Pella Opera House Theatre Center
611 Franklin,
Pella,
IA
50219
611 Franklin,
Pella,
IA
50219
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National Register Information Status Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on March 20, 1992 Reference number 91001080 Architectural style Victorian: Romanesque Area of significance Architecture Level of significance Local Evaluation criteria C – Design/Construction Property type Building Historic functions Theater; Auditorium Current functions Auditorium; Theater Period of significance 1900-1924 Significant year 1900
Julius Cahn’s guides list this as a second floor house. While many such theaters did run movies for a while during the first two decades of the 20th century, most of them didn’t operate as movie houses for very long. Patrons preferred the newer theaters that had their auditoriums on the ground floor.
I’ve been unable to discover the original architect of the Pella Opera house, but the plans for the renovation begun in 1988 were by Wetherell Ericsson Architects, the successor firm to Wetherell & Harrison, designers of many of the classic movie theaters in Iowa.