Dreamland Theatre

The Dreamland Theatre first opened in 1907 at 121 N. Phillips Avenue. It was operated by James V. Bryson. There was a lease dispute and before August 1908 he moved the theatre operation to a smaller building at 203 N. Phillips Avenue. This small theatre appears on the 1908 Sanborn, located in a little two-story stone building with a brick front. This was very old, dating to before 1883, and was one of the first substantial structures on what was then a fairly sparse block of mostly small wooden shops.

The 1902 map shows a grocery located here. This theatre was likely a very basic conversion to cash in on the movie craze, and it had a very brief existence, with the 1911 map showing the building used as a saloon. The Dreamland Theatre was closed on June 20, 1911 when the film stock caught fire which put the theatre out of business.

‘Urban Renewal’ hit the area north of 10th Street very hard, and most blocks are a wasteland of surface parking leavened with the worst offerings of 1970’s architects. This block is no exception, and the location is now a parking lot for the Holiday Inn, the only building on the entire block.

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