Theaters in Huron
By William Lampe
I’ve been “down sizing” for years which is clearly offset by my collecting obsessions. I have stored this book in a box for 30 plus years…by William Lampe of Huron. Mr Lampe was an English teacher, one of my English teachers. I don’t remember which grade he taught, eighth perhaps. He and I did not always get along, in fact, I’m pretty sure I heard him mumble “Pain in my ass” about me to one of the other teachers. I must have bought the book on one of my trips to Huron in the 90s or perhaps my mother bought it for me. My mom and Mr Lampe’s sister were friends. Uncomfortable. But that’s a small town.
“Frame by Frame in Huron, A History of Movie Theaters in Huron. South Dakota” had four printings: July, September, and December 1982 and again in June 1984. The printing was done at “The Print Shop” at 53 Third St SW in Huron. My grandfather worked there for a while after he retired from “The Plainsman” so perhaps he helped print and bind the book. The book is black and white, “perfect” binding, printed on a Minolta EP310 printer. Very modern for the early 80s.
The book is fascinating and demonstrates the great research capability Mr Lampe had and the dedication he had to the task. Up to 1984 there had been thirteen theaters in the town, the first was the “Grand Opera House.” According to Lampe’s account,
Grand Opera House was built in 1885 with a seating capacity of 1200 and a stage 24x48 feet. There were eight sets of scenery, two private boxes, four dressing rooms, and a balcony. It was advertised as the largest and most desirable opera house in the Territory. It was located at 32 Third Street S.W. The building was burned in what was described as a most spectacular fire in 1902.
Several pages of Lampe’s book are dedicated to the spectacular fire at the Huron Theater in 1957 where supposedly 650 kids were attending a matinee. It was amazing that no one was killed. I was eight and fortunately my mom was running late, we turned onto Third St and saw all the smoke and fire trucks and did a U-turn.
I didn’t know there was another drive-in theater (besides the Starlite). The West Park Drive-in was opened in 1948 and was located just south of the Fairgrounds next to where the old West Park Swimming pool had been. I’ve never heard of either of them but I’m guessing they must have been around where the Armory is (or was, it’s been a long time since I’ve been back). The West Park had a smaller screen because they used 16mm film instead of the standard 35mm. The picture was good but small. The Starlite Theater opened in July 1949 with a 35mm camera and West Park closed down, selling all of their equipment to a man in DeSmet who opened a drive-in theater there.
Anyway, the Wayback Machine took me down another path today. I hope you enjoyed it. The image above is the cover of the book. The image below is a copy of a newspaper ad for the Starlite, June 28, 1955, that’s on page 155 of the book. Does anyone remember going through the ticket gate in the trunk?
