Circle Theatre
4472 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive,
St. Louis,
MO
63113
4472 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive,
St. Louis,
MO
63113
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Architects: W.P. McMahon
Functions: Church
Previous Names: Easton-Taylor Theatre, Easton Theatre
Nearby Theaters
One of many theatres that lined Easton Avenue. Built in 1910/1911 the Easton-Taylor Theatre was opened as a vaudeville theatre in 1912. By 1915 it was screening movies until September 1925. In 1926 it was renamed Easton Theatre and this continued until 1936 when the building was sold. The new owners gave it a Streamline Moderne style makeover and it reopened on September 19, 1936 as the Circle Theatre screening Robert Taylor in “Private Number” & Claire Trevor in “Human Cargo”. From 1943 until it closed in 1951, it operated as an African-American theatre.
For a neighborhood house it was elaborately decorated. It had a small balcony with colums along the staircase that led to the balcony. There were a lot of mirrors in the lobby with lush red draperies and trim.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
Original name was the EASTON-TAYLOR. Shortened to EASTON during the early-30s. Final name, CIRCLE, appeared in September 1936 when house began to be operated by the Kaimann chain.
Building permit issued in 1910. Capacity of the house was 580. Architect of record was W. P. McMahon.
In 1943 theatre became a Black-movie house.
House operated until December 1951, when the projectionists of Local 143-A went on strike at all Black-movie theatres. Strike was settled in a few weeks but Circle apparently didn’t reopen as no further ads appeared.
Here is an article on a robbery of a bank next door to the theatre on April 5, 1920. The robber hid in the theater from police and the Post Dispatch has a nice map of the theater layout drawn out.
http://kenzimmermanjr.com/easton-taylor-trust-robbery/
The Easton-Taylor Trust Building was built in in 1910 and 1911. It first housed the Easton-Taylor Hall used for a dance academy in 1911 and the Easton-Taylor Trust financial institution beginning July 8, 1911. The vaudeville theater appears to have opened in 1912 as the Easton Taylor Theater. By 1915, the Easton-Taylor is playing films under that name until September of 1925.
From 1926 to 1936, it becomes the Easton Theatre. In 1936, the Easton-Taylor Trust Building is sold outright. New lessee of the theater space, Henry Mabel, installed new projectors, sound, and a streamline moderne makeover. Mabel opened it refreshed as the Circle Theatre on Sep. 19, 1936 with “Private Number” and “Human Cargo.”