Imperial Theatre

607 Broadway,
Imperial, NE 69033

Unfavorite No one has favorited this theater yet

Showing 5 comments

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on January 22, 2025 at 8:49 pm

The Imperial Theatre opened as early as 1925 and was renamed the Star Theatre on October 5, 1934. At the time, Imperial had two movie houses, with the other being the Kiva Theatre. The Kiva Theatre nearby closed on November 1, 1936 following an auction and all of its equipment there were shipped to the Star Theatre.

  • NOTE: It was still named the Star Theatre into as late as 1965.
MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on January 13, 2020 at 9:27 pm

Boxoffice, June 2, 1956: “Paul Milner has bought the Star, Imperial, Neb., from Carlin Smith”

MichaelKilgore
MichaelKilgore on August 12, 2019 at 12:58 am

The March 21, 1960 issue of BoxOffice reported the theater’s (temporary) closure as the Star: “The Star at Imperial, Neb., managed by W. H. ‘Rusty’ Kinder, has been forced to close due to poor business.”

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on August 27, 2014 at 6:48 pm

The April 2, 1959, issue of Motion Picture Daily reported that W. Kinder, owner of the Star Theatre in Imperial, Nebraska, had affiliated his house with Allied Rocky Mountain Independent Theatres, Inc.. The move must not have helped business enough, as the Star soon closed. But the October 5, 1960, issue of the same journal reported that the theater had been re-opened under new management:

“Merchants Find Theatre Aids Their Businesses

“Special to THE DAILY

“IMPERIAL, Neb., Oct 4. – The importance of a theatre to a small town is illustrated by the re-opening of the Star Theatre here.

“All merchants in the small community experienced a slump in business when the Star shuttered several months ago.

“Merchants organized the Imperial Businessmens Association and raised sufficient funds to reopen the theatre. Newton Lippitt is acting as manager.”

Chris1982
Chris1982 on August 27, 2014 at 8:20 am

This theatre was open prior to 1925 as the Imperial Theatre. It became the Star Theatre in the late-1930’s and reverted back to the Imperial in the late-1950’s. It should have an AKA Star Theatre. The Imperial has made the transition to digital projection and continues to feature first run attractions on Friday, Saturday and Sundays.