This building and the neighboring structures have been progressively ruined by cheap sheet metal trash. Some of the original structure can be seen on the blurry 2008 streetview.
I have given the address of the EMBA building, although the theater space may have been entered from 6th St. The building is in perilous shape. It appears to have been vacant since at least 2014. The location of the gym/theater space is now some cheap metal sheds housing the city hall and fire department.
This theater appears on the Dec. 1912 Sanborn. This is the earliest map available, so no history on the building is available. The Princess was the southernmost of five storefronts in a large one story brick structure with a tin front. Rebuilt by May 1915 at the latest (it appears in the 1914-15 AMPD), it was now a two story brick building (possibly only one story at the rear). The theater remained a ground floor operation with a photo studio upstairs through at least 1925.
It appears at some point that the upper story was removed. The facade survived until sometime between 2014 and 2023. The interior had long been gutted, and the space used as a patio.
I’ve added a 1918 map view, including city hall (which was also destroyed in the 1923 fire and rebuilt on the same site). This shows how the channel was widened. Based on that view, and the later postcard, plus some pictures of the fire, I believe that the original structure was likely reused in the 1932 incarnation.
I’ve added a 1918 Sanborn view of the theater. The theater does not appear on the 1910 map, nor is it listed in the 1914-15 AMPD. The 1927 and 1950 maps are not available online. The entire two block frontage on the east side of Main, and going back most of the block behind, has been destroyed and replaced by a really depressingly ugly urban ‘renewal’ mall.
There is no 500 block of Pine, which exists only between 6th and 7th Avenues. It looks like 601 is an older building covered in sheet metal. It’s rather large for only 197 seats.
If it was in the Kentucky Building, then the address would be 113 or 115. It was almost certainly 115, as the storefront at 113 is very old. If it was really at what is now (at least) 121, then it has been demolished, and was not in the Kentucky Building.
The 1914-15 AMPD lists this, and a Princess on Adam [sic] St. The Dec. 1913 Sanborn does show a vacant storefront in a now demolished building just east of the alley on Adams (10 E Adams?). If this became the Princess, I can supply some further information.
The original structure dates to before 1885. It was originally an implement dealer. The demolition of the one story building to the right sometime after 2016 revealed a spectacular Greenback tobacco ad with a frog. It’s a shame that the best the locals can come up with is another hole in an increasingly dismal downtown.
This building and the neighboring structures have been progressively ruined by cheap sheet metal trash. Some of the original structure can be seen on the blurry 2008 streetview.
I have given the address of the EMBA building, although the theater space may have been entered from 6th St. The building is in perilous shape. It appears to have been vacant since at least 2014. The location of the gym/theater space is now some cheap metal sheds housing the city hall and fire department.
This theater appears on the Dec. 1912 Sanborn. This is the earliest map available, so no history on the building is available. The Princess was the southernmost of five storefronts in a large one story brick structure with a tin front. Rebuilt by May 1915 at the latest (it appears in the 1914-15 AMPD), it was now a two story brick building (possibly only one story at the rear). The theater remained a ground floor operation with a photo studio upstairs through at least 1925.
It appears at some point that the upper story was removed. The facade survived until sometime between 2014 and 2023. The interior had long been gutted, and the space used as a patio.
Thanks, that takes care of the Ruby mystery.
I’ve added a 1918 map view, including city hall (which was also destroyed in the 1923 fire and rebuilt on the same site). This shows how the channel was widened. Based on that view, and the later postcard, plus some pictures of the fire, I believe that the original structure was likely reused in the 1932 incarnation.
I’ve added a 1918 Sanborn view of the theater. The theater does not appear on the 1910 map, nor is it listed in the 1914-15 AMPD. The 1927 and 1950 maps are not available online. The entire two block frontage on the east side of Main, and going back most of the block behind, has been destroyed and replaced by a really depressingly ugly urban ‘renewal’ mall.
I’ve set the closing date as April 23, but if it did indeed show films until May 12, we can change it.
There is no 500 block of Pine, which exists only between 6th and 7th Avenues. It looks like 601 is an older building covered in sheet metal. It’s rather large for only 197 seats.
Is the address correct? What must be 121 looks like a dealership or garage. It’s likely pre-1956.
Was the capacity ever 350? Is the address correct? If so, this was demolished years ago. The contributor is unreliable, and makes lots of errors.
Thanks for the information!
Sounds like this was most likely the Empress.
2014 streetview still shows the marquee and ticket booth. Now has a cheap, sloppy remodel that destroyed those features.
2008 Streetview still has the marquee up. Bad remodel, and now it’s just a box.
Good enough for me! If it turns out to be wrong, I can always fix it.
It may have been, but the old post office now has a 7400 adress, making 7414 quite sensible for the next lot north.
Curious that it is still listed as the Princess, several years after that closed, and indeed several years after theater use stopped.
So the 1955 name change is bogus?
Thanks, I’ve adjusted the listing.
The Temple name sounds like it must have been here, but the opening date is after the map date.
So just Lyon’s, with no ‘Park’? Odd that the official New Park name was not on the marquee.
If it was in the Kentucky Building, then the address would be 113 or 115. It was almost certainly 115, as the storefront at 113 is very old. If it was really at what is now (at least) 121, then it has been demolished, and was not in the Kentucky Building.
The 1914-15 AMPD lists this, and a Princess on Adam [sic] St. The Dec. 1913 Sanborn does show a vacant storefront in a now demolished building just east of the alley on Adams (10 E Adams?). If this became the Princess, I can supply some further information.
The original structure dates to before 1885. It was originally an implement dealer. The demolition of the one story building to the right sometime after 2016 revealed a spectacular Greenback tobacco ad with a frog. It’s a shame that the best the locals can come up with is another hole in an increasingly dismal downtown.
Either I have the wrong ID for this one, or it had another name before reopening in 1913. The 1918 closure definitely fits.