Mahaska Theatre

SethG on February 8, 2025 at 3:26 pm

This listing is really garbled. There was a theater at 115 S Market, but it does not appear until the 1948 update to the 1927 map. Thus, it was definitely not the Orient. It also was not the Strand (see below). Lou was probably confused by the fact that there was also a theater at 115 N Market, which does appear on the 1927 map, but does not appear on the 1948 version.

This building was not demolished, but the front section going back maybe 15 feet has been replaced with a rather bland facade. That matches a serious fire. The original structure seems to date to before 1885, and maps show it in various configurations, indicating some remodels around 1900-10. The 1927 map shows a drug store taking up much of the ground floor, with a smaller store on the south side, and a hall of some sort on the second floor.

Lastly, the dates are wrong. The Mahaska appears in the 1939 listings, with 475 seats, which is much more than the Strand’s 250 in the 1938 listings. Finally, the Strand is noted as closed in the 1939 listings, so it obviously wasn’t the same theater.