Park Theatre
119 S. Center Street,
La Harpe,
IL
61450
119 S. Center Street,
La Harpe,
IL
61450
No one has favorited this theater yet
Additional Info
Previous Names: Photoplay Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Photoplay Theatre opened on August 15, 1911 and first appears on the Sanborn maps in 1912, in the ground floor of the Odd Fellows lodge, a large and solid three-story brick building from 1896. The 1906 map shows the ground floor as vacant.
In 1919 it was renamed Park Theatre and remains in operation on the 1926 map, but probably closed around 1930, when the Princess Theatre was opened.
The building in 2023 is derelict, and with the collapse of the neighboring Masonic lodge, it stood alone, and had been demolished by 2024.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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 6 comments)
This was possibly the Photoplay or Silver Cloud, based on information from Ken Roe.
I found a reference in the October, 1922 Hancock County Farm Bureau Bulletin to a Park Theatre at LaHarpe, possibly a later name of this house.
First - the name of the town is “La Harpe” named after Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe (not LaHarpe). A.C. Hatcher launched The New Electric Theatre here on February 27, 1911. It was the town’s second photoplay house after the short-lived Silver Cloud Theatre. There were ventilation issues at these venues as the town had an Airdome until the Park Theatre opened in 1919 elsewhere in town (see Amus-U if interested).
So Hatcher then moved to the larger Frank H. Leavitt Building on the East Side of the La Harpe Downtown Square. There he opened Hatcher’s Photoplay Theatre opening August 15, 1911 on A Street. So this listing would only be The New Electric Theatre from February, 27, 1911 to June of 1912.
You say in the other listing that the Park opened in the Odd Fellows building, which is obviously this one.
Going through all the information, it seems this was the Photoplay, which opened August 15, 1911, was renamed the Park in 1919, and may have closed in 1930.
Also, A St is the west side of the square, Center is the east. There was never anything on A besides houses, except one hotel. Additionally, this should now be changed to demolished, since the building has vanished on the most recent streetview.