neighborhood movie theaters
Small movie houses began to be built in outlying city neighborhoods during the 1910’s. These theaters were much smaller in scale than the downtown theaters, showing second run movies after they closed at the downtown movie palaces. Many of these smaller theaters also exhibited exotic architectural designs, although decorative detail was understandably more modest. The theater at 5101 Virginia, in Carondelet was constructed in 1911. Its flatiron shape is dictated by its triangular lot, at the intersection of three streets. The dominant feature of the small brown brick building is a cylindrical domed tower, containing the entry, which is set beneath a round arch of terra cotta tiles. (St. Louis, 1995)