Baxter Springs theater nominated to National Register

The Ritz Theater, a former movie house on Route 66 in Baxter Springs, Kansas, has been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, according to a news release from the Kansas Historical Society.

The building is at 1145 N. Military Ave. (aka Route 66). The theater’s inclusion is all but assured, because the National Register rarely rejects a nomination from a state agency.

The nomination summary:

The Ritz Theatre opened in 1926 in a converted two-story commercial building along Route 66 in downtown Baxter Springs. The building had previously housed John M. Cooper’s Dry Goods and Clothing Store, which opened in the 1880s, and the upper floor had served as a gathering space for various social organizations. Under the guidance of Joplin architect T.E. Martinie, the building was converted to a theater in 1926 and officially opened on April 30, showing The Ancient Highway, distributed by Paramount Pictures. A packed house heard music from Mrs. Roy Brooks, an organist at the Victory Theatre in Rogers, Arkansas. The popularity of drive-in theaters throughout the tri-state area likely contributed to the closing of the theater in the mid-1950s. The building then functioned as the Blue Castle Restaurant from 1957 to 1980. At the time of nomination, the building is being renovated to reflect its former use as a theater.

According to Cinema Treasures, the Ritz held 488 seats with one screen.

According to the nomination papers, Ronald and Judy Puckett bought the building in 2007 with the intention of restoring it as a theater. A number of photos by the Kansas Historical Society shows the work that’s been done on the building in recent years.

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