Electric Theater
612 Commercial Street,
Emporia,
KS
66801
612 Commercial Street,
Emporia,
KS
66801
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This item datelined Emporia, Kansas, from the July 11, 1914 issue of The American Contractor was probably about the Electric Theatre: “Picture Show (rem): 1 sty. $4M. Archt. H.W. Brinkman. Owner P.J. Concannon. Work just starting. Owner will buy materials & constr. by day labor. Painting, plastering, carp. work.” Henry William Brinkman established his architectural practice at Emporia in 1907 and remained active until 1948. He gained a reputation as one of the leading ecclesiastical architects in the region.
These lines about P. J. Concannon and the Electric Theatre appear in a history of Kansas published in 1918: “His chief business at Emporia has been the operation of moving picture theaters. At one time he owned three moving picture houses, but one was burned and the other he sold. He now devotes his time to the management of the Electric Theater at 612 Commercial Street. This is one of the best patronized houses in the city and has a seating capacity of 400. Mr. Concannon is state secretary of the Exhibitors League, an association of moving picture theater owners and operators.”
The Thursday, August 31, 1911, issue of The Emporia Weekly Gazette said that P. J. Concannon’s Electric Theatre had opened for the fall and winter season the previous Saturday, and that it had been redecorated over the summer. A thumbnail biography of Concannon published in 1918 said that he had come to Emporia in 1910. It doesn’t say if he began operating the theater that year, or if he was the original owner of the house.