The owners of the Fox Theater retired this June, marking at least a temporary end of operation at this historic movie house in downtown Fort Madison. The two screen theatre’s final movies were The Backup Plan and Shrek IV, shown the weekend of June 4, 2010. Originally opened as the Strand Theater in 1929, the cinema was renamed following a major renovation project in 1951.
The history of the Grand Theatre dates back to 1880, when the Keokuk Opera House first opened at the same location. The original opera house was destroyed by a fire in December 1923; the new and improved Grand Theatre opened less than two years later. At the time of opening, Keokuk’s Daily Gate newspaper wrote “the new Grand is a real gem combining the latest in beauty of design and finish, with dignity of lines, both interior and exterior, the latest devices for safety and the newest in ventilating and lighting system(s).”
Built in 1892, the currently-vacant Lee County Savings Bank building in downtown Ft. Madison is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Ft. Madison Downtown Commercial Historic District. The Lee County Savings Bank was established in 1888, the third bank organized in the city.