Montesano Theater
116 Marcy Avenue,
Montesano,
WA
98563
116 Marcy Avenue,
Montesano,
WA
98563
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The ticket booth was removed in 1965 when the building was sold to the Odd Fellows. The outline of the ticket booth can still be seen in the concrete. This theater is now used by a church.
Contributed by
Ken Layton
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
Was this theater also known as Gwynn’s or Amour theater?
Film Daily Yearbooks 1941 and 1943 list this as the Monte Theatre. In the 1950 edition of F.D.Y. it is the New Monte Theatre.
This theater is now used as a church by Calvary Chapel. Some remodelling has taken place.
This is from Boxoffice magazine in December 1951:
MONTESANO, WASH.-Peter J. Koppinger has sold the New Montesano Theatre to Mr. and Mrs. G.E. Cressler of Seaside, Ore. As part of the deal, the Cresslers have sold the Beacon hotel in Seaside to the Koppingers, who came to Montesano in February 1948, when they bought the Montesano from Irvin Westenkow.
The address for the Calvary Chapel is 114 West Marcy Avenue.
This is a 2009 photo of the church.
The Jones Historic Photo collection has a picture of the theater, photo # 7013_1 dated October 1929.
http://www.jonesphotocollection.com/Obj1359$959
You may have to click on accept terms before being able to view the picture. The picture can be zoomed in for a clear view of the theater.
Zoom in all the way on the photo KenLayton linked to, and it looks like there might be a ghost sign on the theater’s side wall. On the other hand, it might just be years of accumulated dirt. I can’t make out any actual letters, but either way, the building was already pretty old in 1929. From the architectural style of the facade, I’d guess that it was built no later than the early 1920s, and more likely sometime in the 1910s, and perhaps even earlier.
If the building dates from as early as 1908, it might be the 400-seat Opera House at Montesano which was included on a list of theaters published in the September 5 issue of The Billboard that year. I haven’t found a theater at Montesano listed in any editions of Julius Cahn’s Theatrical Guide, though.