4th Avenue Theatre
630 W. 4th Avenue,
Anchorage,
AK
99501
630 W. 4th Avenue,
Anchorage,
AK
99501
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Wonderful Alaskan sunset photo with the lighted 4th Avenue marquee.
Sunset in Alaska:
http://tinyurl.com/2lc9l7
The interior decoration of the 4th Avenue was done by Heinsbergen.
If you look at the 1940s photo of the mezzanine, you will notice on the right a wall over the staircase which is covered in square metal-leafed bas relief panels, depicting wildlife. Some of these patterns were also cast and installed in another Heinsbergen-decorated theatre, the Garden (1949) in San Jose, CA. The wildlife panels were in a single row atop the wall which backed the concession counter.
The Garden Theatre remained very well preserved through its 1988 closing. In 1989, the Garden was gutted and turned into an office and retail building. The abovementioned relief panels were removed, along with many other decorative features, prior to the building’s conversion. Many features now appear in a couple of other Bay Area theatres, but I have yet to see the wildlife relief panels displayed anywhere.
The Garden’s exterior remains largely intact, in fact the vertical sign had its neon restored just this past summer.
Credit the photographer, but it is an interesting building.
ken mc: Your flickr color photo posted on 2/4/06 was beautiful.
In the 1961 photo I’m sure the Woolworth store is long gone though the name brings back many wonderful memories.
ken mc: The 1947 interior photo was spectacular!
Scroll down for interior photos, 1947:
http://tinyurl.com/r2m5v
Exterior, 1949:
http://tinyurl.com/q3jcr
Exterior, 1961:
http://tinyurl.com/rcwzu
May the citizens of Anchorage AK do the right thing and restore their theatre…they won’t regret it now or in the future!
May the citizens of Anchorage AK do the right thing and restore their theatre…they won’t regret it now or in the future!
splicer: Nice to read your description of this theatre in Alaska so I hope that it can be saved and not go the way of many others in the lower 48!
I was a manager of the 4th avenue for the Wometco chain in the early eighties. It was a wild building to figure out. Art deco lighting hung from hand crank winches you had to crawl into the top level to lower and change the bulbs on, the main ceiling had tiny lights laid out in the shape of the big dipper, with a flashing one for the North Star. (see alaska state flag)
and the murals on either side of the screen.
the murals are hard to describe if not in front of them.
I’ve crawled around that building, it’s nice.
The chain’s owner had a penthouse on the roof.
The basement had his NBC tv station. Found old cardboard 55 gallon drums with civil defense labels poking around. The front outside sign is hollow to access the neon, can climb and exit at roof/penthouse level. The old candy storage room was behind a curved wood door that had curved bubbled glassed on the second story- could climb to second story from there (but there were exposed neon transformers)
“I really don’t feel my tax dollars should be involved in renovating something that belongs in the private sector,” said Mike Vogel, an insurance agent. “To be perfectly honest, the fact that it’s an architectural jewel doesn’t really push my buttons.” I clicked on the name, Mike Vogel in the AP article and don’t believe they are the same person, but I may be wrong. Hope someone can clear this matter up!
I just hope there aren’t many Mike Vogel’s in Anchorage that feel the way he does about the 4th Avenue Theatre!
I saw the same thing on CNN. It would be a shame to let it go to pot.
Associated Press article from April 3, 2006, on the theatre.
View link
Here is another photo:
http://flickr.com/photos/jschumacher/27384829/
The 4th Avenue Theatre opened in May 1947.
Modern photo:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/47126585biEWlo