Malek Theatre
About this property
The Malek Theatre, also known as The Malek, is an Art Deco theatre in downtown Independence, Iowa that was built in 1947. It replaced the Grand Theatre, which had burned on March 3, 1945. It was designed by Wetherell & Harrison for Bob C. Malek and was intended to be fireproof. It has a steel truss roof. A stepped tower at the front is made with structural glass and glass blocks. As of 2009 the interior was mostly original, with Art Deco style light fixtures and coved ceilings. Artist Merle Reed, of California, hand-painted its interior designs in 1945. In 1982 the theatre was split in two, and in 2002 the dividing wall was removed. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. The theatre was deemed historically significant "as an excellent example of an Art Deco style theater that has a high degree of integrity on the exterior and interior, designed by Des Moines architectural firm of Wetherell & Harrison." It is one of just two Art Deco buildings in Independence. The other is the Buchanan County Courthouse, which was built with Public Works Administration labor also in the 1930s. "The exterior of the theater exhibits characteristics of the Art Deco style including a central stepped tower, smooth finished surfaces of Glastone, and curved walls of Glastone and glass block. The interior has a high degree of integrity with Art Deco features such as curved walls, coved ceilings backlit with neon, bent neon fixtures, stylized floral motifs, and decorative metal light fixtures. The theater retains its integrity of design, workmanship, materials, feeling, association, location, and setting." In 2009 many of the paintings had been restored or repainted. In 2009, plans included replacing a pair of tall columns that were on the sides of the stage, using blueprints obtained from Wetherell Ericsson Architects in Des Moines, Iowa. The Malek theatre opened in 1946 on land previously occupied by The Grand theatre, which was located in the south part of the Hotel Gedney block built during the town's horse-racing heyday. The hotel block and its attached theater burned to the ground in 1945 and the theatre's owner, Bohumil "Bob" Malek, a well-regarded local businessman, decided to build a new venue and appropriately named it The Malek Theatre. The new theatre was the patron's dream for that era, containing two rooms for private viewings, each with doors and thick paned glass to eliminate sound in or out. One of these rooms was called "the crying room", designed for parents who didn't want their fussy child to interrupt the movie for other patrons.
Location
Categories
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.
Everything a full report reveals about Malek Theatre
This page lists Malek Theatre. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Malek Theatre listed on the National Register?
Malek Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 20, 2009.
What type of historic resource is Malek Theatre?
Malek Theatre is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Malek Theatre?
The period of significance for Malek Theatre is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Malek Theatre?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Malek Theatre will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Buchanan County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Buchanan County.
Explore BuchananCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Malek Theatre will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.