Glen Theatre

This opened as the Glen on November 17th, 1949 and as an adult cinema called Glen Art on February 3rd, 1967. Both grand opening ads have been uploaded in the photo section for this theatre.

Very true. I was there last week. Awful sad.

Rereading my comment of Jan 4, 2009, I think the opening date of September, 1947, I cited from Boxoffice must have been a typo. The introduction says that The Show was operating during the depression, and the building in the photo A. Ratcliffe linked to is certainly of a style more characteristic of the 1930s than the late 1940s. Most likely the house opened in 1937, not 1947.

I’ve been unable to discover whether or not the building survived the tornado that struck Joplin last Sunday evening. One map of the tornado’s path shows its northern edge crossing Main Street near 13th Street, a short distance north of the Glen’s location. The former Wasson and Electric theater buildings are within a block of the Glen, so they would also have been in danger, as would the former Royal Theatre’s building, assuming it hadn’t already been demolished.

The August 13, 1949, issue of Boxoffice Magazine announced that the Dickinson Circuit would take over the Show Theatre on September 1. It also said that the Show had originally opened in September, 1947. Dickinson intended to remodel the house and give it a new name. It was to be operated as a first-run theater. Seating capacity was given as 876.

Here is a 1951 ad from the Joplin Globe:
http://tinyurl.com/2lcrxw