Crown Uptown Theatre
3207 E. Douglas Avenue,
Wichita,
KS
67218
3207 E. Douglas Avenue,
Wichita,
KS
67218
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On cusp of demolition, December 3 vote by city council will decide on allowing expansion but current owner reportedly will tear down if denied (paywalled story in today’s Wichita Eagle although the local KSN-TV website has a free November 21 2024 feature on the situation).
Grand opening ads at
and
Uptown Theatre opening 2 15 Jul 1928, Sun The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kansas) Newspapers.com
Grand opening ads posted.
The Uptown opened on July 16, 1928. The first movie was “The Jazz Singer”, starring Al Jolson.
Okay, May 15 1974 has All seats 50 cents for “EXECUTIVE ACTION” and “THE GETAWAY'.
Ted Morris the owner and founder of the Crown Uptown died December 30, 2008. It is truly a loss for the Wichita theater community.
http://www.kansas.com/news/story/648503.html
Another 1928 Boller Bros. atmospheric simular to the Uptown was the (1928-1952) Ritz Theatre in Oklahoma City, which was razed long ago.
The Crown Uptown is Wichita’s first atmospheric theater. The Orpheum Theatre on 200 N. Broadway is considered pre-atmospheric.
My wife and I recently visited this theatre. We happened to be in this area of Wichita and were lucky enough to be given a tour. The lobby, highlighted by impressive light fixtures and wooden columns, has been restored. Although it has been converted to dinner theatre and the seats removed to make way for tables, the auditorium is still quite beautiful. The overall feeling truly is one of being outside with a twinkling night sky overhead. The Crown Uptown is yet another example of a Boller Brothers masterpiece.
An issue of “Marquee” states theatre opened on 16 Jul 1928 and originally had 1464 seats.
Check out the link below for a very cool 360 Degree tour of the auditorium as it looks now after a beautiful restoration/renovation. Don’t forget to look up at the sky.
View link
This was one of the first Boller Brothers atmospheric theatres. The auditorium was to have the ambience of a Spanish/Moorish open-air courtyard. The Boller Brothers also used similar designs for the Granada in Kansas City, KS and the Poncan in Ponca City, OK among others.