Encyclopedia Dubuque
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PRINCESS THEATRE: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:princesstheater.png|left|thumb|250px|]]PRINCESS THEATRE. Once popular entertainment center adjacent to the Federal Bank Building (now [[AMERICAN TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK]] in [[TOWN CLOCK PLAZA]]). Constructed in 1908 on the site of the | [[Image:princesstheater.png|left|thumb|250px|]]PRINCESS THEATRE. Once popular entertainment center adjacent to the Federal Bank Building (now [[AMERICAN TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK]] in [[TOWN CLOCK PLAZA]]). Constructed in 1908 on the site of the [[CAVE CIGAR STORE]] and Clay's Barber Shop, the Princess Theater ended what one skeptic called a legacy of "paper theaters," ones that never went beyond the stage of blueprints. | ||
The 1913 ''Dubuque and Dubuque County Directory'' stated that this business was located at 871 Main. Built to specifications of [[BRADLEY, William L. Sr.|William L. BRADLEY, Sr.]], the Princess was heralded as employing the most modern theater design. [[CARKEEK, Thomas|Thomas CARKEEK]], the architect, planned for a building that could be used to host a variety of entertainments ranging from vaudeville to picture shows. The two-story building was planned with state-of-the-art fireproofing, a maximum-sized stage and seating capacity for three hundred. The cost of construction using marble, cement, steel and terra cotta was estimated to be $30,000. | The 1913 ''Dubuque and Dubuque County Directory'' stated that this business was located at 871 Main. Built to specifications of [[BRADLEY, William L. Sr.|William L. BRADLEY, Sr.]], the Princess was heralded as employing the most modern theater design. [[CARKEEK, Thomas|Thomas CARKEEK]], the architect, planned for a building that could be used to host a variety of entertainments ranging from vaudeville to picture shows. The two-story building was planned with state-of-the-art fireproofing, a maximum-sized stage and seating capacity for three hundred. The cost of construction using marble, cement, steel and terra cotta was estimated to be $30,000. | ||
Revision as of 03:59, 18 June 2011
PRINCESS THEATRE. Once popular entertainment center adjacent to the Federal Bank Building (now AMERICAN TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK in TOWN CLOCK PLAZA). Constructed in 1908 on the site of the CAVE CIGAR STORE and Clay's Barber Shop, the Princess Theater ended what one skeptic called a legacy of "paper theaters," ones that never went beyond the stage of blueprints.
The 1913 Dubuque and Dubuque County Directory stated that this business was located at 871 Main. Built to specifications of William L. BRADLEY, Sr., the Princess was heralded as employing the most modern theater design. Thomas CARKEEK, the architect, planned for a building that could be used to host a variety of entertainments ranging from vaudeville to picture shows. The two-story building was planned with state-of-the-art fireproofing, a maximum-sized stage and seating capacity for three hundred. The cost of construction using marble, cement, steel and terra cotta was estimated to be $30,000.
Opened in 1909, the Princess offered four entertainments daily beginning at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. A motion picture was followed by a vaudeville performance. This sequence was repeated with a new motion picture and a different act. The admission price was ten cents.
The Princess was Dubuque's first theater to employ an orchestra to perform during silent films. Sound was installed at the Princess in 1927. The name of the theater was changed to the AVON THEATER in August 1928.