The first flicks presented inside the Pickrell Building, on Main Street Ottawa Kansas were held on the second floor, inside a room the size of a closet.
That was the origin of the Plaza Cinema, and that was back in 1905. Admission was literally standing-room only. There were no seats, as the amazing “moving picture shows” presented were a few minutes long each. On the first floor of the building was a jewelry store and a men’s clothing store.
The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes Plaza Cinema as the “Oldest purpose-built cinema in operation.” It cites 1907 as the year it opened, as that indicates the first record of the theatre in commercial advertising.
The cinema shows went full-size, on the first floor, in 1910. The movie house continued operating. Today Plaza Cinema presents modern-day movies Wednesdays through Sundays — as the oldest continuously operating cinema house in the World!
It’s amazing that a huge piece of entertainment history is in our area. The building is still beautiful, and has kept up with the “times” and tech advances.
Yes, and it kept its integrity — in the building and in maintaining cinema — all these years!
WOW! I love seeing old buildings being used. They have so much history, and character. I will have to put this on my must see list. Thank you for sharing this info!
Yes! Especially when they keep their original purpose over the years. To boot, the movie house today also includes a Movie Memorabilia Museum.
The wife and I enjoy going to see new things in Kansas. We are both historians and love hearing about a place like this still exists. Well have to check out the Plaza Cinema.