“Sacred Houses Series”
This month, we would like to pay homage to the Fox Theater in Ft. Madison, Iowa, USA, as we continue to celebrate and honor notable movie theaters around the globe.
There is little information available online about this theater besides a contribution to another great website called Cinema Treasures which essentially gives the following information on the theater.
Originally named The Strand Theater, it opened on July 1, 1919, at 831 Avenue G in Fort Madison, Iowa. Fort Madison is a small town with just over 10,000 people along the Mississippi River on the border with Illinois. It’s thought that the theater was designed by Samuel W. Bihr, Jr., who was contracted by Fox and designed many theaters in that part of the country, including ones in Nebraska, Illinois, and Kansas. By the early 1930s, it became a Fox-owned and operated theater with a seating capacity of 816. At some point, it was “twinned” and renamed the “Fox Theater.” The theater closed in 1955 and reopened several times until 2017.
In March 2017, Eisentraut Theatres took over the running of the cinema, and this significant local theater is now back open to the public. You can visit them here.
If you think a theater deserves recognition in our “Sacred Houses” series, kindly contact us with details of its name, location, and significance to either you or your community. We’re enthusiastic about backing local theaters and feel they should be celebrated alongside the more renowned historic venues.
The Other Cinema 
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