Minor Theater facts for kids
The Minor Theatre is a very old and special movie theater located in Arcata, California. It's one of the oldest movie theaters in the United States that was built just for showing movies! It first opened its doors a long, long time ago, in 1914. Today, it's still a popular place where people can go to watch films.
Contents
History of the Minor Theatre
Building the Historic Theater
The Minor Theatre was built by a person named Isaac Minor. It cost about $20,000 to build, which was a lot of money back then! Construction started on April 2, 1914. The builders used strong materials like reinforced concrete. This made the theater very safe and helped protect it from fires. The building was finished in November 1914.
Grand Opening and Early Years
The Minor Theatre had its big grand opening on December 3, 1914. Imagine going to the movies there over 100 years ago! The theater was designed to be more than just a movie house. It had a large stage that could fit a big group of performers, like a chorus of 75 people. There was even space for a twelve-person orchestra to play live music during shows or silent movies.
Closures and Reopenings
Over the years, the Minor Theatre has closed and reopened a few times.
- It closed in 1938 but opened again in the 1950s.
- It closed once more in the 1960s. This happened because many people started watching television at home.
- The theater reopened in 1972.
- It closed briefly in 2016 but quickly reopened just a few months later.
A cool fact about the theater is that it still has a special trap door. This trap door was once used by the famous magician Harry Houdini!
New Ownership and Modern Changes
In 1971, a group of graduates from Humboldt State University bought the theater from the Minor family. One of these graduates was David Phillips, who helped start the Humboldt International Film Festival.
The Arcata City Council approved some updates to the theater in January 1989. Later, in 2006, a company called Coming Attractions Theatres leased the building. They made some big changes. They added two more movie screens by using space from a building next door. Now, the Minor Theatre has three screens and can seat 461 people.
Since 2017, the Minor Theatre has been the main home for the Humboldt International Film Festival. This festival is a big event that celebrates movies from all over the world.
See also
- Arcata Theatre
