Lincoln Theatre
912 Court Avenue,
Chariton,
IA
50049
912 Court Avenue,
Chariton,
IA
50049
No one has favorited this theater yet
Showing 4 comments
I haven’t found anything saying the Grand and Temple were originally in the same building, but there’s nothing saying they weren’t either. I had the impression they were simply rivals that merged, consolidating their business in the better theater’s location.
It might be that the Grand was at 108 Grand, shut down around November, 1917 (perhaps losing a lease) and Mr. Combs' Iris opened in the Grand’s location about the time the Grand’s owners merged their operation with the Temple’s. The news of the merger and of the opening of Mr. Combs' house appeared in the same issue of MPW, December 1, 1917.
As the earliest mention of the Strand I’ve seen is from 1925, there was plenty of time for the Iris to come and go at that location without leaving a ripple. The absence of the Grand from the 1914 directory doesn’t seem a major problem, either. The place might have opened, closed and then reopened more than once during that time. Early theaters often had very short life spans. Plus the directory might simply have missed it.
By the way, thanks for firming up the dates. Hopefully Ken will update the listing.
So were the Grand and the Temple in the same building? The NRHP listing for downtown says that the theater at 108 N Grand was the Grand. I had discounted that, because the 1914-15 directory only lists the Temple. There was a later Strand, and an even later State, which I assumed was there.
The July 3, 1909 issue of The Show World said that vaudevillian Lee J. Kellam would be performing at the Temple Theatre in Chariton, Iowa July 5-10.
The December 1, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World had this item: “Chariton, Ia.—The Grand and Temple theaters are to be consolidated and will be renamed the Lincoln theater. Mrs. Victorin Dewey and Becker and Bowen will have the joint ownership of the theater.”