The Atheneum was an early stage house erected at 810 Main Avenue in 1883. It served as Bismarck’s primary community venue for entertainment and hosting such events as weddings and graduation ceremonies. In either 1902 or 1903, the traveling Beaty Brothers premiered the first local “moving picture” at the Bismarck Atheneum. From then on, movies were shown regularly at the venue while it continued in original capacity.
Maps from both 1888 and 1899 depict The Atheneum being located on the 600 block of Main Avenue – just a couple of parcels east of the former Lamborn Hotel, then Saint Alexius; a newspaper article from December of that year states it is being relocated to the corner of Broadway Avenue and 4th Street.
It became the Bijou Theatre in 1907, named for a company who operated a chain of “vaudeville” theaters in North Dakota.
It’s unclear when the building was demolished.
