McCleary Theater

124 South 3rd Street,
McCleary, WA 98557

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Auditorium interior looking towards projection booth

This small town wooden theater, built in 1930, was last used as an auction house. Fred Thibodeau, owner of the Skyline Drive-in Theater in Shelton, Washington owned and operated this theater in the late-1960’s until he closed it in 1971. All the theater seats, stage, snack bar, and projection booth were intact. The auction business installed a suspended ceiling in the auditorium and sold all of the projection equipment.

It has since been demolished.

Contributed by Ken Layton

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

KenLayton
KenLayton on May 6, 2005 at 4:35 pm

Sadly, this theater mysteriously burnt to the ground over a year ago. I went by the property a couple of weeks ago and it’s just an empty lot now. :(

kateymac01
kateymac01 on May 6, 2005 at 8:21 pm

From the local newspaper The Vidette on March 31, 2005:

Former McCleary theater and auction site may be sold
Two years ago, fire destroyed the old McCleary Auction House building, leaving a pile of rubble, and a $24,000 bill to clean up the remains, which the city footed when the owner didn’t. At the March 23 City Council meeting, a local couple, Joyce Graham, who ran the concession counter at the auction house, and her husband, Frank, told the Council they are interested in paying the $24,000 owed to the city to purchase the property to open a business.

KenLayton
KenLayton on September 6, 2005 at 12:53 pm

Last time I went by this was still a vacant lot.

KenLayton
KenLayton on June 7, 2011 at 6:35 pm

The former site of the theater is located between a gas station/convenience store and the police department.

KenLayton
KenLayton on July 18, 2011 at 5:29 am

According to the February 15, 1960 issue of Boxoffice Magazine, a man named Mel Stoney was associated with this theater.

KenLayton
KenLayton on April 13, 2014 at 4:27 pm

A Letter To the Editor in today’s The Olympian newspaper gives some more information on the McCleary Theater:

http://www.theolympian.com/2014/04/13/3084554/some-more-history-about-thibodeau.html?sp=/99/109/208/

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