Harris Theater
112 N. Elm Street,
Avoca,
IA
51521
112 N. Elm Street,
Avoca,
IA
51521
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The Harris Theater opened in 1930 and at its opening seating was listed at 440. The theatre was still open in 1957. It is currently home to the American Legion.
Contributed by
Chuck
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
The address should be 112 North Elm Street.
As was pointed out long ago, the address is wrong. This is currently the American Legion. It’s been spruced up since 2010, although they did destroy the original doors.
I’m not sure this was ever known as the Harris-Avoca. That name makes no sense. It may have been called the Avoca at some point. The address needs to be corrected. It may originally have been 309 N Elm, but the N-S divider has been moved to High St, and the odds and evens switched sides.
Still listed as the Harris in 1955, it appears as the Avoca in the 1956 Yearbook. Still open in 1957, so the mid-‘50s date is wrong. The Yearbooks afterward are less useful, and only list theaters belonging to circuits. It has to have been closed by 1969, when the Legion moved in.
This web page has some historic photos of Avoca, though the slide show doesn’t work as advertised (you can’t pause it, at least not with my browser.) Below the slide show are thumbnails of the photos with captions, but only some of the thumbnails can be clicked and enlarged. The first photo is of the Harris Theatre, and the caption mentions a few names connected with the house.
This May, 2023 article from the web site of The Daily Nonpariel tells of the acquisition of the Legion Hall by the City of Avoca and plans for restoring and renovating the building as a community center under the auspices of the Avoca Main Street preservation group. The Legion will continue to oversee daily operations of the center. The page has a period photo of the theater promoting two 1942 releases on the marquee.