into the 2020s. It closed March 16, 2020 for the COVID pandemic and reopened 21 weeks later on August 28, 2020 with “The New Mutants” and “Shrek.”
Molly and Irvin Degonia partnered with Bill and Violet Basden to launch the Killarney Drive-In Theatre named after nearby Killarney Lake opening July 13, 1950. The partners opened on a 35-year leasing agreement.
The theater’s future was threatened three times - once when the land owner announced the creation of a pig farm and twice during storms in 1965 is and 1973 (during a screening of “Wrath of God”) that tore down the screen tower. One closure led to a sign on the Killarney’s attractor reading, “Closed Temporaly” (sic) which confused the local newspaper.
“Gone with the Wind” had the most successful run with fireworks nights always at capacity for the seasonally-operated ozoner. But the Killarney closed at the end of its 35-year leasing agreement on September 9, 1985 with “Silverado” and “Perfect.” An article five years later found the operators still on the adjoining property with the original, matching Ashcroft projectors still functional and ready to go despite never reopening.
Tim Edwards and Frank Plumlee held a naming contest for their new open air theater. The first 100 names weren’t good enough so they extended the contest. The Corrall was the winner in time for the June 7, 1949 showing of “Blue Skies” on opening night.
Miller & Blevins opened the Yale Theater to play movies and mix in live acts on May 21, 1912. Five operators later, R.R. Gladish took on the venue. operated it in 1926. But it closes and reopens May 19, 1927 as the New Theatre with “Resurrection.”
L.A. Wollenmann wired the venue for sound in 1930. On June 10, 1930, the operation gets its sound-era name now known as the Corder Theatre with talkies starting that night with, “Dynamite.” It closes May 13, 1941 with “Mr. Wong, Detective.” It is used for rare live events thereafter before being repurposed.
The Barlow Theatre opened in 1924. It closed briefly in 1929 unable to convert to sound. But on April 9, 1930, the Barlow reopened with talkies and Bebe Daniels in “When Love Comes Along.” The sound system moved from sound on disc to sound on film in 1933. New owners, the Harlan Brothers, promised no more of those scratchy discs. Howard “Dutch” Franks is the new owner of the Barlow Theatre in 1936 and he thought so much of the Harlan Bros.‘ sound system in place that he took it out and went with all new sound equipment.
Morran Lyndel Fondaw took over the venue and, after a streamline makeover, reopened the Barlow Theatre as the New Lyndel Theatre on November 19, 1937 with “Annapolis Salute” supported by the musical short, “Prairie Swingaroo” and the comedy short, “Odd News.” Fondaw went off to war in the Army in October of 1942 after the largest crowd was on hand to say goodbye to him on October 5, 1942 with the film, “True to the Navy.” Fondaw was discharged in December of 1945 at the Fort Knox Separation Center. After a clean-up, he reopened the Lyndel Theatre on March 8, 1946 with “Tars and Spars.” Fondaw closed his Lyndel Theatre on May 7, 1955 with “White Christmas.”
The Lyndel Theatre remained vacant nearly three years when C.D. Jones reopened the venue on January 24, 1958 apparently as a co-op deal with the town’s local merchants. The theatre was down to just 260 seats at its relaunch (previous owner Fondaw had sold the lion’s share of seats in 1955). The opening film was “Untamed Youth” supported by the Daffy Duck cartoon, “Dime to Retire.” The closing film was just two weeks later as the town stayed away from “Jet Pilot” which crash landed on February 10, 1958. It was converted into the First General Baptist Church of Barlow later in the year. It became a repair garage that was demolished in 2023.
The Rex Theater launched on December 14, 1914 with live stage plays. On May 8, 1926, new operator J.W. Davis renamed it the Royal Theatre. It closed briefly at the end of its 15 year lease for a transition to sound. The “new” Royal relaunched on February 14, 1930 with sound films. Davis would create a new Davis Theatre closing up the Royal on April 8, 1934 with Clark Gable in “Men in White.” The local paper headline was, “Farewell, Old Theater.” And if the headline were longer it would say, “And Hello, Piggly Wiggly” as the grocery store chain took on the building.
The Starlight Drive-In was opened on July 27, 1952 with Greer Garson in “Blossoms in the Dust”. It was operated by Paul D. Neal throughout the 1958 season. In 1962, it reopened as the the Hillcrest Drive-In by R.L. Adkins for at least three seasons.
The Skyway Drive-In opened late in 1950. It reopened for the 1952 season as the Highway 13 Drive-In Theatre with “Dakota Lil” and “Ghost Chasers.” It was renamed as the Hi-Way 13 Drive-In during its next season.
The Wick Theatre opened on March 20, 1940 with “Brother Rat and a Baby”. Owner D.B. Stout closed it permanently following a December 21, 1954 Christmas show and the last paid show was December 18, 1954 with “Killer Ape.”
The Duncan Theatre opened on January 29, 1915 by R.D. Stabler. The Duncan Theatre under Joe L. Belew, Jr. became the Kentucky Theatre on May 22, 1930 as it transitioned to sound. The Kentucky Theatre became the Pastime Theatre on December 24, 1931. It closed in May of 1934. It reopened in November dubbed the Pastime Theatre with a marketing slogan of “Max’s Show.” In 1937, its marketing slogan is “Holmes' Show”. It’s then called the New Pastime Theatre in 1947 with a more austere, streamlined look..
Grand opening was November 17, 1916. It operated with the neighboring confectionery, the Palace of Sweets as its de facto concessionaire. After 41 years of continuous operation, the Palace is dropped and appears to have closed with “The Ten Commandments” on October 27, 1957. Live events are booked into the Palace through 1961. The theater is targeted for demolition which occurs in 1978.
Just a few more specifics on the timeline: The Mandan Theatre was launched by Frank Wetzstein on September 9, 1936 with “The Poor Little Rich Girl.”
Wetzstein sold the theatre in 1974 to Jerry Brekke. He converted it to the Showboat Cinema relaunching November 8, 1974 with “That’s Entertainment.” The color scheme was bathed in red. In December of 1976, it became the Showboat Twin Cinema I & II. The second cinema color scheme was blue and purple with blue shag carpeting on the wall. The venue closed on Christmas of 1986.
The Midcontinent Theatre Co. Circuit (aka MidCo) took on the Showboat and converted it into a discount sub-run operation called Academy Theatre beginning on June 12, 1987. That came to an end on September 12, 1993 with “Cliffhanger” and “Aladdin.”
It relaunched as the Mysteria Theatre in November of 2008 until 2011. It then rebranded as a live venue called Organized Noise Entertainment or O.N.E. in 2012 before reverting back to the Mysteria briefly in 2013 and 2014. It was converted as a restaurant and sports bar thereafter.
This corner lot was home to the Rex Theatre which opened March 4, 1914 with Mutual movies. Mrs. Hugh McAfee of the Rex also had control of the Airdrome. She had the Airdrome torn down after five seasons of summer usage selling the lumber to H.D. Gillet who repurposed the lumber in sheds.
The management of the Rex’s only remaining local competitor, the Auditorium Theatre, bought out the competition not long after the Rex’s final November 15, 1922 showing of “The Call of Home.” Claude McBray, operator of the Auditorium, even took out the equipment moving it to Polo, Mo. to create a new theater there. This venue became home to the Gilbert Brothers store and later was a package store and grocer.
The Airdrome launched May 23, 1913 by C.S. Burger. It operated five summer seasons. But the operator of the Rex Theater, Mrs. Hugh McFee was happy enough with the ventilation of the Rex that she sold the lumber to H.D. Gillet in April of 1918 ending the Airdome’s run. That Airdome lumber was repurposed in country sheds.
T.D. Block announced his new theater in 1923 with a naming contest. In the interim, folks of Odessa were watching movies at Lee Nichols' Skydome, then in its third summer of operation. The winning name, Dixie, was chosen in time for its December 27, 1923 with “The Church Around the Corner” after the live band had played, “Dixie” as the opening song.
Sound conversion proved to be a challenge and, in 1929, Glenn W. Dickinson Amusement took on the venue changing it to the Dickinson Theatre. It then converted it to sound to remain viable. Block re-assumed control of the operation re-renaming it as the Dixie Theatre on January 31, 1932.
After a special opening dance event, the first film at the new Michael Theatre was on April 1, 1933 with Buster Keaton in “What! No Beer?” E.P. Michael announced that the Michael Theatre moniker was only temporary and he would have a naming contest. On June 7, 1933 the winner was Mrs. J.R. Crank of Braymer who went with “Michlo.” The last regular film to play there was December10, 1961 with “Wald Disney’s The Absent Minded Professor.”
The last event was a John Deere Tractor Day tie-up that included a free film screening on January 26, 1962. The theatre building was sold on March 15, 1962 and converted to a graocery store. The new Braymer Theatre would open on March 17, 1962 and another naming contest to rename the venue. Spoiler alert: It was the B-Bi Theater.This one has been demolished.
The Artilla Theatre was just north of the depot and its name fused the names of its owners including Mr. and Mrs. Harry Till. The Artilla namesake is the sixth for the venue but on February 5, 1949, it’s all over as the Artilla Theatre.
The new Till Theatre would be built to replace it. It was a new-build venue costing $50,000 and opening here on June 2, 1949. On February 5, 1955, the venue is equipped for widescreen to present CInemaScope titles. Mr. Till dies and R.L. Adkins and Larry Allen operate the theater until its closure on April 22, 1961. A group of local business owners decide to cooperatively operate the venue because they appreciated the foot traffic of the theater. They rename it as the Civic Theatre September 7, 1961 rebooting with “G.I. Blues” with Elvis Presley.
If you read the town history, this venue started as the Hamilton Auditorium opening by Mark E. Feltis on July 1, 1922 launching with Wallace Reid in “Too Much Speed” supported by the Mack Sennett comedy, “Beware of the Borders.” Movies were shown on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Live events could be booked the other days. Dancing and roller skating were among them because the Hamilton Auditorium had a flat maple floor. The Rex Theatre was the town’s other silent movie house at that time ceased operations in November of that same year.
Claude McBrayer took on operation of the venue renaming it as the. Auditorium Theatre and sometimes the McBrayer Auditorium Theatre. The Royal Theatre in Cameron, just 14 miles away converted to sound and the operators of the Plaza closed the venue with silent films on November 30, 1929 unable to make the conversion. Fred Greenberg and Frank Cassil take on the venue in 1930 wiring it for sound, sloping the floor, giving it a modern lobby, installing a fireproof projection booth, and giving it a modern sign reading, Plaza Theatre. The Plaza would have Indianapolis-based Sonofilm sound equipment. The new Plaza Theatre launched on May 28, 1930 and people liked the elevated 450 seats and Rin Tin Tin in “On the Border.”
John E. Courter and Earl J. Courter of Gallatin took on the Plaza in 1933. On Sept. 21, 1933, the venue was renamed as The Courter Theatre with “Moonlight and Pretzels.” Harry T Till took over as manager in 1936 while Courter passed away in 1945. The Tills and Roy Huey take on the venue and give it a drastic streamline makeover in 1948. J.R. Henry took part in the Till renaming contest choosing Artilla. He says he’s fused the names of the theater operators. It relaunches with that name on Sept. 9, 1948 with “Gun Town.” On February 5, 1949, it’s all over as the Artilla Theatre (former Courter Theatre, Plaza Theatre, Hamilton Auditorium, McBrayer Auditorium and Auditorium Theatre) and the Kavanaugh Motor Company are wiped out by fire.
The new Till Theatre would be built to replace it. It was a new-build venue costing $50,000 and opening on June 2, 1949. The information above attributed to Chuck is simply not accurate but should be left as is in his name in case that is the preferred history for this theater by him.
June 23, 1923 grand opening ad with Harold Lloyd in “Grandma’s Boy” in photos. At its 15th anniversary in 1938, it received a streamline moderne makeover.
Following an Open House on June 10, 1940, the Cameo Theatre launched on June 11, 1940 with “The Lone Wolf Strikes.”
Opened February 18, 1934
The Theatre opened with Movies by October 1, 1925. By October 17, 1925, it begins advertising as the Imp Theatre. The theatre closed on March 12, 1932 unable to convert to sound. It reopened on October 29, 1932 still silent. Open sporadically through 1934, it finally showed a sound film in March of that year.
Lead Belt Amusement Circuit took on the venue in June of 1934 equipping with a sound system. R.C. Jordan and R.H. Shy renamed it as the Strong Theatre with “Police Car No. 19” on June 23, 1934. It remained operational into the 1950s.
This entry will encompass all three Piedmont Missouri Theatres. Jules A. Freeman announced the the Princess Theatre in July of 1915 in a converted retail building at 106 South Main Street. He was unable to open until securing Mutual films from a St. Louis distributor and, according to the local reports, figuring out “the mysteries of his new projecting machine.” The first date was September 20, 1915 and by the end of the month, the correct lens was secured making the film presentations that much better.
Freeman’s was the first of three locations for movie houses in downtown Piedmont, Missouri. New operator W.H. Dunn installed sound in the Princess Theatre in July of 1930. A week later, however, the Princess became the Piedmont Theatre on July 28, 1930 with “The Love Racket” at the Piedmont’s relaunch. The Piedmont was basically the venue’s “sound era” name.
Alva Brinton (A.B.) “Jeff” and Maude “Maudie” Jefferis bought the movie house and were chagrined to find that it had only one projector and was not up to modern safety standards. They decided to move across the street to 107 South Main Street to create the New Piedmont Theatre on April 6, 1933 opening with “The Big Broadcast.“ That ended the Princess / Piedmont Theater run.
The 210-seat New Piedmont ended as the Piedmont Theatre on August 22, 1940 with “Pride of the Navy.” Earlier in 1940, the Jefferis had purchased the Blaine Building at 105 West Elm and would open their Jefferis Theatre there. It launched on August 28, 1940 with the Bob Burns in “Comin' ‘round the Mountain.” The Jefferis would add the Pine-Hill Drive-In Theatre to the mix opening it in 1953.
The Jefferis had one more refresh in store for their hardtop theatre equipping it with widescreen projection and giving the interior a completely new look and signage change to the exterior. They celebrated it with a grand reopening on October 27, 1954 playing “The Boy from Oklahoma.” The couple would retire at the end of 1957. Mr. and Mrs. Lacy Ragan, who operated Greenville’s Lux Theatre, took on both the Jefferis Theatre and the Pine-Hill Drive-In on January 1, 1958. The grand opening film for the renamed Melinda Theatre on January 1, 1958 was Bill Haley & The Comets “Don’t Knock the Rock.”
Mr. and Mrs. Sonny Bazzell followed the Ragans who, in turn, were followed by final operators Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Ross. The Rosses closed the Melinda Theatre on March 10, 1985 with “The Flamingo Kid.“ There would be no rebirth with the Melinda Theatre burning down just after its lease expired nine months later. The fire on December 29, 1985 was ruled as arson.
–Note that this entry should technically be the Melinda Theatre at 105 West Elm Street. The local paper claims 300 seats.
The Jefferis opened on May 19, 1953 with Sterling Hayden in “Kansas Pacific” supported by a Popeye cartoon and a comedy short. On the menu were JuicyBurgers (a Sloppy Joe sandwich) and sno-cones using an S.T. Echolls ice shaver. Just one year later, the screen was adapted to widescreen for presenting CinemaScope film titles.
This entry as contributed by Bryan Krefft reads, “The Cosmo Theatre on Main Street in Merrill is housed in a vintage theatre building which has been twinned, and screens first-run films. The Cosmo Theatre’s facade features an Art Deco-style marquee lit with pink, blue and white neon lighting.” My research indicates there’s a bit more history to this venue as follows:
The new-build Fox Theatre by William Fox’s Fox Midwestern Theatres Circuit opened on December 7, 1929 with Will Rogers in “They Had to See Paris.” The theater was equipped with Warner Bros.‘ Vitaphone and and Fox’s Movietone sound equipment. Charles Brewster was the architect of the project from the Fox side and Oppenheimer & Over from Wausau had the multi-use building plans. The project carried a 15-year lease with an option for another ten-year period thereafter. Fox would make it through three of those years having declared bankruptcy at the onset of the Depression.
The original Cosmo had opened on May 6, 1908 on the main floor of the Grand Opera House. That building was built by Peter Berard in 1885 opening September 11, 1886 as Berard’s Opera House on the second floor with the play, “Kathleen Mavourneen.” At the end of its 20-year agreement, the venue became the Grand Opera House with Dan J. Dwyer taking on the new lease. The Cosmo moved into a former retail / saloon spot on the main floor in 1908. In 1922, the second floor opera house was removed and in 1927 the theatre received a massive upgrade including a Killgen organ and 400 seats.
As the Cosmo Theater was reaching its 20th Anniversary, operator Albert L. Robarge leased the theater to the Cheesney Theater Corporation. Later that same year, it burned down on December 17, 1928. Parts of the Kilgen organ and some musical equipment pieces were saved but much of the theater was destroyed. The Bellevue Cafe, which was serving as the de facto concession stand for the Cosmo was also destroyed.
With the cost of rebuilding the theater and the price of equipping the theatre for sound too great, property owner Robarge contracted with Fox / Fox Midwest to build a new theater. The venue would be established ostensibly kitty corner moving from the 900 East Main location to the 813 East Main location.
Fox’s bankruptcy on February 28, 1932 left property owners all over the country with Fox-branded theaters scrambling. Robarge was the building owner and served papers finally closing the Fox after the January 30, 1933 shows well after Fox had stopped paying its leasing fees.
Under new management, the former Fox reopened as the Merrill Theatre on February 12, 1933 with the film, “Dangerously Yours,” and a naming contest. The 1,700 pound Fox signage was later removed in favor of the contest-winning “new” Cosmo Theatre which started under that moniker with “Broadway Bad” on March 8, 1933. Delft Theatre Circuit took on the Cosmo and the Badger. In 1948, the Cosmo was given a shocking streamline moderne makeover. After its closure on December 9, 1947, for the refresh, the “new” Cosmo opened January 16, 1948 with “Road to Rio.”
Following the Badger’s lead of conversion to widescreen in 1954, the Merrill converted to CinemaScope in 1956. It was twinned and given a third screen to remain viable which it was into the 2020s. It closed March 16, 2020 for the COVID pandemic and reopened 21 weeks later on August 28, 2020 with “The New Mutants” and “Shrek.”
Molly and Irvin Degonia partnered with Bill and Violet Basden to launch the Killarney Drive-In Theatre named after nearby Killarney Lake opening July 13, 1950. The partners opened on a 35-year leasing agreement.
The theater’s future was threatened three times - once when the land owner announced the creation of a pig farm and twice during storms in 1965 is and 1973 (during a screening of “Wrath of God”) that tore down the screen tower. One closure led to a sign on the Killarney’s attractor reading, “Closed Temporaly” (sic) which confused the local newspaper.
“Gone with the Wind” had the most successful run with fireworks nights always at capacity for the seasonally-operated ozoner. But the Killarney closed at the end of its 35-year leasing agreement on September 9, 1985 with “Silverado” and “Perfect.” An article five years later found the operators still on the adjoining property with the original, matching Ashcroft projectors still functional and ready to go despite never reopening.
First ad for the Killarney Drive-In in 1950
Tim Edwards and Frank Plumlee held a naming contest for their new open air theater. The first 100 names weren’t good enough so they extended the contest. The Corrall was the winner in time for the June 7, 1949 showing of “Blue Skies” on opening night.
Miller & Blevins opened the Yale Theater to play movies and mix in live acts on May 21, 1912. Five operators later, R.R. Gladish took on the venue. operated it in 1926. But it closes and reopens May 19, 1927 as the New Theatre with “Resurrection.”
L.A. Wollenmann wired the venue for sound in 1930. On June 10, 1930, the operation gets its sound-era name now known as the Corder Theatre with talkies starting that night with, “Dynamite.” It closes May 13, 1941 with “Mr. Wong, Detective.” It is used for rare live events thereafter before being repurposed.
The Barlow Theatre opened in 1924. It closed briefly in 1929 unable to convert to sound. But on April 9, 1930, the Barlow reopened with talkies and Bebe Daniels in “When Love Comes Along.” The sound system moved from sound on disc to sound on film in 1933. New owners, the Harlan Brothers, promised no more of those scratchy discs. Howard “Dutch” Franks is the new owner of the Barlow Theatre in 1936 and he thought so much of the Harlan Bros.‘ sound system in place that he took it out and went with all new sound equipment.
Morran Lyndel Fondaw took over the venue and, after a streamline makeover, reopened the Barlow Theatre as the New Lyndel Theatre on November 19, 1937 with “Annapolis Salute” supported by the musical short, “Prairie Swingaroo” and the comedy short, “Odd News.” Fondaw went off to war in the Army in October of 1942 after the largest crowd was on hand to say goodbye to him on October 5, 1942 with the film, “True to the Navy.” Fondaw was discharged in December of 1945 at the Fort Knox Separation Center. After a clean-up, he reopened the Lyndel Theatre on March 8, 1946 with “Tars and Spars.” Fondaw closed his Lyndel Theatre on May 7, 1955 with “White Christmas.”
The Lyndel Theatre remained vacant nearly three years when C.D. Jones reopened the venue on January 24, 1958 apparently as a co-op deal with the town’s local merchants. The theatre was down to just 260 seats at its relaunch (previous owner Fondaw had sold the lion’s share of seats in 1955). The opening film was “Untamed Youth” supported by the Daffy Duck cartoon, “Dime to Retire.” The closing film was just two weeks later as the town stayed away from “Jet Pilot” which crash landed on February 10, 1958. It was converted into the First General Baptist Church of Barlow later in the year. It became a repair garage that was demolished in 2023.
The Rex Theater launched on December 14, 1914 with live stage plays. On May 8, 1926, new operator J.W. Davis renamed it the Royal Theatre. It closed briefly at the end of its 15 year lease for a transition to sound. The “new” Royal relaunched on February 14, 1930 with sound films. Davis would create a new Davis Theatre closing up the Royal on April 8, 1934 with Clark Gable in “Men in White.” The local paper headline was, “Farewell, Old Theater.” And if the headline were longer it would say, “And Hello, Piggly Wiggly” as the grocery store chain took on the building.
Status: demolished.
The Starlight Drive-In was opened on July 27, 1952 with Greer Garson in “Blossoms in the Dust”. It was operated by Paul D. Neal throughout the 1958 season. In 1962, it reopened as the the Hillcrest Drive-In by R.L. Adkins for at least three seasons.
The Skyway Drive-In opened late in 1950. It reopened for the 1952 season as the Highway 13 Drive-In Theatre with “Dakota Lil” and “Ghost Chasers.” It was renamed as the Hi-Way 13 Drive-In during its next season.
The Wick Theatre opened on March 20, 1940 with “Brother Rat and a Baby”. Owner D.B. Stout closed it permanently following a December 21, 1954 Christmas show and the last paid show was December 18, 1954 with “Killer Ape.”
The Duncan Theatre opened on January 29, 1915 by R.D. Stabler. The Duncan Theatre under Joe L. Belew, Jr. became the Kentucky Theatre on May 22, 1930 as it transitioned to sound. The Kentucky Theatre became the Pastime Theatre on December 24, 1931. It closed in May of 1934. It reopened in November dubbed the Pastime Theatre with a marketing slogan of “Max’s Show.” In 1937, its marketing slogan is “Holmes' Show”. It’s then called the New Pastime Theatre in 1947 with a more austere, streamlined look..
Grand opening was November 17, 1916. It operated with the neighboring confectionery, the Palace of Sweets as its de facto concessionaire. After 41 years of continuous operation, the Palace is dropped and appears to have closed with “The Ten Commandments” on October 27, 1957. Live events are booked into the Palace through 1961. The theater is targeted for demolition which occurs in 1978.
Just a few more specifics on the timeline: The Mandan Theatre was launched by Frank Wetzstein on September 9, 1936 with “The Poor Little Rich Girl.”
Wetzstein sold the theatre in 1974 to Jerry Brekke. He converted it to the Showboat Cinema relaunching November 8, 1974 with “That’s Entertainment.” The color scheme was bathed in red. In December of 1976, it became the Showboat Twin Cinema I & II. The second cinema color scheme was blue and purple with blue shag carpeting on the wall. The venue closed on Christmas of 1986.
The Midcontinent Theatre Co. Circuit (aka MidCo) took on the Showboat and converted it into a discount sub-run operation called Academy Theatre beginning on June 12, 1987. That came to an end on September 12, 1993 with “Cliffhanger” and “Aladdin.”
It relaunched as the Mysteria Theatre in November of 2008 until 2011. It then rebranded as a live venue called Organized Noise Entertainment or O.N.E. in 2012 before reverting back to the Mysteria briefly in 2013 and 2014. It was converted as a restaurant and sports bar thereafter.
This corner lot was home to the Rex Theatre which opened March 4, 1914 with Mutual movies. Mrs. Hugh McAfee of the Rex also had control of the Airdrome. She had the Airdrome torn down after five seasons of summer usage selling the lumber to H.D. Gillet who repurposed the lumber in sheds.
The management of the Rex’s only remaining local competitor, the Auditorium Theatre, bought out the competition not long after the Rex’s final November 15, 1922 showing of “The Call of Home.” Claude McBray, operator of the Auditorium, even took out the equipment moving it to Polo, Mo. to create a new theater there. This venue became home to the Gilbert Brothers store and later was a package store and grocer.
The Airdrome launched May 23, 1913 by C.S. Burger. It operated five summer seasons. But the operator of the Rex Theater, Mrs. Hugh McFee was happy enough with the ventilation of the Rex that she sold the lumber to H.D. Gillet in April of 1918 ending the Airdome’s run. That Airdome lumber was repurposed in country sheds.
T.D. Block announced his new theater in 1923 with a naming contest. In the interim, folks of Odessa were watching movies at Lee Nichols' Skydome, then in its third summer of operation. The winning name, Dixie, was chosen in time for its December 27, 1923 with “The Church Around the Corner” after the live band had played, “Dixie” as the opening song.
Sound conversion proved to be a challenge and, in 1929, Glenn W. Dickinson Amusement took on the venue changing it to the Dickinson Theatre. It then converted it to sound to remain viable. Block re-assumed control of the operation re-renaming it as the Dixie Theatre on January 31, 1932.
After a special opening dance event, the first film at the new Michael Theatre was on April 1, 1933 with Buster Keaton in “What! No Beer?” E.P. Michael announced that the Michael Theatre moniker was only temporary and he would have a naming contest. On June 7, 1933 the winner was Mrs. J.R. Crank of Braymer who went with “Michlo.” The last regular film to play there was December10, 1961 with “Wald Disney’s The Absent Minded Professor.”
The last event was a John Deere Tractor Day tie-up that included a free film screening on January 26, 1962. The theatre building was sold on March 15, 1962 and converted to a graocery store. The new Braymer Theatre would open on March 17, 1962 and another naming contest to rename the venue. Spoiler alert: It was the B-Bi Theater.This one has been demolished.
The Artilla Theatre was just north of the depot and its name fused the names of its owners including Mr. and Mrs. Harry Till. The Artilla namesake is the sixth for the venue but on February 5, 1949, it’s all over as the Artilla Theatre.
The new Till Theatre would be built to replace it. It was a new-build venue costing $50,000 and opening here on June 2, 1949. On February 5, 1955, the venue is equipped for widescreen to present CInemaScope titles. Mr. Till dies and R.L. Adkins and Larry Allen operate the theater until its closure on April 22, 1961. A group of local business owners decide to cooperatively operate the venue because they appreciated the foot traffic of the theater. They rename it as the Civic Theatre September 7, 1961 rebooting with “G.I. Blues” with Elvis Presley.
If you read the town history, this venue started as the Hamilton Auditorium opening by Mark E. Feltis on July 1, 1922 launching with Wallace Reid in “Too Much Speed” supported by the Mack Sennett comedy, “Beware of the Borders.” Movies were shown on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Live events could be booked the other days. Dancing and roller skating were among them because the Hamilton Auditorium had a flat maple floor. The Rex Theatre was the town’s other silent movie house at that time ceased operations in November of that same year.
Claude McBrayer took on operation of the venue renaming it as the. Auditorium Theatre and sometimes the McBrayer Auditorium Theatre. The Royal Theatre in Cameron, just 14 miles away converted to sound and the operators of the Plaza closed the venue with silent films on November 30, 1929 unable to make the conversion. Fred Greenberg and Frank Cassil take on the venue in 1930 wiring it for sound, sloping the floor, giving it a modern lobby, installing a fireproof projection booth, and giving it a modern sign reading, Plaza Theatre. The Plaza would have Indianapolis-based Sonofilm sound equipment. The new Plaza Theatre launched on May 28, 1930 and people liked the elevated 450 seats and Rin Tin Tin in “On the Border.”
John E. Courter and Earl J. Courter of Gallatin took on the Plaza in 1933. On Sept. 21, 1933, the venue was renamed as The Courter Theatre with “Moonlight and Pretzels.” Harry T Till took over as manager in 1936 while Courter passed away in 1945. The Tills and Roy Huey take on the venue and give it a drastic streamline makeover in 1948. J.R. Henry took part in the Till renaming contest choosing Artilla. He says he’s fused the names of the theater operators. It relaunches with that name on Sept. 9, 1948 with “Gun Town.” On February 5, 1949, it’s all over as the Artilla Theatre (former Courter Theatre, Plaza Theatre, Hamilton Auditorium, McBrayer Auditorium and Auditorium Theatre) and the Kavanaugh Motor Company are wiped out by fire.
The new Till Theatre would be built to replace it. It was a new-build venue costing $50,000 and opening on June 2, 1949. The information above attributed to Chuck is simply not accurate but should be left as is in his name in case that is the preferred history for this theater by him.