Drake Theater
East Maple Street & Drake Avenue,
Centerville,
IA
52544
East Maple Street & Drake Avenue,
Centerville,
IA
52544
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Armory Theater, Drake Avenue Theater
Nearby Theaters
Around 1898 the Armory Theater was built by Corse Payton. In 1912 the theater was renamed the Drake Avenue Theater and used as an opera house. The theater was also used for stage performances and vaudeville. In 1929 a new owner converted this theater to a movie theater.
The Drake Theater had a brief life as a movie theater. The theater burned down in 1930.
Contributed by
Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
The 1905 Cahn guide gives the capacity as 1,000. Maps call it the Armory or Drake Avenue Opera House, but the Cahn guide uses Theatre. I’ve added a map view. The site is currently occupied by a used car dealer operating in an old gas station that was likely built just after the fire.
Address should be 101-103 Drake Ave.
I suppose this was originally also used as an armory, but between 1907 and 1913 a large armory was built on E Jackson St. It’s still there, used as apartments.