Entertainment
and technology took a great stride forward in Elk River in 1913 when motion
pictures and movie theaters illuminated the city. In that year two theaters, “The Elk Theater”
and “Blanchett’s”, presented silent movies in Elk River. By 1915, a third theater, the “Royal
Theater,” opened its doors. These years
marked the beginning of a new age in entertainment in Elk River.
In
November of 1913, the Elk Theater advertised the silent short movie “Return of
Crime,” dramatic crime and punishment movie featuring the young British actress
Barbara Tennant. By 1914, the Elk presented
full length silent movies such as “The Last Days of Pompeii.” Admission prices to the hour long movie was
15 and 25 cents, the matinee appeared to be a less expensive ticket than the
evening showing.
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| Newspaper advertisement in the Star News, December 2, 1915, just a week after the grand opening of the Royal Theater |
Meanwhile,
the Sherburne County Star News reported “Blanchett’s”
presented motion pictures. Although the
newspaper failed to note the movie shown, the reporter noted “the pictures were
clear, distinct and drew a packed house.”
The
Royal Theater, the third theater in Elk River, opened its doors in November
1915. Promising “something new every
night,” the Royal presented a matinee at 2:30 in the afternoon, and a 7:30
evening show. “We are showing some high
class pictures,” the advertising promised.
The opening night premiered the movie, “The Shadows of a Great City,” a
silent movie first created as a play, and later a British silent movie before
the American version release in 1915.
Like
so many businesses the movie houses of Elk River struggled to gain a solid
base. The surviving theater, the Elk Theater,
continued to present motion pictures into the 1940s and on. Providing entertainment to Sherburne County
residents for several decades.
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| Schedule of movies for the month of December, 1945 at the Elk Theater |
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