Iris Theatre
122 W. Greene Street,
Postville,
IA
52162
122 W. Greene Street,
Postville,
IA
52162
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Opened on December 25, 1930 with Marie Dressler in “Min and Bill”. the Iris Theatre was located on W. Greene Street at N. Lawler Street in the main business section of Postville. It was closed in summer of 1980.
The building is still there, in operation as a beauty salon.
Contributed by
Chuck
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Recent comments (view all 11 comments)
More information –
Lloyd E. Palmer operated a silent movie theater across from where the Iris was ultimately built. His wife Bertha Palmer played the piano.
The Iris Theater was built in 1929-30. Grand Opening was held on Christmas Day 1930. First movie shown was Min & Bill.
My grandfather built the theater with financial backing from the Schutte family, and rented the space for $150/month for many years.
The original sound system was a “Wide Range-Western Electric” which was the best that could be purchased at the time. Projectors were also Western Electric.
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The Projectors we also believed to be Western Electric.
Unless it was rebuilt or the name was moved at some time (I can’t find any indication that either of these took place) this was a very old theater. Lloyd Palmer took over the Iris in 1924, according to a brief article about him (center column, right page) in Boxoffice, November 5, 1955.
Mr.Palmer was not a big fan of musicals or costume dramas, judging from his letter to the editor (upper left) published in Boxoffice of February 11, 1956.
Well, I guess it’s not a good idea to leave an unposted comment on an open browser tab overnight. The theater across the street must have been the one Lloyd Palmer took over in 1924.
I talked with my dad, Lloyd J. Palmer, who is Lloyd E. Palmer’s son.
He recalled that his mother and father ran a silent movie theater on the north side of Green St. Might have been the original Iris.
He also remembered accompanying his dad to Minneapolis to look at theaters on which to base the “new” Iris design. He mentioned North Penn St.
Additionally, the Iris theater ceased operation sometime in 1979.
The Iris opened its doors on December 25, 1930 with Wallace Berry in “Min And Bill” with Western Electric sound installation, unclear if any short subjects were added. It is closed in the middle of 1980.
Uploaded photos from the Postville Herald from May 19, 1932 and January 21, 1957 showing ads for the Iris.
The silent film theatre mentioned above was probably the Postville, the ad for which appears in this photo section featuring a 1929, pre-code silent film, The Voice of the City.
Building is now a beauty salon. Streetview has very poor coverage, but if you look from Lawler north of the intersection, you can see it fairly well.