Chehalis Theater
Chehalis Theater, November 2021
Former namesBeau Arts Building, Pix Theater
Address558 N Market Blvd[lower-alpha 1]
Chehalis, Washington
United States of America
Coordinates46°39′57″N 122°58′14″W / 46.66583°N 122.97056°W / 46.66583; -122.97056
ParkingStreet
OwnerMcFiler's Supernaut LLC
Capacity450
Screens1
Current useFilm, live entertainment, and cuisine
Construction
Built1923
OpenedDecember 7, 1938
Renovated1938, 1954, 1996, 2016, 2018, 2021
Website
mcfilerschehalistheater.com

The Chehalis Theater, also as the Chehalis Theatre, is a single-screen, Art Deco movie theater in Chehalis, Washington. The theater is situated at the north end of the Chehalis Historic Downtown District near the Hotel Washington. Known locally for the hand-painted illustrations of popular children's fantasy characters that once populated the ceiling,[2] it is the only surviving movie house in the city.

Since the theater's last renovation that began in 2021, it has been renamed McFiler's Chehalis Theater.

History of the Chehalis Theater

A wood structure that housed a horse livery and stable occupied the site as far back as 1907.[3][4] The terra-cotta building was constructed in 1923 and was originally named the Beau Arts Building, and it is also known as the Gabel Building.[5][6] First home to a Ford car dealership, the location became known as St. John's Garage[5] and the Chehalis Garage.[7]

After the structure was renovated to become a movie house, it opened on December 7, 1938, as the Pix Theater, seating 653;[5][6] the first film shown was Bob Hope's Thanks for the Memory.[8][9] A large newspaper spread in The Centralia Daily Chronicle was printed welcoming the theater. The Twin City Theatre Company, under the direction of Arthur St, John, were the owners of the new movie house and promised to provide first and second-run movies at "popular prices".[9]

The Pix originally had a triangular marquee with fluorescent lighting.[9] The theater's initial decor included a lobby with red and blue carpeting, and the theater viewing area, equipped with a balcony,[9] had red silk lined, blue-and-gold fleur-de-lis accented walls, red velour seats, and women had access to a cosmetic room.[3][9] The building had air conditioning, was fireproofed, and great measures were taken to provide clear sound and viewing angles.[9] A pipe organ was initially installed but was relocated and rebuilt after an unknown time to a church in Fremont, Seattle.[10] Typically shown at the theater during its early beginnings were a sequence of newsreels, cartoons, and westerns.[11]

The building sustained damage during the 1949 Olympia earthquake but continued to operate.[7] Closed for a short time in 1953,[4] it was named Chehalis Theater in 1954 after a brief renovation during its closure.[3][5][lower-alpha 2] The remodel included a new screen that could show a variety of film productions, including CinemaScope and 3-D.[1] A marquee from the St. Helen's Theater in Chehalis would be added to the building facade during the project.[1][12] The Roewe family owned and operated the theater in the 1970s and the movie house was run by a theater chain for a time, projecting films until 1988.[4][5]

Due to economic hardships and maintenance backlogs, the theater shut down and became a video rental store named Video Time.[5] During this period, several murals of children's cartoon characters were painted on the ceiling.[13] After the theater was sold in 1994 to Daryl Lund, also the owner of the Yard Birds Cinema 3 at the time,[14] it hosted a flea market and Lund would refer to both the Cinema 3 complex and the Chehalis Theater as the Chehalis Cinemas.[4][5] Lund leased the theater to Jerry Rese who began a large restoration in 1996, finding and reusing decor and machinery stored at the theater. The movie house at the time listed the screen to be 16 ft × 32 ft (4.9 m × 9.8 m) and the venue had a footprint of 5,000 square feet (460 m2).[13] The interior had a green decor and Rese removed the original patterned theater carpeting. He installed 298 seats that were original to another closed theater and had the concession stand in the lobby rebuilt. There were plans to reopen the playhouse as a second-run theater.[13] The marquee was restored in 2000.[4]

The independent movie, The Immigrant Garden, premiered at the theater in 2001.[15] There were brief periods of screening films into 2008, including some new releases, when the location ceased operations until 2016 due to competition with the larger, upgraded Midway Cinemas at the Lewis County Mall.[5][11][16][17] There were two brief attempts to reopen the Chehalis Theater in 2009 and into the next year, but the potential revivals never came to fruition.[18]

In 2003, the Chehalis Historic Preservation Commission awarded the Chehalis Theater with a listing and plaque recognizing the historical importance, and restoration efforts, of the movie house.[3][4]

2016 and 2018 renovations

Chehalis Theater, Chehalis, Washington LCCN2017708133

The first renovation began in 2016 after a new owner, Ralph Hubbert, leased the building to a local proprietor. The theater contained original and antique film machinery, including a toilet in the projection room, and the balcony was intact.[7] The restorations focused on reviving and saving much of the Art Deco style,[6] while adding an upstairs bar, dining area, and kitchen. The theater began film showings in October, the first since late 2008, and charged $5 for admission. The first films shown were Hotel Transylvania and The Addams Family.[19] The new proprietor added musical acts as well as live screenings of Seattle Seahawks games.[11] The cartoon murals on the ceiling, added at an unknown time but not original to the theater, were preserved owing to the community support for the work. The occupancy was listed as 285.[7]

In late 2018, a new lease agreement with a local Chehalis family led to additional renovations. The owners continued to screen movies and provide live musical entertainment while concentrating on pizza as the main cuisine option.[20]

2021 renovations and reopening

In 2020, a local restaurateur bought the theater and started the third restoration in five years in 2021. Renaming the location as McFiler's Chehalis Theater, early plans included a reopening later that year or early 2022, with the expectation to continue to screen movies while providing restaurant dining and live entertainment. Adhering to ADA requirements and new building codes, extensive remodeling was done to large portions of the theater, including a modified marquee. The ceiling illustrations were to be painted over but photographed and displayed along with antique equipment from the building.[2]

The theater had a soft opening in late 2022,[2] and an official ribbon-cutting ceremony took place in March 2023.[21] The theater, since its reopening, has hosted events tied to the 75th anniversary of the Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting[22] and a symposium on Bigfoot that included speaker Cliff Barackman.[23] The theater hosted the first Northwest Flying Saucer Film Fest in 2023, coinciding with the city's Flying Saucer Party.[24]

As of 2023, the Chehalis Theater listed an occupancy of 450[25] and was opened to fine dining, comedy shows, musical performances, charity events, live televised sports, and film presentations.

Notes

  1. ↑ The original address was 798 Market Street before a city-wide renumbering of addresses.[1]
  2. ↑ There are conflicting reports that the name change may have occurred in 1958, but the vast majority of publications refer to 1954.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Movie House Due Chehalis". The Daily Chronicle. August 6, 1954. p. 1. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Fitzgerald, Emily (June 16, 2021). "Renovations Ramp Up at McFiler's Chehalis Theater". The Chronicle. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Emerson, Amy (May 10, 2003). "Chehalis honors property owners". The Chronicle. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Emerson, Amy (May 10, 2003). "Hometown Proud". The Chronicle. pp. 21–22. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Nailon, Jordan (October 6, 2016). "Chehalis Theater Draws a Crowd Once More". The Chronicle. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 "Historic Theatres - Statewide Survey and Physical Needs Assesment" (PDF). dahp.wa.gov. WA State Dept of Archaeology & Historic Preservation.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Nailon, Jordan (May 26, 2016). "The Show Will Go On at the Chehalis Theater After Sale". The Chronicle. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  8. ↑ Layton, Ken. "Chehalis Theater". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "New Chehalis Theater To Open Tomorrow Night". The Centralia Daily Chronicle. December 6, 1938. p. 2. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Chehalis Theatre 2/8 Wicks Robert Morton". Puget Sound Pipeline. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 Carlson, Greg (December 21, 2016). "The Chehalis Theatre: A Historical Building Lives On". Lewis Talk. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  12. ↑ Felthous, Dave. "Chehalis Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 Pfeifer, Larissa (June 20, 1996). "Theater Rebirth". The Chronicle. pp. 49–50. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  14. ↑ Emerson, Amy (April 15, 2003). "$1.5 million expansion planned at theater". The Chronicle. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  15. ↑ Paulu, Tom (May 21, 2001). "A Touch of Hollywood in Chehalis". The Daily News (Longview, Washington). Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  16. ↑ Brewer, Christopher (January 15, 2015). "For Sale: One Theater, Asking Price $299,000". The Chronicle. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  17. ↑ Allen, Marqise (January 6, 2009). "Chehalis Cinema Closes". The Chronicle. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  18. ↑ Allen, Marqise (December 26, 2009). "Bright Lights Set to Return to Market Street". The Chronicle. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  19. ↑ The Chronicle staff (November 1, 2016). "Chehalis Theatre Screens First Movies in Eight Years". The Chronicle. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  20. ↑ Hayes, Katie (December 20, 2018). "New Managers Take Over Chehalis Theatre, Plan to Host Live Entertainment, Serve Pizza". The Chronicle. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  21. ↑ Wenzelburger, Jared (March 6, 2023). "A Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Held for McFiler's Chehalis Theater". The Chronicle. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  22. ↑ Sexton, Owen (September 19, 2022). "Chehalis Celebrates 75th Anniversary of 1947 Historic UFO Sighting With Flying Saucer Party". The Chronicle. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  23. ↑ Sexton, Owen (April 17, 2023). "Hundreds Attend 'Bigfoot: Real or Hoax?' Event in Chehalis". The Chronicle. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  24. ↑ Sexton, Owen (September 28, 2023). "Inaugural Northwest Flying Saucer Film Fest in Chehalis showcases 19 short films". The Chronicle. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  25. ↑ Fitzgerald, Emily (February 8, 2023). "HUB Comedy and McFiler's Chehalis Theater Partner to Bring Big Name Acts". The Chronicle. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
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