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Newton, Kansas

The Newton Fox Theatre was built in 1914 and once showcased vaudeville acts. It had a full pit for an orchestra and coal shoots for heating furnaces in the basement. It was known as the Royal Theater until 1921, when it was renamed the Regent and revamped for staging vaudeville acts. In the 1920s it started showing silent films and in the 1930s the theater was fitted with its first sound system.

When 21st Century Fox bought the theater in 1955, workers tore into the stage, putting up a large canvas screen and cutting away at the arch above. After that, not much changed inside the building up to its final show in 1999. Behind the screen there are still upstairs dressing rooms for actors and a pulley system for stage scenery. A huge second-floor loft might have been a ballroom that still has antique stenciling on the ceiling.

The theater's 440 seats are new, and the paint on the walls is just a few years old, but the place retains a lot of its 1950s character and today hosts speakers and conventions, and stages plays and musicals.

Attractions and Upcoming Events

Military Park

One of several parks in Newton, the Military Park is exceptional because it is home to Santa Fe steam engine #1880 (a Prairie class 2-6-2) and a Civil War-era cannon. It is also the location of the public library.

Newton, KS Parks

Harvey County West Park

Harvey County West Park is approximately 17.5 northwest of Newton on 310 acres. Located on the Little Arkansas River, this heavily wooded park provides ample opportunity for enjoying the natural beauty of this area. No hunting is allowed here. There is a 16

Newton, KS Recreation

Kauffman Museum

The Kauffman Museum is located on the Bethel College campus in North Newton. The museum emphasizes the cultural and natural history of the Central Plains and the immigration of the Mennonites to Kansas in the 1870

Newton, KS Museums

Warkentin House

The historic Warkentin House is the former home of Bernhard and Wilhelmina Warkentin, built in 1887. It is a splendid example of the Victorian period in American architecture and furnishings. As a museum, the house offers a glimpse into the way the Warkentins lived, since 80

Newton, KS Famous Homes

Camp Hawk

The 43 acre park contains a 4 acre pond stocked with channel catfish, crappie, largemouth bass and sunfish. Park facilities include an enclosed shelter house (available by reservation) which contains a kitchenette, restrooms, fireplace and a large meeting room for 100

Newton, KS Recreation

Things to do near Newton, KS

19th Century Cemetery

Look for 19th-century graves of American, German, and Russian settlers at the Pawnee Rock city cemetery, located a half-mile ...

Pratt Wildlife Center & Aquarium

Housed in an 80 year old buidling, the Education Center contains numerous wildife mounts, dioramas, 12 400-gallon aquariums, ...

Petrified Tree Stump

A five foot high exemplary sample of petrified wood. Over 24 inches in diameter, stands imbedded in the sidewalk on Main Stre...