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Lewiston Community Theatre


2004 Photo from the Grant Smith collection.
29 S Main St
Lewiston UT 84320

Visit Website National Register 1985
Record #9204  
 Opened: August 2, 1935
Capacity: 380 seats
Architect(s):
Architectural Style(s):
National Register: 1985    Bldg # 85000799
Current Organ: none
 Also Known As:

Information for this tour was contributed by Grant Smith.

The Lewiston Community Theatre is one of only a handful of city-owned movie theaters left in the country. The cinema, which occupies the same building as City Hall, caters to families and offers low-cost admission and concessions.

The Lewiston Community Theatre was built as a replacement for the Lewiston Opera House, which was destroyed by fire on Christmas Eve in 1930. After the fire, the city decided to put a new building on the site that would house not only a theater but also a library, post office, a dance and recreation hall, city offices, and a jail.

In 1934, Lewiston obtained funding for the building through the Public Works Administration, a program enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression.

The Lewiston Community Theatre cost $56,000 and opened on Friday, 2 August 1935. The first movie was "The Gay Divorcee", starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Admission was 10 cents for children and 50 cents for adults.

In the beginning years the Lewiston Community Theatre had no concession stand, so moviegoers would stop at a nearby drug store to buy candy and snacks to bring to the show.

Children used to see free movies at the Lewiston Community Theatre as a reward for delivering the theater's calendar of upcoming events.

The Lewiston Community Theatre used to show Spanish-language films on Sundays for Mexican immigrants who came from all over Cache Valley. After the movie they would have dances in the adjacent recreation hall.

The stage of the Lewiston Community Theatre has been used for plays and road shows put on by local church and civic groups. Many performers signed their names on the wall behind the movie screen.

Today, the 380-seat movie house is only open three days a week, but still draws a good-sized crowd. Tickets are only $2 a seat and popcorn is only 50 cents. Nothing at the concession stand costs more than $1.50.

The theater's best night is often Monday, when admission for the entire family is only $10. The Lewiston Community Theatre has a policy against showing R-rated movies, but family films usually sell the best anyway.


Sources:

"Lewiston's beloved theater: 2 bucks a seat, 50 cents for popcorn", Hard News Cafe , 29 October 2003

"Picture show salute", Herald Journal , 22 November 2003

 Photos
 Photos remain the property of the Member and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Member.

June 2004 photos from the Grant Smith collection.


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Last featured 2002-12-27. Last edited 1/12/2011.


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