Shenandoah Theatre

Photo from the Darren Snow collection

2312 S Grand Blvd Saint Louis MO 63104

Information for this tour was contributed by Darren Snow.

This 8000-square-foot vaudeville house was part of a local circuit run by O.T. Crawford. He contracted Fred A. Duggan to design a theatre with 492 orchestra level seats, 544 balcony seats, and pressed seaweed panels on the walls as an acoustical treatment. Opened in 1913, the Shenandoah offered mostly live entertainment until 1916, when movies were offered during the summer months.

The Famous Players company ran the shows in the twenties, when an outdoor annex called the Shenandoah Airdome was added on the next block. The Arthur chain presided over a streamlined remodeling in the '40s, and remained in charge until the bitter end. This came on October 4, 1977, when financial troubles forced the company to close several of its theatres "temporarily." The Arthurs never recovered, and the Shenandoah never reopened.

Late in 1981, a local neighborhood association approved a redevelopment plan that would renovate the buildings on either side of the Shenandoah, and remove the theatre to create parking spaces. An opposing Restoration Committee immediately sprang up to defend the movie house, which spokesman Harry Swanger said was "like a fortress." No fortress lasts forever, though, and the Shenandoah Theatre was demolished in 1983.

Return to the top of this page   or   Return to the main page

Log in to remove these ads Fandango Buy movie tickets, look up showtimes, watch trailers and more!

All information presented in this site is believed to be accurate, based upon available information. However, errors do occur and the information presented here may not reflect reality, often due to circumstances beyond control. Some documents, images and logos contained in these documents belong to various organizations and corporations. Their inclusion here is for the benefit of the reader and for the benefit of the particular organization, but they are, in fact, the copyrighted property of those organizations. Their presence here does not imply any endorsement of CinemaTour by those organizations. CinemaTour is not affiliated with any cinema or circuit.

© 1995-2008 Vision Entertainment Services. All rights reserved.
Use of this site signifies agreement to terms of service.