Babcock Theatre

This is another photo of the Babcock.

The Anaconda Standard ran a small story on June 10, 1907 saying that articles of incorporation for the Babcock Theatre Building had been filed. Among the six shareholders in the $150,000 venture were A.L. Babcock and Louis C. Babcock. The Billings Gazette said in 2007 that the Babcock opened on December 23, 1907 with a stage play. The theater, designed by architect, Edwin W. Houghton, had two balconies, and 15 dressing rooms. The Gazette noted in 1927 that previously there was an original Babcock Theatre at 2517 Montana Avenue that had been destroyed by fire in 1906.
On January 16, 1927, the front page of the Gazette had the following headline: “Babcock Theater Building Changes Hands.” The Babcocks had sold the building to Hyme Lipsker, a local merchant for a quarter of a million dollars. Improvements to the theater building costing $90,000 were planned to the building, whose foundation was built for six stories. Seating was to be increased by one third and a projection booth was to be built on the roof. After being closed for much of the summer, the new Babcock opened on September 24, 1927, and the Gazette described the new Spanish Colonial, 1,200-seat palace in glowing terms. The Ben Shearer studio of Seattle was responsible for the interior design. Shearer, a former resident of Billings, was noted for his work on the Hollywood and Baghdad theaters in Portland.
On February 21, 1935, a fire evidently caused by a match dropped in an air space under the stage during a boxing match gutted the interior. Because of a firewall, the damage was limited to the auditorium and not the other 16 businesses or apartments in the building. Mr. Lipsker, who owned the theater and leased it to Fox West Coast, said the building was worth $350,000 and the fire damage was later estimated at nearly $52,000. The reconstructed Babcock, reduced to nearly 1,000 seats, reopened on August 6, 1935, with an interior design by A.B. Heinsberger. “Front Page Woman,” starring Bette Davis and George Brent was the opening attraction. The Gazette said in 2009, that it was previously thought that the upper balcony was removed in this reconstruction but evidence was found in old architectural drawings that it was removed during the 1927 remodeling. Fireproof features added after the fire included a sprinkler system and a concrete slab under the stage and a laminated roof that had a fire-testing capacity of several hours.
In 1955 it underwent a $130,000 remodeling and redecoration with screen, lighting and other technical changes. The Babcock was only closed for nine days and reopened on June 29 with 923 seats. Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron in “Daddy Long Legs,” was the premiere attraction.
It was being run by Carmike Theaters in 1991 when it closed down. In 2008 the Babcock LLC group purchased the property and plan to restore it, with aspirations to add it to the National Register of Historic Places. $4 million would be the estimate to turn the 760-seat theater into a performing arts center of which the City would contribute $1.9 million. The theater currently hosts Thursday night boxing matches.
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This was the Babcock in 1980.

Here is the Babcock Theater in 2008.

Thursday Night Fights are still going on at the Babcock. Status should be open. Function would be…live performances?

A Wurlitzer theater organ opus 201 style 185 was installed in the Babcock Theater on 1/18/1919.

2808 2nd Ave N
Billings, MT 59101

Here are some contemporary photos:
http://tinyurl.com/nn7nk
http://tinyurl.com/m8ry6
http://tinyurl.com/nqt2g
http://tinyurl.com/h6at2

The ANNUAL referred to is available from:
PHOTOS AVAILABLE:
To obtain any available Back Issue of either “Marquee” or of its ANNUALS, simply go to the web site of the THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA at:
www.HistoricTheatres.org
and notice on their first page the link “PUBLICATIONS: Back Issues List” and click on that and you will be taken to their listing where they also give ordering details. The “Marquee” magazine is 8-1/2x11 inches tall (‘portrait’) format, and the ANNUALS are also soft cover in the same size, but in the long (‘landscape’) format, and are anywhere from 26 to 40 pages. Should they indicate that a publication is Out Of Print, then it may still be possible to view it via Inter-Library Loan where you go to the librarian at any public or school library and ask them to locate which library has the item by using the Union List of Serials, and your library can then ask the other library to loan it to them for you to read or photocopy. [Photocopies of most THSA publications are available from University Microforms International (UMI), but their prices are exorbitant.]

Note: Most any photo in any of their publications may be had in large size by purchase; see their ARCHIVE link. You should realize that there was no color still photography in the 1920s, so few theatres were seen in color at that time except by means of hand tinted renderings or post cards, thus all the antique photos from the Society will be in black and white, but it is quite possible that the Society has later color images available; it is best to inquire of them.

Should you not be able to contact them via their web site, you may also contact their Executive Director via E-mail at:
Or you may reach them via phone or snail mail at:
Theatre Historical Soc. of America
152 N. York, 2nd Floor York Theatre Bldg.
Elmhurst, ILL. 60126-2806 (they are about 15 miles west of Chicago)

Phone: 630-782-1800 or via FAX at: 630-782-1802 (Monday through Friday, 9AM—4PM, CT)