Liberty Theatre
1 S. Mission Street,
Wenatchee,
WA
98801
1 S. Mission Street,
Wenatchee,
WA
98801
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A document prepared for the National Register of Historic Places has information about the Liberty Theatre, including the fact that it was designed by architect Edwin W. Houghton.
In 1920 there are two theaters listed for Wenatchee. The Liberty and the Wenatchee theater. In 1925 there are three theaters listed for Wenatchee. The Liberty, Rialto and the Gem. By 1930, only two theaters are listed. The Liberty and Rialto. It’s possible that the Gem didn’t make it past the silent era.
The February 3, 1951, issue of Boxoffice said that the Liberty Theatre had recently been reopened after remodeling and redecoration. When construction of the Liberty began in 1918, it was Wenatchee’s first brick theater. The first owner of the house was N.I. Neubauer.
The Boxoffice item about the reopening also mentioned three earlier movie theaters in Wenatchee. The first theater built to accommodate both movies and stage shows in town was the Wenatchee Theatre, opened in 1905 by Ed Ferguson. Later there was a Gem Theatre, located in the Olympic Hotel building, and then a Majestic Theatre. No opening dates are given for the latter two houses.
Here is another 1986 photo.
1986 Photo
A December 2008 photo can be seen here.
In 1955 the Liberty Theater had 1,070 seats.
Here is another photo of the Liberty Theater.
Three new screens have been added this year, bringing the total screen count to 8. This makes The Liberty somewhat unique in that the original theater (with its 3 screens is at the north end of the block, 2 screens in a separate building (originally the Vitaphone Theater) in middle of the block and the new screens in another building at the south end of the block.
This is a recent photo of the Liberty Theater.
photos & history:
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There were originally two theaters in downtown Wenatchee, the Liberty and the much smaller Vitaphone, both located on the same block. The Liberty was triplexed in the mid ‘70s with the main floor left intact and the balcony walled off and split into two small 200 seat theaters.
Sometime during the ‘80s, the Vitaphone was twinned with the small balcony walled off, creating another screen. The two theaters came under joint ownership and became the Liberty, with its current five screens. As noted above, there are two entrances. The 'bank lobby’ entrance is to the original Liberty and was actually relocated from an orginal entrance on the corner. The ‘Eagles Hall’ entrance was originally the Vitaphone.