Chief Theater

This large theater was constructed as an opera house sometime between 1904 and 1911. It appears to have simply been called the Opera House. 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 theater likely in an American Legion building.

The Opera House first appears in the 1931 Yearbook, with 490 seats. It was apparently remodeled in 1938, and renamed the Chief Theater, with a reduced capacity of 400. The theater seems to have remained operational until 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.

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