Academy Theatre
314 Locust Street,
Sterling,
IL
61081
314 Locust Street,
Sterling,
IL
61081
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The Academy Theatre was located on the first floor of the Academy of Music building, built in the early 1880’s. The Academy Theatre opened in the mid to late-1910’s. It was a silent movie theatre until it closed in 1927.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
The Academy took its name from its location in the Academy of Music Building, alternately known as the Galt & Tracy Block, or the George S. Tracy Block. This was built sometime before 1884, and had an opera house on the second and third floor. The theater was definitely operating by 1916, when the map shows a one story addition at the rear of the space (this is now gone). In 1910, the space was a drugstore.
The building has been given a rather unsympathetic remodel (a Sterling specialty), and the entire thing is now a furniture store. 314 was originally the southernmost of six storefronts.
The Academy was not in the opera house space, it was in the ground floor. The opera house seems to have still been in use in 1916, possibly only for live performances.
Added a photo of the building today, and a Sanborn showing the arrangement when the theater was open.