Bijou Theatre
318 N. Main Street,
Charles City,
IA
50616
318 N. Main Street,
Charles City,
IA
50616
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This ‘Moving Picture Show’ appears on the May 1909 Sanborn, in what appears to be a remodel of a two story brick commercial building dating to sometime between 1892 and 1897. The 1902 map shows this space as a furniture store.
It seems that the front of the street level facade was set back to create a sheltered space for a ticket window. This early attempt at a theatre was not a success, and the 1915 map shows cigars & billiards here.
It’s possible this block was damaged in the 1968 tornado, although the path appeared to be a few blocks to the rear of these buildings. At any rate, this block is now a dreary collection of small nondescript modern buildings.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
The October 30, 1908 issue of Moving Picture World has a brief item that might or might not be about this house: “… Charles City, Ia.-A. C. Tingerich and Oren Masters have sold their little playhouse, the Bijou, to J. A. Farrell, who has appointed A. T. Prescott to manage same.” I haven’t found any later references to the Bijou, or Messers Tingerich or Masters. Other J. A. Farrells referenced appear to be different guys, with no connections to Charles City. The only theaters listed at Charles City in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory are called the Gem and the Lyric.
Sounds likely.