Granada Theatre

Tour of Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas Theatres in 2004
From June 26 through July 1, 2004 the Theatre Historical Society of America will tour a number of theatres in Kansas City Missouri and surrounding areas, including theatres in Lamar, Joplin, Richmond, St. Joseph and Springfield, MO, as well as Miami, OK, and these cities in Kansas: Leavenworth, Kansas City, Emporia, El Dorado, Augusta, Wichita, Hutchinson, McPherson, Salina, Concordia, and Topeka. More information is contained on their web site: http://www.HistoricTheatres.org and special photos and information concerning the Kansas City theatres: UPTOWN and the MIDLAND is available on this temporary page of their site at: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~angell/thsa/fromarch.html A glossy brochure about this “Heart of America” Conclave is available from the Society’s headquarters listed on their homepage, via E-mail to the Ex. Director, or via snail mail. Membership in the Society is not required to attend the Conclave and tour the theatres, but fees do apply as detailed on their site. Bring your camera and lots of film, for it is usually difficult or impossible to enter these theatres for photos, and some of them will surely not be with us in the years to come.

My wife and I visited the Granada this summer. There was still a tremendous amount of work to be accomplished on the Granada. Most of the interior was in rough condition when we visited. One could see the remnants of the Grananda’s past glory. It reminds us of the Poncan Theater in Ponca City, OK. We hope this theater rises again.

This article from the Great Bend Daily Tribune is dated 1/1/59:

EMPORIA, Kan (AP) â€" Fire gutted the Granada Theater in downtown Emporia today about an hour after a late New Year’s Eve picture had ended. There was no one in the theater at the time. Firemen fought the blaze for more than an hour and a half before bringing it under control. Only the walls of the concrete and steel building remained intact. E.D. Dorrie, manager of the theater, said the inside of the building was a total loss. He did not estimate the damage in dollars.

The first alarm was sounded about 2 a.m,, some 40 minutes after the theater had been cleared of employees and patrons. Firemen prevented the flames from spreading to adjoining buildings. Cause of the fire was not known. It started near the stage and quickly spread throughout the building.