Meteor Guitar Gallery
128 W. Central Avenue,
Bentonville,
AR
72712
128 W. Central Avenue,
Bentonville,
AR
72712
1 person
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Related Websites
Meteor Guitar Gallery (Official)
Additional Info
Functions: Live Music Venue
Previous Names: Meteor Theater, Plaza Theater
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
479.268.1500
Nearby Theaters
The Meteor Theater was designed and constructed by Mr. Harry Kelley at a cost of about $30,000. Mr. Kelley believed theater goers loved good music, so one of his heaviest expenses was the Barton Silver-Toned pipe organ with 2 manual and 3 ranks, which was installed at a cost of $6,000. It was built especially for the Meteor Theater and was the same make as the one in the Palace Theatre in Fayetteville, AR.
The grand opening of the Meteor Theater was August 1, 1927 with over 1,200 people attending. Constance Talmadge in “Venus of Venice”, a strong First National picture at the time, was shown at the grand opening.
D.M. Greer, president of the Rotary Club made the welcoming address and Miss Gladys Cosnel of Fayetteville played several selections on the Barton pipe organ.
The Meteor Theater introduced “talkies” on December 20, 1929.
It was renamed Plaza Theater by 1940.
The Barton pipe organ has been refurbished and is now at the Presbyterian church in Bentonville.
In 2014, the building was restored and renovated to reopen as a music and art venue, (a ‘soft’ opening on June 6, 2014).
Contributed by
nilraps
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
Here is an item from the Fayetteville Democrat in August 1932:
Bentonville, Aug.9-A.M. Lightner, Guy D. Lightner and Mary T. Grant have become the owners of the Meteor Theater in a deal with Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Williams, of Tonkawa, Okla., who purchased the property about a month ago. The theater was valued at $20,000, and a 40-acre farm owned by the Lightners near the New Hope rural school was part of the consideration. Mr. Williams, who has been manager of the theater, will continue in charge of it for the present. The theater was built a few years ago by Harry Kelly and is one of the finest in this section.
Here is an item from the Northwest Arkansas Times dated 4/26/52. Looks like it was already the Plaza by 1952.
Jack “Pud” Fields has sold the Plaza Grill, located in the Plaza Theater building, to Dan Pickens, a Korean war veteran who served with the 936th Field Artillery Battalion of the Arkansas National Guard.
It was announced that Oscar winning actress Geena Davis, in conjunction with Walmart, is launching The Bentonville Film Festival to promote diversity in film. The festival is set for May 5-9 and promises guaranteed distribution for its winning films. The actress has been a long-time advocate for female visibility in the movies, both on-screen and behind the camera through her Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.
Now called the Meteor Guitar Gallery.
Address is wrong, there is no 160. Correct address is 128, although historically the address was 126, with 124 and 128 being small stores beside the entry.
That repulsive wood siding was removed around 2018, and a tile front was either revealed or applied.
The May 14, 1927 Moving Picture World had this item about the beginning of the Meteor Theatre: “Harry Kelley has just purchased a site on West 12th street, Bentonville, Ark., on which he plans to erect a new theatre. The lot is 110 by 42 feet.” The June 11 issue of the same journal repeated the news: “A new theatre, to be named the Meteor, and to cost around $40,000, is being built by Harry Kelly at Bentonville, Arkansas.”