Wellington Regent Theatre
114 W. Lincoln Avenue,
Wellington,
KS
67152
114 W. Lincoln Avenue,
Wellington,
KS
67152
1 person
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Related Websites
Wellington Regent Theatre (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Fox Midwest Amusement Corp.
Architects: Carl Boller, Robert O. Boller
Firms: Boller Brothers
Functions: Movies (First Run)
Styles: Mission Revival, Streamline Moderne
Previous Names: Regent Theatre, Fox Regent Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
620.326.6843
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Apr 13, 2009 — Theater for sale...reduced price!
- Dec 4, 2007 — Regent Theater For Sale/Lease
- Mar 23, 2007 — Regent Theatre for Sale
- Jan 8, 2007 — Regent Theatre for Sale
- Sep 15, 2006 — Regent Theatre for sale!!!
- Oct 6, 2005 — Regent Theater For Sale
Opened by October 1922, it had become the Regent Theatre by early-1930. By 1941 it had been renamed Fox Regent Theatre. By 1950 it had reverted back to the Regent Theatre name, operated by Fox Midwest Amusenment Corp. The single-screen Wellington Regent Theatre, which shows first-run features, is located at Lincoln Avenue and Washington Avenue. Designed in Mission Revival style with a Streamline Moderne, triangular-shaped marquee. The marquee has no attraction panels, just the name of the theatre in neon lettering.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 20 comments)
Sold, re-opening soon.
Very nice marquee on the Regent.
Open — my photo from April 2011
.Now known as the Wellington Regent Theatre at last check 11/28/2024.
The January 11, 1930 issue of Motion Picture News had this item mentioning the Regent: “Competition Causes Change
“Wellington, Kan. — Opening of the Regent has resulted in a switch to Friday and Saturday shows only at the Majestic. Both are Fox houses.”
However, the 1922 Sanborn map of Wellington shows a 700-seat theater at the Regent’s site, but it must have operated under a different name. The 1926 FDY lists only the 400-seat Ashland and the 500-seat Majestic at Wellington, and no theater of 700 seats.
The Sanborn maps of 1912 and 1922 show two movie theaters on Main Street, a 425-seat house at 106 S., and a 360-seat house across the street at 105. The house at 106, per various sources, opened by 1909 as the Pioneer Theatre and was listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD, but had been renamed the Isis Theatre by 1916. I’ve found no name for the house at 105.
The NRHP registration form for the Wellington Downtown Historic District says the Isis was converted to retail in 1923 and the information about the building at 105 is ambiguous and does not mention a theater, so I’m unable to determine the locations of the Ashland and the Majestic. At this time all I can be sure of is that the theater at 114 W. Lincoln was in existence by October, 1922, and had become the Regent by the start of 1930.
When I saw this in 2010, it had godawful wood paneling covering the front. So glad it’s been removed.
By the way, the website is AI slop with fake reviews. It is not official. Apparently the whole domain of edan.io is stuff like this.
They use FB: https://www.facebook.com/WellingtonRegentTheater/ Even that page refers to an ‘official’ site which appears to be a fake full of malware! They probably abandoned it to save money.
This building was constructed sometime between 1899 and 1905 as a skating rink, replacing a wooden livery on this site. It was then a wholesale grocery on the 1912 map. The theater does not appear in the 1914-15 AMPD. The Spanish facade probably dates from the theater conversion. The KHRI entry suggests it may have been a Boller Brothers project.
This web page from the Chisholm Trail Museum has a history of Wellington’s theaters by Jim Bales. The Regent was opened by Charles W. Ash as the Ashland Theatre on April 5, 1921. In June, 1928 the Ashland and the Majestic Theatre came under the control of the Miller Show Company, who operated a regional chain of theaters featuring movies produced by William Fox’s studio. Following Mr. Fox’s bankruptcy in the early 1930s, this company was reorganized as Fox Midwest Theatres, affiliated with the reorganized 20th Century Fox studio.
Soon after Miller’s acquisition, the Ashland Theatre was closed for major remodeling, which included increasing the rake of the auditorium and reseating in a semi-circular pattern so every seat faced the center of the screen. A Robert Morton organ replaced the Wurlitzer which had been installed in 1924. The house was reopened as the Regent on September 3, 1928. Sound was installed the next year, with the first show on April 3, 1929. Miller Show and its successor Fox Midwest operated the Regent until March, 1959, after which it was operated by a series of independent owners.
It’s interesting to note the small reference in the Chisholm page that Mr. Jocelyn was forced to move his Edison Theatre and did so to lots on West Lincoln where he was to have an airdrome seating 400 as opposed to the 100 which the Edison held.