Theatre
1012 2nd Street,
Perry,
IA
50220
1012 2nd Street,
Perry,
IA
50220
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This early theatre appears on the 1911 Sanborn in the ground floor of the Odd Fellows building, a three story brick structure constructed in 1895. The 1900 map shows a hardware store here.
This was likely a quick storefront conversion to try to cash in on the movie craze, and it did not last. The 1918 map shows a general store in this location.
The building is in good shape, although the storefront is a very poor remodel. It had been a comic store for many years, but appears to be vacant.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
If it was still around in 1914, this house might have been the Rex, the only theater listed at Perry without an address in the AMPD. The other two theaters listed, the Lyric and the Majestic, both had 2nd Street addresses.
The February 8, 1908 issue of Moving Picture World has this item: “Perry, Iowa, Jan. 23. — The Orpheum Moving Picture Theater is the name of a new amusement house that has been opened up in Perry by Dallas Center men. Worth Jenkins and Web Cramer are the proprietors. It is located in the Wimmer Building, west of the library.” I found one reference to the Wimmer Building being on 2nd Street, but the MPW item says it was west of the library, which would have given it a Willis Avenue address. Of course Mr. Wimmer might have had his name on more than one building at various times.
Okay, this wasn’t the Rex. I just saw the entry for the Dallas Theatre, a later aka for the Rex. As Emily Litella used to say, never mind.