Melba Theatre
3608 S. Grand Avenue,
St. Louis,
MO
63118
3608 S. Grand Avenue,
St. Louis,
MO
63118
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Wehrenberg Theatres
Architects: Arnold Tuchschmidt
Styles: Gothic Revival
Previous Names: New Melba Theatre & Airdome
Nearby Theaters
The New Melba Theatre was opened on December 1, 1917 with Francis X. Bushman in “Their Compact”. After adding a long succession of neighborhood houses, Fred Wehrenberg acquired the Melba Theatre. The 1,190-seat house on Grand Avenue had an airdome next to it. During warm evenings, shows would be stopped in the auditorium, and film reels carried to the airdome. The movie would then continue in the cooler outdoors.
When built, the New Melba Theatre had a park in front of it. Later, an office building with stores was constructed on the site of the park. It formed an arcade which led to the lobby of the theatre.
The Melba Theatre was closed on August 7, 1960 with Richard Egan in “A Summer Place” & Alan Ladd in “Guns of the Timberland”. When the theatre was torn down, the office building remained. The marquee from the Melba Theatre was moved to the Melba Theatre in DeSoto, Missouri, another theatre acquired by the Wehrenberg chain.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
The Melba and most of the theatres that bore that name were named after the very popular singer of the ealy 1900’s, Nellie Melba.
She is also famous for the other 2 things named after her, Melba Toast and Peachm Melba.
JamesGrebe pianoman@accessu.net
Could someone please tell me the name and maker of the dishes handed out on “dish night” in the 1940’s/50’s. My family all grew up in St. Louis and that was an every Saturday night thing for them. I am trying to find the name so I may be able to start a collection of them. Thank you for any information.
Michele
The Melba opened on December 1, 1917 with a grand opening with “Their Compact”. Architect Arnold Tuchschmidt drawings on behalf of the firm, Maritz & Henderson of St. Louis from 1917 are in photos. Architect George Sokol created a 14-store arcade and multipurpose building that augmented the 8-year old Melba Theatre with a new entry and sign. Its new entry was in the center of the Grand View Arcade Building in 1925.
On September 1, 1929, the Melba installed Vitaphone sound to intersperse silent and talking pictures along with its live stage shows. On April 14, 1954, the theater installed a new curved widescreen to present CinemaScope titles. The Melba ended with a grind policy of second run double-features on August 7, 1960 with “A Summer Place” and “Guns of Timberland”. The fire-damaged theatre was demolished in 1964 in favor of an apartment building that can be seen on Miami Street directly behind the arcade. The Grand View Arcade containing the entryway to the Melba’s former lobby and auditorium was being refurbished in the mid-2020s.