Blue Mouse Theatre facts for kids
The Blue Mouse Theatre was the name given to several old movie and live show theaters. These theaters were opened by a person named John Hamrick in the Pacific Northwest part of the United States. It's thought that the name 'Blue Mouse' might have come from a special lounge in Paris. John Hamrick often used this unique name for the very first theater he opened in each city.
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Blue Mouse Theatre in Proctor District, Tacoma
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The Blue Mouse Theatre in Tacoma's Proctor District opened on November 13, 1923. It was first called "Blue Mouse Jr." This theater is special because it's Washington state's oldest movie theater that has been open continuously.
When it was designed in the 1920s, people said it was one of the best theaters outside of the main city area. It was called "Blue Mouse Jr." to tell it apart from a bigger Blue Mouse theater downtown. One of the first movies shown there might have been The Green Goddess. By 1929, its name changed to the Proctor Street Theater.
The theater was doing well and was sold in 1932. Later, in 1972, it was bought again. In 1980, it was renamed the Bijou. But it had trouble competing with newer, larger movie theaters. It was almost turned into an office building.
Luckily, in 1993, a group of 17 people who wanted to save old buildings bought it. They were called the Blue Mouse Associates. They worked hard to fix up the theater, bringing back its original look with wood, stucco, and marble. The group changed its name back to the Blue Mouse Theatre. Now, it's a popular place in the community, showing movies that have already been released for a while. The community also helps support the theater with donations.
A famous glass artist from Tacoma, Dale Chihuly, designed special neon blue mice. You can see these mice "scurrying" across the theater's sign. The theater has 221 seats and is located at 2611 North Proctor Street in Tacoma. On January 13, 2010, this Blue Mouse Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the United States. This means it's recognized as an important historical place.
Blue Mouse Theatre in Downtown Tacoma
The Blue Mouse in downtown Tacoma first opened as the Apollo theater. It had 650 seats. In 1922, it became a Blue Mouse Theatre. This was the first theater in Tacoma to show "talkies," which were movies with sound. One famous movie shown there was The Jazz Singer in January 1928. The theater was located at 1131-1133 Broadway. It was torn down in 1960 to make way for a new street escalator.
Blue Mouse Theatre in Portland
The Blue Mouse Theatre in Portland opened at 1032 SW Washington Street. This spot was first a Globe Theater in 1912. Then, John Hamrick took it over and completely updated it in 1921. It had a special Wurlitzer organ that arrived from the factory in 1922. This theater showed the first movie with sound in Portland in 1926, which was John Barrymore in Don Juan.
The company that owned the theater closed it around 1936. But it reopened in 1940 thanks to Paul Forsythe. He showed "family films and kiddie matinees," which are special movie showings for children. This was very popular, and many people became loyal fans of the Blue Mouse. However, the theater had to close again when the property was sold, and the building was going to be torn down.
The Blue Mouse Theatre sign was moved to the Capitol Theatre building downtown in 1958. This new location was at 626 SW 4th Street. It stayed open until 1977. Then, the whole "Blue Mouse Block" was torn down to build a large parking lot.
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 had a Wurlitzer organ. It only stayed open until 1923. The building is still standing today at 106 NW 2nd Street and still looks like a theater from the outside.
Blue Mouse Theatre in Seattle
The Blue Mouse Theatre in Seattle was built around 1920. It was torn down in 1972. This was to make room for a tall bank building.
