Dodge Theatre Then and Now

106 Walnut Street – Dodge City, Kansas

I’ve avoided writing about this building for years. It’s where I saw the first movie I can remember (The Empire Strikes Back) and it’s where my grandmother took me to the library for the first time. I still remember sitting on the carpeted steps in the upstairs story pit. It’s where I attended kennel club meetings in a creepy, leaky basement as an adult. So, I have some feelings.

The north side of Walnut (now Gunsmoke) Street between Central and First Avenues was completely residential until the lots were cleared for construction of the Lora-Locke Hotel in 1927.

In January of 1928, Elmer C Rhoden of Midwest Theatres, Inc. announced the company intended to build a new theater in Dodge City.

George Howell and Otto Theis, partners in the Lora-Locke, knew the perfect spot and purchased the west half of the block adjacent to the hotel that July.

Architect Ellis Charles of Wichita, who also designed the Lora-Locke, created plans for a complex which included a theater with seating for approximately 1,200, a department store, and a smaller retail space. Prior to construction, the estimated cost for this dark brick Italian Renaissance structure with a clay tile roof and terra cotta accents was $140,000.

In January of 1929, the building contract was awarded to Eastergard & Bullard of McCook, Nebraska, the same company which built the Lora-Locke. Before construction began, the George S Howell Building Corp. had secured Montgomery Ward as a tenant and worked out an agreement for Midwest Theatres to operate the theater. The reason you don’t hear Otto Theis’ name associated with this part of the Million Dollar Block is because he transferred his half ownership to Howell that February.

A decision (which haunted later building owners) was made to connect the Howell building’s heating plant to the Lora-Locke. It saved money at the time but has been cursed many times over.

It was really important for Montgomery Ward to open before the start of the Christmas shopping season so contractors raced to finish the interior. Nearly 90 people were hired to staff the new store for the October 1929 opening.

The Dodge Theatre wasn’t quite finished when it opened on October 18, 1929. Silent films were still being shown in Dodge at that time but this theater boasted Western Electric sound equipment which cost around $15,000. Talkie features The Love Doctor and a Laurel and Hardy comedy called A Perfect Day were shown in addition to a newsreel with “natural sound” said to be the first in the city. Globe publisher Jess Denious delivered a dedication speech to a packed house.

The third building tenant was The Rendezvous restaurant located in the spot with the arched door just to the west of the theater entrance. I should probably note that the original address for the theater was 106 Walnut, as shown on the 1932 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. Numbers changed over time as doors were added and removed. The entrance is now officially 108 Gunsmoke.

Fox West Coast Theatres had purchased Midwest Theatres just before the grand opening but it took a while for the branding to catch up. By December of 1929, the theater was officially called the Fox Dodge but advertising sometimes just mentioned the Dodge.

One reason the theater season runs from fall to spring is because there was traditionally no air conditioning and the buildings would close during the summer months. That really wouldn’t have made financial sense for such an expensive facility so the solution in 1930 was to install fans which were said to be “silent” to avoid drowning out the entertainment. I sincerely doubt they were all that quiet.

The Cohens and Kellys in Africa played at the Dodge in April of 1931.

A cooling plant was installed in 1933 which drew water out of a well and iced it. The chilled air was then circulated throughout the building by blower fans. Those were apparently too loud so a new system was installed in June of 1934 which relied on six tons of ice to be delivered from Kansas Power Company every day.

In the Spring of 1935, the theater began using that cooling system to filter the air so patrons could get a bit of relief from the dust storms while they watched the shows.

The Dodge Theatre was famously one of the three locations in town to participate in the 1939 premiere of Dodge City. Each theater showed the film on repeat all through the night.

Former Dodge City Mayor Art Nevins is shown here cutting a ribbon at the exterior ticket booth in 1942.

These interior photos show the flooring changes over the years.

Photos: Kansas Heritage Center

Fox Dodge patrons could sign up for weekly Good Will Ambassador program drawings. The honorary position paid $200 in May of 1942.

Around 1946, Gussie Walker moved Walker’s Tot and Teen Shop into the former Rendezvous restaurant space. Clark’s Jewelry began occupying that spot around September of 1952.

Bwana Devil was the first 3-D film shown at the Dodge in June of 1953. Installation of CinemaScope equipment began toward the end of the year. This was the first widescreen movie format which required a much larger curved screen with stereophonic speakers behind it. The entire stage area was remodeled to accommodate this change.

It is unclear whether the CinemaScope screen is shown in these photos but it sure does fit the description.

Photos: Kansas Heritage Center

The Robe was the first movie filmed in CinemaScope and it was shown at the Dodge in January of 1954.

By now, you may be wondering about the marquee. Me too! I wish I could say I found the exact date the dignified original was replaced with that mint green and red thing but readers, I have failed you. It was still hanging in a 1954 photo of the Southwestern Bell expansion. Ted Page pulled a remodeling permit in October of 1957 so it could have been replaced at that time.

Hoover Cott’s circa-1959 Christmas photo shows the new Fox Dodge marquee which only covered the area above the entrance.

Montgomery Ward vacated the building and consolidated operations at what is now Military Plaza in the Summer of 1965. Dodge City Public Library leased approximately 12,500 square feet of the former department store space in March of 1969.

Janousek’s TV and Appliance held a liquidation sale at their store on Wyatt Earp in October of that year because the building was being demolished as part of the Urban Renewal Project. They secured a spot in the newly renovated space west of the theater.

Finance company The Associates was another business which relocated to the building after being displaced by demolition.

After months of remodeling, the Carnegie Library closed on December 24, 1969 so all of the books and furniture could be moved to the new location. The entrance was on First Avenue toward the north end of the building and a ramp led to the checkout counter. The adult section was on the main floor with the children’s department upstairs. Our new library opened on January 22, 1970.

This is where I received my first library card on my sixth birthday but that is not me tripping on the rug in the second photo.

Photos: Kansas Heritage Center

Cooper Theaters bought the Dodge in February of 1974 and began modernizing the facility. The ticket counter was moved inside as part of a complete lobby renovation. The balcony also closed in the mid-1970s.

Clark’s Jewelry held a big sale in December of 1973 and closed the store around March of 1974. Jack and Shirley Clark temporarily moved to Derby and their old space was occupied by the jewelry store of Worley and Irene Shultz, which opened in the Summer of 1974.

The Dodge Theatre exterior is shown in 1979 during the 40th anniversary showing of Dodge City.

After the library moved to its current location in 1982, the former Montgomery Ward space was remodeled again into office spaces. Radio station Q97 FM was located inside the First Avenue entrance for several years.

Mike Burkhart bought the entire building in 1984 and renamed it Plaza Professional Center. Cooper continued leasing the theater and Burkhart spent loads of money on needed repairs. The former jewelry store became a Navy recruiting station in the Summer of 1987.

Cooper closed the Dodge in November of 1989 after the heating system was finally decoupled from the Lora-Locke. This created another financial responsibility in a facility which wasn’t bringing in much revenue. Cooper intended to close for the winter as he and Burkhart worked out the particulars but it reopened shortly afterward.

The Dodge was closed by Cooper for the last time in the Fall of 1997. Mike and Mindy Burkhart began an extremely expensive restoration project at that time and were able to reopen on June 20, 1998 with a showing of Dodge City, of course. The Burkharts also had a coffee shop and Victorian mercantile in the building.

The building was listed for sale in early 2000 but the theater was still used for club meetings and other events.

In December of 2000, the Dodge held its third annual free Christmas movie for children. Although the theater wasn’t operating, class reunion events were held along with public tours of the building for several years. Efforts to preserve the Dodge have been ongoing ever since. The Downtown Dodge Association was formed around 2006 with one major goal being the restoration of the theater. The City considered purchasing the building in 2007 and probably every year since.

The Burkharts sold the entire building in 2010 after an auction failed to get past the first bid. Buyers Tony Woydziak, Ernie Breeding and Steve Vilaysing reportedly paid $30,000 sort of on a lark. Finding a real buyer was essential.

Meanwhile, the minty marquee was in danger of decapitating someone on the sidewalk below and was removed in January of 2013. Seeing it listed on eBay prompted Mark Vierthaler, Lewis Mize, and Monica Springer to form the Dodge Theater Foundation that spring. The foundation was able to secure donated materials and labor to address some of the water damage. Real progress was made for a few years.

Roger Maas generously shared these photos which he took during a public tour in 2017.

If you’re a member of the Facebook group Growing up in Dodge City, you can do a quick search to see loads of photos people have taken on the various tours. I took the interior photos below a few years ago.

I believe the property was sold around January of 2017 and that’s about when access to the building ended. To his credit, the current owner has done a lot of work and uncovered the entryway’s domed ceiling. The roof looks pretty good from the outside.

Any time you walk by, you will see ladders and building materials awaiting installation but the building is mostly empty. A small chapel is located in the former jewelry store. A nail salon tried to make a go of it in the old library entrance area a couple years ago. Mini Market Los Paisanos has been in the corner space for several years now and seems to do well.

This is how the exterior of the Dodge Theatre looks today:

Basic maintenance on this structure is extremely expensive. The only two paths I see toward complete restoration involve massive grants and/or developer cash. You can’t fault one person for not being able to get it done but you also have to wonder if a little cooperation might go a long way. It would be really great if the Million Dollar Block looked like it. This gaping wound in the heart of downtown just isn’t cutting it.

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