Houghton's forgotten cinema

HOUGHTON – Many Copper Country residents recall the Lode Theater, on Shelden Avenue, which closed for business in August, 2010. First opened in 1941 in the former Siller’s Dry Goods Store, the Lode operated successfully for the next 69 years. However, the Lode was not the first movie theater to operate Shelden.

What was located at 236 Shelden Ave. in 1900, was listed as a saloon according to the Keweenaw Time Traveler website’s Sanborn Insurance maps. The Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw states the building was constructed in 1883.

Sometime during the decade, the street numbers were changed and 236 Shelden became 107. In 1909, the saloon at the corner of Shelden and Dodge streets became a movie house, named The Lyric.

The Lyric Moving Picture Theater opened in July, 1909, according to Th