Zala Theatre
Madrid,
NE
69150
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Additional Info
Previous Names: American Theatre
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No theaters found within 30 miles
The American Theatre was opened on October 31, 1919. It began lide as a live theatre, but movies soon came along. It was renovated in 1933 when the seating capacity was increased to 300. In 1940 it was remodeled in a Streamline-Moderne style and it reopened as the Zala Theatre/ The Zola (miss-print) Theatre was listed in the 1943 edition of Film Daily Yearbook with 250-seats. The 1950 edition of FDY lists the Zala Theatre with 160-seats. On January 23, 1954, Motion Picture Herald reported, “Mrs. Otto Weddenfeld has bought the Zala Theatre, Madrid, Neb., from the E. J. Tuey estate”. It was closed in summer of 1956.
Contributed by
Michael Kilgore
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Motion Picture Herald: June 9, 1956: “Closings in the recent months in the Denver territory … are the Zala, Madrid, Neb.; Otis, Otis, Colo.; and the Gem, Culbertson, Colo.”
The American Theatre in Madrid launched October 31, 1919 as the replacement for its opera house. The venue opened with a live play. The theatre would find its audience with motion pictures and converted to sound to stay viable. Seating was purportedly increased to 300 during a 1933 renovation.
The American got a streamline makeover in 1940 along with its new name and neon sign, the Zala Theatre. It was stated that the name was selected in honor of an Indian tribe and its name was translated to “an evening of rest and amusement.” There isn’t much information to factually link the claim to the name but the miniker stuck for more than 15 years. The Zala closed in 1956 and the town’s citizenry had to drive to nearby Grant for films until the theater closed there in 1962. Then they had to drive further to Ogallala if they were to have a cinematic evening of rest and amusement.