Fairy Theatre & Airdrome
5640 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive,
St. Louis,
MO
63115
5640 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive,
St. Louis,
MO
63115
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The Fairy Theatre opened on Easton Avenue around 1909 or 1910. It was located on the outskirts of the busy Wellston Loop shopping center just four buildings east of the Victory Theatre. The theatre was not as elaborate as either the Victory Theatre or the Wellson Theatre but was built with a light Moorish style.
One unique item of the Fairy Theatre is that is had a box office located on each side of the building. When there were large crowds the box office on the west side was opened so that the lines would stretch in front of the Victory Theatre just four doors down causing havoc with the patrons trying to get in the Victory Theatre.
The theatre had a small balcony of 202 seats and the remaing on the main level. There were four columns on the east and west walls of the auditorium with lighting down the columns from the ceiling. Most of the color inside the theatre was a deep red and brown. The theatre closed August 26, 1951. It has operated as an auto repair shop for many years.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
The description for the Fairy co-mingles data from the Victory and suggests that both theaters were within doors of each other. They actually were three blocks apart and on opposite sides of the street. The Fairy st 5640 Easton Ave. was a non-descript Komm house which changed double bills three times weekly. At sundown in the summer months, patrons would file next door to the Fairy Airdome where the show would continue. Our family home was nearby, and we patronized the Fairy for 20 years. The Victory (aka Mikado)was at 5955 Easton Ave. in the busy Wellston Loop shopping district. A distinct feature of the theater were twin box offices. As a teenager I had a part-time job across the street at a mens clothing store. I never recalled more than one box office open at a time.
Ralgev
The building permit for the structure was issued in September 1909, suggesting a late 1909 or early 1910 opening. Architect listed on the permit was W. P. Mounts.
Operators over the years did not include the Komm interests.
Listed seating capacity ranges from 650 to 770.
Theatre ceased operation in 1951.
The adjacent airdome had a listed capacity of 798.
Actually, the Fairy was about a 10-block walk from the Victory Theatre in Wellston. The street numbers are misleading because a new set didn’t begin with each block. The blocks were short. The theaters in Wellston were considered big-league, the Fairy just a neighborhood place. The Airdome, when I saw “The Perils of Pauline” there, was actually folding chairs in the back yard. People living in adjacent flats watched the show from their porches. Free. You could watch the film inside or outside, or go back and forth, as the projectors were coordinated. I don’t think 800 people could have been accommodated outdoors; maybe more like 80. And there was no “airdome;” it was just a back yard. Maybe there was something more ambitious earlier in the game; I was there in the late 1940s. The neighborhood was already coming apart, alas.
It’s listed as demolished, but that auto shop sure looks like the same building.
The 41-year old Fairy Theatre & Airdrome closed on August 26, 1951 after showings of “Rawhide” and “I’d Climb the Highest Mountain.” The next two ads were “Closed for Repairs” and “Building for Sale.” Less than a year later, it became a garage. (The technically correct name is the Fairy Theatre & Airdrome.)