Iris Theatre

The Iris Theatre opened its doors on July 15, 1938 with Wallace Berry in “The Bad Man of Brimstone” along with two Our Gang shorts (“Our Gang Follies Of 1938” and “Framing Youth”), with an original capacity of 300 seats. It is first operated by Mr. E.J. Gooder.

Unfortunately, the marquee wasn’t complete at the time of grand opening, but the interior including its wooden walls that were laid in a pattern of squares were complete on time. What’s unique about the Iris Theatre is that there are no ceiling lights, but they get their lights from walls. A foyer and ticket booth were built into the front featuring two sale windows, one from the sidewalk and the other from the foyer. The building materials were purchased from the Smith Lumber Company, with lobby carpeting done by the Riceville Furniture Company. All of its equipment of the theatre including screen, sound equipment, and projection equipment were all installed by the Des Moines Theatre Supply Company.

Throughout much of the late-1950’s, the Iris Theatre received ups-and-downs causing multiple closures. One of which is for an “indefinite” period on August 7, 1958 due to increasing costs according to then-managers Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Farus, which unfortunately became its final closure.

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