Beyer Theatre
208 S. Thompson Avenue,
Excelsior Springs,
MO
64024
208 S. Thompson Avenue,
Excelsior Springs,
MO
64024
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The Beyer Theatre opened in 1924 seating 1,000. It was the typical small town theatre located along the main business district. By 1941 it was operated by Fox Midwest Amusement Corp. It has been closed since 1956. It was one of three theatres located in town. The other two were the Siloam Theatre and the Wood Theatre.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
An Excelsior Springs house called the Beyer Theatre was mentioned in the February 2, 1924, issue of The Reel Journal. Its new manager, John Judd, had previously been associated with the Orpheum Theatre, also in Excelsior Springs.
This web page has three ads from the theater’s early days, and says that in 1924 it was called Byer’s Casino Theater.
The Casino was apparently a different theater from the Beyer. An NRHP form has a paragraph about an Excelsior Springs businessman named R. B. Christian, who was “…the owner/operator of the Casino and the Beyer Theaters.”
Here’s a web page with ads for the Casino Theatre.
The “Orpheum” mentioned in the 1924 Reel Journal item was probably the Orpheus Theatre in this ad.
The Wurlitzer factory records show a pipe organ Style B “Special” (meaning a customized design) 2 manuals, 6 ranks sold to the Beyer Theatre, Excelsior Springs MO in May 1926.
Joe, that fits nicely with the 1926 ad you posted that says “always the best music” especially since the price of a Wurlitzer was often double the cost of some of the other organ builders, and therefor something of an extravagance for a small theatre, feasible only because of the cache of the Wurlitzer name.
Chuck – on your description at the head of the page it says the Beyer opened in 1942. Is that correct or should it read 1924?
I’m not Chuck but it should be 1924. I think he transposed the numbers.
He’s also misspelled Siloam. Anyhow, this theater must have been at 208 S Thompson. It’s now a parking lot.