4th Avenue Theatre

Patsy on March 1, 2007 at 7:56 am

Wonderful Alaskan sunset photo with the lighted 4th Avenue marquee.

lostmemory on January 29, 2007 at 5:08 am

Here is a b/w photo of the 4th Avenue Theater.

GaryParks on December 19, 2006 at 4:38 pm

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.

Patsy on September 22, 2006 at 4:21 pm

ken mc: Your flickr color photo posted on 2/4/06 was beautiful.

Patsy on September 22, 2006 at 4:16 pm

ken mc: The 1947 interior photo was spectacular!

Patsy on May 19, 2006 at 8:51 am

May the citizens of Anchorage AK do the right thing and restore their theatre…they won’t regret it now or in the future!

lostmemory on May 19, 2006 at 5:22 am

The link to the Associated Press article posted on April 3, 2006 doesn’t seem to work. Here is that article:

Anchorage voters to decide theater’s fate

By RACHEL D'ORO Associated Press Writer

Monday, April 03, 2006 8:29 a.m. ET

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An opulent movie theater that has been an Anchorage icon for almost 60 years is facing what could be its final drama.

The 4th Avenue Theatre _ elegant yet strong enough to withstand North America’s greatest earthquake unscathed _ is on the market and could fall victim to the wrecking ball.

Anchorage voters will decide Tuesday whether to let the city borrow up to $2 million to buy the theater and restore it, provided city officials can get another $2 million in matching funds.

Owner Robert Gottstein, 51, a lifelong Alaskan who grew up watching movies there, said the 40,000-square-foot theater’s survival may depend on finding a buyer.

“It’s a jewel that once gone, is gone,” said Gottstein, who is asking $4 million for the theater. “Now here’s this opportunity to prevent it from being destroyed.”

If a recent poll proves true, most voters oppose footing even part of the bill.

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.”

But for preservation advocates, the downtown theater _ now rented out for weddings, fundraisers, catered banquets and special events _ is more than a pretty facade.

To them, it’s a pioneer of glamour and genteel magnificence brought to a disheveled young town that began as a tent camp for railroad construction crews. It’s a symbol of permanence in a city with a sizable number of newcomers.

A city task force is exploring the idea of turning it into a multi-use community venue. Options being considered include movies, plays, recitals, lectures, a small museum, even leasing the vacant office space on the third floor _ while retaining the original character of the building.

“There’s so much history there,” said task force member Les Sheppard. “It’d be really a shame to lose it.”

Brass and glass doors mark the entrance to a lush interior featuring fluted walnut, Italian marble and trim in copper, gold and brass. There are gold- and silver-leaf murals of Alaska wildlife, industries and Mount McKinley. Outside, a vertical marquee glows in pink and green neon.

When the theater was completed in 1947, the finished product was an unprecedented achievement in Alaska, according to Anthony Veerkamp with the National Trust for Historical Preservation.

“I know it sounds like hyperbole, but I really think it’s the single most architecturally distinctive building in the state,” Veerkamp said. “I don’t know of another building there that’s as rich in detail.”

The building might need some upgrades, such as a new roof and carpet. But Gottstein points out that the structure is sound, undamaged by a 9.2 magnitude earthquake in 1964.

“If the theater is worth saving, it’s worth buying,” he said. “If it’s not worth buying, it’s not worth saving.”

shopdown on April 14, 2006 at 8:28 pm

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)

Patsy on April 5, 2006 at 6:46 am

I just hope there aren’t many Mike Vogel’s in Anchorage that feel the way he does about the 4th Avenue Theatre!

dyban on April 3, 2006 at 5:13 am

Associated Press article from April 3, 2006, on the theatre.

View link

lostmemory on October 17, 2005 at 8:19 am

This is another photo of the 4th Avenue Theater.

teecee on March 2, 2005 at 12:40 pm

Modern photo:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/47126585biEWlo