Princess Theatre

Multiple sources indicate that this house at 314 Pike Street was the second of its name in Shinnston. The earlier Princess, in operation by 1921, was across the street at 323 Pike. The new theater opened in 1940, the same year the town’s first Rex Theatre was burned out of the former Opera House on Walnut Street. The Princess and Rex had been under the same ownership, and for a while the old Princess went by the name Princess-Rex, though it later returned to being simply the Rex. CinemaTour says that the Princess operated at its new location from 1940 until 1961. A book called Around Shinnston says that a furniture store had moved into the Princess building by 1964, so 1961 is likely right as the closing date.

A Princess Theatre, situated on Pike Street in Shinnston, was listed in a 1921 Clarksburg city directory. However, as the Princess building at 314 Pike features a parapet inscription reading “A&M 1940” I don’t think we can be sure the 1921 Princess was the same house. The Princess might have moved to a new building in 1940, or the original building might have been remodeled at that time.