Address should be 1131 Court Ave, and this was demolished long ago. There’s a really crappy Family Dollar building there now.
The building was a typical turn of the century 2 story brick structure. It was constructed between 1892 and 1898, and was a grocery store through 1911. It was definitely open by 1922. The 1914-15 AMPD lists an Oriental, which might have been this theater. There was an opera house to the south (the Stover), which was still in business in 1922, and may have shown films.
It appears to have been a ground floor house in 1922, but is the sole occupant shown in 1933.
Comments on the other Holland entry suggest that the theater moved into this old house in 1966, and closed in 2001. This is not the florist, that’s on Main. This is a law office. There is a very deep but narrow auditorium stuck on the back of the house. It’s a very strange arrangement.
It is possible that this building was replaced or remodeled at some point, as it is two stories, at least in the front. I will have a photo at some point, once I get around to editing the folder it’s in. It seems from a recent photo I found that it may be part of the restaurant or bar next door.
Some sources have the Rex opening in 1923, but it was clearly open by late 1922. Those sources say it closed in 1927, but it is listed in the Yearbook of Motion Pictures up until 1929.
This may possibly have been the Lyric, which opened in Spring 1913, and closed in 1916. That theater offered vaudeville, and I’m not sure this space would have been large enough.
It’s possible, but unlikely given the dates, that the Lyric may have been in either the old or new Odd Fellows buildings. Benton apparently had some arrangement to show films in an Odd Fellows building, but it wasn’t clear which. I assume that would have been before he opened the Scenic, which was sometime by 1913 at the latest. The Lyric may also have been the small theater on S. Main. The chronology works there, since it’s on the late 1913 map, and gone by 1922.
The notes on this building from the NRHP listing do not offer any identification for this theater, but they do note that the large number of early theaters indicate an intense interest in entertainment, particularly from the coal miners in the area. The coal industry in this part of Iowa is long gone, but Albia had nearly 5,100 people in 1920 (versus just over 3,700 today), and Monroe County peaked at well over 25,000 people in 1910, which today has shrunk to 7,500, less than its 1860 population.
Some further notes: The NRHP listing for the building that held the Scenic indicates that the Comet building may have been known as the Alex Long building, but that may have been how it was known in 1959 when the local history was written up. If it did indeed open in 1909, Benton was still operating the Scenic, and cannot have been the first owner.
The Comet was owned or at least run by J.E. Benton. The theater was closed to allow the post office to move to this building from the A. E. Noble building west of the square (and across from the current PO). It’s not clear when exactly that took place, but the post office would probably have stayed here until the present building was constructed in 1931. The brick facade may have been installed to convert it to a post office, and it was certainly in place by 1933.
A cryptic reference is made to Benton staying in the theater business in Albia for some time, possibly reopening the Scenic (which I will add). He moved on to Des Moines eventually.
National Register listings from the 1980s are usually complete garbage, but the 1985 listing for downtown is really excellent. The link is here: https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/85000007, and the theater listing begins on page 267. There’s quite a bit of information.
Based on information from a comment on the other large theater, this may actually have been the Rex, and the northern theater the Comet. There’s some conflict with dates, as the source article claims the Rex opened in 1923. The fact that the map was issued in 1922, when they were both open, and the next in 1933, when they had both closed, makes it hard to eliminate a name based on the dates.
That makes it sound like this was probably the Comet, and the theater to the south was the Rex. The brick facade that was put up to convert it to a dealership is rather indeterminate in style, but certainly could be from 1923-ish.
There is a problem with the dates. If the Rex was the demolished theater to the south, it was open by Nov. 1922 at the latest. It’s still listed as open in the 1929 guide, but that could be wrong.
The building is in good shape. For whatever stupid reason, I did not take a picture of this or the Burg. It is a knitting/quilting shop.
Address should be 1131 Court Ave, and this was demolished long ago. There’s a really crappy Family Dollar building there now.
The building was a typical turn of the century 2 story brick structure. It was constructed between 1892 and 1898, and was a grocery store through 1911. It was definitely open by 1922. The 1914-15 AMPD lists an Oriental, which might have been this theater. There was an opera house to the south (the Stover), which was still in business in 1922, and may have shown films.
It appears to have been a ground floor house in 1922, but is the sole occupant shown in 1933.
Joe, I agree about the 1914-15 listings being poor for this town. It’s entirely possible the Scenic was still open as well.
The 1884 ‘opera house’ is likely the ‘Public Hall’ shown on the 1885 map. It was in the second story of the building labeled ‘Billiards’ in the photo.
Eddyville also flooded in 1965. The Corps of Engineers built a levee in 1947 or 48.
This was built as a house in 1848. It was still a residence in 1911.
Unfortunately, the last available Sanborn is 1911. It shows this space as vacant. The building dates to 1897.
Comments on the other Holland entry suggest that the theater moved into this old house in 1966, and closed in 2001. This is not the florist, that’s on Main. This is a law office. There is a very deep but narrow auditorium stuck on the back of the house. It’s a very strange arrangement.
Based on comments here, this was the original Holland, and it moved in the ‘60s to the old house on Washington.
The building has a very dull remodel, and is now an antique store.
It is possible that this building was replaced or remodeled at some point, as it is two stories, at least in the front. I will have a photo at some point, once I get around to editing the folder it’s in. It seems from a recent photo I found that it may be part of the restaurant or bar next door.
Some sources have the Rex opening in 1923, but it was clearly open by late 1922. Those sources say it closed in 1927, but it is listed in the Yearbook of Motion Pictures up until 1929.
This may possibly have been the Lyric, which opened in Spring 1913, and closed in 1916. That theater offered vaudeville, and I’m not sure this space would have been large enough.
It’s possible, but unlikely given the dates, that the Lyric may have been in either the old or new Odd Fellows buildings. Benton apparently had some arrangement to show films in an Odd Fellows building, but it wasn’t clear which. I assume that would have been before he opened the Scenic, which was sometime by 1913 at the latest. The Lyric may also have been the small theater on S. Main. The chronology works there, since it’s on the late 1913 map, and gone by 1922.
The notes on this building from the NRHP listing do not offer any identification for this theater, but they do note that the large number of early theaters indicate an intense interest in entertainment, particularly from the coal miners in the area. The coal industry in this part of Iowa is long gone, but Albia had nearly 5,100 people in 1920 (versus just over 3,700 today), and Monroe County peaked at well over 25,000 people in 1910, which today has shrunk to 7,500, less than its 1860 population.
Some further notes: The NRHP listing for the building that held the Scenic indicates that the Comet building may have been known as the Alex Long building, but that may have been how it was known in 1959 when the local history was written up. If it did indeed open in 1909, Benton was still operating the Scenic, and cannot have been the first owner.
The Comet was owned or at least run by J.E. Benton. The theater was closed to allow the post office to move to this building from the A. E. Noble building west of the square (and across from the current PO). It’s not clear when exactly that took place, but the post office would probably have stayed here until the present building was constructed in 1931. The brick facade may have been installed to convert it to a post office, and it was certainly in place by 1933.
A cryptic reference is made to Benton staying in the theater business in Albia for some time, possibly reopening the Scenic (which I will add). He moved on to Des Moines eventually.
This has to have been the Rex, which means the capacity was 500.
National Register listings from the 1980s are usually complete garbage, but the 1985 listing for downtown is really excellent. The link is here: https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/85000007, and the theater listing begins on page 267. There’s quite a bit of information.
I’ve added two Sanborn view showing the changes resulting from the fire.
Based on information from a comment on the other large theater, this may actually have been the Rex, and the northern theater the Comet. There’s some conflict with dates, as the source article claims the Rex opened in 1923. The fact that the map was issued in 1922, when they were both open, and the next in 1933, when they had both closed, makes it hard to eliminate a name based on the dates.
That makes it sound like this was probably the Comet, and the theater to the south was the Rex. The brick facade that was put up to convert it to a dealership is rather indeterminate in style, but certainly could be from 1923-ish.
There is a problem with the dates. If the Rex was the demolished theater to the south, it was open by Nov. 1922 at the latest. It’s still listed as open in the 1929 guide, but that could be wrong.
Website is: https://www.facebook.com/KingOperaHouseAlbia/
It was looking a little shabby when I saw it in 2010, but the new front is so cheap and bland. It’s a depressing Auto-CAD remake of the original.
That’s a good possibility. It’s odd that only the Majestic is listed, since the Ritz was also open by early 1913 at the latest.