County of church: Franklin County
Location of church: Elm St., middle of block, west side, Washington
Built: 1909
Classified: C & Commercial
Current Occupant: Vacant
District Map
"55 CALVIN OPERA HOUSE/THEATRE..........311 Elm Street
Built in 1909 for John L. “Jack” Calvin, designed by A.A. Fischer. Retains much
of its early appearance except for a reconfiguration of the entrance." ~ Washington Historic Society Self Guided Your
"Calvin Opera House, owned by John L. "Jack" Calvin, was built in 1909, shortly before this photograph was taken. It later became Calvin Theater. August A. Fischer was the architect. Fischer was born in Washington but spent most of his career in St. Louis. Calvin theater was third place in Washington where moving pictures were shown. Originally the building was used as both a theater and a cinema, then as a cinema. In the 1970s and 1980s , the theater began to once more host live performances." ~ Washington, by Dianna Graveman, Don Graveman, page 31
"Revival styles most commonly were reflected in commercial buildings
only as systems of ornament. ... More fully developed
styles, however, may be found in such buildings as the ... Classical Revival designs ... the Calvin Theater (1909) at 311 Elm (Photo #22) designed by
Kansas City architect E.C. Little, ..." ~ NRHP Nomination Form, PDF page 17
Revival Styles, circa 1888 - 1925. Coded C (Photos #
5, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 32). With a few exceptions the Revival styles are
expressed principally in detailing on commercial buildings, and in plan
or roof forms in domestic structures. Frequently an ornamental pressed
brick or metal cornice is the sole Revival feature on
commercial/residential properties, the buildings otherwise maintain the
standard planar, segmentally arched brick facades.
Early 20th century Classical Revival
design is featured in the Calvin Theater of 1909 ... " ~ NRHP Nomination Form
Commercial . Coded With Black Bar
This designation indicates that historically the building (or part of
it) was used for commercial purposes. Since very few properties were
constructed exclusively for commerce, the black bar code at the of the property parcel generally refers to a first story storefront." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Opened September 5, 1909. The first movie seen at the Calvin Theatre was on September 17, 1909 after two weeks of live entertainment.
"The designer of the building was E.C. Little. He was the architectural supervisor of the erection of the Missouri State Building for the 1904 World’s Fair. This was a 900 seat Theatre. The Calvin Theatre has gone through a lot over it’s years of business. Commonwealth Amusement ran the Calvin Theatre from the early-1930’s through 1983. In 1983 it was purchased by Mr. & Mrs. George McLean who also owned the theatre in Sullivan, Mo. They planned to restore the theatre to it’s opera-house appearance with some success.
"The theatre’s present owner lives upstairs of the theatre and continues the Calvin’s bluegrass concert series and a few movie screenings. It had closed by April 2014. In November 2016 the marquee & sign was removed from the front of the building due to a possibility of its collapse." ~ Cinema Treasures