Kiel Theatre

Joe Vogel on September 25, 2024 at 3:45 pm

The most succinct history of this theater I’ve found is this post from the Kiel Area Historical Society’s Facebook page. It says that Keil’s original Pastime Theatre operated at 501 Fremont Street from 1912 to 1917, when it was replaced by the second Pastime at 510 Fremont. The new theater operated as the Pastime until 1939, when it was renamed the Kiel Theatre. The Kiel Theatre closed in 1961 and the building was converted for use as an automobile showroom the following year. It has since been converted for ordinary retail purposes, though on the most recent Google street view car’s pass (August, 2024) it appeared to be vacant.

There are several photos of the 1917 house on the Internet. It featured a triumphal arch façade, perhaps the single most popular style for small, purpose-built movie theaters in the U.S. during the period leading up to the First World War. The building is still recognizable today despite a few unfortunate alterations. An August 28, 1927 Film Daily item said that a $7,000 organ had just been installed in the Pastime, an expense the owners most likely soon regretted when it became apparent that talking pictures were here to stay.