Chief Theatre
200 N. Penn Avenue,
Oberlin,
KS
67749
200 N. Penn Avenue,
Oberlin,
KS
67749
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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.
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.
KHRI entry here: https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=039-4100-00004