The Princess Theatre was Built in 1914 for silent films. In 1917, the theater was bought by Frank King and brought into the sound era in 1921. In 1940, Milton Mansfield bought the theater, adding a marquee. In 1954, Bob Fridley bought the theater, adding an indoor wall waterfall, floating stair case, and changed the seating arrangement. In 1982, Fred Saunders bought the theater, issuing in the VCR tape rental era. In 2010, the building fell into disrepair and the analog equipment was no longer relevant. The City of Ida Grove acquired it in 2015, selling it to the Ida Grove Foundation for a period of reconstruction. The Ida Grove Foundation Board is currently reconstructing the inside with private donations, community fundraising, and grants. The Foundation has raised $400,000 and seeks to raise an additional $150,000; they have begun reconstruction and hope to be showing movies by the end of summer 2018.
The theater will primarily show movies; however, there will be a motorized screen which will allow them to utilize a large enough stage for public speakers and one-act plays.
Want to donate?
To contribute to our count’s King Theatre renovation, please contact Ida Grove City Hall at 712.364.2428. You may also contact Ida Grove Foundation’s President Douglas Clough at [email protected].
See our progress at our Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/longlivetheking51445/
Ida Grove Foundation Board [formerly King Theatre Renovation Board]:
President, Douglas Clough
Vice President, Ryan Goodman
Treasurer, Cheryl Gosch
Secretary, Beth Wolterman
Members:
Owen Bolte
John Brinkman
Paul Cates
Kim Claussen
Dan Gosch
Sandy Ullrich
Traci VanHouten
