YIANNIAS, Nickas J.

YIANNIAS, Nickas J. (Dubuque, IA, Aug. 15, 1923--Dubuque, IA, May 11, 2018). Nick was born to Stella (Poulos) and James N. YIANNIAS His college education was interrupted when he volunteered for enlistment in the U.S. Navy in 1943 with initial assignment to the V-12 college training program at the UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE. He was then ordered to the Columbia University (N.Y.) Midshipman School and then to Harvard University for specialized training in communication and cryptology. (1)

Nick’s active duty assignments were: Staff Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor; Staff, Amphibious Group 13 (tasked to conduct the proposed initial attack on mainland Japan; Staff, Commander Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet (Korea). Upon his discharge from the Navy in 1946, he briefly returned to civilian life until his recall by the Navy due to his critical skills as a cryptographer for the KOREAN CONFLICT. In addition to his basic staff assignment, Nick was a cryptographer/courier to the Korea Allied Armistice negotiations in Panmijon, North Korea. (2)

After a long-distance courtship he married Christine Kerasotes in Springfield, Illinois, on January 10, 1951 at St. Paul Church. They resided in Coronado, California upon his discharge from the Navy until returning to Dubuque. (3)

Yiannias entered the theater business after being hired by Mary Bradley Chalmers, the daughter of William L. BRADLEY, Jr, to manage the GRAND OPERA HOUSE. (4) In 1953 he introduced CinemaScope at the Grand. This new film process used "anamorphic" lenses allowing a 35 mm. camera to "reach out to each side as the eye does and compress a wide angle scene on a narrow strip of film." When the image was projected through this lens, costing $3,000,--attached to the theater projection machine it was spread horizontally to its original proportions. The Grand had a new screen stretching across the entire stage and new sound equipment installed. (5)

In 1964 Nick and his father James organized the Dubuque Theater Corporation which constructed the SUPER 20 DRIVE-IN on Kennedy Road. When KENNEDY MALL opened, he relocated the drive-in west of town and renamed it Super 20 Twin. Nick built Cinema Center 8, the first multi-screen theater complex in Iowa in 1968 and operated it for many years and also owned the DUBUQUE DRIVE-IN. (6) Until 1988 his Dubuque Theater Corporation operated the Cinema Center Theaters.

In 1960 he founded Key City Investment Company, a private real estate investment firm that pioneered the opening of the Kennedy Road area for commercial businesses. He was a founder of the West Side Business and Professional Association. (7)

Yiannias was co-founder of ST. ELIAS THE PROPHET GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH, its first treasurer, president and a parish council member many times; the Archdiocesan Council of Trustees for the Greek Orthodox Church of the Americas, Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the seat of World Orthodox Christianity; he was also a member of Leadership 100, the philanthropic arm of the National Church. Among his many civic activities he was past chairman of FINLEY HOSPITAL (THE) and trustee of Finley Foundation, Life Member of the University of Dubuque Board of Trustees, VNA Foundation, DUBUQUE MUSEUM OF ART, Motion Picture Pioneers and Variety Club. He was a board member of FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF DUBUQUE, DUBUQUE VISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION and was the past chairman of the Five Flags executive committee that built the Five Flags Convention Center. (8)

Yiannias was awarded the State of Iowa Governor’s Leadership Award for Community Betterment by Governor Ray in 1978 for contributions made to the Dubuque, Iowa Community Betterment Program project that promoted the city through the making of the motion picture F.I.S.T.; the University of Dubuque Distinguished Veterans' Award for Distinguished Service for our country; and the Dubuque JAYCEES Gil Chavenelle Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his service as a past president of the DUBUQUE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. He was an inductee into the Finley Hall of Fame. (9)

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Source:

1. "Nickas J. Yiannias," Hoffman-Schneider Funeral Home. Online: http://www.hoffmannschneiderfuneralhomes.com/obituary/nickas-yiannias

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Diane Chalmers, e-mail, February 2, 2018

5. "Grand Gets CinemaScope Lenses," The Telegraph-Herald, October 25, 1953, p. 9

6. Japsen, Bruce. "Dubuque Drive-In Bows Out," Telegraph Herald, June 1, 1988, p. 3

6. "Nickas J. Yiannis..."

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.