Sioux Theatre
710 Central Avenue,
Hawarden,
IA
51023
710 Central Avenue,
Hawarden,
IA
51023
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Comet Theatre
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Not to be confused with the Dunlap Theatre which opened in 1924 and became the Tivoli Theatre in 1928 and the Sioux Theatre in 1939 (it has its own page on Cinema Treasures).
The 228-seat Comet Theatre was renamed Sioux Theatre in 1961. The original owner was Harry Lankhorst, who ran the theatre (along with the Wigwam Drive-In theatre, north of Hawarden) from 1939 to April 1963. Lankhorst sold the theatres to B.N (Norc) Brown, who ran them until April 1, 1974, when he sold them to Gary Mossengren. The Sioux Theatre was open usually from January to the first week of May and opened again on Labor day weekend.
In 1961 when it became the Sioux Theatre a new rock front was put on the building, along with a remodeled front lobby, which included panelling and new carpet. The seats were metal with maroon vinyl cushions. The marquee was a metal sign which said SIOUX down it with an Indian head on the top, complete with a headdress that lit up.
The Sioux Theatre closed for good on May 1, 1983, and sat empty until it was torn down, along with two other buildings on the same block, on March 10, 1988. The marquee was saved, along with a couple of the chairs for a local museum. The last sold-out show film shown there was "ET" on Christmas, 1982.
Contributed by
Dan Eastman
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
Some recent research might provide a little clarification to the above –
The original Sioux Theater was located in the 2-story building currently standing at 809 Central. This building was constructed in 1924 as the Dunlap Theater. It became the Tivoli Theater in 1928 under the ownership of Jack Bouma. In 1939, the theater changed hands and names again, becoming the Sioux Theater. In 1961, when the theater building was converted into Streit Pharmacy, the Sioux Theater name transferred over to the former Comet Theater at 710 Central that is discussed above.
The original Dunlap Theater (later Tivoli and Sioux Theater) building is still standing and I would recommend a new separate entry to help eliminate confusion.