Malek Theatre

Malek Theatre
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	116 2nd Ave. NE., Independence, Iowa
Coordinates	42°28′17″N 91°53′34″W / 42.47139°N 91.89278°W / 42.47139; -91.89278Coordinates: 42°28′17″N 91°53′34″W / 42.47139°N 91.89278°W / 42.47139; -91.89278
Area	less than one acre
Built	1947
Architect	Wetherell & Harrison
Architectural style	Art Deco
Governing body	Private
NRHP Reference #	09000329[1]
Added to NRHP	May 21, 2009

The Malek Theatre, also known as The Malek, is an Art Deco theatre in Independence, Iowa that was built in 1947. It was designed by Wetherell & Harrison. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.^[1]

The Malek theatre opened in 1946 on land previously occupied by The Grand theatre, which was located in the south part of the Hotel Gedney block built during the town's horse-racing heyday. The hotel block and its attached theater burned to the ground in 1945 and the theatre's owner, Bohumil "Bob" Malek, a well-regarded local businessman, decided to build a new venue and appropriately named it The Malek Theatre. The new theatre was the patron’s dream for that era, containing two rooms for private viewings, each with doors and thick paned glass to eliminate sound in or out.

The building measures 60 by 140 feet (18 m × 43 m) and is 42 feet high. The exterior is built of Lannon stone, vitreolite and glass block. It is 100% fireproof and is equipped with the latest equipment and fixtures (1946 quote). The theater cost $140,000 to build, and it took a year to complete.

In 1985, the then-managers decided that patronage could be improved if the theatre was split into a 300-seat twinned theatre instead of the original 1,200-seat undivided auditorium. Despite the investment, the newly-split theatre closed soon after. Today (Jan 2014) the theatre remains closed, its exterior slowly succumbing to petty vandalism and the inhospitable climate of northeast Iowa.

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