Chief Theatre
200 N. Penn Avenue,
Oberlin,
KS
67749
200 N. Penn Avenue,
Oberlin,
KS
67749
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Opera House
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This large theater was constructed as an opera house opening as the Opera House on December 31, 1906 with a performance of “The Mikado”. The building was a hulking three story brick structure, stylistically similar to armories or industrial buildings of the period.
It appears movies were a late arrival. Oberlin is not listed in the 1914-15 AMPD, and early Yearbooks list only the Legion Theatre, a smaller theatre likely in an American Legion building.
The Opera House began screening movies in 1928 and first appears in the 1931 Yearbook, with 490 seats. It was apparently remodeled in 1938, and renamed the Chief Theatre, with a reduced capacity of 400. The theatre seems to have remained operational until the last week of September 1973, when the roof collapsed. It was presumably torn down shortly thereafter.
Until at least 2008, this location was a vacant lot, but the Sunflower Recreation Center, which contains the eponymous cinema, has now expanded to cover the lot.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
KHRI entry here: https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=039-4100-00004
Oberlin Opera House is listed in the 1907-1908 Cahn guide as a ground floor house with 797 seats. It had a good sized stage for a small town theater, too, 29 feet to the back wall and 54 feet between side walls.
I just found this PDF (one page) with a 2010 Oberlin Herald article about the Opera House, which it says opened on December 31, 1906 with a performance of “The Mikado.” In March, 1928, the Opera House became the first theater west of Salina to present talking pictures. The Chief Theatre operated until the last weekend of September, 1973, when a major rainstorm caused the roof to collapse. It was subsequently demolished.