Astro 3 Theatre

The Astro 3 Theatre is a three-screen movie theater in Marysville, Kansas, United States. It occupies two connected buildings on Center Street, the older of which dates to 1912, when the Marysville First Christian Church constructed a Christian Athletic Hall. That brick building, later known as the Isis Theatre, now forms the west half of the Astro. The east building served as a garage and car dealership until 1980, when Dick Smith bought it and converted it into two additional auditoriums, giving the theater its current three-screen configuration. The theater's programming is typical of a small-town American cinema: first-run films shown on a rotating schedule, with evening screenings and age-based ratings advisories. Its website lists showtimes, movie information, cast details, and a telephone movie line (785-562-3715). The venue operates as a local, privately held business rather than part of a national chain. Beyond its commercial function, the Astro 3 Theatre is a piece of local heritage. The original building housed a gymnasium, a swimming pool, a walking track, and meeting rooms before its conversion to a cinema in 1924. It was even used as a makeshift hospital during the 1918–19 flu epidemic. Today it remains an active movie house and a landmark in Marshall County, Kansas.

The Astro 3 Theatre traces its origins to 1912, when the Marysville First Christian Church constructed a Christian Athletic Hall on Center Street in Marysville, Kansas. The large brick building, facing Center Street, was built to give young people a place to exercise. Its first floor contained a gymnasium used for basketball and roller-skating; the basement held a swimming pool; and the balcony level featured a walking track running the perimeter of the building. The hall was used for various church activities but was later given up for financial reasons and sold to Alexander Schmidt in 1920. It then operated as the Marysville Community Center for about ten years, offering a basketball court, swimming pool, lunchroom, and meeting rooms. During the 1918–19 flu epidemic, the building was also used as a makeshift hospital. In 1924, the building was converted into the Isis movie theater. This west building now forms half of the Astro Theater. The east building, meanwhile, served as a garage and car dealership until 1980, when Dick Smith bought it and converted it into two additional auditoriums for the Astro. Richard G. (Dick) Smith, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, had begun working in the movie and theater business early in life. His acquisition and conversion of the east building gave the theater its current three-screen configuration and its name, Astro 3. The theater has remained in operation as a local cinema, showing first-run films on multiple screens. Its website provides showtimes, film details, and a movie line, reflecting the operating model of a small-town American movie house. The building's history—from church athletic hall to community center to movie theater—makes it a notable landmark in Marshall County, Kansas.

• 1980

  Dick Smith buys the east building and converts it into two additional auditoriums for the Astro.

• 1924

  The building is converted into the Isis movie theater.

• 1920

  The building is sold to Alexander Schmidt.

• 1918

  The building is used as a makeshift hospital during the flu epidemic (1918–19).

• 1912

  Marysville First Christian Church constructs the Christian Athletic Hall on Center Street.

A local, historic, independently operated small-town movie theater offering first-run films in Marysville, Kansas.

• First-run film screenings

• Evening showtimes

• Telephone movie line (785-562-3715)

1. 1Astro3 Theatreastro3.com
2. 2Astro3 Theatre - Historyastro3.com
3. 3Astro 3 Theatre - Wikidatawikidata.org