Gem Theatre
160 South State Street,
Salt Lake City,
UT
84111
160 South State Street,
Salt Lake City,
UT
84111
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The Salt Lake Tribune on August 4, 1951 said that Consolidated Theatres had recently purchased the Gem for $100,000 from W.E. Shipley, who had owned it for more than 25 years. Architect Slack Winburn was hired to redesign the Gem. Consolidated Theatres was a branch of Intermountain Theatres (not to be confused with Fox Intermountain), which operated the Capitol, Utah and Centre theaters. Consolidated’s second run theaters in Salt Lake were the Gem, Crest, Halladay, Cinema Art, Auditorium, and the Redwood and Hyland drive-ins. For marketing purposes their newspaper ads were kept under separate banners so the general public probably didn’t know the relationship. A 1929 Tribune article said William Fox of Fox Theatres had once owned Consolidated Theatres, but this was before Fox’s bankruptcy.
By the sixties it was showing Grade C films.“REFORM SCHOOL GIRLS” and “DRAGSTRIP GIRL” were playing together on Oct.2 1959.
I was noticing the pagoda-like boxoffice in that 1912 photo. It’s an interesting bit of Chinoiserie set amid the European classical details of the facade. It looks like there might have been some Art Nouveau stained glass in the arch, the doors, and the upper floor windows as well. I wonder if there are any surviving photos of the interior?
It was a real GEM of a theatre.
This was the Liberty in 1916.
Here is a photo of the Liberty Theater at 162 South State Street. Date given for photo is March 15, 1912. Was it named the Liberty Theater because of the figure of the Statue of Liberty mounted on the facade?
It appears the Gem Theatre was part of a small chain of 14 theatres scattered thru out Utah. They were all under the name of GEM. I wonder if a Gem Theatre still operates today??
The marquee shot of The Valient and Sword of the COnqueror would be circa 1962; the IMDB date for both films. Useless but interesting information. j
Two vintage photos of the Gem Theater are here.
This was one of the most beautiful small theaters I ever saw.They managed to stuff a lot of features into a small house.
The place is definitely gone.I used to love downtown SLC.It was actually one the the last downtowns to go totally pear shaped.I lived downtown for some many months from Aug,69 to June 70.My wife and I could walk to any number of theaters and great eateries that are all long gone.The Hotel Utah was still one of the world’s greatest.The soon to be gone,if not already, Inn on Temple Square was a sleazy hotel and the bus station.My,but time does march on.I wish all the best to the soulless pratts that think they can save the place.They want a G-rated urban paradise in a R-rated world.It will be tough sledding,or rafting if the spring floods come,as they might again.
I’ll be in UT nxt wk.I’ll look.
Is it still standing?
Thanks for that.In my senility,I was sure I had been there in 64-65,I guess I was.
One website that I found gives a closing date of 1968. Cinematour has an aka name of Liberty theater for the Gem.
http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=us&id=16706
When did this place close?
The Gem Theatre seated 695 people.