Royal Theatre
National Register of Historic Places

Royal Theatre

Benton, Saline County, Arkansas
Listed
September 26, 2003
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
03000955

About this property

The Royal Theatre at 111 S. Market St. in Benton, Arkansas was built in 1948–49 as an extensive renovation of a prior theatre, and is already deemed historic. The oldest part of the theatre was part of the 1920 "Imp" (apparently for "Independent Motion Pictures") theatre. The sign and marquee of the theatre, and the rest of the 1948–49 redesign, were designed by Little Rock architects Frank Ginocchio and Edwin B. Cromwell in Moderne style. Ginocchio and Cromwell had designed a Royal Theatre in Little Rock that used the sign and marquee; they reused the material in this Benton theatre later. In 1996 the Royal Theatre was bought and renovated by actor Jerry Van Dyke. The theatre was renovated as was most of the block that the theatre was located on. Jerry Van Dyke also added Jerry Van Dyke's Soda Shoppe, a candy store, a baseball card trading store, as well as a small antique store on the same block as the theatre. Jerry Van Dyke sold the Royal Theatre and the rest of the property in 2000 and 2001. The Royal Theatre was actually donated to the Central Arkansas Community Players, who then changed the name of the theatre to the "Royal Players" and continues to perform in it to this day The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Location

111 S. Market St.
Benton, Saline County, Arkansas
34.55178, -92.59014

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Gan Row Historic District
Industrial
0.6 mi
Bennett House
Industrial
0.6 mi
Gann House
Industrial
0.7 mi
Gann Building
Industrial
0.7 mi
Buffington, Dr. T.E., House
Industrial
0.8 mi

Questions about this property

When was Royal Theatre listed on the National Register?

Royal Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 26, 2003.

What type of historic resource is Royal Theatre?

Royal Theatre is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Royal Theatre?

The period of significance for Royal Theatre is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1920.

Can I research the history near Royal Theatre?

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