Ritz Theatre
906 Court Avenue,
Chariton,
IA
50049
906 Court Avenue,
Chariton,
IA
50049
No one has favorited this theater yet
Showing 6 comments
I do not believe the 1930 fire was nearly as devastating as described. The Pythian Building (which held the Lincoln), is the only thing missing from the 1950s picture. The building east of the alley was from the 1880s, and survived until at least 2013, although it is now a vacant lot. The building past the Ritz to the west survived as well, but was progressively stripped of ornamentation, and given a repellent slipcover around 1965. The auditorium of the Ritz may have been damaged. With the 1927 and 1948 maps unavailable online, no way to compare a before and after of the rear exists.
By the way, the address for the Ritz is 906, not 908.
As Ken pointed out long ago, this became a bicycle shop in 2008. It is still open. It’s not clear when the roofline was ruined, but it has a flat top now.
The Ritz Theatre opened its doors on August 31, 1927 with Forrest Stanley in “The Cat And The Canary” along with a vaudeville presentation of “Page Kiddies”, an Our Gang short, and a “Topics Of The Day” newsreel. It was first operated by T.W. Thompson.
Not only William L. Perkins architected the Ritz retaining only the facade and building, but Western Electric sound was also installed just before its May 22, 1930 reopening with Charles Farrell in “High Society Blues” along with an unknown comedy and a “sound” newsreel.
It was later operated by Wally Stolfus who installed CinemaScope inside the Ritz Theatre on August 15, 1954 (with “The Robe”).
In the late-1970s, owners Gerald Clark of Osceola and the husband-and-wife management team of Bill and Cindy Cox operated the Ritz Theatre. However, they did had a couple of short closures. Its first closure is an August 1, 1979 lease, and the second is for an unknown amount of reasons on February 28, 1980. Both closures only lasted for a few months. After its second short closure, the Ritz reopened its doors on June 4, 1980.
The Ritz Theatre received too much trouble in the 1980s, causing a few short closures, and a few management changes. What it really ended the Ritz Theatre’s movie house run is that in late-1988, the Ritz closed as a movie house for the final time right after short-lived owner 20-year-old Jeffrey Johannes of Knoxville, Iowa (former Nevada resident who briefly reopened the Ritz after yet again another short closure), pleaded guilty to second-degree theft and failing to pay restitution and meet other terms of his probation. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
This immediately left moviegoers to watch films in Albia, Knoxville, Osceola, Pella, or Centerville. In October 1989, the Ritz reopened as the Ritz Cabaret, a restaurant with live entertainment.
Chariton had two silent era theaters in the Grand Theatre (apparently opening in 1903) and the Temple Theatre owned by Victoria Dewey and Becker & Bowen. The two entities got together and consolidated in the 914 Court location becoming the Lincoln Theatre. Henry Cramer then built the Ritz Theatre in March of 1927 taking over a retail spot held by The Woman’s Shop at 908 Court with the Lincoln just feet away. The 800-seat Ritz launched August 31, 1927.
Unfortunately, that theatre and the entire Lincoln Building with the Lincoln Barber Shop, the Lincoln Cafe, Ostman Jewelry, and apartments burned on February 27,1930 in a huge blaze. The Ritz Theatre auditorium was a casualty as well as only one building and some facades remained in the block.
William L. Perkins architected the Ritz retaining just the facade and — building very quickly — reopening May 22, 1930. Pictures of the Lincoln are in the photos section.
The “Better Theatres” section of Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World of April 14, 1928, had two photos of the Ritz Theatre in Chariton, Iowa. Aside from the loss of a decorative parapet, the building appears to have changed little since then. The Ritz was designed by a local architect, William L. Perkins.
Another photo of the Ritz and a brief article appear on this page of the same magazine.
This is from the Chariton Chamber of Commerce site in April:
CONGRATULATIONS! To Dave and Connie Hendricks and the Connecticut Yankee Pedaller, on their recent building remodeling project. The Chamber Ambassadors helped the store celebrate with a ribbon cutting on April 4th. If you haven’t checked out the huge selection of bikes, exercise equipment and Lyrix wireless services, make it a point to stop by Connecticut Yankee Pedaller and see what Dave has done with the old Ritz Theatre building. And if your Chamber member business is moving into a new facility, adding on or remodeling an existing facility, or changing ownership, we’d be happy to come and help you celebrate as well. Just give Evelyn a call at the Chamber office.