Historical theaters in Spokane

Whether at the Clemmer, the Cineograph or Hippodrome, Spokanites paid their dime and saddled up for an hour or so of diversion. It’s hard to imagine the array of choices moviegoers had in downtown theathers 100 years ago, let alone the grand opening of the Fox that drew 20,000 people to admire the rich decor and richer celebrities on hand.

Section:Gallery

Fri., Feb. 2, 2018

Historic photo of the Liberty Theater in 1937.

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Molly Quinn The Spokesman-Review
The Liberty, left, and the Granada, right, can be seen in this 1938 photo looking down Riverside.

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Auditorium Theater looking northeast from Review Tower in 1891.

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Spokane Auditorium Theater building in 1927.

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Interior of Spokane’s Auditorium in 1970.

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Theater impresario Alexander Pantages built this Greek revival theater, designed for both vaudeville and movies, in 1917 on Howard St. in Spokane. It was a stop on the “Pantages circuit” where national acts rotated through on a weekly basis. Later, the theater went out of business in 1929 and reopened the next year as the Orpheum, mainly showing movies. The building was torn down in 1958 and the space used as a parking lot until the Parkade was built in 1966.

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Orpheum Theater in 1928.

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Exterior view of the Hippodrome in 1955.

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The Curtis Style Shop is pictured on the southeast corner of Howard Street and First Avenue in the mid-1920s. Located in the Columbia Building, the shop carried men’s and women’s clothing. The building was erected in 1907. Pictured on the right is the Hippodrome Theatre on Howard Street.

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Colville Reservation, Land Drawing at American Theatre in 1916.

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The Post Theater in 1972.

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Spokane Civic Theater players go to a movie at the Post in 1963.

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Riverside Theater in 1962.

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Wording on the marquee of the Riverside theater spells out the news that Spokane Civic Theatre plays will soon be seen on the stage of the former Favorite Theaters house in 1957.

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The State Theater building at Sprague and Lincoln was among properties sold in 1966 by heirs of August Paulsen.

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An every day occurrence last week was a crowd extending from Sprague to First awaiting entrance to the State theater to see the picture, “Kings of Kings” in 1951.The Spokane Council of Churches, sponsor of the showing, will hold the film over another week. The film, which depicts the life of Christ, will be presented at 10 a.m. daily.

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Cinema I holds 610 persons in the auditorium in 1970.

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Robert V. Olive of Cinema 1 & 2 Theaters in 1970.

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Theater Cinema I & II in this 1970 photo.

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The Rex Theater, shown around 1912, at 326 W. Riverside in downtown Spokane. The spot is now a parking lot in 2012. THEN AND NOW The Rex Theater, decorated with an elaborate rococo plaster facade, opened at 326 W. Riverside around 1908 as the Empire Theater offering light opera, vaudeville shows and first-run silent movies in the midst of Spokane's bustling boom years. Remodeled as the Rex in 1912, the long skinny hall competed with several other downtown movie houses for moviegoers' money. As its glory faded, cheap ticket prices kept it going through the Depression. During WWII, it was advertised as being Òopen all nightÓ, a place where servicemen, in town on leave or in transit to other places, could grab some sleep, a practice that was common in hotel and business lobbies around town. With only 200-250 seats, it was too small to get first-run movies. In the 50s and 60s, the 300 block of Riverside was part of skid row and the theater was notorious for showing X-rated movies. Spokesman-Review columnist Chris Peck wrote that few tears were shed when it closed in 1983 because of a failing heating system. Peck described the end of the now-sleazy movie house: "A few dozen lonely losers filed out into the January night, the one cashier/projectionist turned off the soft drink machine and that was it." The building was demolished in 1990.

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This photo was taken just a few days before the grand opening of the Fox Theater in Spokane on Sept. 3, 1931. The Fox Theater was built where Louie Adams' old beer parlor had been located. The theater cost $1 million to build, and many improvements also were made in the early 1950s. Fow plated some of the top films, including "Snow White", "Oklahoma", "Gone with the Wind" and "Stage Door Canteen."

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The line ran around the block at the Fox Theater in 1943 to see Patrice Munsel in her first concert in her hometown. Munsel was a coloratura soprano with the Metropolitan Opera and returned to Spokane for a benefit concert for the American Red Cross.

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