Benton’s Royal Theatre

Benton is full of historic structures. There’s the Saline County Courthouse built in 1901, the former office building of

Drs. Dewell Gann Sr. and his son Dewell

Jr. (now the Gann

Museum of Saline

Co. History) built in

1893 and the John

Shoppach House built in 1852.

But one building truly stands out as a landmark of a simpler time in Saline’s county seat — the

Royal Theatre. With its iconic neon sign and marquee and unique Moderne architecture, the old theater reminds passers-by on a daily basis of the good ol’ days.

The theater is located at 111 S. Market St. in the downtown historic district. The Royal Theatre of today is actually part of the massive renovation of an earlier theater, the IMP (Independent Motion Pictures) Theatre, built in 1920. Alice Wooten, the original owner, sold the property to Wallace Kauffman in 1922. Several generations of the Kauffman Family owned the Royal throughout the years.

From 1948-49, Little Rock architects Frank Ginocchio and Edwin B. Cromwell redesigned the theater.

The pair named the renovated theater the Royal after a Little Rock theater they designed several years earlier. The architects repurposed the neon sign and marquee from the Little

Rock theater, which had since closed, for the Royal’s renovation.

In 1996, actor Jerry Van Dyke (best known for his role as Luther in the ABC comedy “Coach” and as a co-star on his brother’s successful “Dick Van Dyke Show”) purchased the Royal Theatre from the last of the Kauffman family to own it, Randy Kauffman.

Van Dyke completely renovated the theater and much of the surrounding block. He also opened the Jerry Van Dyke Soda Shoppe, a candy store, a baseball card store and an antique store in the downtown historic district. The Royal Theatre continued to show movies until 2000.

Van Dyke sold the theater and the rest of his businesses in Benton between 2000-2001. The Royal

Theatre was donated to the Central Arkansas Community Players, which subsequently changed its name to the Royal Players and continues to perform on its stage. Van Dyke died at his ranch in Hot Spring County in January 2018.

The Royal no longer shows movies — the silver screens were removed and the projectors were sold before the transfer to its current owners. Thanks to community support from businesses and residents, the Royal Players worked hard to preserve the theater. Many of its original fixtures are still visible and a doorless safe with IMP embossed on it remains in an upstairs office.

The Royal Theatre was added to the U.S Department of the Interior’s National Register of Historic Places in September 2003. The designation allows the Royal Players to apply for historic preservation grants and low-interest loans to help maintain the building for the citizens of Saline County for years to come.

Unfortunately, not being a Benton native, I never had the opportunity to visit the theater and catch a flick during its heyday. But my wife’s law office is just next door, and every time I walk past the Royal I swear I can smell the scent of buttery popcorn. I look at the spaces where movie posters once hung and wonder what it was like in the good ol’ days.

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A sixth-generation Arkansan, Darrell W. Brown is a lover of all things Arkansas. He served several years with the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, and worked in all three divisions. He lives in Saline County with his wife, Amy, and two beloved Boston Terriers.

You can find him on Facebook and Instagram at Allaroundarkansas.