Pekin Theatre

CTL-E-0859 · Address · site · 1904/1905-1918+; demolition reported 1946 (unresolved)

PROVISIONAL evidence grade of this record

Robert T. Motts's theater, widely cited as the first Black-owned stock theater in the United States, admitting both Black and white audiences; reopened as a dance hall in 1918.

Notes

Merged into canonical KG 2026-10-03 from BVM-005, INST-001; source entity IDs: CTL-DR-BVM-005:venue-pekin-theatre, CTL-DR-INST-001:INST-060; source research type(s): place, theater.

Sources

Illinois Humanities; NPS Black Metropolis Thematic Nomination (1985); Bo Lindstrom (2012)
CTL Track A working dossier (2026-09-28)
S-codes S20,S21 (see working/track-b/sources.md)
S-codes S21,S20 (see working/track-b/sources.md)
S-codes S21 (see working/track-b/sources.md)

Record CTL-E-0859 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: PROVISIONAL · 5 sources · CTL research: BVM-005, INST-001.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

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Cite as: CultureTechLens, “Pekin Theatre (CTL-E-0859),” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, October 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-0859/

Chicago: CultureTechLens. “Pekin Theatre (CTL-E-0859).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-0859/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). Pekin Theatre (CTL-E-0859) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-0859/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “Pekin Theatre (CTL-E-0859).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-0859/

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