Orpheum Theater Notes from 1971

Announcement of the closing of the Orpheum Theatre as a result of the owners decision not to correct fire and safety hazards cited by state and city  officials rang down the curtain of a show house that was the city’s chief place of entertainment during most of its more than a half century of operation. Continue reading

Bank of Marion Expansion ca 1974 Reveals Hidden Cistern

Collectors of antiques dig in strange places for the gems to enhance their collection or to bolster their prowess as a trader in nostalgic souvenirs, but John Kowalski of the Commercial Design Co. of St Louis was surprised at what he found in a cistern under a building owned by the Bank of Marion. The cistern yielded a miscellaneous pile of 350 to 400 ancient glass bottles. Continue reading