Liberty Theatre

Ernie Jones wanted to run a movie theatre in downtown Boggs. The one problem - lack of a modern electrical service that would power such an operation. Jones solved this by housing a 12.5 horsepower steam engine at the rear of an existing retail building and creating the Grand Theatre opening on December 17, 1910.

The theatre’s policy at its end was African-American patron shows on Monday and Wednesday and White patrons on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Closed on the Sabbath. He switched power service to the modern electrical type but said that the service was not predictable enough when he closed up on April 11, 1917.

The theatre appears to have reopened in the same spot as the patriotically-named Liberty Theatre on July 7, 1917 with the Bluebird film, “Shoes” directed by Lois Weber and starring Mary MacLaren. When the new-build Empress Theatre launched on August 9, 1919, the Liberty Theatre began to struggle. The Liberty Theatre closed with Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Four Horseman” on December 8, 1922. It was converted into a restaurant for Sallie Smith - it was said to be “first class”.

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