THE EMPIRE THEATER IN ANACORTES

THE EMPIRE THEATER IN ANACORTES

I was reading obituaries in my home town newspaper, The Anacortes American, for names I might recognize. There was an entry about Nora Elizabeth Hinkley that said that after school she worked as an usherette at the Empire Theater escorting patrons to their seats using a flash light. That certainly brought Empire.1950back memories to me about this historic Anacortes movie theater. I thought of the ticket booth with the young woman behind the glass where you bought tickets, the users in their uniforms and the splendor of the place. Of course, that was through the eyes of a child. Perhaps it wasn’t that wonderful.

The theater was located at 620 Commercial Avenue right across the street from our family grocery store, Luvera’s Market. It had been built around 1910 of re-enforced concrete and was of the cities earliest movie theaters. The present owners father, Phil Burton, had purchased it from H.L. Dodge in 1930.

The theater had 580 seats. It had special lounge seats that were larger and more comfortable to sit in. Located in the back of theater, you had to pay extra to sit in them. Given that tickets in 1930's were around fifteen cents, the price wasn’t that expensive.  

According the a website devoted to theater organs: http://www.pstos.org/instruments/wa/anacortes/empire.htmIt originally had an organ that had been in the Egyptian Theater in Maywood, California in 1925. The organ was a Wurlitzer opus 1022. In 1937 this organ was moved to the Empire Theater. Later it was removed and installed at Finlay’s Mortuary in Portland Oregon. Interestingly, the website says this organ is now owned by a couple in Kenmore, Washington where it is located in their home.

I’ve written briefly about this theater before.https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2010/06/charlie-chan-the-saturday-mantine.htBy the way, there was another theater in town when I was growing up. It was the Island Theater at 801 Commercial. It later became a bank. While both buildings still are there in Anacortes, neither is operated as a movie theater. Empire_streetscene-1940s

Luvera's Market is visible just beyond the clock on the street. The Empire Theater is located where the clock stands. This was taken in the 1940's. Note the cars in the photo.

One thought on “THE EMPIRE THEATER IN ANACORTES

  1. Thank you for the memories of the Empire Theatre. My mother, Virginia Finnson Wilson, worked there during high school and World War II. She loved working there and told stories of watching the war news reels as they came in. She and dad (Chuck) later worked at Lyle’s grocery for many years. As a child I remember Lavers’s and the produce outside.

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