In September of 1910 the Webster City Herald predicted a theatre war was brewing in Webster City. It wasn’t until March of 1911 the City could boast of three movie houses.

Two local businessmen, H. L. Wise and F. L. Greeley, leased the former Friendly Theatre located at 617 Second Street. After extensive remodeling, the theatre opened under the name of Isis, in honor of the Egyptian Goddess.

At the same time, the Armory building in the 700 block of Second Street was to begin offering motion pictures under the name of The Empire. N. P. Hyatt was the manager of the new Armory movie venue as well as the existing Orpheum at 608 Second St. Local telephone magnate E. H. Martin owned the Orpheum and the movie equipment for The Empire.

Each movie house would also offer vaudeville entertainment.

Theatre owners in the 1910-1920 era selected exotic names for their businesses to suggest a sense of grandeur and the exotic. They designed the buildings and interiors to resemble popular foreign locations. Movie men wanted the public to believe by purchasing a ticket, they would be entertained in a lavish setting. It was to be an escape into a fantasy lifestyle they had only read about.

The Isis Theatre opened the end of March 1911 with a new stage, chairs, movie equipment and electric piano. The Isis name was spelled out in electric lights outside. More than 1,000 people attended the grand opening with the first 900 receiving souvenir spoons.

Spencer banker A. C. Schuneman, brother-in-law of H. L. Wise, bought F. L. Greeley’s half interest of the Isis in May 1912 and would eventually become the sole owner of the Isis Theatre.

Beginning with Schuneman’s involvement, the Isis Theatre was continually upgraded. New ventilating systems and 360 improved seats were installed in 1913. A new Simplex moving picture projector was purchased in 1916 to eliminate movie flicker. A Seeburg pipe organ orchestra instrument arrived in 1917. The organ could either be played mechanically with music rolls or by a musician at the keyboards.

All of these improvements were likely in response to the new theatre built by E. H. Martin directly across the street. The E. H. Martin building survives today as the newly restored Webster theatre.

Arnold Charles “A. C.” Schuneman was born in Hardin County, Iowa to German immigrant parents. When World War I escalated to include the United States, anyone with a German connection was under scrutiny. Even though Schuneman was an American citizen, two local men vandalized the exterior and sidewalk of the Isis Theatre in September of 1918 with yellow paint to call attention to his German heritage.

Citizens of Webster City were outraged at this disgraceful act. City officials and local business leaders spent the day removing the paint with gasoline. It took only one day for local Police Chief Thompson to arrest and jail the two men responsible for the malicious mischief.

One of Webster City’s most severe downtown fires destroyed the Isis Theatre in mid January 1927. The White Front Bakery, the E. J. Denny Store, the Charles Varlett Tailor Shop and the Shoe Hospital were also burned. The Fort Dodge Fire Department responded to help, making the trip in thirty-five minutes. The Freeman-Journal, then located at 623 Second Street, suffered severe water damage as fireman worked to save their building. The Freeman-Journal never missed an issue as Hahne Printing stepped up to print the newspaper in tabloid style for a week or so.

Ruins of the fire were filmed as part of a feature production called “The Fire Brigade” which was shown at the Orpheum Theatre a few months later.

Mrs. Grace Young, who owned the building occupied by the bakery and Denny Store, and A. C. Schuneman, owner of the Isis Theatre, immediately began plans to rebuild. Mrs. Young would rebuild to house the J. C. Penny store.

Schuneman hired local contractor W. J. Zitterell to build a new Isis Theatre. The theatre, named after the Egyptian Goddess considered the mother of Egypt, would emerge as one of the finest theatre buildings in the state.

The new building had a canopy projecting over the front sidewalk, a slightly sloping tile roof with urns crowning the top along with Standard Marble and Tile company wainscoting and interior flooring. Enameled brick from the Kalo Brick and Tile company from near Fort Dodge, Iowa was used for the building front.

Considered the “last thing in modern play house architecture and equipment” according the June 10, 1927 Freeman Journal, the Isis theatre contained mahogany woodwork, upholstered seats, a Nu-Arctic ventilating system, a Staith organ and two Simplex projectors. George L. Shryock, local interior decorator, finished the walls and ceilings in ivory and blue.

On June 11, 1927, the new Isis Theatre opened with the showing of the light comedy “Subway Sadie”. The black and white silent film ran for about seventy minutes and was seven reels long. But patrons didn’t have to wait the usual four minutes for reel changes as the Isis now had two projectors.

Schuneman sold the Isis to the Finkelstein Theatre group in early 1931.

The Isis Theatre showed its last movie in 1953 and the building was remodeled into Osweiler’s clothing store in late 1954. Construction workers raised the sloping theatre floor some forty-six inches using huge jacks.

After Osweiler’s clothing store moved to their current location in 1972, the former Isis Theatre building was home to several different businesses.

In mid-1990, the Second Street Emporium restaurant expanded into the Isis Theatre building. A small front portion of the old theatre was retained for a local business use while the restaurant remodeled the north portion into added dining space. The new area created dining spots for more than fifty people and included a party room for twenty-five guests. To honor the heritage of the building, owners Scott and Candy Rector named the banquet room “The Isis Room”.

The memory of A. C. Schuneman’s Isis Theatre, one of the best small town movie houses built in 1927, continues with early theatre photographs on the restaurant’s walls. The exotic urns still grace the top of the building. The Isis Theatre name still shines at the banquet room entrance.