World Theatre

World Theatre 506 St Charles Street,

Saint Louis, Missouri
Status: Closed/Demolished
Seats: 392

Started as the Broadway. The name changed to the CAMEO in 1930; to the HOLLYWOOD in 1931;

to the HOLLYWOOD NEWSREEL in 1945 and, finally, to the WORLD in 1946.

Opened as the Broadway in 1922, it shared its address with the Western Photo Play Corp. In February 1930 the newspaper ads briefly listed the theater as the Cameo, Formerly the Broadway, with the latest sound system. By 1936 mainstream movies were being offered at the Hollywood Theatre.

A taste of what would later be shown at the theater happened in February of 1937, when it screened an "adults only" movie titled "Ecstasy". The theater sat vacant through most of World War II, then became the Hollywood Newsreel Theatre during 1946 and changed names again after that as the World Theatre and would convert to adult films for several years before introducing titillating stage shows featuring touring starlets such as future Russ Carman film star Tura Santana. When longtime owner Harry Wald was finally forced to close the World in 1974, the building was slated for demolition. The theater had switched back to movies by this time. The final movie playing at the closing on March 5, was "The Great Massage Parlor Bust." The local newspaper coverage of the closing of the World was rather sentimental and tender. It reported that souvenir hunters were picking up last bits of debris.