Blue Mouse Theatre facts for kids
The Blue Mouse Theatre was the name given to several old movie theaters and vaudeville houses. Vaudeville was a type of entertainment with different acts, like singing, dancing, and comedy, before movies became popular. These theaters were started by a man named John Hamrick in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It's thought that the name "Blue Mouse" might have come from a lounge in Paris. John Hamrick often used this unique name for the very first theater he opened in each city.
Contents
The Blue Mouse Theatre in Tacoma's Proctor District
.jpg)
The Blue Mouse Theatre in the Proctor District of Tacoma, Washington, opened on November 13, 1923. It was first called "Blue Mouse Jr." because it was smaller than the main Blue Mouse theater downtown. This theater is special because it's Washington's oldest movie theater that has been open continuously since it started!
When it was built in the 1920s, people thought it was one of the best local theaters. One of the first movies shown there might have been The Green Goddess, a dramatic film. In 1929, its name changed to the Proctor Street Theater. The theater did well and was sold in 1932. Later, in 1972, it was bought again. In 1980, it was renamed the Bijou. However, it struggled to compete with bigger, newer movie theaters and was almost turned into offices.
Luckily, in 1993, a group of 17 people who wanted to save old buildings, called the Blue Mouse Associates, bought it. They worked hard to bring back the building's original look, including its wooden beams, stucco, and marble. They changed its name back to the Blue Mouse Theatre. Now, it's a popular spot in the community, showing movies that have already been released. The theater gets help from generous donations from the community. A famous glass artist from Tacoma, Dale Chihuly, even designed blue neon mice that look like they are running across the theater's sign! This cozy theater has 221 seats and is located at 2611 North Proctor Street in Tacoma.
Because of its history and importance, this Blue Mouse Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the United States on January 13, 2010.
The Blue Mouse Theatre in Downtown Tacoma
The Blue Mouse Theatre in downtown Tacoma first opened as the Apollo theater. It had 650 seats. In 1922, it reopened as a Blue Mouse Theatre. This theater was very important because it was the first one in Tacoma to show "talkies," which were movies with sound! One famous "talkie" shown there was The Jazz Singer in January 1928. Sadly, this theater was torn down in 1960 to make space for a new street escalator. It was located at 1131-1133 Broadway.
The Blue Mouse Theatre in Portland
The Blue Mouse Theatre in Portland, Oregon, was located at 1032 SW Washington Street. This building first opened as the Globe Theater in 1912. Then, in 1921, John Hamrick took it over and completely remodeled it. The theater had a special Wurlitzer organ, which was shipped directly from the factory in 1922. Organists like Harry Quinn Mills and Dubois Cornish played music for the silent films shown there. The organ was last used for silent movies in March 1928.
This Portland theater was also a pioneer. It hosted the first sound movie in Portland in 1926, which was Don Juan, starring John Barrymore.
The theater closed around 1936. However, it reopened in 1940 under Paul Forsythe. He showed movies for families and special matinees for kids. This was a big success, and many young and old people became loyal fans of the Blue Mouse. But the theater faced a problem when the property was sold, and the building was planned to be torn down.
In 1958, the Blue Mouse Theatre's sign was moved to the Capitol Theatre building downtown. This new location was at 626 SW 4th Street. The theater stayed in business there until 1977. At that time, the entire "Blue Mouse Block" was demolished to make way for a large parking lot.
The Blue Mouse Theatre in Corvallis
The Blue Mouse Theatre in Corvallis, Oregon, was built in 1921. It was a "tiny gem" of a theater and also had a Wurlitzer organ. However, it only lasted for a short time, closing in 1923. The building is still standing today at 106 NW 2nd Street and still looks like a theater from the outside.
The Blue Mouse Theatre in Seattle
The Blue Mouse Theatre in Seattle, Washington, was built around 1920. It was torn down in 1972 to make room for a new tall bank building.
