Comet Theater
15 N. Main Street,
Albia,
IA
52351
15 N. Main Street,
Albia,
IA
52351
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The Comet Theater was opened in late-1909. This theater appears on the March 1913 Sanborn, in a large two-story concrete block building that was newly constructed, as it does not appear on the 1907 map. It was almost certainly built as a theater. There was a large balcony, and a stage was provided for live acts.
This theater is not listed in the 1914-15 American Motion Picture Directory, but the theater remains in operation on the 1922 map.
The Comet Theater had definitely closed by 1931, when this building was an auto dealership. The building today is in good shape. The facade is now brick, which must have been applied soon after the theater closed. The stage tower is long gone. The building is used as an antique store.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
There was an article stating that another theater, the Comet Theatre, from a 1922 article from the Albia Union saying that the Comet was located on North Main Street as well. The Comet operated from December 1909 until early 1923 and the Rex operated from early 1923 until 1927, and both theaters are in separate locations due to showtimes stating that both the Comet and the Rex were operating at the same time before the Comet’s closure.
That makes it sound like this was probably the Comet, and the theater to the south was the Rex. The brick facade that was put up to convert it to a dealership is rather indeterminate in style, but certainly could be from 1923-ish.
There is a problem with the dates. If the Rex was the demolished theater to the south, it was open by Nov. 1922 at the latest. It’s still listed as open in the 1929 guide, but that could be wrong.
This link may help you. Besides, I used it for other theaters across Iowa.
The Comet was owned or at least run by J.E. Benton. The theater was closed to allow the post office to move to this building from the A. E. Noble building west of the square (and across from the current PO). It’s not clear when exactly that took place, but the post office would probably have stayed here until the present building was constructed in 1931. The brick facade may have been installed to convert it to a post office, and it was certainly in place by 1933.
A cryptic reference is made to Benton staying in the theater business in Albia for some time, possibly reopening the Scenic (which I will add). He moved on to Des Moines eventually.
Some further notes: The NRHP listing for the building that held the Scenic indicates that the Comet building may have been known as the Alex Long building, but that may have been how it was known in 1959 when the local history was written up. If it did indeed open in 1909, Benton was still operating the Scenic, and cannot have been the first owner.
There’s another short-lived theater in Albia called the Lyric Theatre, which opened in the Spring of 1913 with both movies and live vaudeville, featuring a radium gold drapery in the auditorium. The Lyric closed in 1916.
It’s possible, but unlikely given the dates, that the Lyric may have been in either the old or new Odd Fellows buildings. Benton apparently had some arrangement to show films in an Odd Fellows building, but it wasn’t clear which. I assume that would have been before he opened the Scenic, which was sometime by 1913 at the latest. The Lyric may also have been the small theater on S. Main. The chronology works there, since it’s on the late 1913 map, and gone by 1922.
The Comet was apparently open by 1909. This item is from the September, 1911 issue of Motography: “A deal has been consummated whereby Alex Long has come into possession of the Comet theater of Albia, the leading moving picture theater in that part of the state. For the past two years the house has been conducted by the Comet Amusement Company, Red Oak. The Comet has the reputation of being first class in every way, and the new owners will maintain the same high standard.”
The Comet was also mentioned in the December 25, 1915 Moving Picture World which said that a 17-piece Orchestrion had been installed in the house. Large orchestrions were fairly costly devices, so the Comet must have still been quite prosperous at that time.
A 1909 opening for the Comet is confirmed by an item from the January 1, 1910 issue of The Nickelodeon: “ALBIA, IOWA.-The Comet theater, a new vaudeville and picture house, has been opened here under the management of Mr. Struber, who is also interested in a similar enterprise in Oskaloosa and other places.”