Avery Theater
495 State Street,
Garner,
IA
50438
495 State Street,
Garner,
IA
50438
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Avery Theater (Official)
Additional Info
Architects: Henry E. Waldron
Functions: Movies (First Run)
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: Avery Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
641.925.2879
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News About This Theater
- Aug 17, 2013 — Renovated Garner movie theater gets rave reviews
- Jul 10, 2013 — Old Art Deco movie theater in Iowa near completion
The Avery Theatre was located on State Street and W. 5th Street, and was opened March 18, 1931 with Joe E. Brown in “Sit Tight”. It was closed in 1970 and became Tammy’s Pharmacy in 2003.
It was renovated and reopened in August 2013 as the Avery Theater.
Contributed by
Chuck
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
The Avery Theatre is open again, showing movies seven nights a week, with a matinée on Sunday.
This is their web site.
The Avery Theatre was designed by St. Paul, Minnesota, architect Henry E. Waldron, of the Sperry Realty Company. The theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
The Avery’s web site has information about the history of the house and the renovation process. A drop-down menu from the ABOUT on the main page has a link headed RESTORATION PROCESS, and that page has a link from which to download a PDF of the NRHP Registration form, which contains several historic photos.
The page also has a link to a time line of the restoration, and at the end of the time line are links to PDFs of the two parts of a tabloid published by The Leader, the local newspaper, at the time of the theater’s reopening in August, 2013. These contain several photos of the renovation as well as additional historic photos of the theater.
August 16, 2013 article about the reopening.
https://globegazette.com/news/local/renovated-garner-movie-theater-gets-rave-reviews/article_83952424-06d1-11e3-b42d-001a4bcf887a.html
The NRHP listing for the Avery makes reference to a Lyric at 4th and State. It’s possible that was a wooden building on the SW corner. The Lyric apparently closed in October 1930. Construction of the Avery began shortly thereafter.
The theater was closed in 1970 and remodeled very soon after into a pharmacy. It wasn’t called Tanny’s, but Tammy’s, and that wasn’t until 2003, when she purchased the business.
Opened with Joe E. Brown in “Sit Tight” along with a few unnamed short subjects, featuring installations of RCA Photophone.