Wabash Theatre

165 E. North Street,
Grayville, IL 62844

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Turner-Farrar Theaters

Styles: Streamline Moderne

Nearby Theaters

Wabash Theatre

The Wabash Theatre was built in 1948, and opened on July 28, 1949, replacing the Premier Theatre, which had been destroyed in a blaze the previous year. The Wabash Theatre continued to operate through the 1960’s, but closed due to declining attendance.

It was acquired by the Grayville Community Arts Association (GCAA) in 1975, which was founded the previous year. The Wabash Theatre has been renovated since, and the theatre has been restored to its 1940’s appearance. It was last used as a live theatre, but had closed by 2016.

Contributed by Bryan Krefft

Recent comments (view all 5 comments)

JamesGrebe
JamesGrebe on June 10, 2005 at 12:39 am

The Wabash has a neat old style ticket booth inside the lobby as well as the old time popcorn machine. It seat 480 people.
James Grebe

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on December 17, 2006 at 2:23 pm

Here is an article about the Premier fire. It can be added if anyone has the time:
http://www.ourgrayville.com/Premier.htm

Trolleyguy
Trolleyguy on May 18, 2016 at 8:55 am

Status should be closed. No activity on their Facebook page or elsewhere on the web. The Go Fund Me page has not received any donations since 2015.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on May 18, 2016 at 10:00 am

Here is a reminiscence about the Wabash Theatre written by former projectionist W.F. Werzner. The theater is presumably still intact and usable, as it was the venue for a variety and talent show, part of the annual Grayville Days event, as recently as September 3 last year, and for a town-wide church service the following Sunday.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on July 18, 2018 at 7:03 pm

Its grand opening was July 28, 1949 with Mayor Ed Williams on hand to help launch the $100,000 venue.

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