Capri Theater
107 E. Market Street,
New Sharon,
IA
50207
107 E. Market Street,
New Sharon,
IA
50207
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This house was partly owned by Bob Fridley in the 1940s, according to this item that appeared in Boxoffice of April 5, 1947:
“Sharon Theatre Reopens
“NEW SHARON, IOWA—The Sharon Theatre has reopened after being dark ten days because of a flu epidemic. It was the first time in six years this town had been without motion picture entertainment. Showings canceled during the shutdown will be rescheduled during April, according to Bob Fridley and Bev Mahon, owners.”
Fridley was also mentioned in connection with the house in the January 6, 1945 Boxoffice, which referred to him as “Sgt. Bob Fridley.” He apparently dropped in to see old friends on Des Moines' film row while on leave from his military service.
In fact, the Sharon was Fridley’s first theater. An article in Boxoffice of December 5, 1977 said “Robert Fridley, who operated the old Sharon Theatre (now the Capri) from 1941-49 and still owns it, now operates a circuit out of Des Moines, where he now lives.” The article notes that Fridley became an exhibitor at the age of 19. His memorial page (he died in 2021, at the age of 103) says that his first experience was taking over his uncle’s jackrabbit circuit, a traveling operation that took movies to theater-less towns. He was 24 when he bought the Sharon Theatre.
You might be right. According to some small article saying that it was already named the Capri in 1966. So I’m very sure the Capri name came in a few years beforehand during the early or mid-1960s.
Website is not even a website. Should link to their FB page: https://www.facebook.com/newsharoncapri/
This building does not appear on the 1911 map, which shows a two story tin-clad wooden pool hall here.
Still listed as the Sharon in 1955. I assume the Capri name came along with the schlocky ‘60s remodel.
Open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. See their Facebook page for movie listings and times.
Is this theatre still in operation (2016)?
wow, looked at their facebook page, $5 for a first run 3D movie (‘Monsters University’)– that’s dirt cheap.