Garden Theatre
108 W. 3rd Street,
Kewanee,
IL
61443
108 W. 3rd Street,
Kewanee,
IL
61443
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Tabard Theatre, Dreamland Theatre (3)
Nearby Theaters
This theater first appears on the 1918 Sanborn, in a 2-story brick commercial building. Although it was of nearly identical dimensions to its neighbors east and west, it may have been purpose-built. At any rate, this was an empty lot in 1910. The theater opened March 24, 1912. Originally known as the Tabard Theatre, it was renamed to the Dreamland Theatre (the third location for that name) on January 29, 1914. During this time, it was owned by Chris Taylor, and a Mr. Beard.
Under new owner John Rood, the theater was renamed again to the Garden Theatre in January 1919. He soon sold it on to Harold Eckenfelder. It closed in May 1921, and the building was converted to retail.
No later maps are available online. This structure was demolished sometime after about 1970, as Kewanee’s downtown became increasingly shabby. The location is now a parking lot, but this would have been the second door east of the alley (which is still visible on the south side of the street).
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
If the statement on the listing for the Dreamland about it moving around the corner is correct, this would have been the new location, although the original Dreamland location stayed in operation as well.
This theater may appear in a photo on the Illinois HARGIS site, for listing number 118663. The site is pretty hard to use, but some clicking will get you to a photo, likely from the early ‘70s, before this corner became so depressingly ugly. The building on the far right is either the theater, or it’s the ice cream parlor, and the theater is just out of frame. At any rate, this building was lost much later, during Kewanee’s sharp decline postwar.
Jeeze, far left I mean. I swear I do know the difference.
Chris Taylor opened the New Dreamland / Dreamland (“#2”) elsewhere in 1912, as well as Dreamland #1 in 1907 in the Hotel Main. Here, in the Gould Building, Taylor and business associate Mr. Beard, had their names fused together - as explained by naming contest winner Wilnia Bowman - to create the 312-seat Tabard Theatre launching March 24, 1912. Ernest Lindbeck was the first person to actually purchase a ticket that day as Bowman’s money was a guest of the theater’s. The projection booth was built in steel and concrete to protect against a spreading fire.
Even though its pronunciation was also explained, nobody knew how to properly pronounce it. So Taylor went for the hat trick on January 29, 1914 renaming here as the Dreamland (“#3”) with “The Adventures of Kathlyn.” The theatre lists regular shows until October 13, 1918’s showing of Marion Davies first starring role in “Runaway Roman.” It then played sporadic shows likely to complete booking engagements in December.
John Rood took on the venue in January of 1919 hanging vines and using lots of artificial flowers in the renaming of the building as the Garden Theatre. It was advertised as “The Small House with the Big Show.” Rood sold out to Harold Eckenfelder of Peru, Illinois - a road show film operator who had two Simplex projectors he took to small towns and villages in the area. The Garden operated until May of 1921 when it closed permanently. The former Tabard / Dreamland / Garden was torn out for a barber shop and a retail store in 1921 and 1922.
Thanks for the history! I have updated the listing.