Princess Theatre
2841 Pestalozzi Street,
St. Louis,
MO
63118
2841 Pestalozzi Street,
St. Louis,
MO
63118
No one has favorited this theater yet
Additional Info
Previous Names: Pestalozzi Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Princess was located on Pestalozzi just west of the main street of Gravois. This was the first indoor theatre to have a airdome attached to its side. In the summer when it was warm the movies would switch to the outside and you would view them from benches set up soutside.
The theatre was never operated by a chain, it was always an independent. It opened as the Pestalozzi Theatre in 1916 and seated 593. It mostly played the movies second and third run. With the coming of television this was one of the first theatres to close, and this happened in 1951. The building still remains and is some kind of siding company.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
This was the first airdome and the projection booth for the airdome is still in the lot next to the building. My parents went there when they were young
JamesGrebe
Just a few notes about the Princess Theatre, when I was a young girl
my Mother and Father took me to this Theatre..We didn’t live to far
from the Princess…But better still, I remember in the Summer time
after the first movie, we moved outside to watch another film..
But, the main reason for this comment is that my Dad was a fireman
in The St. Louis Fire Dept, and on his day’s off he would work on
the seats, both inside and outside..I can remember them giving out
dishes and selling war bonds when you attended the movies..So, I
think maybe Dad was given some passes to the movies..so Mom and I
would go quite often to the Princess. Many fond memories of the
Princess Theatre in her hayday…Mrs. Cecelia Borchers (Witt)
What did he do to work on the seats?
James
He repaired the wooden seats and whatever had to be done on the
seats inside…
The seats were probably the laminated variety and the veneer would peel off.
James
Theatre opened in 1916 as the Pestalozzi Theatre with 577 seats. It was renamed the Princess in 1930. Theatre closed in 1951.
I am pretty sure the Princess has the only remaining projection booth for its airdome left in St. Louis.
James Grebe
Interesting to read about…. My son has recently purchased the property, and the old booth building, while in desperate need of tuckpointing, is still in pretty good condition, considering. I will take, and post, photo’s next time I am over there.
I know of one other Princess Theater in St. Louis operating at the same time, the theater of many names – Princess, Rialto, Shubert, American, Loew’s Mid-City, Campus, Sun Mid-City, on Grand near Olive.
The Princess on Grand changed its name to Players in 1916. The Pestalozzi did not change to the Princess until almost 15 years later.