This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Split Skirt And Fight Movies Cause Early Fame Furore
Cedar Rapids first motion picture house struggled until Jim Thompson, an Irish speaker, bought and ran it for four years, turning it profitable. John Taylor, Rapids township constable, and Thompson migrated to America together, with Thompson later expanding into Mount Vernon. Thompson became a key coachman for W. D. Douglas before entering the cinema business, shifting public opinion toward motion pictures despite earlier moral concerns.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cedar Rapids
Ireland
Sears
Jim Thompson
Mount Vernon
John Taylor
Rapids
America
John
Marion Street Railway
Jim
W. D. Douglas
Douglas
YMCA
Titanitc
B.C. R. and
N. Railway
Delphis Theater
Willams Brothers
Ted Jim
Wild West Pictures
Thompson
Clarence Banss
Jum
The
Douglases