Queen Theatre

The Queen Theatre was one of Battle Creek’s first nickelodeons.It was located in a converted retail space in a 19th Century structure. The structure had once home Salisbury Brothers retail store in the 1860’s, followed by Wakelee & Griswold’s, The Hub, and DuBois Hardware. Located in Battle Creek’s “Hotel Row” with high foot traffic, it was a perfect spot for a new nickelodeon… or two. And on June 1, 1907, the 14 E. Main Street building was home to a nickelodeon, the Queen City Theatre led by H.B. Knapp. Within a week he opened the Vaudette Theatre on June 7, 1907 at 38 E. Main Street.

Local theatre magnate Glenn A. Cross took over the Queen City Theatre shortening it to the Queen Theatre. He also served double duty with as the baritone vocalist in illustrated songs between short films and often played the piano accompaniment to the silent films. Cross then purchased the Vaudette Theatre turned Dreamland Theatre and moved on from the Queen Theatre.

Two operators steered the venue to closure. The Cosmopolitan Pool and Billiard Hall shared the building with the Queen Theatre. But both got the boot in March of 1915 as the 50-year old building was going to be demolished. The Queen Theatre was abdicated on March 7, 1915 and went into retail use.

Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.