HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Topeka's 1926 movie palace, closed in 1976 and now mid-restoration toward its August 2026 centennial, carries local lore of a woman who fell from the balcony; the building appeared in the 2021 TV special 'Haunted Topeka.'
720 SW Jackson St, Topeka, KS 66603
Research updated August 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
The theater closed to regular audiences in 1976 and reopened in a limited gallery and event configuration in 2007. A $15 million restoration is underway as of 2026, targeting the theater's August 1926 centennial; the building is closed for construction outside of scheduled public events. Check jayhawktheatre.org for current access.
Access
Limited Access
Downtown Topeka sidewalk access; building interior access is limited to scheduled events during the restoration.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1926 · 1926 Thomas W. Williamson-designed movie palace (Boller Brothers plans), 1,550 seats · Operated as Topeka's premier downtown theater for 50 years · Listed on the National Register of Historic Places; designated State Theatre of Kansas (1993) · Closed 1976; reopened as a 300-seat gallery/event space in 2007; mid-restoration toward its 2026 centennial
The Jayhawk Theatre at 720 SW Jackson Street was among the finest movie palaces built in Kansas during the silent-film era's architectural high-water mark. Designed by Topeka architect Thomas W. Williamson, working from plans supplied by the Boller Brothers of Kansas City, and opened on August 16, 1926, it seated 1,550 patrons in an ornate interior that combined movie-house programming with live vaudeville performance, a standard combination for large-market theaters of the period.
The design drew on the atmospheric theater tradition, blending classical motifs with the theatrical excess that characterized 1920s picture palaces. The Jayhawk served Topeka's downtown entertainment district through the Golden Age of Hollywood and into the television era, when the combination of suburban migration and changing entertainment habits began to erode downtown theater attendance nationwide.
The theater closed to regular audiences in 1976, a casualty of the same forces that shuttered hundreds of similar venues across the Midwest during the 1960s and 1970s. It did not stay fully dark. In February 2007 a nonprofit reopened part of the building as The Gallery, a smaller event and exhibition space seating roughly 300, home to local art shows, a small music venue, and volunteer gatherings. The Kansas Legislature had already designated the Jayhawk the official State Theatre of Kansas in 1993. As of 2026 the building is closed to daily visitors for a $15 million restoration aimed at quadrupling seating capacity and completing the work in time for the theater's August 1926 centennial, with preservation tours and centennial events scheduled through the construction period.
Wikipedia's article on the Jayhawk Theatre confirms the 1926 opening date, the 1,550-seat original capacity, Williamson's design credit, and the 1976 closure. The theater is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sources
The central ghost story attached to the Jayhawk concerns a woman said to have fallen from the theater's balcony during its operating years. The specific circumstances — date, identity, and manner — are not documented in the historical sources examined; the account circulates through Topeka ghost tour oral tradition and city-tourism listings. Visit Topeka's official urban legends blog includes the Jayhawk among the city's haunted locations.
The building's 50-year run as a major entertainment venue means it accumulated a substantial audience history before closing in 1976. The balcony-fall legend, whether documented or not, fits a pattern common to historic theaters: large public spaces with vertical architecture and long institutional histories naturally accrue stories of accidents and falls.
The theater appeared in the 2021 made-for-TV Halloween special 'Haunted Topeka' (IMDB title tt16243330), which documented the building's paranormal reputation for a regional audience. Fox 43 KTMJ has also covered the Jayhawk in Halloween programming. Reports describing unexplained sounds and general atmospheric unease date mostly to the years the building sat mostly dark between 1976 and its partial 2007 reopening as The Gallery, and to off-hours during the current restoration.
The theater is regularly included in Topeka ghost tour narratives; interior access now runs through the nonprofit Historic Jayhawk Theatre Inc.'s scheduled events during the restoration.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
View the Jayhawk Theatre's 1926 movie-palace facade on SW Jackson St in downtown Topeka. The building is closed for its ongoing $15 million restoration outside of scheduled public events, and is a stop on area ghost tour narratives.
Some links on this page may earn HauntBound a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial picks are independent. Full disclosure
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Free Guide
11 verified stops, rated for families, mapped in order. Free.
One email to confirm, then the guide link. Unsubscribe anytime.
Redlands, CA
The Redlands Fox Theatre was built in 1927 and opened December 28, 1928, as a 1,505-seat Mission Revival picture house designed by Lewis A. Smith for the West Coast Theatres chain. After West Coast merged with Fox Theatres in 1929 it became the Fox West Coast Redlands. The building reopened in 2009 as the Fox Event Center.
Columbus, IN
The Crump Theatre's front building dates to 1871, with the theatre itself added behind it in 1889. Crump's New Theatre opened October 30, 1889, after John S. Crump purchased the property following the burning of his earlier opera house a block away.
Seattle, WA
Built in 1907 by Seattle real-estate developer James A. Moore and designed by E.W. Houghton, the Moore opened on December 28, 1907, with 2,436 seats — the largest theater in the city at the time. It is Seattle's oldest still-operating theater and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Today it is operated as a live-performance venue by the non-profit Seattle Theatre Group.