This theater was located right off of old Hwy. 163 just west of Oskaloosa. It was a single screen theater with a capacity of about 100 cars. The theater was demolished in the late 80’s and the site is now the current home of the Mahaska county road maintenance garage.
In the aerial photo, number one is the new Ottumwa 8 theater NOT the Capri V! The Capri V is located about a mile away in the heart of the historic dowtown section. There are several small shops and businesses located around it. This theater (I beleive) was made from an old motel or apartment building. It opened in the mid to late fifties. Each of the auditoriums had an arched celing with exposed metal roof rafters. Very unique! Under each screen was a red sign that would be snapped on informing guests that the snack bar would be closing in five minutes. The seats were the old metal type with rounded backs. One had to use caution when sitting down lest receiving a sharp jab in the posterior by a seat spring! Unfortunetly, towards the end, the theater had been neglected to the point where it wasn’t enjoyable to watch a movie in there anymore (forget about using the restrooms!) When my wife and I were dating, there were many memorable Friday or Saturday nights spent there. We hated to see it close. I’ll post any updates I hear about what will become of it.
This theater was located right off of old Hwy. 163 just west of Oskaloosa. It was a single screen theater with a capacity of about 100 cars. The theater was demolished in the late 80’s and the site is now the current home of the Mahaska county road maintenance garage.
In the aerial photo, number one is the new Ottumwa 8 theater NOT the Capri V! The Capri V is located about a mile away in the heart of the historic dowtown section. There are several small shops and businesses located around it. This theater (I beleive) was made from an old motel or apartment building. It opened in the mid to late fifties. Each of the auditoriums had an arched celing with exposed metal roof rafters. Very unique! Under each screen was a red sign that would be snapped on informing guests that the snack bar would be closing in five minutes. The seats were the old metal type with rounded backs. One had to use caution when sitting down lest receiving a sharp jab in the posterior by a seat spring! Unfortunetly, towards the end, the theater had been neglected to the point where it wasn’t enjoyable to watch a movie in there anymore (forget about using the restrooms!) When my wife and I were dating, there were many memorable Friday or Saturday nights spent there. We hated to see it close. I’ll post any updates I hear about what will become of it.